Pick Wild Foods From Your Garden!
(Page 6 of 6)
Give lamb's-quarters or redroot or purslane or curled dock
or either of the sorrels described here a try. (Add an
extra measure of nutrition to your meals and watch your
grocery bill go down at the same time!) I think you'll find
that it makes good sense to stop thinking of garden weeds
as ornery pests and begin accepting them for what they (in
many cases) really are: no-work, natural,
free-for-the-pickin' food.
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Five commandments for the novice weed stalker
[1] DON'T ever put a plant to your lips or tongue
until you've positively identified—and determined the
edibility of—the weed in question with the aid of a
guidebook or an experienced forager. When in doubt, take
the plant to your county agricultural agent for
identification.
[2] DON'T depentd on general rules of thumb (regarding
color, shape, milky sap, etc.) to determine a plant's
edibility or non-edibility.
[3] DON'T pick wild food from areas that might have been
sprayed with herbicides, pesticides, or chemicals not meant
for use on edible vegetables. (Hint: Wash whatever you eat
before you eat it.) .
[4] DON'T forage too close to roadways, where lead from
auto exhausts may have contaminated the soil to a dangerous
extent. Consider a 25-foot separation between plant and
highway to be a bare minimum, and try—if
possible—for 50 to 100 feet of separation.
(Similarly, don't forage in areas which are likely to
contain pollution . . . such as near factories, chemical
dumping grounds, or effluent-tainted waterways.)
[5] Finally, DON'T let the above warnings frighten you out
of experimenting with wild foods. Instead, remember that if
you [A] gather your foliage in a safe place and [B]
positively identify your plants, there's nothing to fear.
Become a weed stalker and you'll soon understand more about
the natural world than just which plants are edible. What
better way is there to become acquainted with Mother
Nature, than to eat from her hand?
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