7 ms·

Common garden weeds in Southern California

55 points by serhack_ 3y ago

andrewstuart 3y ago
Is marijuana a common garden weed in Southern California?
- Rebelgecko 3y ago
  It's pretty common in marshy areas like along rivers or washes
  - PopAlongKid 3y ago
    "ditch weed" is not the same thing as medical/recreational marijuana cultivation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_cannabis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_cannabis SoCal is not one of the places you would expect to find much of it, according to the article. "the plant has re-seeded naturally and grown wild in states such as Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota, with Indiana reporting the largest concentrations nationally"
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- dehrmann 3y ago
  Nit: I'm not an expert here, but I think cannabis or hemp more accurately describes the the plant, and marijuana is somewhat more likely to describe it as a drug. There's obviously a lot of overlap, and hemp can also describe the fibers, but never the drug.
xnx 3y ago
What constitutes a weed is a personal judgement of the gardener. Many of these are likely native species.
- wizerdrobe 3y ago
  You’re not only not kidding there can be wild disparities in opinion. I have a type of bentgrass in my lawn (South Carolina, Transition Zone) lawn considered to be either a weedy grass or a desirable grass used on some golf courses. Of course, when I looked to buy seed for it this year to see about filling in some patches left by Po Annua I found it to cost several multiples of typical “proper” species (Bluegrass, Fescue) So you have the gamut of worthless to worth-weight-in-gold depending on who bought them the house.
- VoodooJuJu 3y ago
  [flagged]
  - canjobear 3y ago
    > a weed is just what boomers call plants they don't like that also grow without additional labor, water, or fertilizer. That’s literally the definition of the word weed.
  - jondwillis 3y ago
    If you’re growing a food garden, often you’ll get some competition from weeds and lower yields (given the same water, fertilizer) unless you pull the weeds up. Of course many weeds are beneficial for a variety of reasons, but it is dependent on context.
  - slfnflctd 3y ago
    I agree with everything you said, except for your use of the fuzzy & needlessly derogatory blanket term 'boomer'. Every generation continues to do this because it's deeply embedded in our culture. The culture is the problem. Landscaping can be done in a way that is fairly neutral with regard to whatever plants show up, unless there is a serious mismatch between desired plants and invasive species (also fuzzy terms). Fighting nature - even unintentionally imported nature - is a never ending, futile war. Minimizing artificial intervention should always be a primary objective and in no way requires broad-brush painting a massive demographic as the enemy.
  - 3y ago
danwills 3y ago
I love the idea that all the plants we think-of as totally-normal-weeds could be (indeed, are) quite different across the world! Would love to be able to get a global sense of where the ones that I know well are distributed right now, and what other people are seeing when they walk-around (and it's rained a bit) instead! Anyone know of a good resource for anything like that? Over in Adelaide, South Oz, an extremely common weed is 'Oxalis' (TIL: a type of 'Wood Sorrel'[1]) It's also called 'Sourgrass' or 'Sour-Sobs', colloquially around here. It seems to pop up nearly-anywhere-that-it-can and very quickly too once it's rained a bit at the start of winter. Also dies-off completely for a good chunk of the year and I think it has a bulb-like way (as well as its tiny seeds) of staying-there. We also have bigger-than-garden-level problems (in the state) with stuff like Gorse, Broom, Blackberry (which seems especially invasive), Patterson's Curse, loads more! Heck even Nasturtium gets a pretty-good-go around here, though it's apparently not considered invasive yet [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropaeolum_majus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropaeolum_majus
- jmartrican 3y ago
  There is an plant app I use thar will identify plants. Just take a picture of it. It tells you what it thinks the plant is and some other similar options. You get to select the winner by "adding to your garden" button. it tracks the plants in your garden. One of the pieces of information the app gives you is what is the plant considered every where in the world. The types of categories I've seen on it are native, cultivated, exotic, invasive, and potentially invasive. The app is called Picture This. I do not want to endorse it, cause it is annoying to use sometimes. But I cannot lie that it has been extremely useful. I am very close to paying for it, since as a fellow programmer I understand the people making this need to make a living.
