Kaye my edible weed soul sister

Kaye in her garden

Kaye is a very dear friend of mine who I met through edible weeds!  I asked her if I could interview her to share with you how we first connected and what wild edibles mean in Kaye’s life.

How did we meet?

The truth of it is I saw a photo of you on your website and I decided I must meet you.  Looking at your photo – I felt like we already knew each other – we just hadn’t met.  It was such a surprise that you lived just across the valley and we could meet straightaway.  I wrote an email and said “you don’t know me but let’s meet up. We’ve got lots in common”. A firm friendship began within days.

How did Julia’s edible weed workshop that you hosted at your

Kaye with the cavalo nero a kind of kale

property change the way you view ‘weeds’?

I was already using weeds but in quite a haphazard way, using intuition and trial and error, not really sure what I was doing. You ran a workshop in my garden and so much clicked into place for me.

Did it change the way you garden

Well yes it did, because I was leaving big patches of weeds in amongst the veges just because I loved them. After meeting you, I realised weeds were going to be a major part of my food production and ultimately my healing, so I started deliberately cultivating them, moving them, keeping seeds.

Do you have a favourite ‘weed’ and if so what is it about that plant you like?

Mat forming Self Heal

Hmmm. That’s a hard question. Some weeds I love just because of their name! Like Self Heal, and Speedwell and

Catsear. I love chickweed because I admire the way it

Baby magenta spreen seedlings

scrambles around the garden and I enjoy the taste and knowing it is so good for me. Nasturtium is my favourite flower and I am so happy to have found the magical Magenta Spreen!

How do you use your edible weeds

Mostly in smoothies, but also as salad greens. I hardly use conventional lettuce now. Sometimes I will mix them with olive oil to use topically, eg when I had goats I made calendula and comfrey ointment for comfrey ointment for mastitis. Also I always have jars of weed flowers in the house.

Comfrey floweringmastitis. Also I always have jars of weed flowers in the house.

Have edible weeds had an impact on your life and or health?

A huge impact! I know for sure they have played a major role in my health journey, mainly in toxin removal and increasing nutrition. I could never go back now to pre-weed days. My life revolves around them now and I really love my daily harvesting routine.

 

What is your passion in life?

Actually I am passionate about storytelling and preserving old stories. I am known for telling stories about where a plant in my garden came from (eg ” I found these seeds in my aunt’s apron pocket when she died”). I remember at that first workshop, you shared some little anecdotes with us: Magenta spreen used as rouge, dandelion known as Piss the Bed, and I was instantly captivated because I could relate. I also love those old names like

The greenhouse Chris made

Nipplewort, Oxtongue and Doves foot because I am interested in the folk history of how they got those names.

How do you make a living?

Because I am on the pension, my focus has gone from making a living, to living sustainably. My husband Chris and I grow nearly everything we eat – vegetables, fruit and of course weeds, mostly from seed and we now have time to preserve and freeze produce more than before. We swap and barter and give away a lot of veges and seeds. We are both very handy so we make most of what we need and re-use or repair rather than buy new.

Any other comments would be welcome

We have always been keen gardeners but we both feel much more connected to our garden now that we have a broader knowledge. We love sharing it with others and teaching people to include weeds in their diet. Thank you Julia! xx

Purslane – nutritional powerhouse

Purslane with red fleshy stems

Purslane Portulaca oleracea  is growing rapidly now that the summer

Purslane microgreens

temperatures are rising.  Many New Zealanders don’t know or value it.  It’s been seen as a nuisance weed that grows in our paths, flower or vegetable beds, without realizing its hidden benefits one of which is that it’s a great ground cover. And it is said to have the highest amount of Omega 3 fatty acid in the plant world, 4 mg of omega-3 fatty acids per gram, compared to .89 mg in spinach. Quite a claim to fame.

Purslane looks like a succulent, with fleshy, hairless, rounded leaves growing on reddish, branched stems. The stalkless little yellow flowers are nestled singly or in groups in the terminal cluster of new growth. The black

Purslane seeds in cups

seeds sit in small barrel shaped capsules that split across the middle.  I like taking the top off to harvest the tiny seeds sitting in their little cups. The seeds can be sprinkled on breads and biscuits.

