This post is my offering for the April Blog Party, hosted by Leslie at Comfrey Cottages on the topic of Spring Foraging, Wildcrafting and Gardening. Check her blog on the 20th to see the links to the other posts.
Invasive they may be, but many of the plants that take over the hedgerows and waste ground, not to mention our gardens, at this time of year are also exceptionally useful, full of health giving properties and, in some cases, also delicious.
At the moment I’m particularly enjoying liberally lacing my salads with the lovely Jack-By-The-Hedge, Alliaria petiolata, also known as garlic mustard because of it’s distinctive taste of, yes you guessed it, garlic and mustard.
According to ‘wildman’ Steve Brill, “This despised invasive plant is actually one of the best and most nutritious common wild foods.”
Mrs Grieve writes “The leaves used to be taken internally as a sudorific and deobstruent, and externally were applied antiseptically in gangrenes and ulcers. The juice of the leaves taken alone or boiled into a syrup with honey is found serviceable in dropsy. Country people at one time used the plant in sauces, with bread and butter, salted meat and with lettuce in salads, hence it acquired also the name of Sauce Alone. The herb, when eaten as a salad, warms the stomach and strengthens the digestive faculties.”
Most pungent herbs have an affinity for the digestive system as they are heating, thus stoking the digestive fires and promoting flow of digestive juices. They also help to thin mucus which is important in many spring ailments such as hay fever and sinus congestion.
The photos above were taken a week ago but now all the plants except those in deepest shade have begun to bloom. The flowers are also edible and look lovely sprinkled on salads, soups or other dishes.
Apart from sliced finely in salads and grain dishes like quinoa or millet, I have used garlic mustard to make an infused vinegar and as part of my Spring tonic formula, see below. Steve Brill also uses the root which he says has a horseradish flavour, though this is something I have yet to try.
Garlic Mustard infused vinegar and Spring tonic.
The idea for this Spring tonic came from my friend Therri who is full of inventive herbal inspirations. She makes hers from nettles, ramsons and ground ivy, all found growing together and then tinctured together to make a base formulas for people suffering from spring allergies and the like.
Just by my house is a little copse where cleavers, nettles, ground ivy and garlic mustard all grow up together so I decided these four would make the base for my own Spring tonic blend. I don’t usually tincture things together, preferring to do them separately then blend where appropriate. In this case however part of the magic is in the togetherness, using a community of spring plants that grow close by where you live or practice will be particuarly beneficial for people of that area.
A community of Spring tonics; nettles, cleavers, ground ivy and garlic mustard.
Another plant that I have been eating this spring is ground elder, though possibly with something more akin to grim determination than actual enjoyment. I must confess I don’t find it as delicious as some of the other wild greens around at this time of year but, in small quantities, it can be quite palatable, especially blended in soups. It’s also good as a cooked green and theres a nice recipe on Eat Weeds for stir fried ground elder and tempeh which you can read here. I also came across a ground elder and vanilla muffin recipe here, will wonders never cease?!
The reason I am persevering with this particular wild edible is simple, my garden is riddled with it.
When my Dad, a gardener by trade, came to visit soon after we moved in last year, he took one look at it and proclaimed, “you’re going to have to use Round-up on that.” “No!” I cried, “surely I can manage it organically.” He laughed.
So you see, at stake here is not only the organic status of my garden but also my pride.
Ground elder was originally introduced to the UK by the Romans, and much like its benefactors, it proceeded to take over and has proved even harder to be rid of. They used it as a salad crop and it was said to help gout and arthritis too. Though I have been assured that its not really strong enough to be of much use medicinally, I can imagine that regular eating of the plant would work as a preventative, only because it’s pungent taste is not dissimilar to a strong parsley or celery seed, both of which have been used to treat similar conditions. Perhaps I will try a little bit of tincture just to experiment and I am sure it would make a nice infused vinegar.
It seems to me that there are very few invasive weeds that do not have some use or other, many in fact being the most useful plants we have. And you know what they say… if you can beat ’em, eat ’em.
