Purslane is an interesting plant. I am experimenting with harvesting the perennial plant that is currently showing others that I can actually garden delicious edible weeds. I had 3 large specimens initially, and two were cut at or near the root, and the other was pulled from the ground. I wish I had a plan before I pulled the purslane plant, but I am always testing. Interestingly, the two roots began sprouting new growth within a week, and the sprouts were thicker and more robust than any of the original sprigs. At this point, I have harvested several pounds of first-growth purslane and second-growth sprouts.
Here is an example of the thicker stems from a second growth.
I am trying to prune plants by taking various percentages of the plant...from 100% to 50% of it. I recently took an arm that was the biggest I have ever seen on a purslane plant.
Two weeks ago, I harvested about 2 pounds of purslane to split between my neighbor and another friend. Today, I harvested another two pounds of varying sizes of purslane sprigs.
So far, it is clear that second-growth purslane is much more robust than first-harvest purslane. The plant definitely looks different from its beginnings as a little wild weed dug up from a tiny nearby park.
Above is a fine example of a transplant next to a second-growth plant. The stems will go from pinkish red to yellowish green as the plant accustoms itself to a less stressful existence.
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