In my yard we have a meadow full of what most people call wild weeds. We love this, because we want access to more plants. The local animals us included may want to eat the weeds. Wild edibles also known as weeds, are a rich source of vitamins and minerals. I started reading about the benefits of the wild edibles to learn what to engage with. The Wild Wisdom of Weeds by Katrina Blair is a great starting place for learning about wild edibles.
Bring weeds into your life to get to know and benefit from you ecco-system. The lawn in my yard supports a wide variety of edible plants. Plantain, Violets and Dandelion, are three of my favorites.
I also encourage the wild plants to grow in and around my cultivated crops. I weed out things like poison ivy and let the edibles flourish alongside the arugula and kale. Wild plants are generally tougher than cultivars. They don’t need it but love and thrive with all the happy energy, water, sun and organic matter I add to my garden beds.
I had to celebrate when I found a big beautiful thistle plant in the walkway between the raised beds in my garden. I watered it and encouraged it and weeded around it. Thistle aside from the thorns is a great green. Selective weeding started as a way to support easy access to eating weeds.
Thistle is one of a number of weeds I am trying to include in my diet to increase local variety and nutrient density. I am building recovery from Lyme disease, I need lots of nutrients to replenish depleted systems and tissues and antioxidants to lower inflammation response. Eating the weeds is way more satisfying then weeding and wasting the wild ones.
How do you Work your way into eating wild weeds?
So many wild weeds are good eats. An easy way to start is to pick up plants that cross over into the supermarket. Dandelions are one such crop. At the market yesterday I saw organic dandelion greens, and conventional red and green dandelion. Easy pea-sy, pick up a bunch and try them out. If a bunch is to much, click this link for some ideas. I think of cultivated dandelions as a gateway plant for weeds. It is not a far distance from the cultivated cousins to the wild ones.
A bed of dandelions actually looks amazing. Bright yellow they spread color and life across the lawn. You can use all the parts of the dandelion for food, the flowers and greens as food. The roots for tea. Here is my favorite way to eat dandelion greens
Dandelion Greens Saute some Wild Weeds
Ingredients:
- 12” Saute pan with lid
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- Large Bowl
- Wooden Spoon
Ingredients:
- 1 Bunch of Greens
- 1 onion,
- 2 cloves of garlic
- About 2 TLB Coconut Oil
- 2 TLB of Coconut Aminos
- Sea Salt
- Pepper
Instructions:
- Trim any rotten or old bits off the dandelion green ends and add to the compost.
- Chop all the good bits coarsely. 1 – 2” pieces
- Peel and chop the onion.
- Add the greens to the bowl and fill with water. Soak the greens in water to remove dirt and grit. It may take several soakings to get all the dirt out. (Please make sure your greens are clean.)
- Heat the sauté pan and add the coconut oil.
- Add chopped onion to your sauté pan.
- Cook on low to medium until translucent.
- Add garlic, stir 1 minute.
- Add the damp dandelion and stir. Sauté/Steam 5 minutes or till desired tenderness.
- Pour the coconut aminos or soy sauce over the greens and stir to distribute.
- Cover and cook until desired tenderness.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Here is a link with more recipes.
Spring is just around the corner. Dandelion greens are in the market and will soon be in my yard a local source of wild weeds and good eats. Are you going to work your way into eating weeds and shop in your back yard?
The information provided on this website is not a substitute for professional medical care, treatment or advice. All the material here is for information purposes only. Always share strategy and work with your health care team.