What happened to purslane season? (Or coveting my neighbor's purslane)

This year purslane (verdolagas) season was delayed due to the lack of monsoon rains. I was disappointed when we didn't get our usual "alleyway buffet."  But just down the street, I found this fine patch of purslane growing around a palm tree that our neighbor was over-watering. It was the good stuff too! The yummy variety with the tear shaped leaves. 

From previous discussions with our neighbor, I knew it was safe to harvest them since they didn't use any herbicides in their yard and they had given me permission to pick them in the past. 

There were so many! So I pulled a big bunch by the roots so I could plant some in our yard. 

When I got back to the house, I removed the other weeds and grass and placed the purslane roots down in a bowl of water to keep them fresh. 

I used the tender leaves and stems for days in every dish I could think of. Here are a few favorites...

I chopped up a bunch of purslane and I stirred in a tablespoon of pesto. I added some corn for color. Then I spread it on some tomato foccacia and grated some parmesan on top. Baked it for a few minutes for a quick easy dinner.  Yum! 

 

 

 

 

I had some homemade marinara sauce (that I made from the crate of tomatoes that Produce on Wheels rescued from going to the landfill.) I just added a handful of purslane while I was heating up the sauce for a fast lunch. The purslane made the sauce even more healthy and delicious! 

Meanwhile in our front yard....

It finally rained so we got some round-leafed horse purslane. Unfortunately, this variety is less palatable. It irrigates my throat like raw spinach does. So I have to cook it. While the tear-shaped purslane is tasty raw.

But I had gotten spoiled by all the good purslane in my neighbors yard,  so I went back for more. But this time I gleaned in style with this cute basket! 

To thank them, I went ahead and pulled some undesirable weeds that I knew they didn't want in their yard. It's important to know your neighbor and their preferences. 

Did I mention that I planted some purslane in the basin by our loquat tree? Taking a lesson from volunteers, I planted them around the areas where I water anyway. Say, maybe you've noticed some in your garden bed. Good for you! You can harvest them too! Nothing like free food!

And they grew fine...

Unfortunately, the lizards like it too. They ate every last one of them! (Couldn't get a pic of the little rascals...)

Meanwhile, back in the neighbor's yard...the purslane patch continued to grow - despite having to share it now. What's up, Doc? The neighbor lady said that I could have the ones in front, but leave the rest for the cute little bunny.

There was plenty, so I made more of our favorite purslane dishes. Here I put purslane coated with pesto, tomatoes, olives and mozzarella on some lavash. (Helpful hint: I cook the lavash on one side before adding the toppings and then bake it until the cheese is melted and the lavash is crispy.)

Getting sick of recipes with pesto? Hey! We had pesto left in our fridge! 

OK...Here's a new favorite....A sweet potato and purslane breakfast burrito! 

While I cooked a medium sweet potato in the microwave, I sauteed half an onion. I cut the sweet potato into cubes and browned them with the onions and some purslane. Then I scrambled in three eggs. 

In another pan, I cooked some purslane in tomatillo sauce. The sourness of the tomatillo compliments the citrus flavor of the purslane. (You can also use green chili sauce.)

I wrapped the sweet potato scramble in a flour tortilla and poured the sauce on the top. Then I crumbled some queso fresco on that to temper the sour flavor.  The sweetness of the sweet potato goes surprisingly well with the sour sauce!

Remember how I said that volunteer purslane pops up in the basins where I already water? Well, we FINALLY got some of the good stuff in the basin around our jujube trees! Yeah! 

I try to harvest the purslane while it is still tender, before it gets big and woody. I get it before the little flowers form and it goes to seed. 

If you cut the tops off, it will grow back and give you more to harvest later! 

But we're not the only ones who like them. The lizards and birds prefer the good purslane too.  I watched as this dove walked right past the horse purslane and pecked the seeds off the good stuff.

One time I was picking in the neighbor's yard and the son came out and mentioned that there was purslane growing in his mom's hanging plants. I guess the birds spread them up there!  

A few weeks later I found this on our front porch! Thank you, kind neighbor!  These already had little yellow flowers. I'm hoping birds will help spread them around our yard! 

I did pick a few... 

