And so, I'm a weed farmer...

This pot can also be read on bonappetit.com

Weeds? Purslane? What's the difference?

If you keep a garden year after year, you start to notice which plants take naturally to the soil and the climate that are specific to your plot and which do not. Each little pocket of farmland has its own microclimate and the plants respond to it.

Tim Stark is a Pennsylvania farmer who lives and farms about 30 minutes from me. He sells his goods at New York City's Greenmarket every Saturday and penned a funny and moving book, Heirloom, all about his tomatoes, for which he has become famous. Tim's tomatoes are used at many, if not most, of New York's top-end restaurants, including Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where the staff grows many of its own vegetables but has come to accept that Tim's tomatoes are superior.

I live quite close to Tim's farm, yet tomatoes are always a struggle for me. I add oyster shells and compost to the soil, I give them space to grow, I trim them back when they need it... Tim does none of this. His tomato plot looks more like a forest than a garden, yet his tomatoes are so much better. He just has the perfect microclimate for tomatoes, I guess.

I have the perfect microclimate for weeds.

Purslane grows just about everywhere, so take advantage!

I could spend hours each day pulling weeds and I would still have more weeds than vegetables. When I first started keeping this garden, I felt frustrated at how quickly and thickly the weeds grew. Now, I just accept it. In fact, I even encourage the weeds, because within the wild tangle there is a hidden gift: purslane.

My friends tease me that I feed them grass from the driveway as salad when they visit the farm in the summer. In fact, there's a lot of truth to that. The summer months are teeming with wild edible greens that, when tossed together with a simple lemon vinaigrette, become the most satisfying summer salad there is. Purslane grows just about everywhere--including along the driveway of the farm. I have found it growing in Brooklyn and in Central Park. It spreads over sidewalks and in alleyways all over the States. It grows especially well in my garden.

And so, I'm a weed farmer. But even you'll admit, in a salad like the one below, weeds can be pretty great eating.



Purslane Salad
6 servings

It's lemony in flavor and has a crisp crunch to it. It makes for a perfect base to this salad. If you're not adventurous enough to forage your own purslane, you can find it at almost every farmers' market in the summer. It's also called pigweed, little hogweed, or verdolaga, depending on where you live.

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. finely chopped shallot
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 mixed cherry or small ripe tomatoes (halved or quartered if large)
6 cups tender purslane leaves (about 1 lb.)
4 cups mixed baby greens (such as arugula, flat-leaf parsley leaves, lamb's quarters, spinach, and mizuna)

Combine lemon juice, shallot, salt, and pepper in a large bowl; whisk in oil. Add tomatoes, purslane, and greens; toss until coated.