In this chapter, McCully discusses the grasslands and fields that used to make up parts of New York. She mentions Mitchel Field on the Hempstead Plains of Long Island which was utilized during wartime as an Air Force Base. She also talked about how the Plains are full of plants on the endangered, threatened, and vulnerable species list. Yet, like with the base, a lot of the Plains were used for our own human activities. Who knows what happened to those plants? Or if the reason they’re like that now is because of us?
Not to mention all the invasive species that have found their way to our country or the ones that were deliberately planted to get a certain environment. Settlers planted Kentucky bluegrass and clover because they knew that they’d be good forage crops. These crops then spread like crazy throughout our country. It was to the point where later settlers thought those crops were native to the US.
There was one great quote I liked. “A weed is a plant whose virtues we have forgotten.” I think this is insanely accurate. McCully mentions how they used to be valued as food, as medicinal herbs; sassafras used to be known as some miracle cure-all. Samuel Mitchell was surgeon-general of NY and he utilized some of these. This is so different from our stance on weeds today. When you Google it, the first things that come up are products or companies you can use to get rid of “pesky” weeds. But that’s just a matter of opinion. Sure, if you’re a farmer or a gardener I understand how you could be irked by weeds choking out your crops or vegetables. Still, there’s always a good side to the bad.
I found a couple sites that talk about weeds you can actually eat and I thought that was so interesting. Like we can eat dandelions! Which is cool! European settlers used to put them in salads. They have more beta-carotene than carrots. Purslane leaves can be put into sandwiches for vitamin A & C. Boiled bamboo can be used in salads and stir fries. I feel like these are all great things to know so that none of these weeds go to waste. Yet these are the things not taught in classes.
http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/8-weeds-you-can-eat
http://www.livescience.com/15322-healthiest-backyard-weeds.html
