Not all weeds are bad. In fact, a weed is just a plant in the wrong or an unwanted place.
Some of them are very tasty. Just look at brambles. They can be a pain in the neck on a plot, true. But if you cut them back to a few canes and train them, they can, in a good year, provide plentiful fruit.
How much fruit? Well, one year, we had enough that would have cost us as much as our rent, had we bought the fruit from the shops.
And then there’s nettles. Not only can they be used as green, or as a tea, they also make a potent fertiliser if steeped in a bucket of water.
Another good weed is fat hen. It grows freely in late summer and is easily knocked back as it has a very short root. But it tastes delicious, like a mild spinach.
Cleavers is another weed that grows freely on our allotment sites and ca be used to feed your family.
Next time you see something you don’t recognise, don’t just dig it up, see if it has another use.