September - from the 'Year at Robie Creek' series

Originally published in the:

The time of late-season harvest is upon us, has been for the last couple weeks. Summer started winding down in mid-August and it’s time to get things trimmed and ready for next year. Time to remove summer growth from plants that aren’t where we want to see them and spread seeds where we want them to be. Roots have spent their energy, and plants are old enough to distinguish one from another, even the little ones that popped up late for a run at another season.

Removing all the foliage requires the plant to regrow it and leaves any roots weaker when winter arrives, while trimming only upper and outer foliage and seedheads from what we want to have thrive allows it to continue to produce fuel as it sets second and third crops as well as building heartier roots for next year before they go dormant. Carrying the clippings around in my basket or box as I go spreads the seeds without exhausting them. Some will shake off and many will remain on the plant for use or storage.

Branching stem plants like catnip, lamb’s quarters, or chicory will continue to grow out at the nodes when the upper and outer parts are clipped off. Low-growing rosettes with single or multiple seed stalks like dandelions, mullein, and plantain (not the fruit) will continue replacing leaves all summer, so I grab a leaf here and there, or a few leaves – especially in spring when they’re at their most tender and least bitter and are growing fast – dry them, and store the whole works in unscented black trash bags.

I’m gathering from the time plants sprout at the end of winter to the time snow covers them, depending upon the plant and what parts of it are useful and desirable and when. Those that provide basic nutrients that don’t need to be ‘dosed’ in any way are just tossed in the bags to be used as a mixed daily staple. Medicinal plants should obviously be used with careful attention to not only their purported – and in many cases proven – benefits, but also to any potential toxic effects and the nature and general circumstances thereof, and should be stored appropriately.

Most edible greens are just generally good for you, high in things like Vitamins C and A and a variety of minerals and all kinds of goodies, with the flowers, fruit, seeds, and roots often having more powerful properties. In some cases it’s the greens themselves that should be avoided. Usually in those cases the toxicity moves around the plant throughout the course of its growth, and in some cases the toxic effects are specific to an individual condition or set of conditions.

Very few plants don’t offer some benefit under the right circumstance. Many of the same plants under other circumstances can cause problems. The good folks at Sunshine House Health Food and Terra Mater Botanicals and/or your favorite knowledgeable sources of information can probably give you some understanding of what the plants you find in your yard have to offer and how they work together and separately.

Dandelion greens, lamb’s quarters, broad-leaved plantain (of which the seeds are bagged separately because they can act as a laxative), catnip, grasses, Brazilian pennywort, etc., as long as they’re grown in a place free of toxins, natural or otherwise, can be eaten every day. I fine-grind a mixture of these and other ‘daily-safe’ plants with eggshells and add half a teaspoon to the dogs’ and cats’ eggs with each serving, give handfuls to the degu and hamster as supplements as well as pinches to the fish and mealworms daily, and add whatever amount seems appropriate to the duckweed and compost bins when it looks or smells like they need it.

[In the worm composter, by the way, two seven-foot-tall multi-blossomed black oil seed sunflowers and a stalk of corn are currently thriving. This makes me happy.]

Plants and parts that should be used more specifically and precisely like bittersweet vine and certain fungi, or plants with outstanding nutritional or medicinal characteristics like duckweed and the bark, cones, and catkins of alder for instance are cleaned and used in oils or vinegars, or dried, packaged and labeled as necessary, and stored in a cool, dry place. A summer’s worth of wandering through the yard and pasture picking and plucking and drying parts finds me with a good winter’s+ supply of greens for everyone (us included).

Since I don’t harvest duckweed for our (human) consumption (yet), I collect with it whatever’s taken up dwelling in its water like daphnia and midge & drone-fly larvae and dry it all together. The addition of this dried mixture about once a winter day to all the animals’ diets supplements their protein consumption and also provides taurine, a necessary nutrient for cats because they can’t synthesize it from amino acids. In summer they get plenty from the moths and other bugs they catch.

Anyhoo, September is also our time to finish putting up wood for the winter, take down the trampoline, and ready the walkways and driveway for the snow-blower by moving rocks, branches, and household stuff to where they won’t get run over and shear a shear pin or worse. Studded tires will soon be necessary, outdoor toys and furniture need to be stored under the tack shed, and the duckweed and compost bins need to come into the utility room. Also, the new season of Doctor Who is underway. Dude, Jr. discovered it earlier this year which led to Dude, Sr. and I rediscovering this mutual youthful (and grown-up) pleasure. One hour a week for presumably thirteen weeks we’ll be watching the twelfth Doctor together.

And with that it’s time to go. Hangin’ with y’all is always a pleasure – thanks for bein’ you – and we’ll see ya next month. From Robie Creek to Owl Creek, take care, be safe, have fun!

With much love,

Peace & the Dudes Jaway

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