Purslane flowers

Being an annual it likes heat and dry, spreading over the ground in summer and autumn. It is killed by cold, wet and frost. Disliking competition it grows in dry waste places, bare soil in gardens, farm gateways and yards, basically any bare ground.  A friend of mine has it on the edge of her gravel driveway year after year.

Trodden, resilient ground covering purslane

Used as a food and medicine for at least 2000 years purslane is valued in many cultures and is represented in many cuisines of the world, from Greece to Mexico, and from Turkey to India by way of South Africa.  I had an Iranian family come to a workshop who told me they love purslane and stir fry it with onions. I found a recipe called Kookoo khorfeh or Purslane kookoo which is an onion egg dish. I’m keen to try this.

Collecting purslane seed

Medicinally purslane is a soothing, healing plant that can be used for high blood pressure, anaemia, rickets, diabetes, fevers and blood disorders (its red stem is a clue that it’s good for the blood). In addition to omega-3s, it’s a good source of B vitamins – thiamine (B1), niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6) and folate (B9), and a very good source of vitamin A (in the form of carotenes), vitamin C, riboflavin (B2), calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper and manganese. This is an excellent edible weed for smoothies. Kings Seeds and I have purslane seeds available.

 

Here’s a summer salad for you to enjoy the crunchy, slightly tart, peppery flavour of purslane.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Purslane salad

1 bunch purslane, chopped, and thick portions of stems removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons plain milk yoghurt or coconut yoghurt
Pinch salt & pepper
1/2 cup feta cheese or nut cheese
1/2 cucumber, chopped
3/4 cup melon, cubed
5 radishes, thinly sliced

Method:

In a small bowl, combine the red onion, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice. Set aside to marinate for at least five minutes. Put the purslane in a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and yoghurt. Using tongs, distribute olive oil and yoghurt evenly over the greens. Add salt, pepper, and lemon zest, and stir with tongs. Add red onions, vinegar, and lemon juice, stir with tongs, and add remaining ingredients. Inspired by Linzarella

Sea kale

What is sea kale? For starters, sea kale (Crambe maritima) isn’t anything like kelp or seaweed and it will grow far from the sea.  Sea kale is a halophytic plant (meaning it tolerates high levels of salt) in the brassica

Sea kale on the beach in Europe

Sea kale in the wild

family.  It is a perennial also known as sea-colewort and scurvy grass. The reasons for its name is that sea kale originates from the coasts of Europe where it grows wild on shingle or rocky beaches or rocky cliffs all the way from the Black sea to the Baltic, and because it was pickled centuries ago for long sea voyages. It prevented scurvy, being a rich source of vitamin C. It also contains sulphur, calcium, vitamin B6, magnesium, and manganese and iodine if it grows on the coast or you feed it liquid seaweed.
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Ten reasons to eat ‘weeds’

This year of 2020 has been a very unusual with the lock-down time and borders still closed and all the unexpected effects on our lives.  For me it has resulted in a greater interest in the wild edibles in book and seed sales and workshop attendance. See upcoming ones here.  People are now thinking more deeply about how to be more self-sufficient, growing their own food and using what’s growing around them that they previously hadn’t considered.

Greens, microgreens and wild edibles picked for salad

Eating weeds for many people is a weird concept. That’s obviously because they’re not on offer in a supermarket.  As a result we have turned our backs on and forgotten the planet’s huge biodiversity. There are around 80,000 edible plant species in the world and routinely we eat just 10-15 of these. What impact is this loss of diversity having on our health and our capacity to live to our fullest potential? We only have to look at the health statistics to find the answers.

We’ve forgotten some pretty fundamental things. Chiefly that we are mammals roaming a planet and entirely dependent on nature’s abundance for survival.

So what’s this all got to do with weeds? And why should we eat them? 

