Random plant growing in my garden...

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

it appears that there is not a lot of uses for it since it contains tannins and oxalic acid that can make you sick if you don't boil and keep changing out the water to prep it right. i've seen a couple sites that mention that you can use the raw leaves in salads but not to use a lot. seems it can't be used for food for animals, and giving it to chickens is out of question so i'll have to pull it so they don't try and eat it, or find somewhere else to let it grow where they won't get to it. you can use it for tanning leather and dying wool either yellow or browns. there are some old folk remedies i saw that says it is good for sore throats and treating colds but i always like to use caution when mentioning anything herbal since this plant can cause issues with the bowels if not properly prepared or if too much is taken.

 

[Hanalei]

Gotcha... guess I'll pull it then. Thanks, guys!

 

[so lucky]

My mom used to collect wild greens every spring, late, to prepare like spinach or turnip greens. One of the plants she used was dock. She also called it "nardock" but I think that was a shortened version of "narrow dock" Not sure. And she also used poke weed. It was necessary to boil and discard the water, at least once.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

We have those all over the place here in Central Ohio. They get big fast and are really hard to pull up if they get that big. Most of the time I end up pulling the tops off and the long taproot stays in the ground.

 

[Smart Red]

. . . . .Most of the time I end up pulling the tops off and the long taproot stays in the ground.

Then each leaf seems to multiply under ground so the next set of leaves number in the dozens and the third pulling has leaves numbering in the hundreds scrambling for space. Those things are insidious! The best plan is to get them early when you can get the whole small root.

 

[dandelionchick]

Is that curly dock? I always wondered what that was. I have a bunch of them. The little ones like that one in the picture are easy to get rid of but I have one really big one that has been there for several years and just grows bigger around every year. The goats like it, I leave it there.

 

[Mapdoctor]

And dig the root out if possible. I've pulled them out of my beds in the greenhouse thinking I had gotten the whole thing only to have it grow back.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

They always come back when I try to get to them. Usually by the time I notice them they're extra-large and sticking out of some other plant.