Bill Skinner
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Duckweed. The world's smallest blooming lilypad. The plants are about 1mm across. Right now, one of my ponds has a layer about 1/2 inch (12mm) thick, it can be thicker when the wind blows and piles them up.
Normally, my pond doesn't have much but my neighbor fertilizer his hay field this spring and we have gotten around 30 inches (3/4 m) of rain so far this year. Just rake it up, pick the leaves and bugs out and boil. It can be eaten by itself or added to soups or stews to thicken them up. It tastes very similar to spinach and they go really good with crayfish.
There is a caveate, they grow best in water that is very high in nitrates and phosphates, such as run off from cow pastures or fertilized fields. So really boil the water when you cook them. Bring the water to a rolling boil for at least five minutes. And if you plan to add them to a stew boil them separately first before adding to the soup or stew. And if possible, wash them in clean water before cooking.
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