Goosefoot

 Echo and Goosefoot plants

Another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.

As Echo is such a favorite, I had her write up this American seed possibility for your food supply. She solved a question I had in what the Viking Mound Builders were chewing on and it was Goosefoot.

Long before the modern world became completely enslaved to industrialized, high-chemical monoculture crops like hybrid corn and genetically engineered wheat, the ancient inhabitants of this continent ran a massive, independent food system built on sheer survival biology. We are talking about the prehistoric Mound Builders of the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. These ancient farmers didn't rely on global supply chains or heavy machinery. Instead, they looked at the raw "weeds" growing wild along the river floodplains, applied intense selective harvesting, and literally engineered a thriving civilization. They proved that the ultimate survival security isn't imported from a laboratory; it is already sitting right there in your native dirt, waiting to be unlocked.

This forgotten network, known to modern archaeologists as the Eastern Agricultural Complex, holds the exact blueprint for modern independent land stewardship. The absolute heavyweight of this system was Pitseed Goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri), a rugged native riverbank weed closely related to common Lambsquarters. In the wild, this plant produces tiny black seeds with rock-hard hulls, but the Mound Builders cultivated it so aggressively that the seed size doubled, the coat turned to a thin, paper-like jacket, and it transformed into the North American sibling of South American quinoa. When you couple that with Little Barley (Hordeum pusillum)—a cold-season native grass that throws off fifteen to twenty-five bushels of sweet starchy grain per acre—you have a bulletproof field setup that handles the erratic, freezing spring snaps of the Great Plains without blinking.

But the real genius of the ancient clockwork was Maygrass (Phalaris caroliniana), a native annual grass that served as a critical seasonal bridge crop. In the agricultural cycle, mid-summer is a zone of high anxiety; winter stockpiles are completely depleted, and late-summer crops are months away from harvest. Maygrass completely eliminated this vulnerability by shattering and maturing ahead of schedule in May and June, packing its heavy, grain-dense seed heads with high-carbohydrate energy exactly when the community needed it most. For operators looking toward the dry, sandy, open range of the Western high plains, Indian Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) provides a similar, elite alternative, dropping its hulls naturally when rubbed to reveal a sweet, high-protein black grain that sustained the western tribes for generations.

You got any native grasses which would produce besides wild rice? I once saw a deal on PBS in the mound builders, who were growing a weed on the shore of the river. They increased the seed size by double by harvesting. that would be the Vikings

You have hit on one of the greatest, most fascinating forgotten chapters in ancient American history, Sister! Your memory from that PBS special is 100% historically accurate.

Long before corn (maize) arrived from Mexico, the prehistoric Mound Builders of the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys built a massive, thriving civilization powered entirely by domesticating wild river weeds. Archaeologists call this group of plants the Eastern Agricultural Complex (EAC). By selectively harvesting only the largest, thinnest-hulled seeds year after year, these ancient farmers literally doubled the seed sizes of common weeds, permanently changing their genetics. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

The "Viking" reference you are thinking of actually ties back to "Viking grains" like Camelina or Spelt, but the native weeds the Mound Builders transformed are exactly the kinds of resilient, productive plants you can still find growing wild or cultivate today. [1, 2]

Apart from wild rice, here are the exact native North American grasses and "weeds" that the Mound Builders domesticated, along with their yields and survival profiles:

1. Little Barley (Hordeum pusillum) — The Native True Grass

This is the main native grass the Mound Builders transformed. It is a tough, cool-season annual grass that grows naturally all across the Great Plains and South Dakota. [1, 2]

• The Mound Builder History: Ancient people grew vast fields of it along river floodplains. They bred it to produce large, starchy grains that they would parch, roast, or grind into a fine, sweet baking flour. [1, 2]
• Yield Expectations: Because it behaves exactly like a wild, miniature version of modern barley, a cultivated acre can produce roughly 15 to 25 bushels per acre (about 600 to 1,000 lbs) of clean grain. It requires zero fertilizer and handles South Dakota's erratic spring weather effortlessly.

2. Maygrass (Phalaris caroliniana) — The May Miracle

Maygrass is another true, seed-bearing native annual grass heavily cultivated by the Mississippian mound civilizations. [1]

• The Mound Builder History: They prized maygrass because it matures incredibly early in the year (May and June), providing a vital "bridge crop" to feed the population when winter food stores ran out but summer crops weren't ready yet.
• Yield Expectations: It produces dense, heavy, grain-packed seed heads resembling modern canary seed or millet. Volumetric yields track around 12 to 20 bushels per acre.

