Pick Wild Foods From Your Garden!

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by Peter Ditzel

Ever since the late Euell Gibbons' first book—Stalking the Wild Asparagus—came off the press in 1962, more and more people have taken to the backwoods to forage everything from Jerusalem artichokes to wild wintergreen. Surprisingly enough, however, it's not at all necessary to hike hither and yon to start reaping nature's bountiful harvest of volunteer vegetables. Fact is, you needn't took further than your own backyard (in most cases) to find plenty of free eats.

I was made aware of this simple truth one day when—after hours of hoeing and pulling—I hauled a wheelbarrow full of stout, leafy weeds away from my garden.

"Hey there!" my Latvian-born neighbor called from his yard. "Where're you going with all those plants?"

"To the trash bin."

"But that whole barrow load is good to eat!" the man declared. "

Good to eat ?"

"Yes. In the old country, we used the leaves as soup greens."

My neighbor didn't know the plant's English name, nor did I. But a little research soon taught me that the persistent, branching "weed" I'd just uprooted from the vegetable patch in bushel quantities was actually lamb's-quarters . . . a delicious green I've since come to savor as much as any cultivated plant in the garden.

Since that incident, I've gone on to discover an array of tasty vegetables in my backyard which—until recently—i didn't even know were there! And the nice thing about these free eats is that they require no fertilizer or special care . . . and they grow without my having to sow a single seed. (Naturally . . . they're weeds!)

Chances are, your backyard, lawn, or garden is well stocked with these free edibles too. So come with me, and I'll show you how to find—and prepare—some of the more common species of "good to eat" weeds.

LAMB'S-QUARTERS (Chenopodium album)

Lamb's-quarters—also known as pigweed, goosefoot, and wild spinach—is a relative of spinach and one of the most widely distributed plants on earth. In years gone by, both Europeans and American Indians cultivated this leafy annual for its abundant yield of seeds (seeds which—incidentally—contain an average of 16% protein, compared to wheat's 14%).

As a green, however, lamb's-quarters is delicious. And surprisingly nutritious . . . for the uncooked plant happens to be richer in iron, protein, and vitamin B 2 than either raw cabbage or raw spinach.