Chenopodium - Fat-Hen, Good-King-Henry, Goosefoot, Lamb's Quarters, Mercury, Quinoa, Wild Spinach

(Chenopo'dium)

DESCRIPTION: These hardy annuals or perennials may be grown for decoration and some kinds are vegetables. They come from various parts of the world such as Europe and China and are naturalized in America.

Ornamental - C. purpurascens (Atriplicis) is an annual that can grow up to 3 feet high. Its stems take on a reddish hue and the handsome leaves are covered with a mauve-colored powder. C. capitatum is a hardy annual that can grow up to 18 inches high. It produces small flowers, which are followed by brightly colored, swollen calyces resembling little Strawberries.

Vegetables - C. bonus-henricus has many common names including Good-King-Henry, Mercury, Wild Spinach, Fat-hen and Goosefoot. It is a very vigorous growing and spreading plant that may reach 3 feet high. Many stems grow from its deep root system and are covered with arrow-shaped leaves that somewhat resemble spinach. The succulent young leaves along with the branch tips are often cooked with other potherbs. C. album, Lamb's Quarters, is a tall, vigorous annual. Many gardeners pull it out of their gardens even though it is edible. It can add flavoring to other summer greens. These plants produce smooth, light green terminal leaves. C. quinoa is a tall, upright, annual with rigid stems and short seed heads. The seeds may be eaten when in the green stage, or dried and cooked as a cereal. Like the other vegetables described above, its foliage can also be eaten. Quinoa is a staple grain at high elevations in the Andes and has been endorsed as a possible new food crop for the northern hemisphere. It can be grown successfully in the South and Southwest, where nights are long enough in the fall for it to produce seeds, but is a marginal crop anywhere else in the U.S.

POTTING:

Ornamental - They should be planted in fertile garden soil.

Vegetables - Good-King-Henry will flourish in rich, fairly moist soil. They should be fed 3 times a year with a fertilizer high in nitrogen. This vegetable is harvested by pruning or pinching off the tips of branches for the cookpot. Well-fed plants will rebranch with each trimming, but don’t let seeds develop or the plants may become a weedy nuisance. Lamb's Quarters should be grown in a position with full sun and in fertile soil. They should be watered often and fed with manure tea or water-soluble fertilizer. Cut off the small bunches of beadlike flowers that grow on the ends of the stems to keep seeds from developing. Cut or pinch off the terminal growth from the branch tips, tender stems and leaves. The immature seeds and flower buds are also edible. Quinoa should be planted in mid-summer in warm soil in rows that are 3 feet apart. They should be thinned to a foot apart while they are still young. The young leaves, stem tips and fruiting buds may be used for cooking and salads. When the seeds heads are about half dry, cut them off and leave several inches of stem. Hang them in bunches over a catch-cloth to dry. When they are dry, pull off the heads and rub to release the seeds. Quinoa seeds have a nutty, squash-like taste when cooked like rice.

PROPAGATION:

Ornamental - Seeds of C. purpurascens (Atriplicis) may be sown in containers of sandy soil in a greenhouse or frame. The baby plants may be transplanted to the garden about the time Tomatoes are planted out. Seeds of C. capitatum are sown where they are to grow.

Vegetables - Seeds of Good-King-Henry are sown outside after danger from frost has passed. They are pressed into furrows with the edge of a board. Two or three are planted every 6 to 12 inches. When they are large enough to eat, thin by pulling up the whole plants. The rest should be spaced 1½ to 2 feet apart. Lamb's Quarters are propagated by seeds. Only a few are planted and these are started indoors in peat pots and transplanted to gardens when the weather is settled. The seedlings should be set 1½ to 2 feet apart. Seeds of Quinoa aren't so easy to find; seed exchanges are a possible source. It doesn't help to sow your seeds early; wait until mid-summer.

VARIETIES:

Ornamental - C. purpurascens (Atriplicis); C. capitatum.

Vegetables - C. bonus-henricus (Good-King-Henry, Goosefoot, etc. . .); C. album (Lamb's Quarters); C. quinoa (Quinoa).

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