Meet Our Resident Hitchhikers

No, we don't have nomads camping on a corner of the farm...at least not that I know of.

Today I'm referring to a different kind of hitchhiker; two plant species in particular.

What are all those little seeds stuck to my shirt?

While many folks refer to them using curse words, we call them sticktights. They are covered in tiny hooks that grab onto clothing, hair, and fur.

These Velcro-like seed pods come from a plant called Beggar's Lice, or Tick Trefoil.

This flowering legume is beloved by animals and insects alike, since both the plant and seeds are nutrient-rich food sources.

Tick Trefoil also helps fix nitrogen in the soil, attracts pollinators and provides a larval host, and adds a splash of color to the pasture.

But how did those little hitchhikers get all the way up to my neck?

Yesterday we moved the turkeys out of the "Chickports" and into pasture netting, in an area with several plots of Beggar's Lice. 

(Thanksgiving Turkey order date will be announced on Sunday...watch your inbox!)

The sticktights were unavoidable as I got down on my hands and knees to fix the netting in several places. But, the netting is fixed, the turkeys are happy, and I've since managed to pull each and every seed off my clothes.

It only took me about 10 minutes. However, that wasn't the case for my father-in-law, Tim, who just sent me this picture:

Oh yeah. And this is just one foot. Kaitlyn said his shorts were also covered. I guess it's one of the woes of being a farmer 😅 (most hunters can also relate.)

You'll notice that he's got more than one specie of traveller with him too. The spiky burs on his shoe are a hitchhiker in the sunflower family, called Burdock.

Burdock come from the same plant family as the football-shaped Cocklebur, and are equally a nuisance. 

Why Tim was walking through the pasture in shorts and tennis shoes, we may never know. But we all know how long it took him to remove those hitchhikers...too long!

I could "poke" more fun at Tim, but looks like this time the joke's on him.

Click here to order from the brave farmers who fight hitchhikers so you don't have to.

Have a great weekend!

Your farmer,
Remi Kesten