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In nature, these plants resist conditions cultivated plants can’t resist, such as drought, unfavorable soil pH, lack of humus, and other deficiencies. Their presence tells a story about the land they are found upon. When you are able to understand their story, you can apprehend some of the finer forces by which nature helps, heals, and has fun with us humans! Plants only become weeds through their relative position in relation to cultivated plants, and many of the weeds are far more nutritious and vital than the vegetables for which they are pushed aside! Some of the most obstinate weeds are regular additions to my dinner plate! All of a sudden their negative quality of being unbeatable becomes their most positive virtue. I can eat them voraciously, and I don’t have to worry about over-harvesting, nor do I have to plant, tend, or coddle them! They appear at the precise time conditions are right for them and often give way to another tasty treat as the seasons change. Let’s look at some of the summer weeds and a favorite that returns as the weather cools. We’ll see how they contribute to the health of the land and how we may benefit by using them in our diet or garden maintenance program. Imagine weeds as the keys to the very things your garden may be missing and that nature may have placed there to restore health and integrity to the soil and to you! My all-time summer favorite is lamb’s-quarter, Chenopodium album. It is one of the few grain crops originating in North America. It is persistent in our gardens because it has a very long historical relationship with people who garden and is found most frequently on rich cultivated soil. It is classified as a weed that follows cultivation; some refer to these weeds as gourmands because they enjoy well-fed soils! If you read Susun Weed’s article on phytoestrogens in the July issue of The New Times, you’ll remember lamb’s-quarter being listed under phytoestrogenic foods. This plant is quite delicious early in its growth as a salad addition. As it matures, it becomes summer spinach at RavenCroft. The heat of summer sends domestic spinach bolting to seed. Larger lamb’s-quarters are best steamed or cooked in a little water and served as a vegetable. If steamed they can be mixed with feta cheese and inserted into phyllo dough for a truly wild spanokopita. Just replace spinach in any recipe with lamb’s-quarters and enjoy a wild and weedy taste treat! When the lamb’s-quarter starts running to seed we harvest, steam, and freeze lots of it. I have dried it and used the dried greens in winter soups and stews to good effect. This is a green with substance! The seed heads can also be harvested and used as crunchy additions to tomato sauces for a meat-like texture and extra protein. Red Clover, Trifolium pratense, is another summer weed of wonder. The botanical name means, "the 3-leaved herb of the meadow," and that is where this one is usually found. In the soil it serves to break up hardpan and, with the help of beneficial micro-flora, fix nitrogen from the air into its roots, thereby feeding the soil and aerating it at the same time. Again, this weed is high in phytoestrogens in the "food-like" category, to be used less frequently than phytoestrogen "foods" as a tonic. This clover can be picked and dried for a nutrient rich tea or steeped in apple cider vinegar and used as a condiment or ingredient in salad dressing. Red clover is actually pink without any white in the blossom. It is the one many children know to suck the honey out of! To harvest the flower for drying, pick the blossom with the first set of leaves just below the flower. Dry these on an airy rack out of the sun. After placing the dried flowers in the freezer for 48 hours to kill any bugs that may be hiding, store in a brown paper sack taped closed. Be sure to label and date the bag. Add ½ to 1 ounce dried clover to 1 quart boiling water, cover, and steep 4-8 hours to make Red Clover infusion. May be drunk hot or cold. Remember red clover is one of nature’s best anti-cancer agents. The vinegar is made by placing the harvested flowers in any size jar, gently pressed down to fill, then pouring apple cider vinegar over the blossoms. Cap with a non-metal lid, steep 4-6 weeks, then strain, bottle, and label. Simply mixing the herbed vinegar as follows makes a delicious salad dressing. 1 part clover vinegar (substitute any weedy vinegar you may have on hand, such as nettle, dandelion, cleavers, yellow dock) 4 parts olive oil 1 crushed garlic clove Seedy mustard to taste A dash of tamari soy sauce Shake before serving and enjoy on all the wild, tasty weeds (dandelion, small leaves ox-eye daisy, plantain, chickweed, pigweed, clover blossoms, etc.) you can harvest and eat from your garden. Throw in a little lettuce if you like! As the weather turns cool in late September, the chickweed returns to stake her claim in our gardens. We are always careful at RavenCroft to let the chickweed go to flower and seed so we have a constant supply of lush, juicy salad greens in cool weather. The seed lies dormant through the heat of summer and bounces back to life with the cool rains of fall and spring. Once eating weeds becomes your habit there is a major attitude shift (paradigm shift?) in your gardening. It becomes a relief to see free, nutritious food pop up without effort and if they pop too soon just thin them out and let your "real crop" get a foothold, then let the weeds follow. It’s a dance. Chickweed, Stellaria media, the little star lady, is quite luscious as weeds go! It is best when young as a salad addition. It is quite hardy and can provide greens in any protected Northwest garden much of the winter. In the garden, it covers the ground, readily helping to hold in moisture. Removing growth when dryness is preferred easily regulates this. Chickweed is mineral rich and is loved by birds, hence the name. If you keep domestic birds of any kind and have chickweed, offer them some and see how they like it. Our chickens love it, and a friend’s parakeet bounced back from the doldrums after chickweed was added to its diet. Compost is greatly enhanced by the addition of chickweed. It stimulates bioactivity and is a nutrient-rich addition to any pile. Check out Susun Weed’s Wise Woman Herbal: Healing Wise, for a lengthy discourse on chickweed. You’ll be amazed! Tea and vinegar of weeds are very easy ways to bring their mineral-rich properties into daily life. Many edible weeds can be used this way, and heck, "If you can’t beat them, eat them!" In postscript, I must bid you adieu. This will be my last column for The New Times for now. I have undertaken a new chapter in my gardening adventure by accepting the position of Kitchen Garden Goddess for the Herbfarm Restaurant in Woodinville. I will maintain my teaching position at RavenCroft Garden in the "Healing From the Ground Up" Herbal Apprentice Program. Please join us for a Garden Open to experience our bountiful gardens in Monroe. If you would like to receive information about RavenCroft Garden, be sure to call or email with your name and address to put yourself on our mailing list. Thank you all for the opportunity to share ideas and engage in a bit of banter over the years. I hope you have enjoyed reading my column as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Until we meet again be well, cultivate life, and look kindly upon the weeds! Blessed be. EagleSong, C.C.H., director of RavenCroft Garden in Monroe, Washington, is a nationally recognized herbal educator. She is dedicated to keeping herbal wisdom within reach of all people and connected to the healing wisdom of nature. P.O. Box 170, Startup, WA 98293; (360) 794-2938; <ravencroft@earthlink.net>. Visit RavenCroft Garden and see natural gardening in action. |
Weeds are described
in the dictionary as wild plants growing where they are not wanted.
I can appreciate that, but I’ve found that when I enlarge
my understanding of the role some of these weedy intruders play
in my garden, I am better able to enjoy the garden and the "weeds."