  - jondwillis 3y ago
    PSA: plant identification is built into the native iOS photo viewer. If it detects something the little circled “i” button will have magic sparkles added and you can see what it thinks is pictured.
SubiculumCode 3y ago
I find this topic remarkable but typically unremarked upon. When I see a bit of scraggly grass persisting out from a crack in the hot California road in July, I'm amazed at its tenacity.
jmartrican 3y ago
Some of these weeds help the soil. They grow in areas where other plants can't grow. But I understand that if you are trying to grow specific plants, for food or aesthetics, you will need to remove the plants that will kill them (vines or fast growing weeds that take the sun cover). I think dandelions help move calcium to the top soil, and loosen hard soil, is an example of a weed that helps. I am adding more areas to my yard where I put a small garden fence and let whatever grow (minus trees), which will be mostly weeds I presume. This will help the local bees and insects and birds. I think there is a movement to do more of this, but don't recall the name of it. After we destroy a piece of land, its gonna be weeds that will bring it back to life.
zdw 3y ago
Purslane is actually really tasty to eat in scrambled eggs or soup. It's a decent spinach replacement too. Leaves are tiny so it takes a bit of effort to harvest. If you know you have it, break a bunch off, wash it in a bowl to clean it, and also to harvest the tiny black seeds - dump the water+seeds out where you want more. It does literally grow like a weed, and it's pretty good for you, with a fair amount of ALA/EPA omega 3's for a plant and vitamin C.
- aetherson 3y ago
  As with any foraging, you should also make sure that you know that you're actually harvesting purslane and not something else. There are plants of a family called spurges that can be mistaken for purslane and are toxic. I don't have enough expertise to talk about how likely it is that you'll mistake spurge for purslane or how to identify.
  - joecool1029 3y ago
    They aren't that close in appearance. Spurges are woodier with flatter leaves and have an irritating white sap. This is not a plant likely to kill you if you ate a small amount of it, it's likely to cause burning/irritation in the mouth if you did make the mistake. Purslane you'll know it's correct if it tastes good, it's one of the best random green plants I've foraged. The only downside it seems to have is kind of high oxalate levels so it should be eaten sparingly or cooked especially if predisposed to kidney stones. Article describing differences between the two plants: https://lawnphix.com/lawn-care/spurge-vs-purslane-lawn-weeds/ https://lawnphix.com/lawn-care/spurge-vs-purslane-lawn-weeds... unlike mushrooms or potential poison hemlock lookalikes I don't want to discourage foraging this, just take it slow (try small amount of anything new before eating a lot of it) and you'll be fine.
- jeremiahbuckley 3y ago
  It appears that purslane is the same thing as vergoladas, sold in Mexican grocery stores (I am not an expert in this, I did a quick Google search and found a supporting article here: https://mexicanmademeatless.com/verdolagas-purslane-in-salsa-verde/#google_vignette https://mexicanmademeatless.com/verdolagas-purslane-in-salsa... ). I’ve been trying to figure out what vergoladas is to English speakers. Very good as a green-salsa addition anywhere you’re using avocado, adds a peppery spicy flavor. Spoils quickly. Thanks for writing this, it’s been bothering me for a year, and without your comment I wouldn’t have thought about the possibility of a connection.
malfist 3y ago
Maybe I'm wrong, but that "spurge" he identifies looks like knotweed to me. Edit: did some research, looks like he's right. Difference between the two is alternating leaves instead of side by side, and spurge has a milky sap. But otherwise appear the same
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
rubyfan 3y ago
I am surprised to find that I have all of these weeds in my yard in New England.
theNJR 3y ago
I’m surprised and happy to see Greg posted here on HN. He’s my go to resource for all things SoCal gardening. I always look forward to his weekly newsletter and even have his calendar which I use to keep track of when I fertilize and do other major tasks. If you’re in our usda zone he’s worth a follow.
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

55 points by serhack_ 3y ago

andrewstuart 3y ago

Is marijuana a common garden weed in Southern California?

