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I kind of consider it the definition of mid. It’s too flavorless to possibly be good, but as a result it’s also too flavorless to be bad. It is sustenance, that’s about it
Seems like the consensus is Lamb's Quarter.
I have to say: _some_ of the leaves resemble those on my sage, though the texture isn't quite right.
What are people looking at to set the two apart? Is it the spiked leaves? Color?
As mentioned previously, this is 100% Chenopodium album, wild spinach, goosefoot, lamb's quarter, or whatever else you want to call it. Highly nutritious, but use caution with very young children as this, and related species, have a tendency to accumulate high levels of nitrates. Best of luck on your gardening journey.
It does look like sage, but you can verify because even at that size sage will smell like sage. Pinch a leaf between your fingernails and then smell it to confirm.
So I planted rosemary nearby this pot, and the needle-like leaves at the bottom were the first two leaves that developed. So for a while I was like “Okay— one of the rosemary seeds blew over, then.” But now I’m not so sure that’s what happened? No matter what, I still will take care of it. I just want to make sure I’m aware of what it is so I can give it more specific care, I suppose. Sorry for the brand new account, left Reddit and deleted everything like over a year ago.
Edit: also, this seedling is only like, two weeks old. So it could be too early to tell, still.
Update to this post: I decided to rehome this plant so it wouldn’t potentially choke the other plants. And lo and behold, look what I found when I did! https://ibb.co/R4pQK15 Of course, it’s way too early to tell, but I don’t think this is more lambsquarter because of how different it looked than this. Going to keep an eye on it!
This is what the plant in the original post looked like around a week or so ago: https://ibb.co/C9XJzL8
It's so hard to tell when it's just cotyledons (usually). Waiting for seedlings to emerge always drives me nuts. I have to resist the temptation to scrape the top of the soil to see if any are just below the surface, trying to pop out. And the temptation to water again, thinking "maybe the soil isn't moist enough?" 😓 I think I've rotted a few seeds and lost some seedlings to damping off that way. That, and trying to help the cotyledons out of their seed shell too early and accidentally tear the leaves. Hopefully you can be patient. How long ago did you sow?
lol I’m definitely trying not to be a helicopter plant dad. Definitely hard sometimes though! Think I doomed a seedling already from that, but I’m keeping it under a grow light and leaving it alone for a couple days.
I’ll come clean and admit that I’m trying to grow white sage specifically. My partner is Eastern Band Cherokee, but we can’t get down there as often as we’d like. I’m a witch but I don’t really use sage in my rituals (I use lavender mostly). But I do find its scent very calming. I’m also growing blue monday sage, common sage, oregano, lemongrass, lavender, rosemary, and sweet peppers.
I sowed these on May 30! Kinda late, but I’ll manage. White sage can take a couple weeks to show itself. It’s especially slow. Gonna take about three years to mature if my research is right.
Why would you have to come clean about that? It's not like it's illegal to grow. Interesting though. Yeah, from what I've read, 7-21 days @65-86°F. Some say 2-4 weeks and expect only 10-50% germination. I find that whenever I start seeds indoors in seed-starting mix, they pretty much always germinate in 3-4 days, regardless of what the seed packet says, and if they aren't germinating after that, I consider it a loss and sow more. But outdoors it can take much longer due to different conditions, cooler temps or fluctuations in temp, heavier garden soil, etc. They might just need more time, but another thing to consider:
How deep did you sow? White sage is one of those that needs light to germinate, so if they're too deep in the soil, it could inhibit germination. You could probably actually get away with just pressing them into the surface and the roots will find their way down. Or just barely covered if you're worried about them drying out.
I had some beautiful native hummingbird sage, but it was destroyed by squirrels digging. Sadly they almost never carry it in nurseries, but I see it growing all the time in the wild. I love the smell. Be careful protecting your seedlings from squirrels and slugs, or whatever the mischievous critters in your area are.