Top 10 Reasons to Eat Weeds

1/ They are globalised plants for example amaranth, chickweed, clover, dandelion, dock, grass, knotweed, fat hen or lambs quarters, mallow, mustard, plantain, purslane, thistle, transcend continents and cultures.

2/ Eating weeds is a super-easy way to diversify our diet. Studies have shown that the more diverse our diet, the better our chances of staying healthy for a long time.

3/ They are abundant and resilient. They don’t need intensive growing systems, they grow themselves!! Perhaps the weeds are mother nature saying ‘Look, humans, look! I’m right here, in your garden, in the pavement cracks, wherever you go, here I am, trying to nourish you and make you aware of us!’

4/ Weeds thrive on soil disturbed by humans. They pull nutrients from deep beneath the earth’s surface and regenerate the soil. 

5/ They are exceptionally nutritious. A dandelion growing in between the pavement cracks is probably more

Alleyway in Paeroa with wild edibles bringing life to a barren place.

nutritionally potent than crops grown through commercial agriculture which have been hybridised, sprayed and grown as mono-crops in compromised soil.

6/ Wild weeds are free, you don’t need to be wealthy to eat wholesome and truly organic food.

7/ Eating wild weeds helps us remember our connection to the planet. They offer a direct link to the wild intelligence within us. When we eat these hardy weeds they gift us their resilience and survival superpowers!

8/ Eating them instils trust in our ability to survive and thrive in harmony on the land.

9/ They are medicinal containing vitamins and minerals making them superior (and cheaper) than supplements.  A side benefit is that no energy is wasted in producing, packaging and shipping, they’re local and fresh.

10/ Last but not least, now you have the perfect excuse not to mow the lawn or do any sort of arduous garden work.  What was previously considered laziness is now intentionally holding a space for nature to spring forth and nourish you.

Inspired to give them a go? Be warned, these wild weeds taste…well, wild!! Your domesticated palate will need some getting used to the intensity of these plant rebels. Start with a few leaves mixed in with your regular food and they blend right in!  The photos shows a salad made with wild edibles and lettuce, they don’t have to taste bitter and bad or look ugly!  How pretty is this salad!!

Rewilding a farm in England

In this article I want to share a little from a captivating book I’ve just read called ‘Wilding’ by Isabella Tree.  It is about Isabella and her husband Charlie Burrell returning to nature an uneconomic cropping and dairy farm of 3,500 acres on marginal land (clay above an iron pan) in Sussex, England. The Knepp (pronounced ‘Nepp’) farm project is the first of its kind in Britain. There is very little human intervention. They have released herds of free roaming herbivores which have stimulated new habitats

Longhorn cattle at Knepp farm

resulting in a flourishing of insects, animals, plants and soil life.  Very rare birds for example the turtle neck dove, and the peregrine falcon and rare butterflies like the purple emperor are now breeding at Knepp.

This project has demonstrated that allowing nature to lead

Exmoor ponies at Knepp

the way restored the land and its wildlife in a very short time reversing the massive declines of the past five

Before the wilding project left; some years later right

decades.  This story also challenges the prevailing beliefs about the British and European landscapes of the past and present.  It is an inspirational story and vision of a future countryside that is wilder and richer benefiting nature,

Deer at Knepp with lying dead trees behind

farming and us.

There were so many ideas in this book that I found inspirational and exciting because they fit with my understanding of permaculture and working with nature not against it.  On the estate an old oak tree died and they were ready to take a chainsaw to it as they considered it a blot on the landscape. However, Ted Green, a distinguished tree specialist and custodian of the oaks at Windsor Great Castle pointed out that

There was a whole chapter devoted to ragwort, the bane of many a kiwi farmer, including my Dad.  Our family spent many a day out spraying ragwort while we were growing up.  The Knepp neighbouring farmers were vehemently opposed to allowing large areas of it to flower, fearful it would

Ragwort plants in flower

Ragwort flowers

spread to their land.  Turns out most seeds drop around the plant however, the Burrell’s relented to removing ragwort from a wide strip around the boundary.  It was the older generation that commented how the countryside with flowering ragwort had always looked like that in the past, because it is a native British plant and host plant to large numbers of insects.

