I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about wild edible plants over the past two years and while it was difficult at first to find identification and resources for the plants I was looking at, it has been exciting to learn how much is available in the wild. I need to stay. I am often amazed at how many wild foods are available even in the Utah desert where I live. Not only are there a lot of wild edibles, but many of them are quite tasty. With spring just around the corner, I’m thinking about it again and looking forward to finding food and a better diet. I bet you didn’t think that eating wild edible vegetables could improve your diet!
That’s one of the things I found when I started this journey. What most people don’t realize when it comes to wild edibles is that these plants that we call weeds and wild vegetables and such were once cultivated. Many of my favorite wild plants were brought to the US as vegetables and some are still grown here as vegetables. These wild greens are often much more nutritious for you than the ones you can find in stores. An example of this is the famous Lamb’s Quarter or Wild Spinach. It’s known by many names, but the truth is simply that the plant we all call Lamb’s Quarter is a spinach brought to the US by early immigrants and it has been strong enough to spread easily and now we have it all over the world. country. It now grows “wild” even though it is not a native plant. this is very often the case.
Spring brings one of my favorites which is a mustard plant. I love blue mustard and wish I could keep it growing year-round, but it just doesn’t like hot, dry weather, so here in Utah we have it in abundance in early spring, sometimes even February. It is a delicious green radish flavored with a mild spicy flavor. I like it in sandwiches and salads, and it even makes a great cooked vegetable. It can be added to any recipe in place of spinach just like many vegetables. This is the plant that offers you a beautiful view when the small lavender flowers appear. It will often cover entire fields before farmers plant their crops. Blue mustard also has a rather pungent odor that some find unpleasant. Personally, it brings back memories of the rolling green hills I used to play on as a child. I didn’t know what the smell was at the time and I didn’t know why the soft green plant didn’t stay all summer so I could shoot, but now that I recognize the plant, the smell brings me nothing but joy.
