Look at the title and make a guess
You think this is a weed? You're kind of right...
Analytics told me today that someone came to my site wondering if fire will kill foxtail and if the aforementioned plant is toxic. In short, the answer to both questions is “no.”
Another searcher wondered if you can make flour from foxtail. Indeed you can!
It’s July so gardening is in full swing. First off, I’m pleased to report that my wayward spaghetti squash has already produced two little plants poking through the surface.
More to the point, Dad and I harvasted two rows of beans today. We began in the traditional way, pulling the beans from the plants, before saying fuggit and pulled the whole thing. The beans were “played out,” as he put it, and Mom needed the space to put in a late-season crop.
After roughly twenty minutes (and several paper-cut like injuries from the tall grass) we’d uprooted several dozen green and yellow bean plants. An hour of stripping and sorting later, we had half a wheelbarrow full of beans. There’s still another two rows to go.
We did have a slight disagreement over what to do with the stalks. I suggested tilling them into the soil but Dad preferred to comport them. Either way, it’s better than just burning them.
Now I’m off with Mom to plant the second crop before heading home to check on my bean-and-beef soup.
As I failed to take out any meat for dinner, and I’m back on the low-carb wagon, I thought the spaghetti squash on the counter would be a good choice. Slice it open and surprise! Are those worms?
Nope. Inside my intended prey were dozens of tiny spaghetti squash babies. Never ones to pass up an experiment, Shannon and I collected soil from the abandoned pots and planted the halves.
We planted the sprouting squash halves cut side up, backfilling the sides. Only a thin layer (1/8 inch) of soil went on top. I didn’t water the soil, since a) the seeds are growing in the squash which is wet enough and b) I’m afraid wet dirt + the hot, humid Illinois summer will lead to rotting little plants.
There was one wayward little plant that I had pulled out when I thought they were worms. Unfortunately I broke his stem, but with luck planting below the soil will let him mend.
This will inevitably lead to more experimnts, like plating whole veggies or letting a squash sit in a bucket on the counter until I have to throw it away.
We’ve had two sour cherry trees growing in our backyard for God only knows how long. These trees produced a steady stream of sour cherries year after year, until, about two years ago, the flood turned to a trickle. One of the trees rotted out at the trunk, leaving a nice, large hole and the other “lost its scion,” sending it into a bizarre, uncontrolled growth pattern.
Although we have several maple saplings lying around (in the gutters), I’m not particularly up to the task of grafting. So, I’m trying my hand at the simple, cheap route of rooting a few cuttings. We’re not overly optimistic that this will work. Cherries, by nature, are not particularly good candidates for rooting. These cherries, in particular, are even worse candidates. They are old, nearly-fruitless and possibly contaminated with a whole host of diseases and pestilences. Oh, and I didn’t collect the cuttings until after the tree had been felled.
Despite that, it costs next to nothing to try propagating new trees by cutting. I have a small container of rooting hormone, that I used to root a few “lucky bamboo” shoots, a roll of paper towels and a container for rooting. All I need is a rooting medium. I think some sphganum peat moss would work well, so I’ll pick up a bag at Wal-mart.
First, after Dad cut down the trees, I collected some promising new-growth branches. These were tender, thin and snapped when bent. If they bend, they’re too old. If they crack or split, they’re too young. I collected about 15 snappable sections, and may head out to collect a few more.
Next, I brought them inside. I stripped the leaves from the lower one-third, although, in most cases, there were only 
leaves on the end. If there were off-shoot twigs, I cut the section above these. New-growth doesn’t typically have it’s own small branches, so those sections were most likely from last season. I cut the base of each at a 45 degree angle.
After they were prepped, I rolled each branch in a small, moist paper towel. These are currently sitting in a large container, waiting to be planted. The next step will be to dip each cutting in the rooting hormone, then plant it in the medium. Half the cutting must be covered in the medium to have a possible chance of rooting.
I may go back out and collect a few more cuttings. While my “lucky bamboo” rooted quite well-out of four cuttings, I only had one fail and that was from disease-cherries are notoriously bad rooters. I’m just as notoriously bad at propagation. I’ll consider myself lucky if one in twenty takes root.
If you’re familiar with hydroponic gardening, aquaponic gardening will make perfect sense. But, in case you’re not, let me try to explain. From EtymOnline.com
- hydroponics
- 1937, formed in Eng. from hydro-, comb. form of Gk. hydor “water” (see water (n.1)) + -ponics, from Gk. ponein “to labor, toil,” from ponos “labor” (see span (v.)).
