Well, it’s getting close to the longest day of the year and you know what that means? Yep…weeds are taking over the world.
If you find yourself in a losing battle with the weeds, take heart. Remember, it’s only about three months till the next killing frost But until then, here’s some little known Facts about weeds.
Fact #1 – Mustard: Mustard weeds are edible. I learned from the website, eattheweeds.com, there are a gazillion varieties of mustard and they are all edible. Although some are more edible than others. One kind of mustard is used to make table mustard. Many varieties can be used in salads, if you get them young enough. But as the plant ages it becomes tough and bitter, sort of like a person who has been fighting weeds all summer. Tender young seedpods can be added to salads and taste peppery. If you want, you can make your own mustard out of the seeds, just grind them up and mix
with vinegar.

Fact #2 – Russian Thistle (Tumbleweeds): Ever seen herds of galloping tumbleweeds? You know, when the wind blows in the winter and they race across the road in front of you and sometimes attack your grill? Yes, these are the evil weeds that conquered America in just 30 years. However, tumbleweeds are not considered evil everywhere. In the Mediterranean region, it is used to make soap Now if we could just a get a good market going for tumbleweed soap…
Fact #3 – Milkweed: During World War II, mildewed fluff was used to stuff life jackets. It is about six times more buoyant than cork. This doesn’t help you if you are fighting milkweeds in your garden, but it
is interesting.
Fact #4 – Burrs: Back in 1941, a Swiss hiker came home from a walk in the Alps with burrs all over his clothes and his dog. He looked at the burrs under a microscope and saw they were covered with millions of tiny hooks. Long story short, he invented Velcro, one of the best inventions in modern history. It’s just too bad someone can’t figure out how to make something amazing out of puncture vine.
FACT #5 ­– Palmer Amaranth (Pigweed): This one is Public Weed Enemy Number One. It is on the hit list of every farmer, rancher and gardener across the fruited plain. Why is it so hated? First of all, it grows 1-3 inches a day, sucking down huge amounts of water and nutrients. It can reach the size of a small tree and has up to a million seeds per plant. Even worse, it has become resistant to several brands of herbicide and has single-handedly crippled the cotton industry in Georgia. I am not exaggerating. This is one BAAAAAD weed. So far, nobody has been able to eat it, make it into soap, or find a use for it, like Velcro. It’s just bad…really bad.
So if you find yourself in a battle with the weeds, battle on. Spray and chop, spray and chop. And for heaven’s sake, if you see a pigweed, kill without mercy. Unless you can find something useful to do with it, like make it into fly repellent. Something like that could truly make the world a better place.