Weeds: An untapped resource.

[Ace]

Today I decided this year I would not take my mower or weed eater to the yard. I busted out the machete and started cutting weeds for my animals. This has helped stretch out the food budget. And it's funny that I spent a good deal of the day chopping weeds down and I go to pick up a new issue of Backyard Poultry and there is a section on finding natural feeds and medicines in your yard through weeds.

I chopped at least 5 wheelbarrow loads of weeds and most of it went to the goats. They loved it! I always cut them weeds here and there but this time around I have cut an entire day's worth of feed in weeds for them. I cut tree limbs as well. Pretty much anything that is safe for them to eat and they like to eat. The birds and rabbits got to have "summer salad" today as well.

So really I see weeds as a natural resource that goes wasted. It's free feed, plentiful, and the animals enjoy it. I would get a guide though for certain plants to avoid feeding animals though. I would just cut Johnson Grass and toss it away. I found this out at BYC that J. Grass produces cyanide when damaged, wilted. It can be safe if cut where it has not been previously disturbed but I rather avoid it altogether.

 

[Beekissed]

I put them in my compost bin. Good fiber for creating air pockets.

I have been utilizing my lawn in a different way this year, also. To save on gas and to harvest it as green manure, I wait until the grass gets longer and put the clippings on the garden for mulch. We normally trim around the edges to keep it from looking unkempt. I have found that this also lets the white clover grow as well....good for my bee friends!

Good idea, Ace! Wish you lived next door so I could have fed all my thistles to your goats...

 

[Ace]

Ooooh my birds would love that thistle as well! I also have a lot of wild sunflowers they are enjoying. I've been letting the weeds grow a few inches and then chop them when they are still tender and the animals love them. I would love to keep bees but it is just not safe for me as I don't have the room to do it.

 

[FarmerChick]

Our pastures are very big...cattle, goats etc. have tons of green.

when the DOT mows along my fencelines on the highway, I go out and gather all the downed green, throw it to the goats. Almost unnecessary cause their pastures are loaded, but I hate to see downed green go to waste..LOL

I don't pull weeds etc. to feed the animals.
My yard is mowed low and trimmed all the time. Since time is a monster premium, and my actual living front and back yard is small, I keep it trimmed to perfection.

I use all corn stalks after harvest to feed cattle, goats, etc. Chickens get leftover harvest greens etc. thrown into their range pen. Hogs get nothing. Hogs are grain fed only cause anything will change the flavor of the meat so they are kept strictly on feed.

Weed chaos is everywhere else literally..LOL

I do use as much as I can as I am working. Nothing goes to waste that is available at the time but if I had smaller herds and numbers of animals then yes, I would be utilizing weeds and yard grass etc. as feed.

 

[robbobbin]

Weed Tea. I think I'm gonna try making weed tea for my plants. Weeds are thrown into a 55gal container with water and as they break down they release their stored nutients into the water and you feed back to your plants.
Now I just got to get them out of my garden and into the barrel.

 

[Nuggetsowner:)]

My animals get weeds alot!! They really are a wasted resource - unless you compost them!

 

[Ace]

I've heard of weed tea and have been curious to try it out. I probably should compost weeds but if I do it would be the johnson grass then and this purple flower we get growing all over. I have no idea what it is just it grows fast and the animals refuse to eat it.

I also have huge strange looking weeds in my yard that I have seen on a cooking show people eat in Mexico. They boil them down like spinach and put it in tacos. I'm usually up for trying all kinds of things but this is one case where I'm leaving the eating up to my goats.

I have tons of swiss chard left in the garden that keeps growing and no one wants to eat any of it besides myself so the rabbits and chickens are getting "garden waste" as well.

 

[me&thegals]

This spring we had a great supper addition with a big pot of steamed lamb's quarters. I'm trying to verify that I have purslane growing everywhere, which is also another great weed to eat. Here in WI, Jerusalem artichokes are another awful weed that we can eat (the tubers). Death to the enemy by eating it! We also mulch the garden with the weeds we pull out.

 

[enjoy the ride]

I always think it's funny whan someone complains about dandelions- this is the prefect plant. The leaves are editable to all animal even people - the flowers are pretty and the animals eat them too. And a really drought tolerant plant. How could anything be better?

 

[Ace]

I've been hearing about lamb's quarters and curious to try it out.

Dandelionsare hard to find around here lately. Everyone poisons the heck out of them. I would really liked to try and make wine from the flowers which I've heard is really good.