Guest Ramon Posted December 18, 2000 Can people suggest a list of common weeds which are edible. I know that you can eat the leaves of milk thistle and also that a common weed which is almost impossible to get rid of called amaranth or something like that produces edible seeds as long as the ground it grows in doesn't have too many nitrates. [This message has been edited by Ramon (edited 19 December 2000).] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rkundalini Posted December 19, 2000 There are some books on this although I'm not sure if any of them are Australian. In any case, "weeds" aren't Australian anyway. Off the top of my head ... there is a huge amount of Fennel growing around here at the moment... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted December 19, 2000 Shepherds purse. Some wild brassicas. Amaranth. Nettles. Alternanthera. New Zealand spinach. some Ipomoea tubers. Blackberries. I guess it also depend son your area, cos around here even Guava is a weed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ed Dunkel Posted December 19, 2000 I guess it all depends on what is your definition of weed. i.e. any plant that is grown outside of its native habitat, or were it is not wanted. (pedantic mode off) sorry E D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Ramon Posted December 20, 2000 By weed I guess any plants which grow profusely and are not generally planted but self seed. Last year I took a common weed in my yard to botanical gardens and they identified it for me. I was pleasantly suprised to find that it was edible ( Amaranth ). I haven't tried eating the seeds or much of the bushfood that grows all around me but still I find some satisfaction with improving my knowledge of the bounty that surrounds me and if one day I ever need to eat these I will know what is what. I also consider every so often on surviving on only what I can scavenge around me for a month. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest wira Posted December 20, 2000 Chickweed [stellaria media] is good for nice salad greens Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theobromos Posted December 25, 2000 Cleavers (Goosegrass, Galium something, aparine?) goes very well with chickweed when lightly boiled and served with garlic, soya sauce and walnut oil. Do you have purslanes in Oz? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
minotaur Posted December 30, 2000 Tonight (Fri 29 Dec) on Gardening Australia they had a section on edible weeds. They interviewed Tim Low, who has written several books, including 'Wild Herbs of Australia and New Zealand' which has a lot of information on edible weeds, even recipes. I got this book from my local library and I recommend it. Apparently Tim Low has a new book on the way. Tim Low also lives in Brisbane. Gardening Australia has a website, but when I checked just now they hadn't posted the content from tonights show. http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torsten Posted December 31, 2000 Cannabis is a declared weed and the seeds are nutty, healthy and tasty, and there is plenty of them growing in bush around our area Although, I guess most of them don't have a lot of seed..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
