(Plant of the Week) Burdock

First off, sorry for the late post. I had this ready to be posted, but monday came and went, and I completely forgot ^_^;;
So without further ado....

The Plant of the Week this time around is Burdock!

Most of the people who know what burdock is are probably raising their eyebrows at the screen right now, but before you decide that I've finally lost what little of my sanity I still had, let me explain ;-)

But for those who don't know, burdock is considered an invasive weed which many gardeners kill the second they see it.
It's also the plant that makes those little brown spike covered ball thingies that get stuck to your socks, shoes, and jeans. In fact, those little guys are part of the reason that burdock IS the Plant of the Week!

First off, I think it's good to note that while we treat Burdock like a weed, there are other countries which sell it as a vegetable. Why? Well... For one, it doesn't taste half bad. Some people describe it a bit like Artichoke, so go figure. Why else? Every part of the plant is edible, and good for you, from the roots to the spiky purple flowers. I don't think you wanna eat the spiky seed pods though... ^_^;;

One thing I like quite a bit about burdock is that it shows us that even the things we're accustomed to in our daily lives can hold surprises - currently, Burdock, and more specifically, the inulin in the burdock, is being researched as it has the ability to halt tumor growth.

And before this, the inspiration for Velcro actually came from the sticky seed pods. I think I'm the only person who finds this neat, but I still need to mention it.

Traditionally, the roots are generally used medicinally, while the rest of the plant is used more for food, however, the leaves and 'fruit' of the plant are still useful for the same reasons as the roots in most cases.
Burdock is even useful for treating Arthritis - though, whether it actually cures it or whether it simply dulls the pain, I am unsure of. I don't have arthritis, so I can't test this. Darn youth and health!

Simply put, this plant has so many uses, both as food and nutritionally, so all I can really say is do your own research on the topic ;-)

As for growing... Half the time you don't need to do a darn thing to grow a nice plant right in the middle of any other plants you were trying to grow, whether you like it or not.
Next time, instead of fretting over this 'weed' though, perhaps you'll try it in a salad?

If you actually want to grow the plant purposefully, it's a pretty quick plant to identify with it's tall stalks, purple flowers (which butterflies seem to enjoy), and signature seed pods spiky things... so if you're trying to collect seeds, it's not hard ;-)

Garden Web Seed Exchange...

For my first non-introductory blog, I've decided to write about a nifty little thing I only just learned about a few months ago - Online seed trading!

I found these first on Gardenweb, which I have in my "Linkies!" section for your ultimately uber convenience (No thanks necessary, I'm thoughtful, I know it ^_~ lol)
For even MORE convenience, though... Click here to go to their forum ;-)

While, generally these forums are there for the purpose of TRADING, as a newbie, they often offer some nifty advantages (And randomly some people have too many seeds during fall TO trade, and just give a bunch away)

For what was essentially the cost of 6 stamps, I ended up with about 60 packets of seeds.
Granted, a FEW of these were duplicates, but I still came out with some very nice things, like Judas Tree seeds (which actually grow in my zone! Yay!) various types of basil (including one I can't quite read the persons handwriting on to tell if it's "Cone" or "Cane" basil - I've never heard of either though, so who knows what it really is ^_^;;)

Just to show how awesome this really is... Here's a list of the seeds I had gotten... Sorry about the length ^_^;;

I separated the seeds by where I got them from, which is why there are three groups. The first group is from a website I *found* on the forums, called Wintersown.org.
They'll send you 6 packs of seed (or so they say, I got 11) for a Self Addressed Stamped Envelope (SASE for those who don't know)

• Sweet Annie (Artemesia annua)
• Broadstem Green Chard (Beta vulgaris [Cicla group])
• Sensation Mix Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) (2 packets)
• Aquilegia sp. Blend (P) (Columbine)
• Blue Flax (Linum perenne)
• California Giants Zinnia
• Rose of Sharon Mix (Pink, Lavender, or White) (Hibiscus syriacus)
• Zebrina (Malva sylvestris)
• Foxglove Assortment (Digitalis sp.)
• Tomato Blend

• Pumpkin "We Be Little"
• Blue Mirror Larkspur (Delphinium grandiflorum [I think])
• Black Cherry
• Mary Washington Asparagus
• Lilac
• Feverfew
• Table Queen Squash
• Sage
• Mexican Bush Sage
• Licorice Basil
• Cane (Cone?) Basil
• Sweet Italian Basil (Large Leaf)
• Becky's Marigold (Two Packs) [Anyone know the story on these? The packages all say "She lived in Pharr, Texas" on the back...]
  
• Scarlet Runner Beans
• Lemon Thyme
• Bodegold Chamomile
• Pepper Ace
• Morning Glory
• Alderman Tall Telephone Shell Pea
• Chervil
• Black Cherry Tomato
• Japanese Moon Vine Red
• Butterfly Bush
• White Anise Hyssop
• Borage
• Winter Density Bibb/Romaine Lettuce

• Yarrow (Achillea spp.)
• Mallow Zebrina (Malva Sylvestris)
• Nicotiana Sylvestris
• Hardy Hibiscus
• Mini Bar Rose Morning Glory
• Purple Morning Glory Mix
• Red Bud Tree/Judas Tree (Cercis canadensis)
• [Coufe Date? Coupe Date? Coup D'etat?] Rose
• Red Castor Bean
• Peter Pepper
• Teddy Bear Sunflower
• Purple Giant Hyssop (Agastache Rugosa)
• Blue Lake Bush Bean
• Hollyhock - Various Pink
• Rose Campion - Magenta And White mix (Lychnis coronaria)
• Nigella 'Love in the mist'/ 'Miss Jeckyll'
• Heirloom Tomato Korny's Jelly Bean (Small Grape Type)
• Common Milkweed [Great for Monarchs!]
  
• Geum 'Mrs. Bradshaw'

Anyway, while I haven't done any 'true' trading since I don't have any seeds to trade (Well, now I do technically, but I'm afraid to ship seeds when it's this cold out. It's 16ºF out right now. When these seeds were shipped to me, it was still a nice fall weather)

I'm hoping to be able to harvest my own seeds off some of these plants this year to start trading on the forums...

But yeah, I hope someone gets use outta this.
Best part is as I said - FREE SEEDS (Minus cost of postage... and envelopes if they don't supply their own... lol) (Bubble mailers work good when it's not hot out... if it's hot out, they might fry the seeds >_<;;)

So if you're a newbie gardener or just looking for some random seeds, some of which are a bit 'invasive' (Also, very good Butterfly and Hummingbird attractors!) then I suggest this site. It's free to make an account (though, I think ONE of the forums requires a paid account, but I don't use that forum anyway, so what do I care? Lol) and it's a nice way to amass seeds up without paying 2 bucks a packet.

There are also some pretty rare varieties I've seen (Like the Peter Peppers I got, which are also a little creepy! Can't wait to start growing those and giving the seeds to unsuspecting gardeners who don't know what they look like... seems like it'll be a fun little gag... Muahahahahaha!)

Usually these packets come with about 24 seeds unless they're harder to propagate - this is just because that's generally a good number to start your own group of plants to get your own seeds from. It's pretty efficient...

Anyway, that's it for tonight! Enjoy ;-)