Sunday Backyard Foraging & Discoveries Made
Garlic Mustard
Yesterday morning just as the sun crested the horizon, I headed outside to the greenhouses and my to-do list of outside chores to finish. I was going to check on my potatoes, water all the plants and herbs in the greenhouses, add a few more seeds to the existing herb and flower garden for a fuller harvest later and do some weeding as Mr Golden D mowed the lawn and cleaned up the creek bed a little more.
As Mr Golden D was about to start the lawn mower up, I walked to edge of the property near the creek bed incline and noticed some new flowers and plants I hadn't seen before.
This is our second summer in this house and some plants and flowers I am just now seeing for the first time. Bi-ennials
Last year I discovered European raspberries on the west side of the property line and was ecstatic; granted we didn't get much from the few plants, but still was exciting to know we had some there. This year, knowing we wouldn't have raspberries blooming or coming because they are bi-ennials also, I grabbed up some young and tender raspberry leaves to dehydrate for my and my mom's herbal teas. I ended up with a quart jar filled to rim with dehydrated leaves; and I'll gather more later this week as I still have two plants to trim up.
After loading up my bowl with the raspberry leaves, I saw a new flower... TONS of them lining the edge of the lawn. I took a picture and compared to an app on my phone called "Picture This- Plant Identification".
The newly discovered flowers and plants was either Garlic Mustard or Hairy Bittercress. After due diligence of comparing the images and description, I almost screamed seeing I had garlic mustard plants from here to there. Almost thirty feet of the property line had this invasive biennial.
I filled a second bowl full of the stems, leaves and flowers.
Uses For Garlic Mustard
According to Edible Wild Food's website:
Edible parts: Flowers, leaves, roots and seeds. Leaves in any season can be eaten but once the weather gets hot, the leaves will taste bitter. Flowers can be chopped and tossed into salads. The roots can be collected in early spring and again in late fall, when no flower stalks are present. Garlic mustard roots taste very spicy somewhat like horseradish. In the fall the seed can be collected and eaten
And the health benefits:
Excellent for controlling weight
Improves the health of your heart
Lowers cholesterol
Thins the blood
May help prevent cancer
Strengthens the immune system
With these mentioned benefits, I am extra thrilled to have discovered the weed growing wild in my yard. Now I will have to figure out how to preserve some for next year since it will not be there for foraging. I didn't see it last year, so it will be in production and growing every other year for me to harvest and use.
Edible wild foods' website continues with some suggestions on how to utilize the weed:
Make the garlic mustard on your most wanted list! Here are some creative ideas to use this nutritious plant:
Toss some into a batch of mashed potatoes
Put some in any salad you enjoy
Add to stews or soups
Finely chop some garlic mustard, grate a carrot and add both to your favourite gelatin
Add some finely chopped leaves to quinoa or another favourite grain
Fill a glass jar with leaves and add organic apple cider vinegar; seal with a non-metal lid and let sit for 4-6 weeks to make a vinaigrette (let sit in an area in which there is no direct sunlight)
The vinaigrette sound heavenly!
Preserving Garlic Mustard
I will be dehydrating the leaves and the roots right now to have on hand in the future months to add to soups, stews and other crock pot meals. It not only has the distinct garlic aroma but also has a tangy peppery zing to it like arugula has; which I love! SO I'll be using some fresh in salads this coming week.
I may try to make some homemade pesto with the leaves, stems and flowers too as I have seen quite a few recipes for pesto flooding the internet. I can always make a large batch and freeze in ice cube trays and use as needed. I like to use ice cube trays to preserve excess of oregano, dill and chives (using chicken broth as the liquid) and just plop a cube or two into my stews and soups. The herbs keep their freshness and it really adds a nice flavor when cooking over the winter when the herbs are not available.
Where You Can Find Garlic Mustard- Jack-by-the-Hedge
Chinese Redbud Tree
We pruned this tree about three weeks ago and this is the first time I have seen the flowers bloom in this fashion on this Chinese Redbud. Aren't they fabulous!
I was just so taken-aback from the natural beauty of the blooms growing out of the bark and had to snap a few pictures.
The Chinese Redbud tree looks amazing! Does it provide anything edible?
Not that I am aware of as far as being edible. I think it's more for decoration. The tree was here on the property when we moved in back in 2016.
I haven't seen anything bloom like these Chinese Redbud. Wow! They look a bit like the acacia bloom but in red.
It is normally a beautiful tree but having the blooms come out from the bark is almost magical
I think we've got garlic mustard too! How funny! I had no idea that's what it was...unless what we've got is the bittercress. Awesome post!!
Cut the stem and smell it... ours has a VERY strong garlic scent to it. Plus the flowers on the two are slightly different. I searched my phone app plus my MIdwest Foraging book to confirm it.
After I cut the stem, my fingers had a garlic aroma for hours- very potent!
What unusual blooms! It looks like a Sesame Street bird or something. Plants are fascinating.
Yes! They are beautiful! I am hoping more blooms will grow out of the bark.
Very fun finds indeed!! How exciting! I love the blooms on both. The herb sounds great! A fine treat to preserve. Those pink flowers are so unique! This is the first time I have heard of either of them ❤ Nice of you to share great finds like these on your property! #growingislife!! 🌱🎵🌹
This is what the tree should look like
It's also a bush.. I think our tree is confused- lol
Very nice pictures! It was a fantastic weekend for getting out and doing some work in the yard. I mowed our lawn and continued working on tearing down our deck. It is amazing what you can find just growing wild sometimes. My neighbor was commenting to me the other day about the primrose that was growing wild just beyond our fence line. I told her I was just going to leave it because if I touched it, it would probably die. Garlic Mustard sounds pretty cool!
Ahhh primrose! I haven't seen that in years! SO beautiful.
Yeah I was pretty excited about the garlic mustard- although Mr Golden D thinks I'm crazy for being so excited. Yeah... wait until he eats some homemade garlic mustard vinaigrette.. then we'll see who is the crazy one lol
The map shows the mustard is in our area, but I don't think I've ever seen it. I will have to look around to make sure.
The Chinese redbud is cool, with buds on the bark like that.
I had heard about the garlic mustard and read about it, but with it being a biennial, I didn't see it the first year we were here. I had little time for gardening that year because we were still getting settled in.
I KNOW!! That tree/bark/blooms just amaze me!
This is an amazing post @goldendawne! I can just imagine the Native Americans foraging for these plants also and drying them and storing them in pottery jars(I'm researching different tribes at the moment). and those flower blooms growing out of the Redbud tree? Never seen anything like that, stunning! thanks so much for sharing.
Me either! We have pruned the tree in the past but this is the first time the blooms were growing out of the tree bark itself- My husband was like WTH!!!
But it looks beautiful!
haha! It IS amazing. And what is cool is that you are not just "sight-seeing"
with the various plants but actually taking and using them in cooking which I
doubt if most people would be willing to go to that much effort so I think that's
inspiring also. bytheway I was so impressed with your Luciferian post, can't wait
for the next one!
I promised myself I would do more foraging this year now that I have researched and have the resources to identify plants, trees and weeds that are edible.
Thank you! I am working on a new one hopefully for today but for sure tomorrow.
oh yeah that's right you have that cool app which identifies plants, that's extremely useful.
As far as your post and that subject, I think it's so important for people to know that information.
Especially Christians because I believe the schemes of the enemy can be blocked with our prayers and intercession for the nation.
This is a great post! I am glad to know about this plant identifying app. I will definitely be downloading that!
I like that you describe how to use these wild edibles. It can be intimidating to think of wild crafting foods. Once you know how to prepare them it's easier to feel good about harvesting these plants.
Let me tell you.. that app is great! I use it so much this year.
I'm hoping to be able to go for a walk-thru at a local state game park soon and get some images of plants and flowers there to share in a post. I know I'll be using that app A TON!
I feel I can find these edibles but if people don't know the true value of it (recipes, culinary ideas) then I haven't fulfilled my task of posting.
Garlic mustard sounds fabulous, I've never seen that here in South Africa, enjoy using it in cooking and healing, lovely post! I just love foraging, enjoy your garden!
Thank you... I will be utilizing this fabulous (and free) weed now and again come the fall season before it goes away for two years.