Growing Weed For Personal Use

August 4, 11:31 PMSeattle Garden & Kitchen ExaminerJerry & Kristy

Previous Next

2 comments Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Seattle Garden & Kitchen Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

Edible Dandelions

 Instead of spending time chasing down weeds, why not grow some to eat?

Several varieties of weeds are edible and since many of them are very easy to grow, why not some? Here are three weeds that are easy to find and grow locally.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)

Dandelions would be the easiest variety to find growing wild as they seem to pop up in all of our yards! They have been used as a therapeutic herb to stimulate the liver and cleanse the bloodstream. All parts of a dandelion are edible:

Roots: Roast as a coffee substitute or sautéed as a vegetable.

Greens: High in iron, use like any other greens in salads or on sandwiches

Flowers: Stir fry as a side dish or make into wine

Lamb's quarter (Chenopodium album)

Lamb’s quarter is very tasty and extremely nutritious. It is a wild relative of the spinach plant and can be found all over the Seattle area. It can (and will) grow very tall but since the best leaves are the young top ones, simply pick off the top of the stalk over and over and over. We make lamb’s quarter vinegar every year.

Leaves: Eat raw in a salad or on a sandwich - or steamed as a side dish.

Stems: Tie and steam like asparagus
 

Stinging Nettle (Urtica diocia)

Many of us have rubbed against stinging nettles and paid the price! However, if cooked, the young leaves are very nutritional. To prepare them you simply blanch them and gently rub them dry with a towel to remove the spines

Leaves: After cooking use in salads or add into soups, vegetables and casseroles for a nutty flavor addition. Alternatively, make into a tea.

Note:
With close to 7% nitrogen, nettles are wonderful addition to your garden mulch or compost pile.