5 Wild Edibles In Your Yard and How To Use Them

Hey guys in this video we discuss 5 wild edibles you can find in your yard and how to use them. There are a lot of wild edibles in your yard, more beyond what we are covering today so this list is by no means inclusive of all of them. From the White Clover to Garlic Mustard to Wild Onions there is a great abundance of food that can be had from our yards with little effort. Many of these plants pack a flavorful punch but all provide loads of nutrients. Using them is easy and we discuss a few ways of harvesting and using each one of these plants for food. Whether it's the leaves of Garlic Mustard for sandwiches and spreads or the bulbs of Wild Onions for flavor there are plenty of great and delicious things to do with the wild edibles growing your yard!
I thank all of you for watching this video I hope you enjoyed it and I hope you learned something. If you want to learn more about wild edibles and medicinal plants, please make sure to subscribe!
Foraging Essentials & Gear:
Knife
Mora Companion Carbon Steel: amzn.to/2c3AHgL
Mora Companion Stainless Steel: amzn.to/2cHKkjM
Multi-tool
Leatherman Rebar: amzn.to/2ce6ckV (the blast is no longer available)
Leatherman Wave: amzn.to/2c9SbnI (Closer to the one I have)
Field Guides
Peterson Guide to Medicinal Plants: amzn.to/2cenE6f
Peterson Guide to Edible Plants: amzn.to/2cHM3FJ
Foraging Books
The Foragers Harvest: amzn.to/2zlK31n
Natures Garden: amzn.to/2A38e1M
Backpack
Fieldline Canyon Backpack: amzn.to/2chSL4a (the camo design is different but it's the same bag I use)
Shoes/Boots
Globe Sabres: amzn.to/2bXYSfi
Merrel Ventilator Shoes: amzn.to/2cesWi6
Merrel Ventilator Boots: amzn.to/2c3CMJt
Camera Gear
Camera I Use: amzn.to/2iLicQV
Lens I use: amzn.to/2yg6OUb
Microphone I Use: amzn.to/2iNS20a
Support the Channel by Shopping on Amazon! amzn.to/2cHPVqb
Subscriber's Website!
www.iloveiodine.com/
A great and informative site on medicinal herbs by another awesome subscriber of mine:
garblingthedandelion.blogspot....
Support the channel on Patreon!
/ trilliumwildedibles

[@johnvanegmond1812]

Sometimes when I find a patch of garlic mustard that has bolted, I'll pick a hundred or so tops and dice them into an omelet. The long skinny seed pods are quite tasty that way. For lunch today I just had a mizuna, garlic mustard leaf, garlic mustard seed pod, and thai chili pepper omelet over Jasmine rice. Sometimes in the spring, I'll have grocery money set aside and realize I don't really need anything from the store that week. I am so thankful for the mushrooms and wild greens that are all over the place. Inflation doesn't affect the price of wild food. The cost stays the same. Go out. Reach down. Pick it up. Say thank you. Take it home and eat it. Just a side note. I work 45 to 55 hours a week. I take the time to learn the plants. Once I know them, and have learned how to use them, I am able to be an opportunistic forager. I have plastic bags with me because I am always finding something I want to take home and eat! Peace.

[@warrentoles3127]

What does bolted mean?? This garlic mustard looks different from the ones I found so i guess different??

[@emandos6533]

@@warrentoles3127 Bolted means when a plant produces seeds. When a plant experiences a temperature shock (growing season ends), it knows it’s going to die, so it quickly produces seeds for its species to lives on. As for the garlic mustard, it might be a different variety or a look a like, search for identifying characteristics and follow foraging guidelines (tests and cautions before consuming).

[@warrentoles3127]

@@emandos6533 what book or piece of literature would you recommend? (To find and follow guidelines) thanks for your time. :)

[@danarzechula3769]

Whoa mushrooms actually scare me I got a guide and book and realized I don't really want to die😂

[@catwithoutthehat]

​@@warrentoles3127 I have Field guide to edible wild plants by Bradford Angier, I covers a lot but it is missing some things there is also a guide to medicinal wild edibles by the same author

[@lylithschott6288]

I used to always use garlic mustard leaves as pretend food when playing outside- Who knew it was real food, too!

