[This article is reproduced from Hello Little Weed offering Edible Weed Walks, Talks, Workshops in Melbourne and the Yarra Valley].
What is a weed?
Some plants are definitely weeds, and others are not… right?
Some plants that we think of as weeds todaywere not considered a weed in the past. A weed is a plant which is dangerous? Poisonous? Unattractive? Not native? Inconvenient? OR simply a plant growing where we don’t want it.
Some plants we think of as weeds where we live, or in our community, are not considered a weed in other cultures or countries.
“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fortune of the Republic, 1878
“A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.” –Doug Larson
(photo – clover)
Why consider eating edible weeds?
Don’t we have enough abundant sources of food? Isn’t it a pain foraging for weeds? Surely they taste pretty ordinary? Surely they aren’t nutritious? How on earth would I cook them? Only people who can’t afford ‘real’ food would eat edible weeds, wouldn’t they?
Why the renewed interest in Edible Weeds? Because they are…
- Abundant – they grow everywhere!
- Free – just find them and pick them!
- Easy – they grow without any effort from you!
- Nutritious – many are more nutritious than things you grow in your veggie patch!
- TASTE GREAT!
- Many of these plants have been eaten or used for their medicinal properties for thousands of years. In many countries some are still considered delicacies today!