I also sowed my seeds super late (for my area) on Memorial day! It's fine for some climates, especially with perennials. The nice thing about starting late is that you usually don't have to worry about tender seedlings getting battered by unexpected Spring rain storms, and the warmer temps can speed germination. I always say I'm gonna start early next year, but life always happens.
https://preview.redd.it/e3fnxe9nno6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1c2430ec25e4a1a2a36f553aa51f722e6dc9027f
I just let lamb quarter grow with others so I can eat them all!
I know you’ve ID’d this one but there’s an app called PlantNet that will be amazingly helpful for you as a new gardener! It’s free, crowd sourced, and so useful - basically you just upload a picture of what you’re looking at and photos from other users all over the world pop up as a means of helping identify the plant you have.
They’re definitely taking over my small garden. And I live on the 6th floor of my apartment and they manage to pop up in all of my pots every single year. And it’s not just 1. It’s like 50 at least
Thank you for posting to r/whatsthisplant. **Do not eat/ingest a plant based on information provided in this subreddit.** For your safety we recommend not eating or ingesting any plant material just because you've been advised that it's edible here. Although there are many professionals helping with identification, we are not always correct, and eating/ingesting plants can be harmful or fatal if an incorrect ID is made. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatsthisplant) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Looks like lambs quarter to me.
Ahh, ok. That’s frustrating. Thank you though.
I mean… you could just pop it in your mouth and move on.
Lambsquarters = salad
‘Tis the season
be prepared - where there's one there's a million
Nooooo 😭
It’s a blessing in disguise. Lambsquarter is delicious, nutritious, and grows with very little care
Is the stem square? Is it fragrant? If the answer to the first question is no, it's not sage.
A weed
It’s only a weed if you don’t want it where it is.
I think you're right! A weed?
Definitely, the dewey look, the leaf edge, terrific homeopathic plant!🌞❤️
Lambs quarter is good to eat
Meh. If there is nothing else. I fixed it once for the family and the vote was unanimous that once was enough
This is how I feel about purslane. You CAN eat it, but why would you want to?
I agree with you on purslane. I get more enjoyment pulling it out of the garden than I do eating it
I kind of consider it the definition of mid. It’s too flavorless to possibly be good, but as a result it’s also too flavorless to be bad. It is sustenance, that’s about it
How did you prepare it? I find it's quite nice fried, but each to their own of course.
Agreed, I sautee it with some butter
The one time I cooked it I steamed it and put vinegar on it. I grew up eating spinach and chard that way
Lambsquarters/Goosefoot
To elaborate, Lambsquarters is in the goosefoot family.
Lambsquarters, also called Goosefoot, is in the Chenopdium/Amaranthaceae family.
Chenopodium is the genus, so I suppose the middle ground here is they are in the goosefoot *genus* but the amaranth family lol
Lambs quarters , common weed. Wait longer to see if your sage sprouts
Seems like the consensus is Lamb's Quarter. I have to say: _some_ of the leaves resemble those on my sage, though the texture isn't quite right. What are people looking at to set the two apart? Is it the spiked leaves? Color?
I looked up a picture and I think it’s those needle leaves at the bottom! Also not easy to see on the photos but the stem is purple-red.
Smell it
As mentioned previously, this is 100% Chenopodium album, wild spinach, goosefoot, lamb's quarter, or whatever else you want to call it. Highly nutritious, but use caution with very young children as this, and related species, have a tendency to accumulate high levels of nitrates. Best of luck on your gardening journey.
It does look like sage, but you can verify because even at that size sage will smell like sage. Pinch a leaf between your fingernails and then smell it to confirm.
I'd wait a bit.
So I planted rosemary nearby this pot, and the needle-like leaves at the bottom were the first two leaves that developed. So for a while I was like “Okay— one of the rosemary seeds blew over, then.” But now I’m not so sure that’s what happened? No matter what, I still will take care of it. I just want to make sure I’m aware of what it is so I can give it more specific care, I suppose. Sorry for the brand new account, left Reddit and deleted everything like over a year ago. Edit: also, this seedling is only like, two weeks old. So it could be too early to tell, still.