[@fandevil1270]

Since you knew it now, why don’t you go out to pick some? It will make a delicious spicy feast! 👍☺️

[@jeanneriegler1416]

You can eat the roots of garlic mustard as well. Tastes like mild horseradish. Delicious! I have used the stems in soups.

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

I haven't experimented with the roots much but need to because I pull so much garlic mustard each year.

[@ashley-dantesalmon8175]

you should have done 6 wild edibles in your yard and how to use them. because dandelions are a wild edible. the roots can be used to make tea or coffee. the leaves can be used for salads. and the white stuff in the stem can be used as a natural wild glue

[@RexySmith]

awww I had tones of these little violet in my grass, thought they were so cute . Now I know I can eat them yeah 😍

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

Yeah they are good! The flowers especially!

[@danny347]

They are great in a salad or a tea. I never had anything work faster for relief of summer allergies.

[@mashumichelle]

About violet flowers: when almost boiling water is poured over about a cup of flowers and allowed to cool, strain the liquid, which makes a great tea, but even better that dark liquid is a pH indicator. Lots of fun with children can be had testing different substances in tiny amounts around the house.

[@amandabrown1045]

Could you please go more in depth about how this indicates ph levels?

[@mashumichelle]

@@amandabrown1045 a pinker color indicates acidic conditions. A more blue color indicates a more basic condition. Same with using purple cabbage juice as an indicator.

[@arwenrivendale]

I have a ton of those wild violet plants. I was picking them and making cute little vase bouquets all over my house. That’s crazy that they are also edible!! 🥰

[@shannahonea714]

Great stuff😀I'm never mowing my yard again😃🌱

[@flippitydooda7996]

I know right😃 I never thought I would tip toe around my yard being careful to not step on the weeds🤣🤣🤣😁

[@skylovecraft2491]

Just check yourself and your dogs daily for ticks if u don't. You'll be fine

[@heterodox3487]

Great info Josh. It's ironic that they call these weeds you need to eradicate with poisons.

[@skylovecraft2491]

Cause most ppl don't know or care. Sad really.

[@lrschultz]

Companies sell stuff to kill your clover, then sell stuff to put nitrogen in the soil. Something that the clover does for free!

[@Ian140265]

Thank You, I have just started to learn these things. Very valuable information.

[@TheGreenThumbGardeningChannel]

Greetings to you Josh and thank you for sharing this informative video upload with us my friend, continued blessings to you there in your garden and a bountiful harvest this year!

[@melodyjogibson6791]

I like the way you shared how to use the plants.

[@jore8061]

Thanks I always love a straight forward messaging video.... I.e. no dogs, kids or 3 minutes of word salad..

[@fetalalien1369]

Very useful stuff to know. ☘️🌼

[@Blessing927NJ]

So glad that I found this video! So looking forward to watching all your videos!

[@basemasaedi6268]

Great information, clear view of the plants so as an amature this will help me to recognize those plants

[@Humble-Daniel]

Awesome video! I didn't know that white clover fixates nitrogen and other nutrients into the soil like beans. I also didn't know what pesto is until you mentioned it here and I goggled it, and i'll be 30 this year hahaha. I've still haven't found a common violet yet either. It's turning into an awesome year already. I'm going foraging tomorrow, thanks for everything, always looking forwards to the next video from you!

[@missclare9705]

Great videos. Really good knowledge and practical tips.

[@agc1161]

I used to eat clovers instinctively as a child. They tasted so citrusy & tart yet delicious. ❤

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

If they are citrus like in flavor they're wood Sorrel. You can tell the difference by the heart shaped leaves. Wood Sorrel has heart shaped leaves whereas clover does not. They're both edible though so that's a good thing!

[@ellisrogers9636]

Thanks for the video. Great information for survival.

[@dawnmorning]

Great recap of basic plants. Awesome to see another video from you. Can broadleaf be boiled to get rid of the toughness? Looking forward to another summer of learning from you.

