Purslane! It's not just for bunnies anymore!

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MaggieJ

MaggieJ

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Okay, I've nibbled it before. I often taste the weeds I'm gathering for the bunnies. But yesterday I gathered a good handful and added it to my salad. Delicious! And, I learned, one of the most nutritious plants around. We have an abundance growing in between the lettuce, carrots and chard. Instead of pulling it, from now on I'm harvesting it. Can't wait to try it in a stir fry!

Bunnies, you have to share!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portulaca_oleracea

http://www.culinarymusings.com/2008/06/ ... -a-wonder/

http://www.prairielandcsa.org/recipes/purslane.html
 
Lol, someone was just told me about it, and let me try some, it IS good. Lots of weeds are actually good...(if you have miners lettuce around, try it next time you find it!)
 
I love purslane! Wouldn't you know it, we don't have any at my current house. Now if I could just figure out something to do with all the dang buttercups!!

I would have said bindweed was useless, until I found out otherwise, so maybe there is a use for EVERYTHING...
 
MaggieJ":xh5ttt46 said:
Okay, I've nibbled it before. I often taste the weeds I'm gathering for the bunnies. But yesterday I gathered a good handful and added it to my salad. Delicious! And, I learned, one of the most nutritious plants around. We have an abundance growing in between the lettuce, carrots and chard. Instead of pulling it, from now on I'm harvesting it. Can't wait to try it in a stir fry!
Click to expand...


A. P. Simopoulos and N. Salem Jr. (1986) and A. P. Simopoulos et al. (1992) have shown Portulaca oleracea to have the highest content of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants of any green leafy vegetable examined to date, suggesting that common purslane should be considered for its nutritional value and not for its weediness
 
It's a great little plant, all right, AVD. I've been harvesting it along with our other salad greens and enjoying it very much. Glad to have the nutritional information.

It's really nice to have a veggie that I don't have to plant, weed or water. It just keeps going like the Energizer Bunny!
 
He still won't try it in his salad, but I put some in a stew the other night and he ate that. Said he hardly noticed it was in there. I thought it added a nice flavour though... and I want to put some in my next batch of rabbit soup.

I hear you can dry it for winter... may try that if it produces more than we can use fresh. Funny, it is almost all in one garden bed, along with the lettuce, chard and peas.
 
MaggieJ":2t9llfuu said:
Smooth Sow Thistle is another one that tastes good. I wish we had more of it.

http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.u ... smooth.htm
Click to expand...
That stuff? christalmighty...how much of it do you want? I could probably ship you half a ton!

tastes good, eh? well...piffle. I'll have to go gather some in and give it a try. Like salad? or blanched or something like "a mess o' greens"? or...? maybe wilted in a bit of bacon grease and tossed with vinegar?
 
I've never cooked with smooth sow thistle... just nibbled it raw, but the youngish plants have a nice salad green flavour... much milder than dandelions. So I'd say try it in a salad. I'll bet it would be good all the ways you mentioned as well.

You do know, of course, that it is also a number one favourite with our bunnies and geese. That's why we don't have too much of it. If you leave the root it will regenerate nicely.
 
This is an old thread but for anyone coming across it purslane is toxic to rabbits. Too high in oxalic acid. It's food for humans, bad for most pets
 
disagree.

first, this (old) thread is about humans eating weeds.
second, purslane is comparable in oxalate content to spinach or amaranth, and it takes a quite high consumption level to create toxicity.

The oxalate content of purslane leaves is reported as 671–869 mg/100 g of fresh weight [2], compared with 658 and 1090 for spinach and amaranth per 100 g serving, respectively [7].

The best I can come up with (as has been said many times) is that you should always offer a variety of options when feeding weeds. There are many food sources that are an incomplete diet on their own, or have the potential to achieve toxicity if fed exclusively. Take carrots for instance.
 
eco2pia said:
I love purslane! Wouldn't you know it, we don't have any at my current house. Now if I could just figure out something to do with all the dang buttercups!!

I would have said bindweed was useless, until I found out otherwise, so maybe there is a use for EVERYTHING...
Click to expand...
I looked up buttercups recently and couldn't find any uses. It's probably good (at least medicinally) for *something*, but I didn't stumble across anything.

Bindweed (creeping jenny) is good food for bunnies, sheep, prolly goats and any other ruminant you can train to eat it. I sold my sheep and have recently noticed that it's making a comeback around here. My chickens love it, too. I put the leaves in salads. I saw online that high-end hoity-toity restaurants have been adding it to salads as "wild morning glory leaves". 😏
 

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