I went on a nature walk through my yard with a video camera today.
@bagarad (14283)
Paso Robles, California
October 31, 2011 11:06pm CST
I'm working on a bunch of videos on the life cycles of different weeds and this is a great month to do it, since this is when the plants usually bear their fruits or disperse their seeds. I wanted to make videos to use with my writing, since it's easier to walk through my property and point out different plants and plant features than it is to just match up text and pictures. For example, most books and web sites I've seen about poison oak usually have at most a picture of young, green, and autumn leaves, and maybe a picture or two of poison oak growing somewhere. The videos I'm now waiting to finish uploading to YouTube will show you every stage of poison oak growth, and every season, and the different forms it takes on my property. (My most prevalent plant is poison oak, with wild mustard, milk thistle, and poison hemlock also taking a lot of territory.) I decided while I was out there to also make videos on the milkweed, the milk thistle, the poison hemlock and the yellow star thistle. I also did a video of a plant I'm still trying to identify. I happen to like to know what my weeds are, since some of them have proved to be edible, including the milk thistles.
If you have a flower or vegetable garden, can you identify the weeds you have there and do you know if they are a possible source of free food? Many of my weeds are edible. I have even written a hub about the common mallow, which I tried last year when I discovered it was edible. But I also know I have at least three poisonous or toxic plants on my property -- the poison oak, the poison hemlock, and the milkweed. Not all milkweed is poison, but the variety I have is reputed to be. You will want to leave poison plants out of your compost piles and bag them and throw them in the trash instead, or bury them so deep it can't sprout. Except for the poison hemlock, which I get rid of immediately if it's in the areas I frequent, I let most of the poison oak and milkweed grow in the wild parts of the property, unless the poison oak gets too close to the driveway.
What do you do with your poisonous plants if you have any on your property? Do you use any of your non-poisonous edible wild plants for food? If so, which have you tried and liked?
5 people like this
7 responses
@peavey (16936)
• United States
1 Nov 11
I don't have much property any more, but there are edible wild plants in my backyard. Besides dandelion, (greens, buds, flowers, roots), there is wild amaranth, lambsquarter, salsify, mallow and purslane. Last year a pretty little flower appeared out of nowhere and I finally identified it as a nightshade that was poisonous. I think I got rid of it all this year.
I use dandelion greens of course, but I also cook the buds for a vegetable and fritter the blossoms. I dig the roots in the fall (which I have to do today to beat yet another snowstorm!). I have eaten the roots as a vegetable but prefer to roast and grind them for "coffee."
Lambsquarter makes the best greens in my opinion. I canned some this year so I can eat them year 'round. I also eat lambsquarter fresh in salads and on sandwiches, and I have lambsquarter seed saved to add to bread.
Salsify isn't to abundant in my backyard, but I get to dig a few roots now and then. Salsify is called poor man's oyster, or mock oyster plant because that's what it tastes like. I've made "oyster stew" from it and it was good. I also pick the leaves for salads in the spring.
Mallow, I'm not too fond of because of the texture, but I do nibble on the seed "cheeses" and put them in salads.
Purslane is an important food for me. I eat it raw and cooked all summer and this year, as I've done in the past, I pickled a few jars. Purslane seed is very nutritious and I substitute it for poppy seed in bread, as well as making flour from it to add to bread.
I used to pick dock, sorrel, shepherd's purse and a lot more when I had more room to roam.
3 people like this
@JoyfulOne (6232)
• United States
1 Nov 11
Peavey, I do eat a lot of purslane too. I never thought about using it instead of poppy seed in breads! Wow, thanks for putting that in there. I will definitely try that too.
1 person likes this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
2 Nov 11
Yes, I don't use the older dandelion leaves just because of that. You can usually find tender young leaves any time of the year, though. There always seems to be dandelions in every stage of growth. Try the buds and blossoms! Use a pancake batter to dip the blossoms in then cook them quickly in hot oil. They taste a little like mushrooms. I can't explain what the buds taste like, but I like them with a little butter and salt.
Purslane is one of the few plants that has omega3 in it. It's supposed to be as good as eating salmon.
There's one important difference between lambsquarter and any look alike. Lambsquarter is soft and silvery underneath the leaves. I hope you can positively identify it because it's really good. Better than spinach or lettuce, in my opinion. 
@inertia4 (27960)
• United States
2 Nov 11
Well, you are quite the plant expert. Nice discussion. I am not into plants or know the difference between them. I would, if I did have any weeds, get rid of any and all poisonous ones. I also did not know that some weeds are edible. Thats something to look into. I would hope you post your videos here in discussions. I would like to see them when you are done with them. It sounds very interesting. I live in the city, so greenery here is very little. It is mostly concrete.