[@debwefoxx9389]

Glad I found your channel! There are three plants in my backyard that I will be nibbling on later today. This is an older video so you might be doing this now : please keep the plant names on the screen for longer (10 seconds? I don’t know). I take screenshots for my plant digital library and also am usually doing other things while I learn on KZbin. I took a glance at your playlist and am really happy to spend the next seasons with you. I am a small city plot permaculturist in Minnesota

[@kathiehacht9156]

Very understandable discussion you presented thank you.

[@irishmermaid4]

Excellent! Thank you!🌻

[@HippychickYardener]

Awesome 👍🍃👩‍🌾 Thank u for sharing

[@lalitharajagopal8813]

Many thanks for your immediate response Thanks for informations

[@AdamWeber11]

Look in areas that previously flooded a few years back, always good finds there. The reason my backyard is full of wild catnip, onions, garlic, and much more I’m still trying to identify.. I’m in Johnson County, so it helps watching someone who lives fairly close. Regions vary so much.. Thanks Josh!!

[@immalivingagain3672]

I used to practically graze on Clovers as a kid. I and my bestie ate tonage. 😂 simply because they were sour :)D If they didnt kill me or make me sick. Prob wont kill anyone else either. Like he said. Youd have to eat ayyylot of it. There was a very tiny form of clover also maby 1/4-1/2” and it was even more sour. We loved it even better 🤣🤣🤣 then we would go in together to get a .25€ lime aid from the pop machine to wash it down with 😍😍. We were crazy 😜!!)

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

The smaller plant you mentioned that is more sour is probably Yellow Wood Sorrel and is not a clover species though it looks similar. Many people think they are clovers and thankfully it's a tasty mistake instead of a dangerous one. Wood Sorrel has a heart shape like cleft on the leaves whereas clover does not. I've done a few videos on Wood Sorrel on my channel if you're interested.

[@CkTubeFu]

Love me some dock! I've had a cluster in the permaculture section of our vegetable garden for the last 4 going on 5 years now & it produces great every year w/ very little maintinace. Protected w/ leaf litter & straw (burlap on the really cold nights) it will even produce (lightly) throughout winter here in VA & survive 15°F frosts. If you find them too bitter or the older leaves tougher than your liking give em a blanch before incorporating them into your dish 😉

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

Dock is rather delicious and very healthy too! I'll try your tips for the older leaves, thanks!

[@wildedibles819]

Nice video some of my favorite wild foods

[@susiearviso3032]

Thank you!

[@novembersunflower968]

Many blessimgs for your video! Grateful for the enlightenment! Love eating all my edible weeds and plants here in Florida. Peace, Love & Light to ALL. 🕉💜🌌,👩‍🌾🧚‍♀️👩‍🎨🧘‍♀️👩‍💻🧞‍♀️

[@karenuntz6514]

Shared on Twitter. 😎

[@cricketscorner6514]

Very cool love your vids bro.

[@bellesparks4374]

Great video:)

[@peacefulscrimp5183]

Great video 👍

[@controlfoodcontrolthepeopl5627]

Yea Josh is back

[@selfhealherbs13ms]

How do you feel about a smoothie of wht clover along with other fruit for taste.

[@annarim122]

I know how to cook wild onions. You cook them with miso soup with less water than normal and add some meat, beef..... It is so flavorful.... But use young tender stems and roots. They getting stiff like straws When mature....

[@steammachine3061]

Iv never been a big fan of garlic mustard. Its always been bitter to me. I do occasionally come across white and black mustard plants growing wild/rogue in my town though. Leaves have a lovely watercress flavour to them that gives way to a heat with a mild mustard flavour. Seeds can be collected as well. But as theres not a massive amount I come across I leave them to self seed for the next season

[@CkTubeFu]

Garlic mustard roots are also edible & have a similar taste to horseradish w/ less heat. After washing I like to chop them up, let sit 5-10 to build up some heat, add a spoonful of pickle brine then mix with mayo/bernaise for a nice 'horseradish' sauce that's great on sandwiches 😉

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

I've tried the roots once but that was before I knew how to select the good garlic mustard plants. I'll have to give it a try because I love horseradish flavor but don't like digging up tooth wort for it because tooth wort is a native plant. Thanks for the info!

