Garden Detective

If you can't beat 'em, eat 'em!

With weeding season in full swing, lots of folks -- myself included -- will be spending at least part of the holiday weekend cleaning out their garden beds. Instead of ditching those weeds, why not consider the activity a harvest and put those good-for-you greens to good use?

If you want to forage through your weeds for edibles, there are plenty of safe, nutritious greens growing in your backyard. Just be very careful about identifying them; mistaking lily of the valley for bear's garlic, for instance, could be lethal. Be sure to follow "Jessica's Rules for Consumption," below, and rinse all vegetation before indulging.

Last week, I pulled up some tender, young dandelion leaves from the backyard, gave 'em a good rinse and constructed a salad with them, adding sliced hard boiled eggs, olive oil, salt and pepper, just like Mama used to. So yummy!

Bon Appetit!

Click photo to enlarge	Weed (Latin name)	Edible part(s)	Uses
	Burdock (Arctium minus)	Roots, leaves	Add to soups and stews; Cooking with baking soda helps break down tough fibers
	Chickweed (stellaria media)	Leaves	Harvest before seeds form, add to salads
	Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)	Leaves and flowers	Add to salads, steam or sauté. Young flowers can be battered and fried.
	Lambs quarters (Chenopodium album)	Leaves and young shoots	Add to salads, cooked in place of spinach
	Plantain (Plantago major)	Young, tender leaves	Blanche, sauté
	Purslane (Portulaca olearacea)	Leaves, stems	Add to salads, Blanche, sauté
	Shepherd's purse (Capsella Bursa-pastoris)	Leaves	Peppery flavor. Blanche, sauté
	Wild violet (Viola papilionacea)	Leaves, flowers	Add to salads, dip in egg whites and coat with fine sugar

Jessica's Code of Consumption

• If you can't be absolutely certain you are correctly identifying the weed, pass it up. Better to have a smaller salad than to visit the emergency room - or worse.

• Never eat any part of a plant unless you are sure that the specific part is edible. Many plants, even some commonly consumed ones, have only one edible part. For instance, did you know tomato leaves are toxic?

• Unless specifically noted for use in salads, be sure to cook weeds.

• Avoid picking weeds that grow in an area where animal droppings are found.

• Do not eat weeds found growing in areas that have been treated with pesticides or herbicides.

• Don't pick weeds from the side of the road, where exhaust fumes from cars are readily absorbed into nearby plants.

• Unless you are a weed scientist, don't rely on yourself. Bring an illustrated reference book - like "Handbook of Edible Weeds," by James A. Duke (2000, CRC Press) on your hunt.

All photos are courtesy of Andy Senesac Ph.D., Weed Science Specialist,
Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Suffolk Co.