Weeding

Nettle Seedheads, the Ginseng of the West

Give the satisfying chore of weeding your vegetable patch a culinary twist. No longer should you just throw weeds into the wheelbarrow. Instead, carry two buckets, one for the compost heap, the other for the kitchen. The contents of the second bucket can be used to collect the weeds that are edible and good for you and with them you could make a reviving weedy smoothie or use to augment the salad at dinner. In fact, don't even call these plants weeds, but wild herbs, and treasure them for their taste and health benefits.

Chickweed

 But this foraging work isn't to be taken lightly. There are plants growing in this environment which, if added to a salad would have you dead in under three hours. We are particularly wary of the umbelliferaceae carrot family which includes the notorious dropworts. "as if of hemlock I had drunk" writes Keats in his Ode to a Nightingale – not such an easeful death though. If you want to do this safely you have to know your weeds.

Eating deadly wild herbs was actually a form of capital punishment in ancient times.  Socrates was supposedly put to death by drinking a hemlock concoction. Many of the flowers and plants we see around us are killers.  Don't eat anything from the buttercup family and don't even touch a foxglove without washing your hands. In fact don't eat anything unless you know what it is and what it's going to do for you.

Be cautious. Take part in courses (The Organic Centre in County Leitrim hosts some of the best and most comprehensive). Compare your specimens to pictures in more than one book. And over time there are a number of plant identifiers and signatures that mean you can now be sure of what you are eating.

Chickweed is one if the easiest wild herbs to spot and one of the best to eat. It loves freshly turned soil, so you'll just about always find it in the vegetable patch. Chickweed is a loose, floppy plant with a distinctive line of hairs running down it's stem. It has a taste like fresh corn and a crunchy texture.

There are several types of cresses in our veg patch. One is a cultivated escapee: land cress, left over from a packet I sowed about nine years ago. I've had it ever since, popping up all over the garden every year, often a welcome sight in the winter when there are few other green things to eat. Along with this cultivated variety there are a few other species of wild cress to be collected and eaten. Cress is delicious and nutty. It's also easy to spot and it's flavour is unmistakeable.

Another distinctive plant is wild sorrel. What a flavour profile this plant has!

Be warned again though: sorrel looks quite similar to a nasty species called Lords and Ladies (one bite of L & L and your tongue will feel like you've been stung by 1000 nettles. And worse, your tongue and throat will instantly swell up to a dangerous degree. There is no record of anyone being poisoned by Lords and Ladies simply because no one has ever been able to swallow it. But the good thing is, L & L wouldn't be happy in your veg garden environment. You find it in the woods. Sorrel, on the other hand will probably be on the grassy banks around the veg patch, along with it's pretty cousin, wood sorrel.

Ground Ivy

Common Sorrel

Other herbs you can use include Cleavers (also called Sticky Willy), Fat Hen, stitchwort, and one or two leaves of  ground ivy, or feverfew (both very bitter). If you're working in the garden and come across a patch of nettles, treat yourself to the seedhead of the nettle. Herbalists call it the ginseng of the West - it will give you a great buzz in order to finish your work.

Health benefits of wild herbs: wild herbs are packed with calcium and magnesium, iron and vitamins. They are good for the immune system, many act as expectorants and help the upper respiritory tract. They're good hormonally and good for toning the skin. Many are anti inflammatory, good for migraines and good for fever. A glass of this Weed Smoothie will set you up for the day. Thanks to Joerg Mueller at the Organic Centre for the idea of this lovely drink.

Weed Smoothie

For each person take a handful of garden weeds, which could include dandelion leaves, cress, chickweed, sorrel, wood sorrel and no more than a couple of leaves of ground ivy. If you’re short of weeds you can supplement with some cultivated cress, rocket or nasturtium or another bitter green.

Add three ice cubes to a blender, food processor or smoothie maker and whizz to crush the ice. Add a handful of the chopped herbs and blend again. Add a cup of yogurt and blend until the mixture becomes a pureed liquid.

Pour into a glass and add a teaspoon of honey and some herb flowers.

Drink immediately.

www.theorganiccentre.ie