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
2 Nov 11
I'm afraid I'm a weed lover -- except for the beautiful but poisonous poison hemlock, which they used to kill Socrates. I haven't made a video on that yet because I haven't figured out how to add still pictures to my videos and make all those nice transitions. I couldn't include the beautiful hemlock forests in the spring unless I cut them from other videos I made in the spring. Maybe that's what I will do.
2 people like this
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
2 Nov 11
I think your nature videos should be used to show urban kids And adults about nature. Us city folk don't know about poison oak! And the way you walk around and naturally speak on the tape , it isn't boring! Oops. I didn't answer your question! I'm a long , long retired girl scout. I Used to know poison oak when I saw it but I live in the burbs , where there is more concrete than woods!
1 person likes this
@sarahruthbeth22 (43143)
• United States
2 Nov 11
The professional vids are the boring ones! Yours has heart.I wish you luck with the contest! When your latest Vid is uploaded , please send me the link. Thanks.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
2 Nov 11
Ah, Sarah, there are more professional videos than mine on YouTube on poison oak, but I think the three I did taken together will show more poison oak in more forms and seasons than any of the others. I finished my hub that includes all those videos and extra pictures last night and I'll probably upload it some time this week. I want to upload a new entry for the contest every day I have something prepared.
1 person likes this
@BarBaraPrz (47611)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
1 Nov 11
I occasionally will add a young dandelion leaf or two to my salad.
2 people like this
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
16 Nov 11
There are no poisonous plants in my little garden, but lots of edible weeds. I love edible weeds, especially purslane and amaranth, and even sow thistle, which repels aphids and is delicious when the leaves are young and not dried out. One has to be careful with the sow thistle, though, because while it repels one kind of aphids it attracts another kind and I like to eat plants, but not bugs.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
16 Nov 11
I also like purslane. I'm not sure yet if I have amaranth. I think I have it, but have not made a positive ID yet. Maybe I should post a picture of the likely suspects and you can tell me if they are good to eat. I have field guides galore, but some seem to look a lot like others. I'm still trying to ID all the plants that have dandelion like flowers. Finally identified sow thistle, but it looks too old to eat. It's about a yard tall with big leaves and flowers going to seed. I'm coming to the conclusion all those greens that resemble dandelions are safe to eat, but may be bitter. I have confused sow thistle and prickly lettuce, and tried neither so far. Thanks for the information.
1 person likes this
@drannhh (15219)
• United States
19 Nov 11
There are different varieties of sow thistle, but it is also the case that the same plant can have either red tough leaves and spines or be tender and green depending on whether it gets enough water and nutrients. I bought amaranth seeds from a seed company online. They offered several different varieties and lambsquarters and other good stuff too. The best tasting purslane is the golden one which has smaller leaves than some and they are lighter in color, almost yellow. It has a sweet nutty flavor, whereas the dark green varieties can get bitter. Purslane is rich in omega and other nutrients.
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
2 Nov 11
I have posted all I have made so far. The only one not about a poisonous plant in this last batch is this one on identifying milk thistle. If you go there, you can subscribe and find all the ones I've done on my garden, orchard, local festivals, beaches, walks I've taken, and more. If you want them in more coherent form, check my profiles at HubPages and Squidoo where the articles using them can be found. Here's the milk thistle link.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90I3ynIhn2M
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
2 Nov 11
We have dandelions, and the both kind of thistle. There is also some wild plants that were here first, and what was brought in with the soil, but the city does spray for mosquitoes so do not want to eat anything. WE do have mushrooms, the white kind, WE did have some mint but when my husband used Roundup at first so he could build a garage, it was gone. I have been locoing through the neighbourhood for it, but so far no luck. I did plant some oregano and marjoram and that is growing like a weed.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
2 Nov 11
If I bring plants in the house, they die so I have to keep the oregano outside. My friend suggested that I keep them in pots outside, but I thought they will die for sure. I also have some cilantro. I have a planter with various Oriental plants and some different type of cilantro. A month or so ago, I brushed off some of the seeds and guess what they are sprouting already. I think it is because of our unusual long summer.
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
2 Nov 11
I also grow those. The bees were all over my oregano yesterday and I recorded them. I keep it in a pot so it doesn't take over. I don't keep my lemon balm in a pot and it would love to take over. I don't mind, since if it weren't there I'd be growing weeds in the same place.
1 person likes this
