the beans are done...the milkweed isn't

the season for the beans in the field next to the supermarket is all but done...the canopy of green leaves has shriveled up...disappeared...

and from any angle you care to take there are a lot of them...which could be an issue since the price per metric ton has dropped another $2.92 since i last blogged about this two weeks ago...i can hear the plaintiff wail of an eroding rural base...and with good cause...

there is still quite a bit of green sticking up above the finished beans...what some may call "weeds"...who knows what beneficial insects they may attract however...it's always more complex than good plant-bad plant...

there is a fair amount of volunteer dense yellow #2 both sticking above the beans and dying back with them...it does not seem to have had the best of seasons in yield terms...the best that can be said is it tried...

and the titular milkweed is not done...the pods are still green...or, at least, they have not dried out...i am keeping an eye on these..planning to harvest some seed and plant it around the yard as a way station for monarchs..had their caterpillars in the butterfly weed this past season...hoping to find more next.

lamb's quarters

research from california: http://www.agroecology.org/Case%20Studies/weedborers.html suggests that planting "weeds" around the borders of cauliflower fields reduces the number of cabbage loopers and flea beetles that can infest the plants...the particular "weed" they are speaking of is lamb's quarters...i have taken umbrage with lamb's quarters being classified as weeds before...they are 1)edible and, 2) native to lake county indiana: http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Indiana&statefips=18&symbol=CHBE4 (pitseed goosefoot is seemingly a more recognized name for lamb's quarters...but who calls it that? )..weed or food plant, it is growing in the teosinte in the perennial garden and in the asparagus...and alongside my house ( and anywhere else i have grown jerusalem artichokes...i wonder what it attracts that spreads the lamb's quarter's seeds? )...but not in the community garden...i am going to plant cauliflower there this week and i may introduce a "weed" purposely as it may help deter parasitic insects by providing a habitat for beneficial insects that prey on them...a non-chemical solution to the presence of damaging pests...i will be devoting some time this coming winter to researching what kinds of plants attract what sorts of insects and , possibly, birds ( insectivores anyway )...i will be looking to rethink what i classify as a "weed"...there may be room for a lot more in the garden than i am now aware of.