Purslane

Purslane

I’d been hearing a lot about purslane lately—specifically, that it’s very nutritious and is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids. I decided that I’d like to grow my own, and started keeping my eye out for it.

Green Deane’s channel at YouTube, Eat the Weeds, helped a great deal. I recommend his channel highly to anyone who wants to learn how to identify edible greens.

I’d almost given up on spotting any purslane when I suddenly came across some yesterday afternoon on the way home from synagogue. Those reddish stems practically jumped out at me. I bent closer to the plant and identified it. Yup, there were the tiny seed cups with black seeds, and the tightly closed yellow blossoms (the blossoms open only in the morning).

But there was nothing I could do. It was Shabbat. No picking greens allowed.

So I waited until this morning, got myself a pot and some soil, headed back down the street, and luckily for me, the purslane was still there in all its reddish-stemmed, fleshy-leafed glory.

I picked it carefully by the roots, planted it in the pot, brought it home, put it on my terrace and gave it plenty of water. (Dad always used to say: When you transplant anything, give it plenty of water. That helps ease the shock to the plant.)

Ladies and gentlemen, the newest resident of my terrace: purslane!

I hope to have cuttings and seeds available soon for any locals who would like them.