Episode: 4
Title: A salad in disguise
Broadcast: 13 September
Presenter: Kim

What is a weed? Its a plant growing in the wrong or an unwanted place …  the thing is some weeds are great for compost.. others can end up on the kitchen table if you just realize the asset you have.

• A plant we are more used to seeing in lawns than our gardens are Dandylines. With its lovely flower. One thing about them is that every part is edible from the leaves, flowers and the roots which are even used in japan.

• Nasturtiums are usually welcomed but can take over popping up in places you didn’t expect, and the leaves,seeds and flowers are all edible on this Sth American favourite. Add leaves to salads they taste peppery much in the way rocket does, the flowers are sweet and make a colourful addition or garnish and the  seeds when collected and dried are crushed and provide a very good pepper alternative.

• Sour sops are so rich in vitamin C, so give one a chew today!

• Plantain is one of the earliest of all cultivated plants with Scientists discovering Neolithic farming, the earliest agriculture grew Plantains and even today its revered in places such as Italy for its leaves nutty flavor.

• The wild lettuce is another delicious food source if picked young. As they age they get prickly and too vibrousy to enjoy. So pick juvenile plants and now is the tie to harvest them.

• The sour or milk thistle Is well loved by people who have chickens or canarys. The leaves are full of nutrients and can be cooked or stirfried or even in a salad.

• Chickweed is another that you might like to try, its in abundance this time of the year and people are often weeding it out vegie beds at the moment into the compost heaps. Yet its said to have a taste much like that of young sweet corn.