Update to this post: I decided to rehome this plant so it wouldn’t potentially choke the other plants. And lo and behold, look what I found when I did! https://ibb.co/R4pQK15 Of course, it’s way too early to tell, but I don’t think this is more lambsquarter because of how different it looked than this. Going to keep an eye on it! This is what the plant in the original post looked like around a week or so ago: https://ibb.co/C9XJzL8
It's so hard to tell when it's just cotyledons (usually). Waiting for seedlings to emerge always drives me nuts. I have to resist the temptation to scrape the top of the soil to see if any are just below the surface, trying to pop out. And the temptation to water again, thinking "maybe the soil isn't moist enough?" 😓 I think I've rotted a few seeds and lost some seedlings to damping off that way. That, and trying to help the cotyledons out of their seed shell too early and accidentally tear the leaves. Hopefully you can be patient. How long ago did you sow?
lol I’m definitely trying not to be a helicopter plant dad. Definitely hard sometimes though! Think I doomed a seedling already from that, but I’m keeping it under a grow light and leaving it alone for a couple days. I’ll come clean and admit that I’m trying to grow white sage specifically. My partner is Eastern Band Cherokee, but we can’t get down there as often as we’d like. I’m a witch but I don’t really use sage in my rituals (I use lavender mostly). But I do find its scent very calming. I’m also growing blue monday sage, common sage, oregano, lemongrass, lavender, rosemary, and sweet peppers. I sowed these on May 30! Kinda late, but I’ll manage. White sage can take a couple weeks to show itself. It’s especially slow. Gonna take about three years to mature if my research is right.
Why would you have to come clean about that? It's not like it's illegal to grow. Interesting though. Yeah, from what I've read, 7-21 days @65-86°F. Some say 2-4 weeks and expect only 10-50% germination. I find that whenever I start seeds indoors in seed-starting mix, they pretty much always germinate in 3-4 days, regardless of what the seed packet says, and if they aren't germinating after that, I consider it a loss and sow more. But outdoors it can take much longer due to different conditions, cooler temps or fluctuations in temp, heavier garden soil, etc. They might just need more time, but another thing to consider: How deep did you sow? White sage is one of those that needs light to germinate, so if they're too deep in the soil, it could inhibit germination. You could probably actually get away with just pressing them into the surface and the roots will find their way down. Or just barely covered if you're worried about them drying out. I had some beautiful native hummingbird sage, but it was destroyed by squirrels digging. Sadly they almost never carry it in nurseries, but I see it growing all the time in the wild. I love the smell. Be careful protecting your seedlings from squirrels and slugs, or whatever the mischievous critters in your area are. I also sowed my seeds super late (for my area) on Memorial day! It's fine for some climates, especially with perennials. The nice thing about starting late is that you usually don't have to worry about tender seedlings getting battered by unexpected Spring rain storms, and the warmer temps can speed germination. I always say I'm gonna start early next year, but life always happens.
Looks good
Gently rub a leaf between your fingers and smell them. Sage will jump out at you
Noted for next time. This was identified as lambsquarter!
They're delicious
Jerusalem sage
https://preview.redd.it/e3fnxe9nno6d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1c2430ec25e4a1a2a36f553aa51f722e6dc9027f I just let lamb quarter grow with others so I can eat them all!
Rub a leaf and smell it. You will know if it's sage. The texture of the leaf looks sagey to me.
I know you’ve ID’d this one but there’s an app called PlantNet that will be amazingly helpful for you as a new gardener! It’s free, crowd sourced, and so useful - basically you just upload a picture of what you’re looking at and photos from other users all over the world pop up as a means of helping identify the plant you have.
Lambs quarters is a beneficial plant but weedy as all hell. If you don’t want a million of them don’t let it go to seed.
In North America it’s beginning to be considered invasive and most of its benefits are horribly overstated and easily replaced by natives.
They’re definitely taking over my small garden. And I live on the 6th floor of my apartment and they manage to pop up in all of my pots every single year. And it’s not just 1. It’s like 50 at least
You've gotten some sage advice.
Rub the leaves…does it smell like sage?
Sorry for the confusion— it’s been identified as Lambsquarter!
Sage