Whispering Earth 
lightening clapped and my computer stuttered just as I was replying to this post. testing to see if this posts
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I am going to try this again! lol! We had the hardest storm last night and I ended up just shutting down computer for the evening after trying to post 2 times. Lucinda, I feel for you having a garden area with goutweed/ground elder invaded in it. I wish you every bit of luck with managing it! Amazing recipes that include it!
Just love your spring tonic incorporating the plants that are growing together. I think it should be just filled with herbal synergy goodness:) In my gardens now, it would be violets, dandelion and ground ivy! Some of the cultivated plants are growing but not much else yet!
Thanks for sharing ideas for using garlic mustard. Eric and I managed to harvest a few leaves from very young plants we found the other day. Look forward to trying the roots and maybe making a sauce now:)
Beautiful post. Thank you for sharing with us dear xxxx Will link to this later today:)xxx
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Hi Leslie,
Glad you got some garlic mustard leaves, let me know how it goes if you try the root.
Everyone’s reaction is one of sympathy when I mention the ground elder!! I’m determined to stay on good terms with it and I’m hoping a combination of digging and eating will keep it at bay.
Lots of love,
Lucinda xx
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You have a beautiful and interesting blog Lucinda,
thanks for sharing this all with us.
Have a nice day,
Rita
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“at stake here is not only the organic status of my garden but also my pride.” – I had to laugh here. There is nothing like a round-up comment from a well meaning relative to set one’s heals firmly in the ground. I have not as yet found any garlic mustard growing around here – though I know it must be! I am making it a mission this spring to venture forth and find some new plants to try out (I’ve also added ground ivy to the list, after reading your post on that), as my backyard doesn’t seem very prolific in it’s weedy offerings.
Your spring tonic sounds fantastic – and I love that you’re drawing on the synergy of tincturing them together. How wonderful!
My favorite line – “if you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em”. Love it!
XOXO D
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Ha ha, yes indeed I’m trying my best to avoid an ‘I told you so’ from my father!
I’ve heard garlic mustard has taken over a bit in the US since being introduced, is that so? And do you get ground ivy too? I’d love to hear your impressions of it if you harvest some.
xxx
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Ohhh I hadn’t thought of making a vinegar with Garlic Mustard, would be brilliant for salad dressings, thanks for the idea! Have you tried the recipes for Ground Elder in ‘Cooking Weeds’? I’m lucky that so far GE isn’t something that’s made itself at home in my garden, don’t envy you that little herbal monkey! I had to look sideways when I saw one of the herb nurseries I regularly frequent selling the variegated form of ground elder, yes it looks pretty in parts of the garden where its very shady but it’s still very invasive and not something I’d pop in my garden knowingly.
Like you I’ve been enjoying GM in my salads, don’t you just love having free greens to munch? The ‘weed’ that’s hard to irradiate in my garden is Herb Bennet aka Avens (Geum urbanum) it’s in the borders, the gravel path, the beds and grows in the grass beside the garage wall. Spent a good part of today pulling up handfuls of the stuff, and getting odd looks from the neighbours when I took a bucket full into the house for processing lol! The more I learn about herbs and wild plants the less weed like they seem and the more useful they become. Good luck eradicating your Ground Elder!
Herby Hugs – Debs xxx
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Hi Lucinda,
I have only recently begun to discover the joys of eating wild plants and such and reading your blog inspired me further, so thanks very much – but I would just like to ask for one piece of advice if I may – are there any weeds and plants that I cannot eat due to them being poisonous? (I know Foxgloves and Yew (berries) are poisonous of course, but wondered if there are any others I have to watch out for).
Many thanks,
Adrian
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Hi Adrian,
Yes there are quite a few to be aware of! Cuckoo pint or Lords and Ladies is a very common poisonous plant and dog mercury that often carpets woodland areas and grows close to many edible plants is another. I would recommend getting a good wild food guide that will have pictures in of what to eat and what to avoid. If you are ever in any doubt then leave it. Some survivalists recommend rubbing a small piece of the leaf on your lip and if it tingles or stings you can assume its poisonous. I stick to the plants I know well though and don’t harvest anything until I’m sure of what it is.
Hope that’s helpful, enjoy your wild harvest.
Lucinda
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