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Pigweed
(Chenopodium
album) Lamb’s Quarters
This plant, sometimes called smooth pigweed is one of our most
enduring annual weeds producing a tremendous amount of seeds
that are able to survive dormant in the soil for decades. It
is among the weeds that follow human footsteps and
cultivation, liking a soil with a well-fermented humus.
Lamb’s quarters are
particularly stimulated when grown with potatoes, and they
should be allowed to grow in the garden in moderate amounts,
especially with corn. They also aid cucumber, muskmelon,
pumpkin and watermelon as well as giving additional vigor to
zinnas, marigolds, peonies and pansies.
This plant, a close
relative of spinach, also is good to eat. The young shoots may
be cooked and eaten like asparagus. It is richer in vitamin C
than spinach, far richer in vitamin A and, though not quite so
rich in iron and potassium, is still a good source of these
minerals. It is exceptionally rich in calcium.
Lamb’s quarters is a
freebie that everyone should know about, for it is found in
cultivated ground from north to south and east to west and
plants in the right stage for eating can usually be found from
late spring until frost. It even grows in the Andes at a
height of 12,000 feet and here has become an important
substitute for rye and barley, which cannot survive at such an
altitude. | .gif)
