Weeds or Wild Edible Plants?

A few of us gardeners recently had an interesting discussion on what to weed.  Were some of these pesky weeds actually worth harvesting?  With a growing food movement that encourages eating foraged wild plants it seemed worth it to look into.  

Pigweed

Of specific interest is pigweed or Amaranth as it grows well in our garden.  Pigweed is a cosmopolitan perennial plant that often is ready for harvesting in mid-summer.  It generally has alternating green leaves and the greenish-red stems become more red in colour closer to the tap root.  Before the plant goes to seed its leaves are fairly comparable in taste to spinach.  They can be picked and stir-fried with a little oil or water in a frying pan, some may even eat them in salad.  The seeds are also edible but I am less familiar with how to harvest and eat those.  

However, if you are interested in learning more about wild edible plants go to this website: Edible Weeds and learn more about some potential harvests you could be enjoying this summer!  

As exciting as wild harvesting is, it should be noted that if you choose to harvest wild plants it is very important that you know what you are eating.  So make sure you can properly identify plants before you put them on your plate!