Rebelgecko 3y ago
It's pretty common in marshy areas like along rivers or washes
- PopAlongKid 3y ago
  "ditch weed" is not the same thing as medical/recreational marijuana cultivation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_cannabis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_cannabis SoCal is not one of the places you would expect to find much of it, according to the article. "the plant has re-seeded naturally and grown wild in states such as Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota, with Indiana reporting the largest concentrations nationally"
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
dehrmann 3y ago
Nit: I'm not an expert here, but I think cannabis or hemp more accurately describes the the plant, and marijuana is somewhat more likely to describe it as a drug. There's obviously a lot of overlap, and hemp can also describe the fibers, but never the drug.

xnx 3y ago

What constitutes a weed is a personal judgement of the gardener. Many of these are likely native species.

wizerdrobe 3y ago
You’re not only not kidding there can be wild disparities in opinion. I have a type of bentgrass in my lawn (South Carolina, Transition Zone) lawn considered to be either a weedy grass or a desirable grass used on some golf courses. Of course, when I looked to buy seed for it this year to see about filling in some patches left by Po Annua I found it to cost several multiples of typical “proper” species (Bluegrass, Fescue) So you have the gamut of worthless to worth-weight-in-gold depending on who bought them the house.
VoodooJuJu 3y ago
[flagged]
- canjobear 3y ago
  > a weed is just what boomers call plants they don't like that also grow without additional labor, water, or fertilizer. That’s literally the definition of the word weed.
- jondwillis 3y ago
  If you’re growing a food garden, often you’ll get some competition from weeds and lower yields (given the same water, fertilizer) unless you pull the weeds up. Of course many weeds are beneficial for a variety of reasons, but it is dependent on context.
- slfnflctd 3y ago
  I agree with everything you said, except for your use of the fuzzy & needlessly derogatory blanket term 'boomer'. Every generation continues to do this because it's deeply embedded in our culture. The culture is the problem. Landscaping can be done in a way that is fairly neutral with regard to whatever plants show up, unless there is a serious mismatch between desired plants and invasive species (also fuzzy terms). Fighting nature - even unintentionally imported nature - is a never ending, futile war. Minimizing artificial intervention should always be a primary objective and in no way requires broad-brush painting a massive demographic as the enemy.
- 3y ago

danwills 3y ago

I love the idea that all the plants we think-of as totally-normal-weeds could be (indeed, are) quite different across the world! Would love to be able to get a global sense of where the ones that I know well are distributed right now, and what other people are seeing when they walk-around (and it's rained a bit) instead! Anyone know of a good resource for anything like that? Over in Adelaide, South Oz, an extremely common weed is 'Oxalis' (TIL: a type of 'Wood Sorrel'[1]) It's also called 'Sourgrass' or 'Sour-Sobs', colloquially around here. It seems to pop up nearly-anywhere-that-it-can and very quickly too once it's rained a bit at the start of winter. Also dies-off completely for a good chunk of the year and I think it has a bulb-like way (as well as its tiny seeds) of staying-there. We also have bigger-than-garden-level problems (in the state) with stuff like Gorse, Broom, Blackberry (which seems especially invasive), Patterson's Curse, loads more! Heck even Nasturtium gets a pretty-good-go around here, though it's apparently not considered invasive yet [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropaeolum_majus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropaeolum_majus

jmartrican 3y ago
There is an plant app I use thar will identify plants. Just take a picture of it. It tells you what it thinks the plant is and some other similar options. You get to select the winner by "adding to your garden" button. it tracks the plants in your garden. One of the pieces of information the app gives you is what is the plant considered every where in the world. The types of categories I've seen on it are native, cultivated, exotic, invasive, and potentially invasive. The app is called Picture This. I do not want to endorse it, cause it is annoying to use sometimes. But I cannot lie that it has been extremely useful. I am very close to paying for it, since as a fellow programmer I understand the people making this need to make a living.
- jondwillis 3y ago
  PSA: plant identification is built into the native iOS photo viewer. If it detects something the little circled “i” button will have magic sparkles added and you can see what it thinks is pictured.

