Eat Your Weeds! A weed is simply a plant growing where we don't want it. Many "weeds" are highly valued in other cultures. Weeds grow in abundance, they're FREE, require no effort to grow, are highly nutritious and TASTE GREAT.

Here are a couple of examples:

Stinging Nettle: An easily identifiable weed; one can do it by touch alone, for they carry a fierce sting! If dried, or wilted in boiling water for 30 seconds, they lose their sting, and are transformed into a highly nutritious cooking green. Nettles are extraordinarily high in calcium. Strip the young leaves from the stems and use as a spinach substitute. The dried leaves are used for tea, and nettle gnocchi with sage butter is a classic. The sting is used to treat arthritis, and the roots used for enlarged prostate.

Purslane(or Pigweed):One of the first plants to colonise bare earth over the warmer months, this prostrate semi-succulent, with its jewel-like leaves and reddish stems is a star, and valued in both the Middle East and Mexico. Purslane has a crisp, tart flavour, and more omega-3 fatty acids than any other leafy green ever tested. Cooked, it excels in tomato dishes. Raw, it's a great foundation for salads or tzatziki-style dips.

Happy gardening.
Kathy