Are They Still “Wild Edibles” If You Grew Them? Queen Anne’s Lace, Dock

February 12, 2020

Like everyone, as the days grow longer, I start itching for Spring.  Rummaging through my pantry, I found some seeds I’d saved: Dock (to make more flour)  and Queen Anne’s Lace (a seed topping for crackers). 

Hmm, said my sunlight-deprived brain. What if I tried starting them in the house? So I tossed them into some spare potting soil. Here are the results:

Queen Anne’s Lace seeds: Sprouted like champions! I’ve been snipping the tops off as they grow their second set of leaves, which you might recognize as looking like parsley (same family).  They have provided an ongoing source of fresh carrot-flavored herb that I've been using as a garnish for soups (especially good on butternut squash soup) and as sprouts on sandwiches—bagels with cream cheese and lox pictured below. I was not able to find nutritional information on Wild Carrot greens, except that they are rich in beta-carotene. Whether or not they are delivering superior nutrition (as so many of our wild herbs do, compared to cultivated), they have delivered a bright taste of spring.

Dock: Sadly, not so much. I sowed the seeds into a plastic grocery-store salad container, thinking that it could work like a small greenhouse. The soil I used must not have been sterile; along with (presumably) dock sprouts,  I found wood sorrel (a welcome if unexpected interloper) and some other mystery sprouts. The Dock never grew large enough to become identifiable. Unlike the Queen Anne’s Lace, Dock apparently just wants to stay wild. 

So do they count as “wild edible plants” if I've intentionally grown them? One can imagine that this practice--of saving and sowing seeds from desirable plants—was the first step on the way to agriculture. What intelligent human tribe wouldn’t improve their chances of survival by saving the seeds of life-giving plants, and trying to propagate them the following season? 

For now, I’m still calling my foraged seeds “wild edibles.”