I washed them over our dish pan to catch the little black seeds. Then I  poured them where I want them to grow in our yard. (In this case, Dan suggested that I pour them into our jujube basin. The roots help make the basin more permeable when it rains. It also decreases erosion in the basin. Working with the wood-chip mulch, it creates a sponge to hold the water longer. How awesome is that!) 

Rinsing off the purslane over the dish pan saves water and seeds! 

For another favorite purslane recipe:

Still Crazy about Purslane 

Purslane Season Extended!

This year I was delighted to have lots of the good purslane (common purslane) growing around my front yard. Three large patches grew up between the two piles of gravel Dan dug up. Purslane loves gravel!

I always feel a pang of regret at the end of the purslane season. Once the purslane gets those pretty little yellow flowers, it is already becoming less palatable. Then the pinkish green stems get thick and woody and start drying up.

After some discouraging gardening experiences (infrequent summer rains and critters devouring my carefully tended tomatoes, eggplant and mint ) I was heartened by the recent rains that gifted me with a second season of this native edible plant.

Clever volunteer taking advantage of my daily watering of the loquat tree 

Along side of the lone survivors in my summer garden (bean stalks and self replanting chard) the purslane I planted from seed is growing nicely. (I rinsed off the purslane over a bowl and the little black seeds sunk to the bottom. I just poured them onto the spot I wanted them.)

I'm grateful for one last taste of summer.

Potato, tomato, cilantro, onion, lime and purslane salad! Yum! 

Crazy Weed Lady

Just after it rains is the best time to pull out weeds. So when I awoke this morning, I rushed outside in my bare feet to take advantage of the wet ground. Out there pulling weeds, got me wondering if the neighbors ever think, "There goes that crazy weed lady with the disheveled hair."

Earth mother that I am, I like to go barefoot to feel the ground under my feet. So I pick all of the sticker weeds - like the dreaded goat heads - before they go to seed.  (Especially seeking out those that disguise themselves with pretty yellow or purple flowers. They don't fool me!)

sticker weed on neighbor's side

Sometimes, I'll be weeding along the property line, and I see some sticker weeds in my neighbor's yard. I'll just grab those too while I'm out there.  And that little one over there... Soon I'll end up picking all the weeds on that side of their house. I practice what I would say if the neighbor caught me pulling their weeds... "Just bein' neighborly, ma'am! You know...random acts of kindness...pay it forward...and all that." At least their stickers won't get tracked into my yard! And maybe, just maybe I won't get woken up at the break of dawn by a noisy weed-whacker!

I'll admit I drive Dan crazy by stopping to pull out a weed in a neighbor's right of way on our walk to the store. There are two benefits for me: to catch the sticker plants before they take over their whole yard and get tracked into mine while (hopefully) discouraging them from using weed killer in our neighborhood.

You might recall I had some run-ins with a certain landscaper who insists on spraying Roundup in our neighborhood. Remember this photo on facebook?

 Poisoning by T.D.T. 

This guy said, "If the city can use it, so can we."  Then a member of the "landscape advisory committee" stood up at a city council meeting and asking them to spray pre-emergent on all of the city property before monsoon rains brought out more weeds.  That was the last straw! Even the Pima Department of Environmental Quality's G.I. manual states that herbicides seep into our ground water.  I wrote the mayor and my city council member urging them to stop spraying the ineffectual weed killer. The mayor forwarded my e-mail to an expert who agreed with my assessment. I've been placed on the landscape advisory e-mail list.

Found on Aug. 7, 2018

I wasn't always obsessed with weeds. Dan started it!  In an early blog, I expressed my shock when Dan weeded our overgrown garden only to turn around and cover it with Bermuda grass clippings!

chard we grew in Bermuda weed mulch

Since then, we have successfully used Bermuda grass as mulch in our garden and around baby trees. No new Bermuda grass came up. I'll repeat that... No new Bermuda grass came up. Now I harvest Bermuda grass for mulch and compost! Bermuda grass is so abundant in our desert. Why shouldn't we put it to good use?  You just have to be sure to gather it before it goes to seed.

Speaking of crazy... I wonder what the neighbors thought of Dan out there in the heat of the day digging up Bermuda grass (a foot deep) to make a right of way catchment basin - and then purposely transplanting native grass into that basin! (This is actually a thing. The native grass works with the wood chip mulch as a sponge to keep the ground moist. Native plants also prevent erosion on the sides of the basin.)

