[img]https://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll46/grammycherlynn/09-22-07006.jpg[/img]
About 3 years ago I planted Sunflower seeds. Being a novice gardener, I had no idea that I had planted Jerusalem Artichokes! I have developed a "Love/Hate" relationship with this thriving "sunflower". Even a small part of the tuber will grow into a plant. I have decided to just live with them where they serve the purpose of providing privacy in our yard, but I continue to pull them from areas they have become invasive...as in the photo above! They are pretty, though, but only for a couple of weeks!
I have yet to try the edible roots...Any good recipes out there?!?!
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- Super Green Thumb
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Love to hate, almost anything that begins with the letter "L". Lamium, Lamiastrum (SP?), loostrife, lysmichia; then there's poison ivy/oak/sumac; nightshade; morning glories and bishop's weed (sooo sorry I ever started those!); goldenrod or ragweed--I can't tell the difference, but it spreads by runner; mints, common garlic (another "sorry I ever started that"); rose of sharon; the gazillion elm/maple seedlings every year; black raspberries.
Some I've welcomed: red-leaved crabapple; juniper w/blue berries; cedar trees; and even though I don't care for roses--I admire the volunteer climber that has sprouted up and grown in partial shade!
Some I've welcomed: red-leaved crabapple; juniper w/blue berries; cedar trees; and even though I don't care for roses--I admire the volunteer climber that has sprouted up and grown in partial shade!
- rainbowgardener
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Hi - I'm new to this forum and still browsing through all the wonderful stuff here. Found this really old thread untouched for a yr and thought I'd add my 2 cents, because I thought it was really interesting what was and wasn't listed. I agree with a lot. Honeysuckle in bush and vine form is one of our worst plagues in my area. I never knew vinca/periwinkle was called flower of death, but it is appropriate; I've seen it kill a whole woods. English ivy is also easy to hate, but I can't believe no one mentioned poison ivy. It may not be quite as ready to take over a forest, but every year I suffer through one or two cases of painful itching misery.... Then there's bindweed (a form of morning glory, but bindweed is a good name, it binds up all the plants around it) and garlic mustard...
But someone listed monarda, ajuga, tradescantia (spiderwort) and rudbeckia, which are all plants I love, most native (except I think for the ajuga). No accounting for taste!
But someone listed monarda, ajuga, tradescantia (spiderwort) and rudbeckia, which are all plants I love, most native (except I think for the ajuga). No accounting for taste!
To add to my earlier post of last year:
Bermuda grass
Kudzu (from when I lived in the South)--I lived in one house in Atlanta where the kudzu grew FROM a sunlit location TO a dark location under the front porch. It just didn't care whether there was sunlight or not; the area under the front porch was clearly Territory Yet To Be Conquered. Scary stuff.
Note to earlier poster: The story I was told was that kudzu was brought to the States as an erosion-control plant. I'm not even sure whether cows or other livestock *will* eat kudzu--but they'd sure better not stand still while that stuff is around!
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
Bermuda grass
Kudzu (from when I lived in the South)--I lived in one house in Atlanta where the kudzu grew FROM a sunlit location TO a dark location under the front porch. It just didn't care whether there was sunlight or not; the area under the front porch was clearly Territory Yet To Be Conquered. Scary stuff.
Note to earlier poster: The story I was told was that kudzu was brought to the States as an erosion-control plant. I'm not even sure whether cows or other livestock *will* eat kudzu--but they'd sure better not stand still while that stuff is around!
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
- applestar
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About Kudzu -- Kudzu is a very EXPENSIVE starch highly regarded in macrobiotic diet, that is used like tapioca starch. My favorite way to eat it is as a tapioca pudding-like desert, although you can use it in any recipe that calls for starch.
I was reminded of a quaint book I have... It's a Japanese "healthy/natural living" book of traditional Japanese hand-crafted foods. According to the descriptions given by a famous premium artisanal processor, the kudzu roots are harvested between December and April when the starch content is highest (even then, only about 10%), The roots are pulverized with water from artesian wells, then filtered to remove all fiberous material. After 7 or 8 changes of water over the course of 2 weeks (usually in -5~-10ºC weather -- kudzu ferments easily an cannot be processed in the warmer weather) the starch water is filtered again, and the starch is allowed to subside (there's a word for this process that escapes me) for 3~4 days. The starch is then dried naturally without using any heat (which degrades the quality of the starch) for 50~60 days. "Genuine kudzu starch takes all winter to process."
I was reminded of a quaint book I have... It's a Japanese "healthy/natural living" book of traditional Japanese hand-crafted foods. According to the descriptions given by a famous premium artisanal processor, the kudzu roots are harvested between December and April when the starch content is highest (even then, only about 10%), The roots are pulverized with water from artesian wells, then filtered to remove all fiberous material. After 7 or 8 changes of water over the course of 2 weeks (usually in -5~-10ºC weather -- kudzu ferments easily an cannot be processed in the warmer weather) the starch water is filtered again, and the starch is allowed to subside (there's a word for this process that escapes me) for 3~4 days. The starch is then dried naturally without using any heat (which degrades the quality of the starch) for 50~60 days. "Genuine kudzu starch takes all winter to process."
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- Full Member
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mugwort or wild chrysanthemum I planted Mums one year, the next year this grew and I stupidly thought I was getting mums. When it didn't flower in the fall, I was disappointed. By the next year it was all over the garden and I have been fighting to get rid of it ever since. they have runners all over the place so even if I get what I can see, they will be back anyway.