The season is closing. The strawberries are about done putting out new buds. The rest of my plants are maturing or putting off seeds. This means most of my early morning strawberry picking is done for the season.
Today I woke up and decided to harvest the top couple inches of the purslane plant that decided to grow in one of my grape vine containers. I harvested the leaves for drying. I will then use the leaves in green smoothies, soups for thickening, eggs, etc.
It is a newer edible for me and I find I rather love the taste of it. Now I understand what all the hype is about.
I also harvested little cup shaped seed pods with ity bity black seeds in them. I have been reading that one plant can produce up to 5,000 seeds. I of course got no where near that, but having some is a nice addition to my seed bank.
Now for anyone looking to try purslane, do not confuse it with spurge. The easiest way to tell the difference is spurge has white milky sap when you break open the stem, whereas purslane does not. Spurge, or spotted spurge is poisonous and should not be consumed.
This is purslane.
Spurge
Take note that spurge does not always have the spots on the leaves.
I will continue to harvest leaves and seeds from the purslane plant while the season lasts.
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