weeds

Like everything else in life, gardens and green spaces need to be de-cluttered to stay beautiful and not overload the soil. Here are a few pointers...

Springtime is long at last here and it’s time to take full advantage of the fantastic wild food sources that are beginning to burst from the earth. Spring is my favorite time of year to do food foraging, because there are some particularly special offerings. Spring is all about fresh beginnings: light greens, tender shoots, and cool roots.

If you live in a particularly snowy region of the world you might think that there is very little opportunity for wild foraging. Everything appears asleep and buried during winter. With the right knowledge, however, you will find that there are plenty of plants that are ideal for harvesting in winter.

As we progress through November, it is easy to think that the harvest season is over. There are many plants, however, that are still ready to harvest and make a great addition to your fall larder. Acorns and wintergreen are mostly found in deciduous forests such as those found on the East Coast of North America; however, you can find different varieties of the same plants in many places. For instance, the greatest acorn producing oak tree on the east coast is the white oak, whereas the scrub oak is prevalent in the Rocky Mountain region.

The beginning of autumn is an incredible abundant time of harvest, and many plants are just coming into the height of their fruiting. This includes many plants that would normally be considered “weeds.” Many of these plants, however, are performing important ecosystem services in addition to being beneficial to humans. Get out your wild edibles guidebook and go hunting for these three plants you can find in early fall.

A weed by definition is a plant that is unwanted and is growing in competition with cultivated plants. However, many "weeds," when taken out of human judgement, are playing vital roles in their ecosystem, be it holding the soil onto a hillside or feeding the bees that pollinate our vegetables. Perhaps unsurprisingly, many plants that are considered weeds are actually very useful and beneficial to humans as well. Here are some special plants coming into season right now that might surprise you with their usefulness.

The beginning of spring signals the return of green to the earth: small, bright buds replace crinkled leaves and bare branches, purple-pointed crocuses grow next to damp sidewalks, and daylight lasts longer than the work day. While St.

Dandelions are a member of the family Asteraceae, commonly known as the Aster family in the genus Taraxacum F.H. Wigg. or dandelion P., which contains nine species. The greens have been eaten since prehistory and are native to Asia, Europe, and America. The name is derived from the French term “dent-de-lion,” meaning “lion’s tooth” and referring to the serrated edges of the leaves.

Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) is on my mind today after wildcrafting the root and leaf on a chilly, rainy morning this week. Despite the mud, wet days are great for root digging; it’s easier to unearth them.  And, as mullein is considered a noxious weed in many places, no one will likely protest should you dig it up!  Though disrespected as a lowly weed, mullein is a beautiful and immensely useful plant.

My five-year-old son bounds out of bed before my husband and I have opened our eyes. Messy-haired, barefoot, and still in his pajamas, Asher runs outside to check on the strawberries. The sun hasn’t reached the garden before Asher has spotted the only one red enough to pick and popped it in his mouth. I’ve come out to meet him with a baby on my hip and a watering can in my hand. This garden, like the mop-top kiddo in front of me, is my first. We moved to the country three years ago, and I’ve finally worked up the courage to put some seeds in the ground.