Knepp wildland safaris

Knepp now runs safaris and one can camp out there in wild nature.  I am so excited about what they are achieving at Knepp.  I hope it starts to cause a shift in how people view wilderness and conservation in England and perhaps we can learn gain valuable lessons from it for our situation in New Zealand.
There is a lot more to this book than I’ve covered here.  I feel so nourished when a book expands my view of nature and challenges our long held beliefs.

 

Four Thieves Herbal Vinegar


We’ve never had a situation like we’re experiencing in NZ and globally.  I see it as an opportunity to draw on our strengths and resilience to work at keeping our spirits up and looking for the positives coming out of this. Avoid fear and worry as they weaken our immune systems. There are many things we can do for

Herbs placed inside a bottle ready for the cider vinegar

ourselves to build and support our immune systems and one of them is using infused vinegars.

Natural vinegars, like cider vinegar, wine vinegar or rice vinegar are an excellent solvent to extract the minerals, vitamins, alkaloidal components and essential oils that are rich in plants.

Four Thieves Vinegar

This infused anti viral, anti bacterial, tonic vinegar comes from the time of the Bubonic Plague. There are a number of variations on the story that tells the tale of four thieves, one of whom was a herbalist, who used to steal from the dead victims of the plague.  The thieves were eventually caught and taken to court in Marseille where they were offered freedom for the recipe of how they managed to avoid the plague.  They drank this potent vinegar and also washed themselves with it several times a day.

 

Herbs for the vinegar

You can choose what to put in this vinegar from the plants with antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-fungal, antiviral properties from the following:

Mint, Lavender, Sage, Wormwood, Rue, Yarrow, Rosemary, Thyme, Ginger root, Lemon balm, Plantain, Nasturtium leaves or seeds (green seeds are biting hot), Cinnamon stick, Hot peppers, or peppercorns, Garlic

Vinegar of the Four Thieves Recipe Example

Organic apple cider vinegar, 2 tblsp dried sage, 2 tblsp dried lavender, 2 tblsp dried wormwood, 2 tblsp dried rue, 2 tblsp dried mint, 2 tblsp garlic – sliced

Four Thieves Vinegar Lavender in cider vinegar makes it go pink.

Combine dried herbs (except the garlic) and steep in the vinegar for three weeks. Strain and re-bottle. Add the garlic, leave for three days and strain again. You can also use fresh plants.  Cut the leaves into approximately 2cm lengths.  Loosely fill a jar with chopped plants and roots, then pour in the vinegar to fill. Leave for six weeks and then strain. Add the garlic as above, leave for three days, strain and bottle.  If the jar lid is not plastic line it with wax paper or plastic as vinegar corrodes metal lids.

Ways to Use Thieves Vinegar

  • For illness or immune boosting.  Take 1tsp in water every few hours, honey could be added. Or take one tablespoon per day for immunity boosting.
  • As a surface disinfectant – put strained vinegar in a spray bottle, spray on surfaces and wipe clean.
  • As a insect repellent – put 1/4 cup vinegar in a spray bottle and fill the rest with water.  Spray on skin, clothes, etc.  From Wellness Mama.

Diluted, as a topical treatment for dandruff, or as a foot soak for nail fungus.

Stay well and take care! Until next time..

Plantain – a wound healer and love charm

“Weeds in Defense of nature’s most unloved plants” by Richard Mabey

Broadleaf plantain

published, 2010 by Harper Collins is a really lively and fascinating tale of history and botany.

Plantain Plantago lanceloata & Plantain major have a long history I learned in this book. They were present in all the prescriptions of magical herbs from the earliest Celtic fire ceremonies when medieval peasants wove magic into their lives. They used them from appeasing the dangerous forces in the air everywhere that caused failed harvests, a husband’s adultery and disease, to young girls finding their love match.  The most potent protection was to employ a charm or potion based on the Anglo-Saxons’ nine sacred herbs, including well known weeds: mugwort or Croneswort, stime (watercress), maythen (mayweed or chamomile), atterlothe (probably betony), wergulu (stinging nettle), chervil, fennel, crab apple and plantain known as ‘the mother of worts’. ‘Wort’ is an old English name for herbaceous plant, first used before the 12th Century.

