Is Chickweed taking over your lawn? Don’t Kill it, Eat it! Chickweed benefits are far greater than grass

Where does it grow?

Chickweed is a native to Europe and loves the cool weather, which is why it’s so prolific in spring. It prefers moist soil, sunny spots, or partial shade, and thrives between 53 to 68 degrees. This is one of the first plants to pop up in spring and seems to grow right alongside red dead nettle, which is also a beneficial plant you can eat. Chickweed is best eaten fresh as it does not refrigerate well.

How to Identify Chickweed:

Once you figure out what it looks like you’ll soon be finding chickweed everywhere. Just on my walk this morning, I witnessed chickweed growing abundantly along ditches and next to farm fields. It is a member of the carnation family and if you look very closely you will see why. Its tiny flowers have 5 double lobe white petals that resemble carnations or as the name Stellaria (Latin name-Stellaria media) suggests stars. It grows in clumps with stringy stems that are slightly “hairy.” When broken open, you will find no milky sap present. The best part is you can eat the entire plant, flowers, stems, and all.

How to Harvest:

To harvest chickweed you can simply pull the entire clump out of the ground; it comes up easily. Trim tender top growth for best eating. The bottom stems, especially those closer to the ground, can be tough much like asparagus. Remove yellow or brown leaves, wash and enjoy. Remember, as with any new food, especially foraged food, it is wise to partake in small doses to give your body time to adjust to the new nutrient profile.

Chickweed Health Benefits:

Chickweed is known for being high in vitamins B, C, A, and D as well as other minerals such as iron, calcium, and potassium. These greens are even more nutritious than spinach or kale! Chickweed is an anti-inflammatory and pain reliever which means it’s a good remedy for menstrual cramps and arthritis. Because of its high fiber content, chickweed is great for digestive support in that it helps the body absorb nutrients. Heads up, it does have laxative qualities, so it also helps with constipation. Yay!

Chickweed is amazing. It is great for kidney health and UTIs due to its diuretic qualities. If you have skin problems such as acne, eczema, rashes, burns, itching, or just dry skin, when made into cream chickweed will soothe those irritations. Other ailments it relieves are fibroids, cysts, ovarian cysts, eye inflammation, and just any swelling in general. Something I found out recently while digging up research into this wonderful plant is that it is great for relieving respiratory ailments.

Adding Chickweed to your Diet:

By now, you’re probably wondering how to add chickweed into your life. It is fairly easy and delicious given it’s mild but pleasant flavor. Chickweed can be added to salads, smoothies, sandwiches, hummus, pesto, quiche, or just about anything you can imagine having microgreens with. You can enjoy it steamed, sauteed, or raw.

Other Chickweed Benefits and Uses:

If you want to get more involved in using chickweed medicinally you can try these ideas.

Chickweed Tincture

Mix 1 part chickweed with 2 parts vodka. Steep for one month and transfer to a dark-colored dropper bottle. Take tincture daily or as needed to help with many of the symptoms previously described. Click here to find amber bottles or click here for blue bottles. For a good article on exactly how to make a tincture, check this out.

How to Make Chickweed Tea

Boil 1 cup of water and steep fresh chickweed for 10 minutes. This might be one of the easiest ways to enjoy the benefits of chickweed and it’s also soothing. A ball infuser can make steeping your tea easier or you can just strain out the chickweed after 10 minutes. Soon you’ll discover the benefits of drinking Chickweed tea.

There are many other ways to utilize the benefits of chickweed such as making it into a salve by mixing oil and beeswax, as well as making an infused oil or vinegar. It will aid in drawing out splinters when used as an astringent; simply use the juice of chickweed directly on the affected area. Gardeners, or just about anyone who uses their hands to work, can use the salve to provide relief to cracked, dry hands. Also, if you take fresh chickweed and place it as a compress on an open wound some say it will help the healing process tremendously.

You never know just what medicine is growing in your backyard. That’s why it’s important to do your research and learn how to identify wild food. Oftentimes many beneficial plants in our own lawn or garden are perceived as weeds, and as a society, we tend to banish them with poisonous chemicals in order to grow grass, which we then must maintain. I’m not on a campaign against grass here; I admire a nice grassy patch as much as the next person.

I’m just saying let’s be mindful of the fact that nature truly does provide what we need and when we eradicate weeds we are in turn saying “no” to what the earth has so graciously given to us in her perfect way.

For information on identifying wild edibles, check out these books!

Wild Edibles: A Practical Guide to Foraging, with Easy Identification of 60 Edible Plants and 67 Recipes  by Sergei Boutenko

The Wild Wisdom of Weeds: 13 Essential Plants for Human Survival  by Katrina Blair

I hope you enjoy your chickweed. Until next time, I’m off to eat my lawn!

You might also like to check out our content on Purslane, another wonderful and wild backyard edible.