What are some surprising things you can eat out of your yard? (not from a planted garden)

a Whole Foods Market Customer
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5 Comments

stilltrying April 12, 2011
the bulbs of nutsedge are edible. nutsedge grows in damper areas of your lawn and has a triangular stem. and lambs quarter leaves.
 
Anitalectric April 12, 2011
Onion grass. Where I grew up in the suburbs of D.C., it was everywhere. My sister and I would pick it when we were out playing and our grandma would put it in the rice.

Also, the chef where I work says he sees epazote growing out of the sidewalk in his Brooklyn 'hood.

Many common spring flowers are edible, like violets, nasturtium, lilacs, tea roses and chamomile. Just make sure they have not been chemically fertilized or sprayed before eating.
 
sarah K. April 11, 2011
I've read all over about the nutritional profile of purslane, but never tried it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea
I think you could probably get away with eating the squirrels out of my yard. They're exceedingly well-fed. I plant a full garden each year, with squashes, tomatoes, beets, carrots, and on and on and on, and those little buggers get at least half of it. But squirrel is also something I've never tried.
 
hardlikearmour April 11, 2011
pineapple weed makes a nice, chamomile-like teasan.
 
aargersi April 11, 2011
dandelion greens for one. Are you in Austin? Rene's Roots (Austin American Statesman) just ran an article on foraging here - you could look it up on line!
 
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