Pickled Purslane and other Edible Garden Weeds

Â Â Purslane up close under the microscope by AquarianBath

It takes a lot of discipline to keep up with weed control in the garden from growing season to growing season. Â Even if your garden isÂ a bit neglected, you still might be able to reap rewards in the form of edible weeds.

Young purslane is great to graze on in the garden or add to salad.

My most recent batch of overgrown garden weeds was Purslane (Portulaca oleracea). Â Below is just one purslane plant that I neglected to pull. It was`about the size of my green pepper plant that is was growing next to by the end of our August rainy season. Oops! What a shame it would be to just compost it. Purslane is a tasty weed to eat when it is young with tender leaves, or when it is older with stems pickled. Â Not only is it tasty, it is also exceptionally high in Omega-3 essential fatty acid.

One giant stemmy Purslane plant.

If you have a lot of purslane that is mostly stem, try this pickling recipe by Pamela Jones.

***Pickled Purslane Recipe from the book Just Weeds:***

Pickled purslane out of the fridge. It’s too good for me to be able to show you a full jar of pickled purslane.

Ingredients:

Purslane stems: enough to stuff 2 pint jarsApple Cider Vinegar 1.5 cups
Water 1.5 cups
Peppercorns 1/4 teaspoon
Garlic 1 crushed clove
Sea Salt 4 Tablespoons
Celery seed 1/2 teaspoon
Mustard seed 1/2 teaspoon

Fill 2 pint jars with washed and drained Purslane stems. Boil together all ingredients for one minute. Leave 1/4 inch of head space and store in the fridge.

I’m glad to know I’m not the only EcoEtsy team member who enjoys eating weeds.

Pickled Purslane

Here is what the rest of the team had to say about eating garden weeds:

I use purslane in salads. ~Judith Bunn, Knox Farm Fiber

I grow my ownÂ purslane. Put also put it in salads and sometimes cook like spinach, with sea salt and butter. Â I buy dandelions and put the young leaves in salads. Older leaves I blanch. Â I cook diced bacon and oil, then add leaves to wilt. ~Bee, The Wooden Bee

“Cleavers (Galium aparine) is good for sore throats.” Annabel, Tinkan Designs

I love the dandelion greens in a salad in the Spring. We live in a rural area where access to fresh greens isn’t always possible during the winter months. Dandelion greens are a spring tonic that purifies the blood, helps to restore the system after winter colds and is loaded with minerals and vitamins A, C, D and B. The other herbs I value are more for my chickens than for me, although I also keep them for their medicinal uses: comfrey, chickweed, lambs quarters, shepherd’s purse and many more. I pick them every day for my chickens who live in a coop because we are in a village and have limited grazing space. We have a mother hen sitting on eggs now and they will be hatching in a few days. I am letting the chickweed grow everywhere because it is the favourite fresh and tender green for new chicks. Â ~Morgen, Kootsac

I love dandelion greens. ~Linda, Linda Eve

I have lambs quarters that come up. I like to dry and powder them to add to my morning smoothies as a healthy addition. ~Kendra, Girl On Bike

I love using weeds in cooking and for medicinal purposes. I use dandelion greens in salads and teas. I also dig up the dandelion roots, dry them, and grind them up for teas. They’re high in potassium and are a natural diuretic and liver tonic. Plantain and mullein are both great for colds, respiratory problems and there is a ton of it around here. I dry those by hanging them in my closet for a few days then, then I chop them up and save them for teas. ~Desiree, We Grow Roots

Wood sorrel was a pleasant lemony surprise. Chickweed is super yummy and easy to work with. I toss it in everything. ~Cindi Brooks, Brass Paper Clip

I love April when the dandelions bloom. This recipe is from Susun Weed’s Healing Wise Dandelion Aperitif: Add 2-3 cups blossoms to a jar.Â Add 2/3 cup sugar, rind of 1/2 a lemon and a quart of vodka. Cap, shake daily for at least 2 weeks. Strain. For hot tea add 1 tbsp per cup of hot water, add honey to taste. Great for your kidneys and at least for me if taken at night really helps me sleep. ~Stacy Ann Whalen of Meadow Muffin

Do you have a favorite edible garden weed? Â How do you like to prepare it?

Enjoy,

Cory

This post was written by

aquarianbath – who has written 6 posts on Eco Etsy.
Cory is the owner of AquarianBath.com She is an Etsy Bath and Body product seller, soap maker, community herbalist, organic gardener, and homeschooling mom. Her background is in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Biology. Cory and her family live in Daytona Beach, which is USDA growing zone 9a. Follow her blog for more articles.