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So if there are two things that weeds love, it’s lots of rain, and lots of sun. It’s not news to anyone that we’ve had plenty of both this season. Whether we like it or not, we have to keep up on the weeding…

You know what would be awesome? If there was a way to use the weeds to our advantage. I’m sure you see where this is going by now—some of our daily garden foes are not only edible but actually delicious. Everyone knows that dandelion greens are edible (especially by chickens) so I’m going to tell you about three of my other favorite edible weeds.

I’m guessing that up to this point, if you aren’t yet aware that they’re edible, you’re going to realize all the potential produce that you’ve cursed and thrown onto the compost pile.

Lamb’s quarter

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There are lots of things to do with lambs quarter, but when I’m learning about how to use a new vegetable, it helps me to think it terms of something its comparable to, or something more traditional that I could use my new thing to substitute for… in this case, it’s spinach.

Instead of being upset that the crop you weeded less than a week ago is already overgrown, make a game of it and look for some lamb’s quarter to add to dinner in place of spinach in a favorite recipe. There are tons of ways to prepare it, but as usual, I’ll leave the homework to you. If there’s none in your garden, feign sincerity with a neighbor who’s infested and offer to help with weeding (a.k.a. harvesting).

Purslane

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Some folks call this pigweed, but everyone’s seen this stuff, and not many people know what it is. Those that do may not realize that it’s not only edible, but probably eligible for the super-food hall of fame.

I’m house-sitting for someone right now and I yanked what was probably a couple of pounds of this out of her driveway.

Purslane is found most commonly in European, Asian and sometimes Mexican dishes, but regardless of your ethnic culinary preference, there are several nutritional benefits that this “weed” has to offer: It’s a great (and local) source of Omega-3’s, and high in vitamins A, C and some B’s. Apparently all parts of this weed are edible in certain contexts, so search for recipes containing purslane and I’m sure you’re have an opportunity to use more than one part of the plant.

Ground Cherries

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I was trying to decide how to save the best for last; I was wrestling between the ground cherries and the purslane, and I decided to keep the ground cherries up my sleeve.

I’m fortunate in that one of the farms where I work has this stuff growing haphazardly—I’d go ahead and call it a weed because it seems to grow like one. I’ve definitely seen this plant before as I grew up, tromping through the woods. I didn’t know that it was not only edible, but a great summer treat as well.

Many of you may recognize these lantern-like seed-pods, but maybe you didn’t know that some really great wild fruit grows within. I’m sure there’s a healthy volume of recipes on the internet, so see if you can source them and try them out. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

As is one of the mantras with organic gardening—it’s not about bending nature to your will as we see with so many of our corn and soybean growing friends; it’s about working in synchronicity and serendipity.

There’s no harm in figuring out how to work in harmony with your surroundings. You may even benefit from it.