notes from Edible Garden Weeds of Canada

although most of these weeds are only valuble as a famine food,
i take these notes to remember what their value is when a plethora is a available.

Couch Grass
can be dried and ground, used as flour or as a tea.
it is high in potassium, silicon, chlorine and minerals.

Ox-Eye Daisy
the young leaves in winter are a delicatable salad green, sweet and fresh.
the flowers can make a wine, like dandilion wine.
Daisy Wine
5-6L daisies, flowers only.
6L boiling water
1.5 kg white sugar
500g chopped golden raisins
500g wheat kernals
rind and juice of two lemons
8g package dry yeast

place flowers in a crock pot and pour over the boiling water. let stand 24 hrs. remove flowers, add all but the yeast, until dissolved. Dissolve the yeast separately in 1 cup warm water with 1 tsp sugar; let stand 10 mins. Cover with cloth and let stand for 3 weeks, stirring daily. bottle and cork lightly until fermentation is complete. Wine should be mature in 6 months.

Thisltles
baked thistle roots, chopped roots in stew

Sow-thistle
use young leaves raw, or steamed; bitter, similar to dandelion.

Dandelion
(best pronounced dan-dill-ion)
Oldtimers dandilion Wine
same as daisy wine, but no wheat kernals. 250g raisins,
the tea from dandelion roots or leaves good for liver disorders and digestion. good for skin, stimulating the kidneys.


Wild Mustards
use leaves as greens, spice, and seed for pickling and mustard.
to make mustard, finely grind seeds, mix with vinegar, a little oil or horseradish.
the leaves are rich in calcium, phorphorus, potassium and vitamin A.

Shepards Purse
leaves taste much like cabbage, eat raw or cooked.
the mature seed pods make an excellent spice.

Watercress
leaves. yummy.

LambsQuarters
like spinach. yummy.
contains more iron and protien than spinach!!

Red and White Clover
rootstocks best in spring,
leaves and flowers in salad, flowers for tea.

Storks Bill - Wild Geranium
edible leaves, salads or steamed

Mallow
all edible, best steamed, make soups more glutinous.
disc shaped fruits edible, reminiscent of okra, called by young brit kids `fairy cheeses`

Evening Primrose
basal leaves as potherb, roots boiled, have a nutty flavor.
a tea made of roots and leaves for colds, ointment made for skin disorders

Plantain
delicious potherb in spring
medicinal tea, vitamin A and C

Purslane
succulent plant super rich in iron, commonly used as potherb and salad green
pickled, the greens are excellent, seeds can be used as a porridge

there are many others listed in the book, some of which i know too well to makes notes on, and others of less interest to me.
published by the Natural Museum of Natural Sciences.