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Foraging ~ Purple Dead Nettle ~ Pesto and Tea Making ~ Dandelions

 Any foragers here?  I have a few reference books, but zero information in them in regards to if Purple Dead Nettle and Henbit both have the same nutrition/medicinal benefits to the body.  Anyone? I know, it's crazy question, and there are not many homesteading blogs still blogging anymore these days.




Spring rain is great for a lot of things, but it is always the reason we get stuff planted so late.  The gardens are soaking wet, and this is what most of the vegetable gardens look like.  Not kidding.  They are too big to cover for winter.  We use a lot of space.  They are full of purple dead nettle and chickweed.

The last few warmer days should start to dry up the gardens for us.

I have added spring chickweed to salads and other meals in the past, but according to my blog (and other notes), we have not yet tasted purple dead nettle.

Foraging was pretty easy (just look at the above photo, ha ha!).




I did a lot of reading, and yes, I have a few foraging books (not all of them have pesto recipes).  I used to follow a blogger that posted all about their meals being foraged, based on the seasons.  However, like many bloggers, they stopped blogging several years ago.

I try to not add my parmesan cheese until we are ready to eat it, so if I am freezing the pesto for future meals, I leave that out until the day of preparing meals with it.  It's just my preference.

Pesto is our number one recipe for this medicinal/healthy Spring "weed."  If you want to try it, you can research the recipes available online or check foraging books from your library.

I like to dehydrate some more purple dead nettle for tea.  

You can find more recipes online with dead nettle and even chickweed.  There are even classes online to (you have to pay a fee) to learn to forage too.  We had local classes a few years back, but those are hard to come by anymore.


Dandelions are up now too.  I see some dandelion flower bread, or other foraged meal. 

I actually have a cookbook for dandelions.  Yes, I have made dandelion jelly, but the work vs. the flavor are not that amazing to us, so we only made it once.  There is more flavor (in my opinion), with wild violet jelly and Queen Anne's lace jelly (on my blog too).

Happy foraging!
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Comments

🌺 Debby/From My Shasta Home said…
I’ve done some foraging. When my sons backpack, they forage to supplement their food supplies - less to carry on their backs.
Interesting post.
April 25, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Pioneer Woman at Heart said…
Debby @ My Shasta Home, that is a very good idea for backpacking too.
April 25, 2025 at 2:26 PM
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