What is a weed?

Some plants are definitely weeds, and others are not, aren’t they? A weed is a plant which is dangerous? Poisonous? Unattractive? Not native? Inconvenient? OR simply a plant growing where we don’t want it.
• Some plants that we think of as weeds today were not considered a weed in the past.
• Some plants we think of as weeds where we live, or in our community, are not considered a weed in other cultures or countries.

Edible Weeds – not just Edible!

Did you know that these amazing plants are not just edible? They can have a raft of other benefits! Companion plants

• Attract/host beneficial insects Repel ‘bad bugs’ e.g., slugs, aphids 
• Have medicinal and healing properties
• Can be used as dyes
• Soil breakers
• Bring up nutrients from deep down in the ground through long tap roots
• Can be soil indicators – how much water is in the soil, the nutrients in the soil
• Provide stock fodder
• Good ground covers
• Green mulches
• Nitrogen fixers

Is there nothing these weeds can’t do?!

A note of caution

– before you start out with edible weeds…

• Not all parts of a plant may be edible…
• Some edible plants need to be cooked to be made edible
• Plants can have poisonous look-alikes
• Only eat a plant you are sure you have identified correctly – don’t try things
• Just because an animal or bird eats it doesn’t mean its edible for humans
• Some things are edible but not practical… ever tried cooking an agave root!?