I am so glad I don't see this in my area here in Oregon. On trips back to the East and Midwest, I've been surprised how much this has taken over. This plant and other invasives are why I'm just fine with complete and total harvest of some plants in some areas! It's nice to hear that you use it in so many ways. Wild food is real food for regular people! Enjoy your garlic mustard!
I would be happy to not see it so bad here, along with honeysuckle. They both are causing lots of problems for native plants. I also do full removal if I can, but that's normally limited to a small area as I can only do so much with the abundance of invasive plants we have here. Wild food is great for everyone, absolutely! It's free/cheaper, it's nutritious, and there's a lot of it! I'll definitely enjoy my garlic mustard, the season is perfect to remove as much as I can from my woods. Thanks for commenting Haphazard Homestead!
This is one of the many things I wish they taught me in school. I only found out about this plant recently, and I found out it is EVERYWHERE around here.
We did a lesson senior year high school where we picked a bunch of it and learned about the local ecology and how it related to the class (environmental science)
Ok so this plant is everywhere on my property... I just bought it a year ago and was wondering what this plant was that kept appearing. Thank you very much for this video.
Thanks for commenting about this! I'm big on extending the harvest into winter (especially with plants that are so hard to over-harvest), and I've been wondering how well they take to dehydration, but there seems to be very little info about it. Do you just sprinkle it on, as you would with black pepper, or do you use it more *in* cooking, as you would with garlic?
Glad it was helpful for you Brenda! I've found that most of the time it's growing in a lawn, near a garden, a field, or moist woods and marshy areas to be the best tasting though it can be tricky for some to find it where it's not too bitter. Thanks for commenting!
Just picked some this past week on my walk with the grandchild 😊 Good thing I picked it or there would be thousands more next year. Had it raw chopped with lunch, it was what I consider normal bitter, mild. Bitters are good for the liver!
That's awesome you forage with the little ones! A lot of the chemicals that are responsible for bitterness in plants are medicinal in many ways, but some people don't like bitter flavors, others love it. Even when the garlic mustard was bitter I've still found ways to enjoy it. Thanks for commenting, it's always nice to see you in the comments!
That's awesome you forage with the little ones! A lot of the chemicals that are responsible for bitterness in plants are medicinal in many ways, but some people don't like bitter flavors, others love it. Even when the garlic mustard was bitter I've still found ways to enjoy it. Thanks for commenting, it's always nice to see you in the comments!
Sure! If there's a lot of bitterness I'll usually do 2 things. 1 is use it in a dish that requires bitter flavors, think Asian inspired dishes. If I'm not going with number 1, the 2nd thing I'll do is just use little to no salt and let the plant do the work. The 2nd one can take a little adjustment but the good thing is if a dish is not salty enough, one can always add more. Just be sure to taste throughout making something and adjust accordingly. There's another way around that bitterness and it's simply adding some sort of sugar, whether that's honey or other sweetener is up to you but generally bitter can be overcame by the first 2 things however some situations call for a little sugar.
I just did a frittata with it tonight. I boiled it in salted water first. It’s okish, I like bitter greens, and in a pinch it could substitute for rapini. It was everywhere in Toronto
great video! you are one of the best i have seen on here for explaining plants. Please can i ask if you can dry the plant to store for winter?thanks shaz
Thank you! I only have a balcony, but now I realize I ripped those young leaves out of my flowerpots yesterday. I wish I would have known what it was. I will recognize next time. You are awesome, thank you so much! xxx
It's probably for the best you removed them because they might affect how your flowers grow. However it means there's some fully grown plants nearby, so they might be a good source of garlic mustard. Thank you for the kind words and comment, and you're very welcome Janey!
Well, I am mainly trying to grow things I can eat, like tomatoes, and herbs/plants for medical use. So they would have been welcome. :D I live in the city, dogs and cars everywhere, I am trying to grow as much as I can on my balcony, then they are at least sort of clean. Did you know you can keep tomato seeds, by slicing them in the end of the season, if you have one that is not so nice anymore. You put the slices on dirt, and just let them sit all winter. Then in springtime you start watering them, and you get seedlings. I tried last year, I found it over Off Grid with Doug and Stacy. I have a ridiculous amount of seedlings, I'm giving them away. :D I would have thrown out those tomatoes! Thank you for all you teach, I can't go to the doctor anymore, so it really helps me a lot! Have a beautiful day! xxx
Very nice identification video, I enjoyed it alot. I'm excited to find and try garlic mustard still. However it's *currently snowing in my forest on April 29th!!!* 😒😤😧😭 I'm hiding inside my rv and brewing some wild chaga mushroom tea on my woodstove.
Thanks bro I'm glad you enjoyed it!Wow still snowing up there!? Man that sucks! Hopefully you guys get some warmer weather heading your way soon. I'd like to try chaga, I hear so much about it but I'm just too far south to find any. As always I appreciate your comments!
This week is going to be all 70+ degrees, thank God. I'll mail you some chaga if you want. It's really epic. It has a rich delicious vanilla taste and the health benefits are insane. The brew is dark colored like coffee. I feel so good when I drink it, my mind and body. It takes a long time to brew, but it's so worth it. I just keep some brewing on my woodstove all the time.
Exactly! That's why I use it so much this time of year in everything I can. Plus I like to find the first year plants and pull them up to help prevent the spread of this noxious weed. Thanks for commenting!
Thank you Joyce, I'm glad you like it! Definitely keep an eye out because it can be pretty easy to spot when it's in flower. The white color contrasts well with the colors of the outdoors this time of year. Thanks for commenting!
Pretty sure i just found some in my back yard. every thing about what you say as an ID. Is acurate, except the plant i have has the same color of leaf on the top and bottom.....they are Exactly the same. Any ideas or input ?
Usually this seems to be the case, especially if the plants are growing in a moist environment. On the basal stage, the oldest leaves are at the bottom, almost lying on the ground. Those are usually more bitter than the tender growing leaves in the center. As for garlic mustard plants that are flowering I find the less bitter leaves to be more towards the top of the plant. Hope this helps and thanks for asking Teja!
I don't know why but I find it so hard to identify garlic mustard. White snakeroot looks too similar to me, and then there's so many other plants like ground ivy, honesty, violets.
I have mistaken it for white snake root - which also grows rampant in PA, but garlic mustard shoots up and blooms MUCH earlier in the year (I'll approximate april vs about late july/august for snakeroot? ( i will observe more closely snakeroot later this year)
Probably best not to because it can grow so easily. However there is some nuance to this. If the plant is truly destroyed and broken down into compost then it shouldn't be a big deal, just keep an eye on it. Usually I just burn any excess in a fire pit along with other things like wood or ragweed for example.
When crushed, yes, generally. Smells and flavors vary wildly from person to person and with garlic mustard, even from plant to plant. My best tip is to collect ones in a neutral Ph soil and not too much sun exposure. This will drastically reduce the bitterness of the plant.
Yep, the wind is drying things out which doesn't help morels. Plus I can't do outdoor preparation videos as it's been to windy for a fire. Hopefully the wind releases its grasp on our area soon! Thanks for commenting Abby!
i just ate some with my scrambled eggs bitter was not really the description i would use because i ate only the new young tender leaves love this stuff gonna go yank it off the property bc it is such a prolific spread good grief