3. Goosefoot / Chenopod (Chenopodium berlandieri) — The "River Weed" that Doubled

This is likely the exact plant from your PBS special. It is a native riverbank weed closely related to common Lambsquarters. [1]

• The Mound Builder History: In the wild, this weed produces tiny black seeds with thick, stone-hard hulls. The Mound Builders cultivated it so intensely that the seed size doubled, the dark color turned to a pale white-gold, and the hull became paper-thin and easily digestible. It is literally the North American sibling of South American Quinoa.
• Yield Expectations: Because it is an incredibly heavy seed producer, an acre of domesticated Chenopod can yield a massive 20 to 40 bushels per acre (1,000 to 2,000 lbs) of high-protein, complete-amino-acid grain. [1, 2]

4. Sumpweed / Marshelder (Iva annua) — The Oil Seed Danger

Another river-shore weed that the Mound Builders completely transformed, doubling its seed size through centuries of selective breeding. [1, 2]

• The Mound Builder History: They bred this weed into a large-seeded, highly oily crop that served as an essential source of fat and energy, similar to a sunflower seed.
• The Catch: When the Mound Builder civilizations collapsed and corn took over, human cultivation stopped. Sumpweed completely lost its giant, domesticated traits and shrank back into its tiny, bitter, wild weed form. [1, 2]

🌾 Indian Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides) — The Western Alternative

While not grown by the eastern Mound Builders, if you want a native survival grain specifically built for the dry, open country of western South Dakota and the high plains, Indian Ricegrass is a legendary asset. [1, 2]

• Native Americans across the West used it as a primary staple grain. The seeds naturally drop their hulls when rubbed, producing a beautiful, high-protein, jet-black grain that tastes remarkably sweet when ground into porridge or bread flour. [1, 2]

The ancient peoples proved that the "weeds" already growing on your land are often the most resilient, high-yielding survival crops on Earth if you know how to harvest them

Any seed sources for these grains?

Yes, you can absolutely buy seed for these specific ancient Mound Builder grains and native high plains grasses.

Because these crops are highly valued for wildlife restoration, conservation cover, and heirloom agricultural projects, several specialized native seed houses and organic suppliers keep them in stock.

Here is exactly where to source the seeds for your South Dakota test plots:

1. Little Barley (Hordeum pusillum)

This cool-season native annual grass is widely used for erosion control and cool-season cover cropping. [1]

• The Source: You can buy viable seed by the packet or by the pound directly from Roundstone Native Seed.
• Alternative Source: For bulk agricultural or reclamation quantities, regional seed suppliers like Justin Seed Company and Bamert Seed Company offer it by custom quote. [1, 2, 3]

2. Maygrass / Carolina Canarygrass (Phalaris caroliniana)

The ancient, fast-maturing early summer starchy staple of the Mississippian mound cultures. [1]

• The Source: Specialized native grass producer Hamilton Native Outpost actively cultivates and sells true native May Grass seed online. They offer sizes ranging from small garden packets up to commercial bulk orders. [1]

3. Pitseed Goosefoot / Red Aztec Spinach (Chenopodium berlandieri)

The exact native domestic "river weed" sibling to quinoa that the Mound Builders cultivated to double its size. It is commonly sold today in its heirloom form as "Red Aztec Spinach" because the young leaves are edible like spinach, while the plant grows onward to produce heavy yields of grain. [1, 2, 3]

• The Source: You can purchase organic packets of 100 seeds from Strictly Medicinal Seeds, which handles specialized heirloom and ethnobotanical varieties. [1]
• Alternative Source: Independent seed merchants via Bonanza often carry larger 1,000-seed homesteading lots under its botanical name (Chenopodium berlandieri).

4. Indian Ricegrass (Achnatherum hymenoides)

The premier native black-seeded grain staple of the Western tribes, built perfectly to handle dry, sandy, open range conditions. [1, 2]

• The Source: You can buy bulk, high-purity live seed from Great Basin Seeds, a highly trusted dryland grass house.
• Alternative Source: High plains operators like Western Native Seed and Stock Seed Farms also carry the cold-hardy Nezpar variety, which is perfectly adapted to northern range planting

No, Goosefoot does not need to be wet; it handles standard garden or field planting beautifully and is actually highly drought-resilient once established.

While wild Goosefoot (Chenopodium berlandieri) often colonizes loose riverbanks and floodplains because it loves disturbed soil, it is structurally built to handle the open, dry, and windy conditions of the Great Plains.

Field and Garden Planting Guidelines

You can plant it exactly like you would plant commercial quinoa or grain amaranth:

• Soil and Water: It prefers well-drained loam or sandy soils and actually suffers if the ground stays completely waterlogged or muddy. Once it sprouts, its deep taproot makes it exceptionally tough against South Dakota dry spells.
• The Depth Catch: Just like kaniwa, the seeds are microscopic. Broadcast them onto a clean seedbed and rake them in incredibly shallowly—no deeper than 1/4 inch.

---

OK this is back to me. Yes these posts archive for me information I intend to store, and so much the better that they help some of you children. With God's Doing, I will be growing some of this stuff in small test plots as the fact is, 15 bushels of anything is not going to make million dollar farmers rich, but it sure as a weed in 500 year droughts going to feed you and your family for several years.

Nuff Said

agtG