Can You Identify Lamb's-Quarters in Your Garden?
Also known as Goosefoot or Pigweed, lamb's-quarters is a delicious weed to nibble or cook all spring, summer and fall! While originally native to Europe, it accompanied immigrants on their journey to the United States, and its seeds quickly spread throughout the country. You can now find it growing in most gardens, sidewalk cracks, backyards, abandoned lots, and meadows. Be cautious though, like many other wild plants, lamb's-quarters absorbs nitrates from contaminated soils, so be sure to only eat the plants you find growing in clean soils. Generously harvest and eat the tender, young shoots (under 8-10 inches high) when they first emerge in the spring, and feel welcome to continue plucking the leaves from larger plants throughout the summer and fall, especially the smaller, tender leaves near the tip of the plant. This easy-to-identify, tasty weed is quite nutritious too—the leaves are an incredible source of beta carotene, iron, calcium, potassium, B vitamins, vitamin C, and fiber. Some say it is even superior to spinach! Lamb's-quarters' tiny black seeds are also edible and packed with nutrition. The seeds provide us with niacin, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and protein. Its taste is similar to that of its cousin, spinach, and it is easily eaten raw in salads, steamed, tossed into soups or stews, sauteed, or included in a mineral-rich vinegar! If you plan on cooking this weed, be sure to collect enough as it shrinks down to very little (like many other greens). My kids and I prefer it as a quick snack as we garden, wildcraft, and play.
How can you identify it?
Branching, herbaceous annual
Find it in the garden only a few inches high (best time to eat), but it can grow to be 3-5 feet tall
Slender, grooved light green stems with a tinge of red next to leaf joints
Young leaves are linear; older leaves are diamond-shaped
Alternate, simple, long-stalked leaves are green on top with a mealy white-ish green color underneath
Leaves are covered in a protective waxy powder (not to be mistaken with a powdery mold)
Tiny, green, edible ball-like flowers grow in small, dense spikes in summer and fall (eventually turn to a red/brown color in the fall)
No odor
Happy Picking!
Green Blessings,
Sarah
