Eat The Weeds Page on Goosefoot
USDA Plants Index Page on Lamb's Quarter
Easiest time to identify: Summer when new plants grow and fall when flowers develop.
Harvest/forage: Summer to fall.
The genus Chenopodium and the species within it have
many common names, even some sharing names with different genus. Like the
sunflower, goosefoot was semi domesticated in the eastern agricultural complex
hundreds of years before the arrival of maize. Goosefoot is what is known as a
pseudo-cereal, where the grain comes from a broad leaf plant rather than a grass
but the grain is often used in the same way as other true cereals. The leaves
of goosefoot are edible as well as new growth stems. The grains can be
collected from the flower stalks in the late fall and early winter. The plant
is considered a weed and is in most lawns or other disturbed sites. The plant
grows in all kinds of environments but will be most often found in well-drained
soil in the sun. The leaves are very nutritious with more calcium, Vitamins A
and C than spinach. When greens are cooked as a potherb, much of the Vitamins
are leeched out into the water and lost. One way to preserve these nutrients is
to save the pot water and use it for soups or drink it straight. Another way to
preserve the nutrients is to cook the greens in fat, preferably wild animal
fat. Since the vitamins are soluble in fats the vitamins are reserved in the
cooked fat.
An encouragement strategy for Chenopodium in the
metroplex is to plant along flood zones. The metro sits on top of the greater
Trinity River basin. This mean there are many sites of disturbed and fertile
soil. The only downside would be the water quality and the plants ability to
concentrate nitrates from the soil.
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