With all this rain, my garden is completely overrun with weeds. I was pretty excited, though, to find out that most of the weeds are edible - and delicious!
Galinsoga, one of the weeds that threatens to take over my garden every year, is an edible green that is yummy in salad. Make sure you get this one before it flowers, as it goes to seed very quickly thereafter and releases an incredible number of seeds and reproduces extremely quickly.
Lamb's quarters is another edible weed that is prevalent in my garden this year. Also called pigweed (different than the pigweed that is actually amaranth - I've got some of that, too), I got a good dose of lamb's quarters when I bought a truckload of composted cow manure from a local farmer. Lamb's quarters is delicious! It tastes like spinach, only I think it's actually much tastier. You can eat it raw as a salad green or saute it up with some olive oil and garlic. Yum!
Don't forget to eat your weedies! If you have so much you just can't force them all down, feed them to your chickens or pigs. (Ever wonder why it is called pigweed? You guessed it.) Bon appetit!
Comments
Purslane is another edible weed, which is common out here in CA. The leaves are great in salads.
I have TONS of lamb’s quarter. I didn’t know you could eat it. Do you pick it early or is it good when it’s full grown.
Like most greens, I’d imagine it tastes bitter or off once it’s bolted. The lamb’s quarters I picked were 4 to 6 inches high, tender and sweet. The only way to know though is to take a nibble and see what you think!
Dandelion greens are okay in salads if you pick them really young. My grandmom used to pick them a little older, and then they are way too bitter (at least to me)!