Disturbed (or... Eat the Weeds)

We usually think of being “disturbed” as a bad thing, but perhaps I should differentiate between disturbance as a mental state vs ecological disturbance in nature. Many of my favorite foraged plants grow in places that are disturbed. I’ve touched on ecological disturbance in some of my other recent blogs, so I’ll keep today’s note brief. But there are so many tasty “weeds” out there right now because of disturbance, I must say a few words about them!

Often our garden weeds originated from prairies, wetlands, or other places where they are adapted to disturbance. Some are non-native, but some are just our native plants that respond well to opportunity. When we dig and disturb soil, we’re giving great opportunity to these plants that can rapidly colonize disturbed sites. Here are a few of the “weeds” in my garden that I like to eat:

Yellow woodsorrel (Oxalis stricta) is a common native plant. The leaves have oxalic acid in them, which gives them a sour zing that many people enjoy. Perhaps the tangy nibbles of these on the playground is one of the most notorious “gateway drugs” to foraging for kids. They could do worse.

Galinsoga parviflora is a cute little daisy, and a pernicious weed. It is also a tasty salad green. It is native to South America, but is naturalized in North America. You can eat the leaves raw (salad) or include them as an herb in soups.

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a weedy succulent that is used throughout the world as a nutritious leafy green. It was not native to North America, but it is here and common now. I even encourage some to grow in a corner of my garden. It can be enjoyed either raw or cooked, and some people consider it a superfood.  

There are several species of goosefoot, but the most common is Chenopodium album, also known as lambsquarters. I let several of them grow in my garden area, because my intended vegetables often get eaten by bunnies, and I find lambsquarters to be very tasty! C. album is native to Europe, but the leaves are highly variable, and there are similar native species, and they may hybridize. It’s a plant that I’d rather eat than fight over nomenclature. People all around the world cultivate it and eat it, so you can call it a non-native, but I’ll call it a volunteer vegetable.

Common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis) is a native biennial herb that volunteers in my garden areas. Now that I have learned to recognize it, I let patches of it grow to use for food later. It is an attractive plant but also has many edible parts. I like the yellow blossoms in a salad. The seeds can be collected in the fall and used as a nutritious grain. Supposedly the roots, young leaves, and shoots are also good to eat, but I haven’t experimented with those yet.

I said I’d keep it short today, so I’ll stop with these few. These were some of the more common weeds, but perhaps the edibility of one or two is new to you. Eat the Weeds. Enjoy your salad!