It's Foraging Time Again! Day Three: Speedwell

My husband and I joke that we don't have grass... we just cut our weeds to a uniform height and call it grass. Well, it isn't really a joke I guess, since that is exactly what we do! Grass really isn't my thing. We can't eat grass and we don't have livestock anymore, so it is really just taking up space that we can use for growing things! I have tried to eliminate grass completely from the yard, but we still have some in a few places. I much prefer to have garden beds, mulched pathways and of course my weeds so that I can harvest them for medicine and use them as food.

Really, there is nothing prettier in my book than a yard covered in tiny blue. white, and purple flowers, dotted generously with the sunny faces of dandelions. It makes my heart sing! Unfortunately, in the not too distant future this lovely chorus of wildflowers and herbs will become a leggy tangle of plants that have gotten too tall, and are showing their age, yellowing at the base and looking a little worse for the wear. So before the yard gets to that stage, I will harvest the plants that I use for medicine, and will be continually cutting the edible weeds for salads and to add to prepared foods, until the day my husband declares that he is cutting the "grass" when he gets home from work. Well...I got the word this morning as my husband headed out the door for work, "You did hear me say I was cutting the grass this afternoon didn't you?", which is my husband's gentle reminder that if I want my weeds, this is my last chance to get them before he begins mowing for the year.

I have been cutting dandelion greens and Indian strawberry, plantain, and chickweed to eat fresh for a couple of weeks. But I have been letting one of my other medicinal plants get tall, so that I could harvest as much as possible in one cutting. This plant is Speedwell, Veronica Officinalis, also known as Veronica, and Gypsy weed. So since it is mowing day, I went out and cut back the Speedwell to about four inches from the ground.

Then I took the harvest inside to sort it out. Since Speedwell has a sprawling habit its stems can be tangled and intermingled with grass, clover and other herbs and wild flowers, so it is important to spread out the harvest and sort through it making sure to pick out any other plants that may come along with the Speedwell when it is cut.

Skittle is helping me sort

Clover, grass, False Dandelion flowers, leaves and grass seed don't belong in the mix!

After carefully sorting out any stowaways, I put the Speedwell in the dehydrator to dry, turning the heat off and just use the fan to dry it completely. It will take 4-5 hours on a sunny day, if it is raining it will take longer. Once dry, I vacuum seal it with my Food Saver and store it away in a dark place until I am ready to use it.

Speedwell is a small perennial plant that creeps close to the ground. It has woody, hairy stems that send up branches from 3 to 10 inches high and is rooted at the joints. The leaves are paired in opposites on the stems, and are grey green in color and have finely toothed edges. It has lovely, light blue flowers that have violet streaks inside that draw the attention of bees. The flower is about the size of the eraser on a pencil. The seed pods are heart shaped. En masse they make a very cheerful carpet of blue flowers and grey green foliage in early spring.

Here is a look at what the whole plant looks like

The tiny Speedwell flowers are a pretty shade of blue,
 with stripes of violet or darker blue. My finger is in the photo for scale.

Although Speedwell is edible, it is most commonly used as a tea. The tea from dried speedwell, is similar to the flavor of green tea. Speedwell tea is used to settle an upset stomach or to ease digestive issues; it is also used to help with reduction of mucus from sinusitis. To make Speedwell into a tea use one heaping teaspoon to 1 cup of boiling water, steep 10 minutes, strain and serve with a little honey. Drink twice a day to relieve symptoms. Decocted in olive oil Speedwell can be used to help to soothe an ear ache. When decocted in honey it is used as a cough medicine.

As I finish this post I hear the mower running, inside I have the dehydrator going, drying my harvest of Speedwell. It has been a good day, I hope yours was too! See you again tomorrow!

** This information is intended for educational purposes only and is not intended as suggested treatment for illness. Do your own research and make educated decisions about whether on not to use Speedwell or any other herb as a medicine.  **