New. Help please?

[Amy96]

I've browsed the forums, but couldn't find where I might identify edible garden weeds. Are they included in this website? I think I may have found some dandelions but I can't be sure.

 

[waretrop]

We would love to help more if you post a picture but you might want to go here also.

http://www.ediblewildfood.com/edible-weeds.aspx

Good luck.

 

[MaryMary]

@Amy96, Welcome to the forum!

There is not a sub-forum for edible weeds on this site, if that's what you're looking for. That is not to say that that would never change, the administrators of this forum have proven themselves to be accommodating to their members, and would probably start one if there were more requests for it.

There is a "Plant Identification" forum here, and if I were considering eating something I found wild, I'd post pictures from every possible angle, just to make sure!

You can type "edible weeds" into the search feature in the upper right corner, and it will show you threads. Or you could always start a thread, asking for a list of which weeds are edible!! Our moderator, @zigs, forages for wild edibles.

There is a reason why there is no proper site about edible weeds,because who can say,and they probably taste horrible, or they would be in cultivation.

There are lots of sites about edible weeds. This site just has no forum for 'em.

 

[zigs]

I know a lot about UK edibles, but I wouldn't like to take a guess at Australian ones unless they were imported from the UK.

Dandelions are very bitter, but you can roast the roots to make a nice coffee

 

[Beverly]

Dandelion leaves are lovely in salads and soups. The mature leaves are bitter but the fresh new leaves are very nice. I agree with @waretrop , best to upload photos of some of your weeds for ID and if they are unique to Australia, there are a few members from Australia who might be able to help you. Weeds can be regional and we don't always have the same ones. I don't have dandelions where i live, but i am thinking of growing them Welcome to the forums Amy.

 

[zigs]

I don't have dandelions where i live, but i am thinking of growing them

Don't do that they seed everywhere and grow back from the slightest bit of root

 

[Beverly]

Don't do that they seed everywhere and grow back from the slightest bit of root

I have done it before in Washington State. I had a lovely plot of dandelions and enjoyed them very much. I grew them from seed. I don't recall any problems

 

[MaryMary]

@Beverly, if I recall, you were looking for a ground-cover you could walk on...

Dandelions are a leaf crop. They are highly nutritious, high in vitamins A,B, C, D, and iron, as well as many other vitamins and minerals. They are perhaps one of the most nutritious vegetables you can eat..... or drink. (...snip...)

Eating Dandelions:
Every part of the Dandelion is edible.

• Roots- Used as a vegetable or for making tea.
  
  
• Crowns_ This is the whitish bulb like part of the plant just at ground level. It is used in salads or as a vegetable, often in cooking recipes.
  
  
• Leaves- Used in salads and as a cooked vegetable, usually with other vegetables. Pick in the spring as they get bitter later in the year.
  
  
• Flower buds- This is the part of the plant which is used to make Dandelion wine. You guessed it...it takes a lot of flower buds to make a little wine!

A Dandelion a day, keeps the doctor away! Not only are Dandelions nutritious, they have great medicinal value. It has been known to treat a wide variety of ails from acne to heart conditions, liver ailments and night vision blindness, and a wide variety in between.

Did you know? Dandelions are higher n Potassium than Bananas.
http://www.gardenersnet.com/vegetable/dandeli.htm

 

[Beverly]

@MaryMary There you go again Sherlock thank you for the good information. Maybe more people will appreciate them as a result. Dandelions were actually brought to the US in the 1800's by a Greek doctor who used it as a medicine. He grew some and before you know it, the little plant flourished and covered the land. The root when roasted really does make a wonderful beverage (not to mention dandelion wine, and tea). It is a lovely little plant, but you will never convince the lawn purists of that. I don't know if it will grow in my climate, and as for ground cover i wouldn't want to walk on something i have every intention of eating Also i was specifically looking for ground cover that would fix nitrogen in the soil. If you have a ground cover, it might as well make itself useful to the plants around it. I planted clover which is mildly successful, but then the rains came and the oxalis (not a nitrogen fixer) came up and the dichondra spread, and one other little pretty ground grower so i probably have more ground cover than i need and will have to pull some up to plant other things. I just put in a seed order too and i should have remembered dandelion seed, but i didn't so i'll have to make another order.

 

[waretrop]

Well, I, for one know someone who would love to graze around anyone's field of dandelions. @Beverly I'll bet your neighbors loved you with that yellow field.

It's little Alice....

LOL LOL

 

[Beverly]

@waretrop Wow, little Alice is adorable, how old is she? It looks like Alice and i like the same food, not sure about the little log like things though. Is this for one day? What kind of turtle is she? She would have been welcome to some of the dandelions, but it wasn't really a field, more like a bed. No neighbors closer than a mile unless you count the bears and rattlesnakes

 

[waretrop]

@Beverly She is a Sulcata tortoise, African spur thigh tort. No that is not for 1 days meal...that's breakfast. The logs are supplimental and then she gets another pan like that at 4:30 pm and all the grass she can get during the day...Plus alphalfa horse pellets for a shack.

As I said she would love to have grazed around your field for just one day...LOL

She is 7 years old and is 55 pounds. She will live to over 100 and will get to from 100 to 200 pounds. She belongs to the second largest tortoise group in the world. You see them in zoos.