Hydroponics uses a growing medium, such as pea gravel or loose moss, instead of soil. Nutrients are carried by a steady drip or intermittent stream of water to the roots. One of the main drawbacks of hydroponics is the necessity of including water soluble plant nutrients.
Aquaponics solves this problem by using fish. Yes, you read right. Your hydroponically planted vegetation is hooked up to a fish tank, where the nutrients [read: biological waste] from the fish nourishes them. It’s very similar to dumping cow manure on a farm field. The added bonus, of course, is that the plant roots and planting medium act as a filter for the fish’s water. You have to keep an eye on a variety of potentially fish killing factors, including pH and ammonia.
On Saturday, The Husband and I began our experiment. We purchased a large, clear Rubbermaid container, some PVC and tubing and 13 tiny fish (12 Comets and 1 bottom-feeder to prevent dirty walls). On Sunday, we hit up a nursery to get a water-garden pump-not a filter, the plants should do that-, some pea gravel, aquatic plants-to help until the herbs are established-, and a few containers of plants. Since we weren’t following any particular guideline, the assembly took nearly the entire day and I still don’t have all the plants in.
However, most of the herbs seem to be doing OK. Their roots are staying moist and they haven’t dropped all their leaves [yet]. The fish, although a bit crowded right now, are swimming happily and all still alive. I’m sure after I write this, half of them will float to the top.
Once I have the other plants in, I’ll post some pictures of the set-up. If this first round, with clearance nursery plants and tiny tiny fish, goes well, we’ll expand to a second container for strawberries and give 6 of the Comets a bit more space.
With the right set-up, and a fairly large investment, you can use “food fish” like carp in the system to raise some organic, mercury-free fish fry and the vegetables to go with them.
To read more about aquaponics, take a gander at these resources
Foxtail is a cultivated grain in many parts of the world
Every fall, we mow down the quarter-acre garden plot. And, every fall, without fail, this plot is riddled with tall, thin, wheat-like weeds known as Foxtail. These “weeds” are nearly impossible to kill. Each stalk contains dozens of tiny seeds which spread in the air, through animals or survive mowing. On the off change that we successfully eliminate all the plants on our property, the neighbor’s back-yard, berm and garden are still riddled with the hardy, fast-growing plant.
It wasn’t until I caught my 5-year-old daughter munching on the end, and I called the Agricultural Extension to make sure it wasn’t poisonous, that I thought of using Foxtail as more than mow-deck fodder.
Foxtail grass, which is scientifically referred to as Setaria, is a primitive grain. It grows in wet or moderate conditions and is often found on the outskirts of farm-fields or gardens. You can recognize Foxtail, before it flowers, as a tall grass. The stalks are peppered with long, thin, flat leaves that alternate sides. After flowering, the stem is topped with a single, spiky shaft that hold dozens of tiny seeds. Early in the year, the flower and seeds are green. In the fall, they turn to a golden hue.
Foxtail's height depends on the soil.
Don’t eat the entire head. Although the spikes surrounding the seeds aren’t toxic, they are known to cause oral lesions in livestock. They’re also rigid, tough and not terribly appetizing. The leaves are sharp and should be handled carefully (and probably shouldn’t be eaten). The root system is deep, thick and prolific, so you probably won’t be able to pull a tall plant. This is also why it’s nearly impossible to kill them: unlike other weeds, Setaria grow from the well-established roots, not from the top of the plant. If you cut or mow it, it will just grow back.
While Westerners consider Foxtail a weed, it’s cultivated in Eastern countries as a grain, much like wheat. The seeds within the flower are edible in any stage, but, like other grains, the best time for harvest is once the seeds dry and turn color. To harvest, cut the flower from the stem and carry in a container or bag without holes, like a paper bag or plastic box.
Once you’ve harvested the dry seeds, you have two choices: fire or time. James A. Duke, author of Handbook of Edible Weeds
Personally, I prefer time. Place the flowers in a dry area, on newspaper or in a container. With time, the seeds will just fall off the flowers. Harvest the remaining seeds by gently rubbing the flower, taking care to avoid dislodging any of the spikes.
What can you do with your harvested seeds? After you wash and dry them, you can eat them as-is, although some varieties are extremely bitter, hard and not entirely appetizing. You can use a mortar and pessel, or a grain mill, to grind the seeds into a flour. Or, like other millets, you can boil them to create a thick porridge.
I'm Becky. I write this blog. From time to time, someone else will write this blog. I like WordPress, hiking and puppies.
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