SubiculumCode 3y ago

I find this topic remarkable but typically unremarked upon. When I see a bit of scraggly grass persisting out from a crack in the hot California road in July, I'm amazed at its tenacity.

jmartrican 3y ago

Some of these weeds help the soil. They grow in areas where other plants can't grow. But I understand that if you are trying to grow specific plants, for food or aesthetics, you will need to remove the plants that will kill them (vines or fast growing weeds that take the sun cover). I think dandelions help move calcium to the top soil, and loosen hard soil, is an example of a weed that helps. I am adding more areas to my yard where I put a small garden fence and let whatever grow (minus trees), which will be mostly weeds I presume. This will help the local bees and insects and birds. I think there is a movement to do more of this, but don't recall the name of it. After we destroy a piece of land, its gonna be weeds that will bring it back to life.

zdw 3y ago

Purslane is actually really tasty to eat in scrambled eggs or soup. It's a decent spinach replacement too. Leaves are tiny so it takes a bit of effort to harvest. If you know you have it, break a bunch off, wash it in a bowl to clean it, and also to harvest the tiny black seeds - dump the water+seeds out where you want more. It does literally grow like a weed, and it's pretty good for you, with a fair amount of ALA/EPA omega 3's for a plant and vitamin C.

aetherson 3y ago
As with any foraging, you should also make sure that you know that you're actually harvesting purslane and not something else. There are plants of a family called spurges that can be mistaken for purslane and are toxic. I don't have enough expertise to talk about how likely it is that you'll mistake spurge for purslane or how to identify.
- joecool1029 3y ago
  They aren't that close in appearance. Spurges are woodier with flatter leaves and have an irritating white sap. This is not a plant likely to kill you if you ate a small amount of it, it's likely to cause burning/irritation in the mouth if you did make the mistake. Purslane you'll know it's correct if it tastes good, it's one of the best random green plants I've foraged. The only downside it seems to have is kind of high oxalate levels so it should be eaten sparingly or cooked especially if predisposed to kidney stones. Article describing differences between the two plants: https://lawnphix.com/lawn-care/spurge-vs-purslane-lawn-weeds/ https://lawnphix.com/lawn-care/spurge-vs-purslane-lawn-weeds... unlike mushrooms or potential poison hemlock lookalikes I don't want to discourage foraging this, just take it slow (try small amount of anything new before eating a lot of it) and you'll be fine.
jeremiahbuckley 3y ago
It appears that purslane is the same thing as vergoladas, sold in Mexican grocery stores (I am not an expert in this, I did a quick Google search and found a supporting article here: https://mexicanmademeatless.com/verdolagas-purslane-in-salsa-verde/#google_vignette https://mexicanmademeatless.com/verdolagas-purslane-in-salsa... ). I’ve been trying to figure out what vergoladas is to English speakers. Very good as a green-salsa addition anywhere you’re using avocado, adds a peppery spicy flavor. Spoils quickly. Thanks for writing this, it’s been bothering me for a year, and without your comment I wouldn’t have thought about the possibility of a connection.

malfist 3y ago

Maybe I'm wrong, but that "spurge" he identifies looks like knotweed to me. Edit: did some research, looks like he's right. Difference between the two is alternating leaves instead of side by side, and spurge has a milky sap. But otherwise appear the same

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

rubyfan 3y ago

I am surprised to find that I have all of these weeds in my yard in New England.

theNJR 3y ago

I’m surprised and happy to see Greg posted here on HN. He’s my go to resource for all things SoCal gardening. I always look forward to his weekly newsletter and even have his calendar which I use to keep track of when I fertilize and do other major tasks. If you’re in our usda zone he’s worth a follow.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]