Last year, Dan looked on in dismay as I picked the Bermuda grass in the easement behind our house... and the neighbors' house. But there was method to my madness! I was making room for the edible weeds to come up. And it worked! We had an alleyway buffet of amaranth and purslane!

Remember this sign?

our alleyway buffet

This year I posted a bigger sign, but so far there aren't as many edible weeds. Was it because of the slow, erratic monsoon season? Maybe the lizards are getting all the amaranth? Usually, purslane comes up after the second or third rain. Maybe it can't take the record heat either.

So... I've had to resort to finding my purslane elsewhere. I've been known to pull out weeds in front of the neighborhood steakhouse, so they won't start spraying poison on them. There were three huge patches of purslane under the downspout from their giant roof. One day I grabbed a big bunch on the way to the bus stop and put it into my reusable grocery bag. (Caution: stinging ants under the weeds.) Of course, it's always a good idea to ask the owner if they use weed killer. If you're not sure, you can still liberate that purslane and replant the roots in your own yard. That's how I got a nice row of purslane in my garden last summer.

I have two pitchers full of purslane that I nibble on throughout the day.  During purslane season, I like to throw it into everything: soups, salads, scrambles, and sauces. (Well, everything starting with "s.")

The other night, I used a big bunch to make one of my favorite purslane dishes: verdologas stew! YUM!

Scroll down the blogs on this link for more of my favorite purslane recipes.



So there are good weeds and bad weeds. I leave the good weeds where I want them and pull the bad.

I spent the better part of one summer trying to eradicate the Russian thistle from the alleyway and our garden.

Russian thistle right next to our fenced in food garden...

This weed would climb up the fence and throw it's pink seeds into our garden.  Everyday I had to pull the tiny weeds out of the garden, making sure to get the whole root so it wouldn't come back. These were so invasive that I would pull them out in the easement behind other people's houses too - so they wouldn't spread back to my garden.

I was successful at getting rid of the Russian thistle. Here's a picture of that same spot last November. The ground was so rich from the decomposing weeds and leaves that we grew a 3 Sisters garden without any fertilizer - just a thin layer of wood chip mulch.

This patch was overgrown with Russian thistle.
Here I'm watering some cowpeas that survived the hot summer.

That's odviously amaranth! 

Remember my blog, "Are you a good weed or a bad weed?" Immediately after posting it, there was a rush of views. But viewership slowed way down once people realized that I wasn't talking about another infamous weed. Come on, guys! I'm not that kind of weed lady!

I'll bestow the virtues of edible weeds on anyone who will listen and even some who won't (much to the horror of my teenage son). Hey, they'll be glad to have that food security if we ever have an emergency where Mexico and California stop delivering us produce.

On the way home from the store yesterday, I noticed some amaranth growing in a neighbor's yard. I knocked on the door and asked if they were going to eat the edible weeds growing there. Because if they weren't, I could save them the effort of picking it by foraging it myself.

Yep, I'm the crazy weed lady. I own it. But - seriously - Dan started it!

More Information:

What common weeds have to offer the organic gardener and how to keep them from taking over

Celebrate the end of the season with one last purslane recipe!

pesto and purslane focaccia

With all of my desktop activism, I've gotten behind on my blogs. Sorry! But I wanted share at least one last purslane recipe with you.

With the monsoon rains winding down, I have a feeling that this may be the end of purslane season. The little patch in the front yard, where I happily gather purslane for breakfast or dinner nearly every day, has flowered (little yellow buds) and the stems are getting woody. Hmph! Last night I had to remove the stems before adding the leaves to my cucumber salad. So sad because the citrusy stems are the best part in that dish.

I think they're still good if you cook them. A couple nights ago I made a yummy pesto and purslane "focaccia" on some bread I found at the nearby Babylon Market. (You can also use prepared pizza crust, toasted English muffins, or thin ciabatta.)

I cut a handful of purslane stems with tear-shaped leaves from my favorite purslane patch - leaving the rest of the plant to continue to grow to be harvested later.  I washed them in a bowl, swishing them around, so the little black seeds would fall off into the water (to be thrown into the back yard to sow more purslane for next monsoon season.)

click on pic see little black seeds

I quickly chopped the purslane up (stems and all) and sautéed them until tender with about 3 tablespoons of prepared pesto and maybe 3 tablespoons of olive oil. I spread that over the focaccia and topped it with a chopped tomato and some freshly grated parmesan cheese.  I warmed it up in the pre-heated oven (400 degrees) for a few minutes -  just long enough for the pesto oil to sink into the crust and the parmesan to brown a bit. Easy smeasy dinner in a few minutes. And so good!

