My personal goal for my appraisal this year is to increase my knowledge of plants.
On Sunday, I was welcomed into the wild world of edible weeds as I attended a workshop run by Bridget Scully. Apart from drinking cleaver tea last year and eating dandelion flowers as a child, I hadn’t really eaten or drunk any weeds that I knew of so I came in fresh faced with very limited knowledge.
At the back of her house, Bridget has let it run wild to see what plants pop up so it was an idyllic setting looking out at her meadow.
Our first task was to spend a few minutes looking at a small patch of grass to see what we could identify. I could see 3 different plants but didn’t know the names of any of them. Quite daunting when we had to discuss what we saw in our patch and I was the only one who didn’t know the names of any of my plants. I soon found out one was plantain but am still mystified at the other two.
Next, we wandered around her garden and talked about the weeds we saw, their healing properties and if they were edible. Interestingly, they called calendula, chamomile, chia chia, nasturtiums, violas, borage and comfrey - weeds. I have never called them weeds. To me, they are flowers that I have grown (apart from borage - I have yet to try planting that), with calendula in particular being used on my babies as a healing cream.
So here’s what I learnt:
Borage - high in silica. Use leaves and flowers in salads
Black Nightshade - eat berries (I have HEAPS of this in my garden and thought it a menace! Berries have a currant flavour)
Calendula - it’s a weed! Who knew?
Chia chia - also a weed! You can eat the leaves as well as the berries
Comfrey - also a weed! Great for salads. It’s also called ‘knitbone’ as it was widely used to heal broken bones. Nowadays, people are more careful as if it is used on a broken bone that has not been set correctly, it will fuse bones that are misaligned. This is great to plant under trees.
Dandelion - use the flowers in salads, teas or as garnish.
Fennel - one leaf a day eases migraines
Fumitory - good for sick animals
Lambs Quarters - Magenta Spreen - great for salads. It’s leaves are purple and green so it gives your salad more colour
Lemon balm - good for lifting your spirits. Infuse with oil to make a balm to use on cold sores
Lemon Sorrel - good for salads
Lemon verbena - makes a delicious lemony tea
Milkweed - don’t eat it! The milky part of the stalk when you pick it off heals warts. I have heaps of this in my garden (but no warts!)
Plantain - screw it up to use on bites, eczema, burns or any other skin irritation
Puha/Slow thistle - good to keep pests away
Purslane - edible. You can also steam it
Self-Heal - edible
Speedwell - edible
Yarrow - edible
Encouraging edible weeds to grow naturally in your garden.
Dedicate some areas of your garden to wild spaces. Allow part of your lawn to grow wild. Involve the kids and create a nature sanctuary. Not only will you get to discover some new weed species but you are also creating an important habitat for lots of beneficial bugs and bees.
Let plants go to seed so they can scatter plant babies everywhere. The cycle of plant growth can only continue if plants are left to go to their full cycle. Allow one or two plants to go to seed and reap the rewards of self-sown plants without much effort.
Learn how to identify plants as seedlings so you know whether those weeds coming up are useful, edible plants. Get your observation skills working. Look online or borrow a book from the library to upskill in the identification of weed species. It is a skill children pick up very easily so be sure to include them.
Important to note
Be sure to identify any weed BEFORE consuming. If in doubt, leave it alone. Avoid any weeds from busy roadside areas where weed killers are often sprayed with reckless abandon. Only eat edible weeds that have been harvested from areas free of toxic sprays and contaminants.
Get to know what the plants look like at each stage of their growth cycle. This will ensure you don't weed them out by accident. This is where having a messy garden is good. (My garden excels in messiness!)
Respect the plants and only take what you need. Ask permission from the owner when you are harvesting from private property.
Start off slowly when you are consuming new wild edibles to ensure your body doesn't react.
Handy resources
http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/learning/colleges-of-science/clincis-and-services/weeds-database_home.cfm
A Year with James Wong - Grow your own drugs by James Wong
An Illustrated Guide to Common Weeds of New Zealand - Ian Popay, Paul Champion and Trevor James
Nature Earth Edible Garden Community on Facebook - join their free online community
Afterwards, we were treated to a delicious morning tea with lemon verbena tea and homemade pesto (no basil - it was all from weeds in her garden!) on sourdough bread.
Weeds I still need to know about - Calendula, clover - red and white, elderberry, heartsease, nasturtium, oxalis, Red Dead Nettle, violets, chickweed, chamomile, nettle.
If you know anything about these weeds, please tell me in the comments below.
A picture of each weed would have been very useful for me but apparently I have to remember them myself (or google it I guess).
If you want to know anything more about Bridget Scully, check out her website; www.natureearth.co.nz
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