Edible Weeds in the Garden: Don’t Miss Adding this Delicious Freshness to Your Salad!
The spring warmth has filled your garden with life, color and smell. But along with your favorite flowers and the rows with vegetables come the weeds. And from this moment to the end of the summer, you should battle with these unwanted plants. But if you try to discover what these weeds are, you’ll find there are some that can be used for preparing your dishes. And they will not only give you precious vitamins, acids and minerals, but are also delicious! This is what we are going to discuss today – the edible weeds in your garden, and we shall tell you how to distinguish them.
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Edible weeds in the garden: Dandelion
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is one of the most common edible weeds in the gardens. Its leaves are long and divided into teeth. The flower is large and bright, and is made up of a set of tiny florets. A milky fluid flows when a part of it is torn. Dandelion flowers turn into round fluffy balls when ripe and in the center of this ball are the plant’s seed.
The edible parts:
All parts of dandelion are edible. The young leaves are perfect as an addition to your salads, sandwiches or pies at spring, though they are a little bit bitter. But they are extremely healthy with their organic acids and glucosides. One bioactive substance in this precious plant, among the edible weeds, reduces the amount of cholesterol in the blood. Dandelion has excellent effects on the digestive system, liver and bile. The flowers are used to make dandelion wine or syrup, and can be added to omelettes and risotto. The roots may be a delicious addition to vegetable dishes, to stir-fries, or for making coffee after drying them.
Edible weeds and flowers in your garden: Hairy bittercress
Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) This bitter herb grows between the pavements and in cracks in the yards. Its leaves, covered in tiny hairs, are divided into little, rounded leaflets, growing opposite to each other. Tiny flowers develop at the top of each vertical stem and when ripe, turn into long seedpods.
The edible parts:
When hairy bittercress is young, all its parts are edible. It’s better to pick the flowers and the leaves from the middle of the plant. Wash them well, because they grow low, near the soil and may be dusty and gritty. Since hairy bittercress has a peppery and hot flavor, it’s a delicious addition to soups, salads, pesto, salsa. It’s also used as a substitute for rocket or cress.
Edible weeds near the home: Chickweed
Chickweed (Stellaria media) is a low creeping plant with weak and slender stems, which often grows in garden borders. The leaves are delicate and small, round or oval with pointed tips. They grow opposite to each other and may have small hairs. The white and star-shaped little flowers have five so deeply divided petals, that it looks like they have 10 petals.
The edible parts:
You’ll have the greater benefit to use it fresh. Pick the tender fresh young leaves and add them to your salad with olive oil and lemon. Chickweed’s tiny white flowers look great as a salad garnish. What’s more, you may add the plant to chicken and fish dishes, or to blend it into a homemade pesto.
