It's Spring in the northern hemisphere, and plants are reviving everywhere. What you see pictured above are three of the earliest plants to start blooming. Many consider them to be pesky weeds and do everything in their power to get rid of them. Yet, they are highly nutritious and provide us with a free source of food.
The first picture is one that most people recognize easily - Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale). The second is not nearly as famous, though it's just as nutritious - Chickweed (Stellaria media). The third is a Dandelion look-alike called Sow Thistle (Soncha oleraceus). All three plants are growing in my yard right now. All three are plants I will harvest responsibly from my front yard (which hasn't been treated with toxic chemicals) and use for food in the coming months. I'll enjoy the sweet leaves and flowers in salads while the plants are still young. By Summer, those leaves will become too bitter to eat fresh, so I'll dry them and store them for use in Autumn and Winter. The roots of the cousin plants - the Dandelion and the Sow Thistle - can be dried and made into tea. They are bitter, but full of vitamins and minerals. The best part of all of this is that over the Spring, Summer, and Fall, a variety of different "weeds" will grow where I can harvest them, then use them in meals and in my home emergency kit. If your yard hasn't been treated with harsh pesticides and/or herbicides, you may be able to harvest your own plants. Before you do though, make certain to identify those herbs - there are lots of look-alike plants, and some are toxic. To help you with identifying plants in your yard, there are several plant id apps and many books you can use. Wild Edible Plants of Texas and Medicinal Plants of the American Southwest by Charles W. Kane, Southwest Foraging by John Slattery, Botany in a Day, an Herbal Field Guide to Plant Families of North America by Thomas Elpel, and Backyard Medicine Second Edition by Julie Bruton-Seal and Matthew Seal are books that I find very helpful. In addition, renowned herbalist Rosalee de la Forêt has a new book, Wild Remedies, coming in April. It can be pre-ordered now on Amazon. She also has a FB page you can join once you order the book. On that page, she offers special previews of what's coming in the book, and you can ask all kinds of questions about the plants you encounter in your own yard. Comments are closed.
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February 2021
CategoriesAuthorKaren Dragoo |