We considered browning the bread with the pesto and then topping it with a salad of chopped purslane, tomato and queso fresco (feta would also work.) That would have been good a little earlier in the season when the stems were less woody.  Last week,  I used our handy-dandy George Foreman grill to whip up a quick purslane, tomato and fresh mozzarella (pesto is good in this too) Panini. One morning I just threw some purslane on a bagel with cream cheese. Another evening we had a picnic of Mexican verdolagas stew with black beans on a tortilla topped with queso fresco. Oh, yum! I'm getting hungry!

Oh, how I will miss harvesting this tasty, nutritious green fresh from my yard!

Get it while you can! Recipes here.

Picking purslane in the park

When I first moved to Tucson, Fall was my favorite season. After the long, hot summer, I couldn't wait to feel those first cool breezes of autumn brush my cheeks. But right now I gotta say my favorite is Monsoon season. Perhaps it's the awe-inspiring sunsets or our new catchment basins working brilliantly or everything greening up. Perhaps it's watching the monsoon showers and the accompanying light show with purslane stew on mesquite tortillas and a glass of sangria. Mmmm...  

If you've been following my blog for a while, you might recall how obsessed I can get about purslane. I have been spotted carrying a handful home on the bus - muddy roots and all! If anything, I'm probably more obsessed with that yummy "weed" now! Could be all the anticipation of waiting through the long, dry summer...

I started to worry when July rolled around and I still didn't see any purslane in the easement behind our house. At this same time last year, it had become a virtual alleyway buffet. But this summer, my faded "No  poison. Edible weeds" sign guarded nothing but some sun dried bermuda grass. There wasn't even a hint of the purslane I planted in our garden coming back. 

Then one day I spotted a sad little purslane plant growing in a crack of the sidewalk down the street from us. 

Suddenly, stunningly, the monsoon arrived! I continued to check the alleyway for my beloved purslane. Nothing! Last year we had a carpet of native horse purslane after just two storms. 

Imagine my delight when I finally found several patches of common purslane growing in our neighborhood park!* I couldn't help sharing the good news with a curious grandma there watching her grandkid. I told her how the Tohono O'odham referred to purslane and amaranth as summer greens. I showed her the difference between the purslane and the weed next to it - how the purslane was a succulent with thicker reddish or light green stems and tear-shaped leaves. I even picked her a handful to take home for her salad. Hopefully she won't come back with her whole family and snatch them all up! Doh! Gotta stop telling everyone about my favorite purslane spot.

The last two nights we celebrated with one of our favorite purslane dishes, Mexican verdolagas stew. (Verdolagas is the Spanish word for purslane.)  I'll share it with you, if you promise not to go picking all the purslane in the park. You can follow the link to the original recipe, or use my quickie version here.

First, pick a fairly large bowl full of purslane. Cut off the roots and set aside to plant in your garden later. Wash the stems and leaves thoroughly to get out crunchy rocks, grass or other unwanted surprises. I found a cute little beetle in mine! (Dan's typical response, "Protein!") Coarsely chop the stems and leaves. Saute in olive oil until tender. Stir in 3-4 tablespoons of tomatillo sauce. Serve on thick corn or mesquite tortillas. Top with queso fresco.

We had the added treat of using the mesquite flour from the pods we picked in our own neighborhood. We had them milled at Desert Harvesters annual milling. We used the Native Seeds/SEARCH recipe for tasty (the mesquite makes them slightly sweet) mesquite flour tortillas. Yummy!

With all the fresh purslane and mesquite we picked ourselves, it was a very reasonably priced dinner. I only paid $5.99 for the queso fresco and $2.99 for tomatillo sauce for dinner two different days and we still have some of those left!

Verdolagas stew on mesquite tortillas while the monsoon storm crashes around us. Yep. Definitely my favorite season in Tucson!

Purslane sprouting in our garden!  Finally!

For more purslane recipes scroll down past this blog after clicking this link.

*I asked maintenance workers if they used herbicide in our neighborhood park and they said that they didn't. It's always a good idea to ask!