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| Vegetable Varieties for Gardeners is a citizen science program
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'Chickweed -Stellaria media' Claytonia |
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USER ENTERED : Unable to find a category for chickweed--this is not claytonia.
For the last couple of years I have been pulling chickweed out of my flower pots, then someone asked me why I didn't eat it. So..I tried some in my salad and I liked it. Decided I would incorporate it into my garden.. but I had just pulled it all out I knew that more would come up but it would take time to get to where I could transplant it into my edible garden. So I ordered seed from Wild Garden Seed. Yup. I intentionally planted chickweed seed. And that decision has really paid off! I constantly experiment with my garden, each year trying to find plants that I like better than the ones last year, or that are easier to grow, or new to me. It's fun! So... I planted those chickweed seeds in a bed that had beets and lettuce and up they came! There is lots and lots of chickweed. I pull out the extras.No one I knows is willing to taste it (YOU EAT WEEDS????) But here's the deal...it's good. It is mild tasting. Sometimes it seems to have a grassy taste, especially when it is older (I don't like that). It works great in salad or chopped onto sandwiches as a substitute for alfalfa sprouts. I just have more than I can use. But.. this year there has been a side benefit to growing it. As it has been an unusually hot year, the chickweed has shaded the soil, helped prevent water evaporation. It also helps to block out other weeds... which means when I am planting something new (more lettuce...etc) I may have to keep the chickweed weeded out until the other plants get a head start on it. I have discovered it is a slug magnet..which is both good and bad. It keeps the slugs away from my other crops (good). It's hard to see the little slugs when they get on the underside of the leaves (bad..especially if you are eating it!). So, no regrets about planting it..and it's a weed. It can grow without any care!
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| Days To Maturity: |
NA
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| Seed Sources: |
Wild Garden Seed - updated in 2021
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| Rating Summary |
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Overall: (5.0 Stars)
Taste: (4.0 Stars)
Yield: (5.0 Stars)
Ease/Reliability: (5.0 Stars) |
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| Reviews |
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Login to share your Review of Chickweed -Stellaria media.
Number of Reviews: 1
KEY: O=Overall Rating, T=Taste, Y=Yield, E=Ease
Reviewed on 10/12/2021 by
Creed
- An experienced gardener
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Overall
Taste
Yield
Ease
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Pierce, Washington, United States
Frost Free Season: 183 - 203 days
Soil Texture: Loam
Garden Size: Large - More than 1,600 square feet (40' x 40')
Sun Exposure: 6 to 8 hours per day
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| 10/12/21 I did the introduction to for Chickweed (thought I was doing a review), so this is an update for 2021. I am still really liking this little plant! In our hot weather the growth slowed down, then a period of rain and.. I have millions of little chickweed plants coming up everywhere. They are now about three inches tall, no flowers yet. I just cut off a couple of hands of them about an inch above the soil and threw them in a salad. Pure awesomeness! I\\\\\\\'l I continue to recommend these as an edible green, also as a living mulch. |
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