Wild Greens: Identifying and Harvesting Dock 🌿 

OMG. Memories. I'm generation X and our mom would feed us this stuff in a form of a sour meat stew we would eat with rice. You can use any kind of meat for the stew. We also liked it with fish. It helped us stretch our meat budget so we didn't consume so much meat too fast. We were strong and lean kids back in the day. Probably because it prevented constipation. Our neighbor's kids didn't touch the stuff and they were fat and grouchy. It's sour because of the Oxalic acid and Vitamin C. If eaten raw, you use it in salads for a little tangy taste. Mom saved a lot of money foraging for this plant instead of buying kale or other leafy greens at the supermarket. We were also sure it did not have insecticides on it. It takes a lot of water to process it because you will be washing the bugs and dirt off of it before consuming. You will also want to boil some water and blanch it a couple times before putting into into your stew in order to leach out the oxalic acid and to kill any hidden critters like spiders and aphids. Save the water in a big tub and soak all your rusty engine parts in it. It removes rust.

Thank you, apparently I see a lot of dock and didn’t know what it was. I will be able to forage them not only for us humans, but also for my chickens. I’m always looking for things to enrich their diet…that are free!

Finally, something to do with the blasted perennial anchored to my front steps that I can't pull out, chop down or vanquish with pots of boiling water. Fine - it's going on the table for dinner! :-)

Thank you for posting this! I will look for dock in the spring. I cook & eat the bountiful plantain growing in my yard. It is delicious and doesn't require a trip to the store. Win-win!

I knew Dock was medicinal, but forgot the how and why. I didn’t realize it was good to just eat. I’ve been seeing broad dock all over my new land, which harbors some invasive species. Nice to know I can just cook and earth this! Maybe with a little wild garlic and ramps come spring☀️ Also- I’ve seen all your videos and love them! More, please!!!☀️

It;s important to point out that it contains a very high amount of oxalate so dock should not be eaten everyday. And preferably lightly boil it first and remove the water and then cook it how you want it to remove the oxalate as much as possible.

Regarding the seeds: This is one of my main foraging foods! Every late summer I harvest huge bags and throw them in the freezer. Then I food process up the seeds into more of a flour and cut it about 25/75 with corn flour for tamales! Its free, super easy to harvest, and alot of fiber and probably other nutrients. Great survival food or poverty food that makes other flour last longer!

Curly dock seeds when roasted take on a coffee flavor and make a very good coffee substitute. It tastes like coffee you poured into a teacup with a bit of tea still in it. It also makes a great flour but the overwhelming flavor is a bit strong for some so i suggest mixing it with other flours. I personally like its flavor and have made cake, bread and pancakes. Delicious.

Thanks so much for sharing! This is a really well done and informative video. I actually pulled all my dock before it went to seed for a couple of years and it never came back.

Whats up dock?

I haven't eaten dock myself, much. But my goats ADORE it - I'm quite happy getting the nutrition second hand...

My property is full of this - thank you for helping me identify them!

Broad dock, long dock, and bitter dock all grow in my yard. I've never seen the curly sick before! They look tasty

The summer version of curly dock, or flowering stage, is a very pretty plant. Although the way taste buds differ ideas of beauty differ too.

Thank you!

Great info

Great video!

great video thanks

Is dock a bioremediator of the soil? I believe it is. Urban foragers be carful where you harvest this one.

This plant is trying to take over my yard. We didn't realize that it was all over one Hill and now it's over 3 ft tall and gone to seed. I don't use chemicals so I guess we will have to spend a few days just trying to cut it down. Of course the seeds will be everywhere and next year we'll have to do the same thing. 😢😢

My hometown of Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire has a yearly dock pudding competition (rather grandly called the World Dock Pudding Championship). They taste really great mixed with nettles, oats, onions and even bacon :)

yeah there is a bitter gene, thankfully I don't have it so not a picky eater and so much more is pleasantly foragable.

I am curious why some people find the seeds very eatable and some people don't.

I wonder if you can grind the seeds into flour? Also, is bloody dock edible? I've heard mixed information on it. Thanks in advance!

In AK we call them Rhubarbs since you have to peel the stocks. Teachers panic everytime the kids tell them they put the leaves in their ice cream

BAKEING SODA

can you eat it raw like as a salad? can I feed to my rabbits?