[@pamelamerfeld7997]

Josh I have a massive amount of plants growing and I have no idea what it is. It has black round balls when they mature

[@demonlordotrt754]

White and pink clover poads are edible very bitter but as a child I would eat them raw during the long summers out of boredom.

[@kleineroteHex]

Nice job, Josh! Though I don't find my wid galic bulbs very potent. Dock I avoid, not a fan 😉 besides it's high in oxalic acid. Yesterday I found red clover and took some heads off for tea. And that is usually how I weed, I harvest for the kitchen, makes life easy!!!

[@joshbodin1979]

Appreciate the videos. Would be nice if you added more identifying characteristics of each plant too so as to ensure proper identification.

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

Then you might like some of my videos on a playlist titled: Wild Plant Identification. It's literally what you are asking for. Close ups of plants and each part associated with identification. I do various types of videos and the one you're watching is not meant for identification, it's meant to pique interest in the subject or get people to think more about the plants in their yard.

[@patriciasweet9102]

Make jelly out of the blue violets also dandelion jelly from the flowers.

[@gariyas]

I wonder how is the pungency and bitterness of garlic mustard ? Pungency would be glucosinolate levels and bitterness could be various minerals but I think perhaps primarily calcium. If you can compare them to other plants, e.g. pungency compared to various other brassicales and bitterness compared to any other wild plant you can think of. Checked a few sources and found reports of calcium approximately 100 mg per 100 g, and varying glucosinolate levels comparable to kale or collard. Better than a fair amount of cultivated common vegetables but not too great.

[@Melissa0774]

What do you suggest as far as washing the plants before you eat them? I'd be more concerned about germs from deep poop and all the people and who knows what else walks on the stuff and pees and poops on it.

[@justinecorrea5844]

Hi! Please tell us how to wash/clean these before adding to my salad. What if the leaves have bird poop residue, etc?

[@aldastroud9671]

Wash them and after leave them in water with vinegar for a few minutes. I do it always with broccoli, if any worm inside, will come out..

[@BabyyNine]

Hey is there’s some way I can send you pictures of some flowers in my field ? To help identify them if there eatable or not

[@toddolson573]

So...what about the blossom of the white clover?

[@RamblinJer]

Anything sour is right up my alley

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

You'll love it then!

[@SS-wz8po]

Garlic mustard tastes good when pickled.

[@exdy-eb3dv]

So... Are The rumex's seeds edible?

[@akozy]

Garlic mustard is one we don't get down here in North Alabama!

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

Consider yourself lucky, it's an ecological nightmare. It displaces native plants from their natural habitat and spreads rapidly. If you do ever find it, pull it up and eat it. The benefits are twofold; helping the environment and loads of nutrition from eating it.

[@lavender8592]

👍

[@matthewmassie7195]

I thought white clover is poisonous unless they are growing in cold climates? And in large quantities white clover is poisonous?

[@ghostwriter8631]

You forgot the violet tubers,the best part of the plant.

[@ishpal25]

What state is this

[@karenuntz6514]

👏👏👏👏👏😎

[@BetterYouBetterWorld]

I'm always nervous I'm going to eat something else that happens to look like it. Foraging is something I'd really like to improve at some time!

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

That's a very common fear and quite frankly, a reasonable one. My biggest recommendation is to take your time and to not rush yourself. We all have our own pace of learning. Another recommendation is to pick just a few plants, like 3 to 5, and learn them. Once you feel comfortable with those, learn some more. Over a few years you'll have a rather large repertoire of plants you know very well. Hope this helps and thanks for asking!

[@BetterYouBetterWorld]

@@TrilliumWildEdibles Thanks! Would you ever be interested in looking at some photos of local specimen which I take?

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

I used to do that but it started taking up too much of my time with so many people sending me pictures of plants so I no longer do that. Hope you understand and sorry.

