Nettle leaves have been used for centuries as a nourishing tonic

Of course not all weeds are edible. In fact some are very poisonous, but there are a number that not only taste good but are full of useful vitamins and minerals. Others can be used as remedies for simple complaints such as colds, cuts or stings. Most also have a fascinating history.
One of the most useful weeds found in Australian gardens or nearby wastelands is the common stinging nettle (Urtica dioica). Before you recoil in horror I’m not suggesting anyone use them in the way the Romans did, who when they first came to England were advised to flog themselves with nettles to get their circulation moving on cold English mornings. Life must have been considerably harder then. Flogging with nettles or ‘urtication’ is still sometimes recommended as a treatment for arthritis or rheumatism. At the very least nettles should be pulled out (wearing gloves) and added to the compost as they add minerals and speed the composting process. Drying or cooking de-activates the sting but if you do get stung, rub the affected part with a broken nettle stem to stop the pain. Nettles contain vitamins A, B and C as well as iron, silica and potassium; dried plants make a nutritious addition to stock and poultry food. The leaves have been used for centuries as a nourishing tonic, taken in the form of a tea, and young leaves are delicious cooked as a vegetable. Harvest them carefully and simmer gently in a shallow pan for 10 minutes with a little butter, turning regularly. Add salt and pepper before serving with meat or other vegetables.
Fat hen or lamb’s quarters (Chenopodium album) is another weed that can be cooked as a nutritious green vegetable. It is commonly found growing near manure heaps and has a spinach like flavour. Young leaves are cooked in the same way as spinach or added raw to salads. Leaves contain vitamins A and C, calcium and iron. If you decide to sample this plant you’ll be in interesting company. Napoleon ate bread made from the seeds, as did some American Indians. Fat hen plants were found in the stomach of a man, from about AD 300, who was dug from a Danish peat bog .

This cultivated form of purslane makes a crunchy addition to a salad.

Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a problem weed in many gardens, but is rich in iron and vitamin C. So instead of cursing it, add the crunchy, cooling leaves to salads where they combine beautifully with hot salad herbs such as rocket and mustard greens. The leaves can also be pickled, cooked as a vegetable or added to soups. It is possible to buy seed of a cultivated form with golden leaves and more upright habit that can be used in the same way.

The leaves, flowers and roots of dandelion are all eaten

Common dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis) contains vitamins A, B, C and D as well as zinc, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, magnesium, iron and calcium. Harvest young leaves in spring and add them to salads. In summer and autumn the old leaves are too bitter to use but if they are all removed, new growth can be picked as it appears. The French name for dandelion, ‘Piss-en-lit’, roughly translates as ‘wet the bed’ indicating its medicinal use as a diuretic, but eaten as a regular addition to salads it does no more than enhance the diet. The flowers are also used in salads and to make wine. The roots are harvested in autumn and roasted to make a caffeine free coffee substitute. Dandelion can be confused with other similar looking weeds but is easily distinguished once in flower because of the hollow flower stem.

Cleavers is also known as goosegrass and sticky willy

Cleavers (Galium aparine) is also known as goosegrass and sticky willy. It is a vigorous, sticky, trailing plant that twines through bushes and quickly covers large areas. Cleavers was used in the past made into a soup ‘to cause lanknesse and keepe them from fatnes’ and generally as a cleansing tonic. Once the sticky pods appear, the whole plant is too tough to eat but tender shoots and new leaves can be eaten as a vegetable sweated like spinach, or can be added to soups.
Onion weed (Allium triquetrum) is found in temperate regions where it colonises waste areas. Seed is spread by ants which carry it long distances. The leaves, flowers and bulbs can all be eaten – the leaves and flowers as a garnish for salads, soups and stews, and the bulbs in the same way as onions. Potato and onion soup is delicous made with this weed.
Plantain (Plantago major) and horehound (Marrubium vulgare) are both common weeds that are more often used medicinally than as a regular part of the diet. Young plantain leaves have been used in salads and it was called waybread by the Anglo-Saxons because it was such an important food source. I have always found the leaves tough and tasteless though. Plantain’s main claim to fame is as a wound healer, its reputation being so high that it was believed that ‘if several pieces of flesh were put in a pot with plantain it will join them back together again’. It is also a great remedy for sandfly bites, just crush the leaf and rub it over the bite. Horehound is a problem weed particularly in wool growing regions where the hard seed cases get into fleeces and detract from their quality. However it is also a well-known remedy for coughs and colds. It is still possible to buy horehound cough lollies and a cup of horehound tea made from fresh leaves will alleviate the symptoms of a cold, but it tastes pretty awful being quite bitter so add honey or sugar. If you wish to remain undisturbed while out for a walk then put a few horehound leaves inside your shoes and dogs will not bark as you go by!

