First Wild Salad of Spring

Every year, for about the past eight years, I have marked the beginning of spring by foraging for wild edibles from my lawn. I love learning about wild edibles, trying them out, finding recipes, and sharing my experiences with skeptical friends and family. Here is a breakdown of what I collected for my spring salad mix:

Dandelions
-  Edible parts: leaves, roots, and flowers (though some parts are best eaten cooked).
- Nutritional content: calcium, high in vitamin A,  high in vitamin K, iron, vitamin E and more
- It's best to pick the young leaves because as they get older, they taste more bitter.
- Caution: don't eat too many at one time because the leaves are a diuretic
- For recipes check out this link: 16 ways to eat dandelions

Clover
-  Edible parts: leaves, flowers, seeds and root
- Once again it's best to choose the young young leaves when adding them to salads. As they get more mature, it is better to cook them as you would other greens. However, the tastiest part of the clover is the flower.
- Here is a link to various Red clover recipes: 9 Red Clover Recipes

White clover

Wild Violet
- Edible parts: leaves, flowers
- Did you know there are 450 different species of violets in North America and you can eat all of them!
- Here's a link with more information on violets and some recipes: Wild foods and medicines























Plantain
- Edible parts: leaves, seeds, and roots
- It is high in calcium, Vitamin A, C, and K
- Plantains are also great for first aid against mosquito bites and bee or wasp stings. Just chew up the leaf and apply the poultice to the bite to help ease the pain, reduce swelling and help it heal.
- At the bottom of this link there are 4 recipes to get you started: Eat the Weeds





















Bittercress (also known as pepperweed)
- Edible parts: leaves, seed pods
- Here are several recipes: bittercress pesto; wild garlic, nettle and bittercress risotto























Salad 
Finally, here is my salad all put together. I added a little bit of olive oil, lemon juice and salt and I quite enjoyed it.

For more wild edibles check out: Edible Weeds

PS. Always double check the plant(s) you plan on eating with a plant ID book and make sure you are gathering from pesticide free locations. If you are not 100% sure about the plant, don't eat it! Each person should also be aware of the potential side effects if they have any health conditions. So do your research :)

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson