What's Growing in the Garden Now

So many things we don't plant and come up in our garden, (we even consider them weeds) are actually good for us. Some things coming up now are wild geranium, wild violet, henbit, and purple nettle. Here are some pictures from my garden. Try something new and see what you can find in your garden!

Foraging wild geranium, henbit and purple dead nettle from my garden.

Each of them have a purpose and can serve us well. Some things to be aware of when foraging for these herbs:

1. Be sure you forage in places where no pesticides are sprayed.

2. Be sure you are picking the right plant. Use a guide book or even a plant app to help you identify if you are unsure.

3. Rinse anything you pick in cool water

4. If drying to preserve, limit the heat and try to use the lowest level as possible or just air.

Purple Nettle. The flowers, leaves and stems are edible. Tastes like spinach and can be eaten raw, cooked, or infused as a tea. Good as a mild antihistamine to help with allergies, anti-inflammatory and immune booster.

Wild Violet. Can be used on top of skin as a poultice or compress for abrasions, insect bites, and eczema. It can also help with varicose veins and hemorrhoids. As an astringent, (infused as a tea) and applied to the skin it is cooling and soothing. The flowers, stems, and leaves are all edible. The flowers and leaves can be used as a tea to drink.

Wild Geranium. All parts of the plant are edible. Tastes tangy and lemony. Can be a laxative, antiseptic, and an emetic (encourages vomiting). It also gives relief for sore mouth. Topically it can be used to treat hemorrhoids. A root infusion can be used as a mouthwash for mouth ulcers and throat infections.

Henbit. This is a picture online because I forgot to take one from my garden! Henbit is a type of dead nettle too. It can be used for digestive support, reduces fever, and boosts energy. It can be used as a poultice for cuts and skin abrasions. All parts are edible and can be made into a tea.

If you have onions planted, whether green onions, leeks, or bulb onions, they will start to grow scapes as the weather warms up. The scape is the flower stalk. It opens up to a beautiful flower, as I have below from a leek in my garden. If left to flower, the flower turns to seed that you can save to produce more onions. But if you want your onions, particularly bulb onions, to continue growing you need to cut the scapes off the plant so the energy is devoted to growing the onion instead of the flower. You can then eat the scapes or saute them with other food. They are a delicacy and delicious to eat!

Green onion with scapes growing.

Leek Scape starting to flower. I let it flower to get seeds for next planting season.

When drying my herbs for tea, I have 3 dehydrators that just blow cool air on my herbs. It keeps them clean and protected and allows them to dry while maintaining their nutrients and benefits.

Herb air dehydrators.