Onion weed seed is dispersed by ants.

Rub fresh, crushed plantain leaves on sandfly bites to take away the itch

Perennial chamomile adds calcium and ‘sweetens’ the compost.

Just as the success of a meal depends on the quality of the ingredients, so too does the success of a compost heap. If you add only kitchen scraps you’re likely to end up with a slimy, black mess and if it’s all leaves and twigs then the chances are that is what will still be there months later. The fine detail of a compost recipe varies depending on the expert you are consulting, but all compost systems require free drainage, adequate moisture and a mixture of strawy, open material and green plant tissue. The purpose of composting is to break down garden and kitchen ‘waste’ into humus that can then be added to the garden to supply nutrients in a form that can be readily used by plants.

Compost can just ‘happen’. This one has kitchen scraps, straw and green waste.

Ingredients

Basic compost ingredients are kitchen scraps, manure (chook, cow, horse), soil, shredded paper, straw and green waste from the garden. This green waste can be made up of grass cuttings, leaves, weeds and leafy prunings. Sticks and branches are also fine as long as they are cut or mulched into small pieces.  These ingredients should added in layers in much the same way as you would make a moussaka, but instead of eggplant, meat and cheese sauce your layers would consist of kitchen scraps, manure, garden waste and straw or shredded paper. If you are like me and not organized enough to have all these ingredients ready at the same time, then you can just add them as they are available. In the words of the old Zen master, ‘compost happens’. It may take longer but it will get there in the end.

Healthy compost is full of worms

Don’t add diseased plants, or weeds such as couch, oxalis and onion weed, but conversely there are some plants, including some weeds, that will actually add specific nutrients and even help the compost to break down more quickly.

The herbs

My compost recipe requires regular additions of annual and perennial chamomile (Matricaria recutita and Chamaemelum nobile), comfrey (Russian comfrey, S. x uplandicum Bocking 14 is the best cultivar to use), dandelion (Taraxacum species), nettles (Urtica dioica), tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and yarrow (Achillea millefolium).

Regular handfuls of chamomile, dandelion and yarrow leaves and flowers will all speed up decomposition of the compost with yarrow being the most effective. Yarrow also adds copper, nitrates, phosphates and potash while chamomile adds calcium and ‘sweetens’ the mixture. Dandelions contribute copper, iron and potash. Nettles are problem weeds but they actually improve the quality of the soil they are growing in and when added to the compost they contribute iron and nitrogen. Tansy adds potassium, which is very important for plant growth while valerian increases the phosphorous content so essential for good flowers and fruits. Probably the most useful compost plant is comfrey. The leaves are rich in potassium, nitrogen, calcium and phosphates. I keep a clump growing next to the compost and add a handful of leaves whenever I throw in kitchen scraps.

Dandelion leaves and flowers help to speed up decomposition.

Yarrow adds copper, nitrates, phosphate and potash to the compost.

We all know that adding herbs to food increases the flavour and enjoyment of the food. Adding herbs to compost doesn’t quite make it good enough to eat, but it speeds up and improves the composting process. It also ensures that the compost you add to your garden has a good balance of nutrients thus promoting the health and fertility of the soil, so essential for healthy plants.