Now, truly, I don’t “farm” purslane ( known to some as watercress, cat’s tongue, portulaca, pig weed) as purslane grows wild. It, rather, “grows” on me–quite literally. Every time I try to grow lettuce or peas, the darn stuff takes over, crowding out my seeds, and placing even more nitrogen in my soil.
Yes, I’ve tried alternative methods such as growing buckwheat, which is very high in calcium to balance out the nitrogen. But nothing seems to work, and I have to pull it out when it gets large enough; hoping it won’t spread. So far, that hasn’t happened and I still have a bunch of it. So I’ve devised a new method. Announcing. . . . .
The Purslane Cultivation Device.
A 5 gallon paint bucket, and a tray that you get when you buy a group of small bedding plants. And an extra bucket. If you have chickens, they will eat the stuff. But my local favorite restaurant wants it for their salads. If it wasn’t so darn good for you, I wouldn’t be interested in it much further; even to write about. But purslane is high in Omega 3’s and is great for vegans. And it’s packed with magnesium too.
Steps:
- Find a purslane bed.
- Chances are, you already know where there are several of these.
- Take your Purslane Cultivation Device with you, as well as your extra bucket
- Lay the tray across the top of one bucket.
- Pull out the purslane from your beds and place the purslane in the tray.
- Gently shake the tray to remove the soil; it should fall into the bucket. Be careful not to shake too hard as the holes on the side of the tray might be great “escape routes”
- The extra bucket is to toss the purslane into.
Why not just pull the purslane and not worry sifting it from the soil? Well, I don’t know about you, but I’ve worked hard on my veggie beds getting the soil (as in Goldilocks terminology), “Just right” and I’m not about to toss it out!
Aunt Mayme's Attic 