[@nature-no4ox]

I recommend garlic bears

[@ghostwriter8631]

That's wild garlic not onion.if its hollow shoots like a straw its garlic

[@squashscent5071]

What about wood sorrel

[@selfhealherbs13ms]

I need your help in Identifying this invasion plant that's growing in my yard and I can't seem to find anything that is a definite id for this plant. It could be Perilla, or Canadian nettle. And I've try several plant apps and the web to no Definite Identification. But am very Curious what this plant is please help. Could you do a video on yard weed that looks like perilla or Canadian nettle

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

You might try looking up clear weed, Pilea pumila. I have a video on my channel titled: 3 Obscure Plants You Can Find While Foraging This video has a section on clear weed. That's the first plant I thought of with your description.

[@selfhealherbs13ms]

Thank you so much. I love your video your 👍 great

[@mxgangrel]

I thought the edibility of clover was geographically dependent with it being less edible as you get to warmer climates pretty much from somewhere near the Mason-Dixon line down being a problem. Where are you located? I noticed you said what time of year it was, but without saying roughly where you are, or at least what zone, the time of year isn't as helpful.

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

It very well could be. There's so much contradictory information about it I can't say for sure. Except I've been eating clover for over 15 years with no issues. At least here in Central Indiana.

[@patrickmchale8243]

Ceo on maintaining contact with plants throughout entire video

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

Absolutely! it's important the video focus on the plant instead of my face and the hand helps to show scale a bit. Thanks for commenting!

[@basemasaedi6268]

@@TrilliumWildEdibles very informative , gave me new confidence to check those plants growing around us

[@Hodmokrin]

The moment you realize "weeds" you have been pulling out of your garden are in fact edible... My front yard contains basically no "grass" and its almost entirely edible. Nice.

[@evelyngott2056]

My motto for weeds in my garden If you can't beat it, eat it

[@lalitharajagopal8813]

To Trillium wild edibles Sir please give in wrting So deaf can also learn from your chanel Namasthe

[@earthwyrm6756]

Hi, Most youtube offers text for the spoken content-- click on the box with a CC in it at bottom of screen while video is playing.

[@IDK_12]

I will worn you that there is a poisonous look alike for wild onion. Common name is death camas

[@jonbohn3854]

this guys voice sounds like Adam from Workaholics

[@vigouroso]

🎉 Congratulations on 32K Subscribers! Really good video! I hope someone donates money to you so you can buy a better microphone. 😉

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

If you don't mind me asking, what do you think is wrong with the audio?

[@robinbrown9222]

Sidewalk 5828 , I had a tough time hearing too. Had to look at the video then put it to my ear to hear the description.

[@robinbrown9222]

Great video! Just hard to hear.

[@MyTube4Utoo]

@@TrilliumWildEdibles Audio was fine for me.

[@BLZNGFR]

7:55 YOU CAN EAT THAT?!?!?!?!

[@tanjamorse7341]

I wish Icould make out what U R saying. Turn the sound up PLEASE

[@Levi-he6nj]

Weeeeeeeeeed

[@tomonous7606]

Sounds like you're eating some of your bounty as you speak, 😂

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

I might have been nibbling some things, lol!

[@dougworkman1596]

A big majority of the plants and flowers are from China. Good video on what’s in front of us we don,t see.

[@aaronhunte8768]

Does this plant bear yellow flowers?

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

Which plant? There's 5 in the video.

[@aaronhunte8768]

I mean the garlic mustard plant.

[@woodstockman667]

most the times anything w traces of cyanide or other toxins can just be boiled off

[@TrilliumWildEdibles]

Generally yes, but it's important for people to be aware of what's in the plants they're harvesting.

[@felicetanka]

So show us. Eat it.

[@DANKYdans]

The best method of removing plants is manually just pulling them out.... Honestly. Then whatever you pull you can eat , cook, boil, re plant etc. Weeds are not a real classification. I tell people this all the time.

[@frostrangerofthefrozenrelm]

Sad people kill off far more useful plants just for a grass monoculture....

[@humanbeing4368]

Thank you!