Plantain’s powers extended from healing to divination – helping to see into the future. On the summer

Flowering narrow leaf plantain with wind pollinated anthers

solstice when the veil between the human and supernatural world was at its thinnest, the flowering stems were used in a charm to predict whether young women would fall in love. The recipe for the charm: pick two ‘rat’s-tail’ flowering spikes and remove any visible purple anthers (the pollen bearing tips of male organs). Wrap the flower spikes in a dock leaf and place under a stone. Next day if more anthers had risen erect from the flowering spike, love was assured. Even if we think it is just superstition, I love that there was more interaction with nature and plants and trust in their powers. We could encourage children to do more of this enhancing their imaginary worlds.

The Anglo-Saxon name for broad leaf plantain (Plantago major) was ‘Waybroad’ or ‘Waybread’ meaning ‘a broad-leaved herb which grows by the wayside.‘  And it is true it thrives on roadways, paths, church steps, where humans have caused disturbance and its tough, elastic low growing leaves tolerate being walked on, driven over or scuffed. Deep, fibrous roots enable

Broadleaf plantain survivor

them to survive such compacted, dry places.  They do end up looking torn and ragged but they don’t die.  So in sympathy (the principle behind magical beliefs in pre-scientific cultures is that like would cure like)  plantain was believed to be effective for human crushing and tearing injuries (and it is used to heal wounds – containing tannins to help close wounds and stop bleeding).

The name plantain derives from planta, or foot, because of how it grows in a rosette flat on the ground.  A favourite of

Broadleaf plantain fibrous deep roots

the American Indians and Gypsies everywhere it is effective in treating bites, stings, sores, rashes, eczema, boils and burns. Here is a recipe for a poultice using fresh spit from Susun Weed www.susunweed.com

Fresh Herb Spit Poultice

Pick one or two medium-sized plantain leaves. 
Chew the fresh plant material for 10-30 seconds mixing it well with saliva. Apply to the affected part.  

Bleeding usually stops within 30-60 seconds. 
Pain and itching is generally relieved within 10-30 seconds. 
Hold spit poultices on with an adhesive bandage for long-term benefit. 
I keep a spit poultice bandage on until the wound is well healed.

If spitting doesn’t appeal you can either rub the leaf between your fingers or dip a leaf in boiling water to soften it and then put it on the bite or sting with a plaster or bandage.  I got bitten by mosquitos many times last evening and it was so itchy.  I grabbed some plantain leaves – the narrow leaf (Plantago lanceolate) as my broadleaf plantains have already died down in this dry weather.  I didn’t chew them I just rubbed them to get the juice to form and then rubbed them on the bites and it really is magical in taking out the intense itch!

Next workshop March 28th 2020, 10-2pm, focusing on autumn weeds & tonics for winter.

 

 

 

Summer news & Amaranth cracker recipe

Happy New Year!  This is my first blog for 2020.  Its going to be a fantastic year! We in the Bay of Plenty, N.Z., are experiencing exceptionally hot and dry weather which is tough on vegetables but not on those plants we call ‘weeds’.  I am amazed how my unmown lawn down the drive is a sea of yellow flowering Catsears Hypochaeris radicata (dandelion relative).  They just look lovely and the bees work them.  I’d much rather see bright flowers than dry, dead grass.

Fat hen growing in dry disturbed soil

Over at Bayfair amongst the road works in the dust, Fat hen or Lamb’s quarters  Chenopodium album was thriving and looking very leafy.  It looks even leafier in my garden and provides protein rich spinach like leaves.  It’s cousin Magenta spreen or Tree spinach Chenopodium giganteum  with its pretty pink new leaves is even more prolific. Both would get to 2 metres plus if I allowed them to.  I use them in smoothies, stir fries and salads.

