Henbit...and a bit of knowledge.

  While out tending the vegetable garden, I came across a small plant in the spinach row.  My first instinct was to pull the "weed" from the row and keep the spinach neat and clean.  As my hand closed around the plant, I had second thoughts.  Even though it is deemed as a "weed", I felt that I should leave it grow.  There was nothing "special" about the plant but, when I started remembering what Granddaddy taught me, the "specialness" was there.  He had taught me many things of survival and the plant was one of the best lessons.

  The small plant is called Henbit simply because chickens seem to love eating it.  That, in itself, should tell you something.  (Chickens are not stupid, even though, we take advantage of them everyday.  Keep in mind, it is easy to control and keep captive a gentle animal.)  Anyway, back to Henbit.  This mundane, overlooked, often maligned little plant could actually save a life.  The plant is edible and highly nutritious.  Why in the world do we label it as a weed and discard it while keeping the spinach?  Granted spinach is nutritional so, perhaps, a better comparison would be lettuce.  Why is lettuce such a large part of our diet?  Lettuce does nothing to support our nutritional needs.  Henbit, however, is high in iron, vitamin C, fiber and contains a fair amount of vitamin K.  Henbit shall stay in my garden!  In fact, I am beginning to ponder how I can incorporate it into more meals.

  Now comes the true fact about Henbit and other overlooked edible plants.  With all of the people up in arms about the fix this fine nation is in, would it not be a grand idea for more of us to delve into learning what will help us survive?  Sitting in an ivory tower and spreading fear with false information, hate with condemnation and widespread angst with conspiracy theories does not help one iota.  If our economy is truly about to crash, those who depend on what is stocked on the shelves or served in fast food places will be in for a rude awakening.   Having all the money in the world will not help you, if there is nothing available.  We shall only survive as a "people" by learning and helping each other.   History does, indeed, repeat itself.  Those who lived through the Great Depression are no longer here to help if we need them.  It will entirely be up to us to use our own abilities to survive and rebuild.  

  Not that the lowly Henbit plant will be our saving grace but, rather, knowledge of survival on a whole will.  (Henbit and its redeeming values just stirred the pot of thoughts in my brain.)  Survival meaning...knowing how to grow and preserve food, how to sew or mend clothes, how to entertain ourselves without electronics, how to mentally stay alert and healthy, how to help others, how to help ourselves, how to not be dependent on others for the comforts of life.  If the economy is going to come crashing down as our naysayers are touting, then whining and complaining is all going to be for naught.  Do something productive.  Hiding behind a computer screen is not an effective method of fixing things.  Ingenuity, resourcefulness, perseverance, kindness and KNOWLEDGE...those will pull us through the tough times...always have...always will.  (Thanks, Granddaddy, for teaching me.  As an old lady, myself, I still draw upon the lessons taught so many years ago.)

Not Just Another Pretty Face

  Years and years ago, Pop tried to teach us all to be survivors.  "To survive, you have to know things.  You may not necessarily need to be book smart but you do need to know things."  For a while, that made no sense whatsoever to my feeble brain but, at his insistence, I kept listening and learning.  I am glad I did and I am still learning.  Now, his words not only make sense but seem brilliant.  Not every life skill can be gleaned from the pages of a book. Some need to be hands-on knowledge.  There is a lot to be said about those hand-me-down teachings from long ago.  I find it a bit humorous  and a lot ironic that "science" is suddenly saying "Your grandparents were right!" about so many things.  Tidbits of information that we could have possessed merely by listening...really listening...are now suddenly all the rage. Books are published daily with "Grandma's remedies", "essential oils" are a huge fad after being used for centuries and "survival" classes have no vacancies.  Why? All because we were too all fired ready to pass on the teachings of ones like Pop to "move forward with progress".  Yep, now that progress is telling us we should have listened.  We should have learned.  Didn't?  Oh, no problem!  Pay us big money so you can learn what used to be common knowledge.  It seems like a lot of folks got a little too big for their britches, so to speak.  So, for whatever it is worth, I try to pass along information occasionally.  To bad others do not pay heed.  A lot of good stuff is going the wayside.

Henbit starting to bud.

  These thoughts plowed through the old brain today as I was snipping a bundle of Brussels Sprout leaves for lunch. No, my great tip of the day is not that you can eat the leaves as well as the sprouts but rather about another plant most folks deem as a weed.  Henbit, Henbit Dead Nettle, Dratted Weed or whatever you wish to call it, the plant is edible as well as quite pretty as a wildflower.   Pop always called it "Henbit" so that is the name that stuck in my head all of these years.  "Learn what plants are edible and you will never go hungry."  Good advice, Pop!  If ever need be, I know that I can gather henbit along with about a thousand other plants and survive.  I will have food, albeit food that some folks think of as unconventional food.  Henbit is a great plant to have about the place.  It is ready to grow in any given soil and climate.  To go along with its attractive appearance, it has sort of a peppery flavor making it a great addition to salads.(Henbit is in the mint family but to me, it has more of a grassy/mustard green flavor)  It can also be cooked as any other greens or added to stir fries.  Both the leaves and the flowers are edible!  Think of how pretty this would be in a salad at your next dinner party!  One word of caution though, in herbal remedies, henbit is used as a laxative.  You might want to hold off overeating it!

  Now another good point about this so-called weed.  Honeybees love it and that, my friends, is a great thing for us.  With the decline in the honeybee population, having a clean bunch of flowers makes for happy bees.  Since I prefer that no harmful chemicals touch my gardens, the henbit plants (and all other plants) produce pure, clean pollen and nectar.  Another important lesson from Pop which is just now making news..."Take care of the bees.  Without them, there won't be much left.  Bees take care of the plants and so take care of us. No bees, no us."  Pop was a smart man and it did not take a lot of book learning for him to get that way.