Fat hen on the left & Magenta spreen on the right

Another summer annual is wild Amaranth Amaranthus viridus. There are many other varieties and this year I have Golden amaranth and

Wild Amaranthus viridis

Red amaranth, as well as a red, yellow, green leafed one.  The leaves are totally edible as well as the seeds.  I use the leaves for summer salads and smoothies.  The leaves contain three times more calcium and niacin (B3) than spinach leaves.  They are also an excellent source of vitamin A in the form of antioxidant carotenoids, iron, calcium, protein, vitamins C, K, riboflavin (B2), pyridoxine (B6), magnesium, potassium, phosphorous, zinc, copper and manganese.

Amaranth was first cultivated by the Aztecs more than 8,000 years ago

Red Amaranth

and is now popular as a gluten-free, high-protein grain. When the seeds ripen they are great to turn into crackers. They have a rich nutty flavour and high beta-carotene, iron and calcium content.  They are also high in potassium, zinc, Vitamins B and E and protein.  I didn’t have enough seeds on my plants so I bought seeds to make this recipe and added some of my own.

Golden amaranth

Amaranth crackers
1 cup amaranth , 3 cups water, pinch salt, 1 tablespoon sunflower or olive oil
Makes about 50 crackers

Cook the amaranth and water in a medium pot over a high flame. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the amaranth becomes sticky and forms a thick dough. Stir in the oil and allow to cool.

Amaranth seed crackers

Preheat oven to 150 Celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper, or use a silicone mat. Working with a teaspoon, put small mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and lightly flatten with your fingers until they are as thin as possible, about 3mm. I wet  my fingers so they wouldn’t stick to the dough. Bake until firm, about 1 hour, depends on thinness. Allow to cool thoroughly before removing.

Alternatively, shape little patties as thinly as possible and set in a food dehydrator. Dehydrate until very crisp.  The crackers are great to eat with pesto or humus.

 

What weeds not to eat!

Chickweed left with white star flower and euphorbia right

Euphorbia with two stems broken to reveal milky sap

I usually write about edible weeds that we can safely use and include in our diets.  This time I’m talking about two common plants in our gardens that are not good to eat. However,  don’t disregard them as they have other values.

Firstly there’s Milkweed, Petty spurge, Radium weed or Cancer weed  (Euphorbia peplus).  I have tons of this in my garden. It is an annual plant growing 5–30 cm tall with smooth round, hairless stems. The leaves are oval with a smooth margins looking almost identical  in colour and shape to chickweed leaves. These two plants frequently grow together especially when chickweed flourishes in cooler weather during winter.  Milkweed has tiny green flowers in three-rayed umbels.
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Daisy – ‘Day’s eye’

A field of daisies

Daisies are thick in lawns at the moment, mostly in shadier spots in lawns,

Claire and her daisy chain

untended places and parks. I’ve recently seen huge thickly flowering patches in Yatton Park in Greerton, Tauranga where I went walking with our visiting Australian family. Claire my 15 year old niece made a daisy chain and wore it in her hair, an expression of her delight in seeing so many of these dainty spring fresh flowers.

While this plant appears small and low to the ground with the starlight bright flowers there’s more to it than you might think. It’s also sometimes called English daisy and is a perennial that grows in a rosette with dark green spoon-shaped leaves and pretty flowers with white petals, often red-tipped, radiating out from a yellow centre. Its Latin name Bellis means pretty (isn’t that apt) and perennis means perennial. The flowers, one per stalk, close up at night (‘day’s eye’ is the origin of ‘daisy’) and on cloudy days. The stalks are leafless but hairy and grow up to 15 cm tall if not mown down. The leaves narrow to a broad stalk going into the centre of the plant. It normally flowers from spring to autumn but it can flower in a mild winter.

This little gem of a plant has an amazing range of applications. The flowers (though strong tasting) and leaves can be added to salads, soups and smoothies. The whole plant has a great reputation as a wound healer. Doctors accompanying Roman legions collected sacks of it to extract the juice and apply it to battle wounds, and ointments can also be made for bruises or wounds.
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