Purslane has been a garden friend of our family for years now. In the colder, wetter days of early winter I am already starting to reminisce back to the long days of the hot summer and all the gifts we received from our humble homestead garden.

Some gardeners are familiar with purslane, if not by name then certainly visually, because it is a common summer weed that really likes to grow with us. Some adventurous gardeners in the know have nibbled purslane and enjoy it as a crispy snack in the garden. Others have heard purslane’s reputation for being the plant with the highest levels of Omega 3 fatty acid.

But it hasn’t occurred to most gardeners I talk to, to try eating purslane cooked. In our family, cooked purslane is a well sought delicacy. We embrace the fact that well cooked greens yield far more nutrition than raw greens and make no exception with purslane. Purslane is not just rich in Omega 3, quite a rare gift in itself, but also packs many other valuable minerals and nutrients.

Introducing Purslane (Portulaca oleracea)

Truly purslane is delicious raw. Purslane makes an incredibly delicious salad with that crunch and texture akin to a slightly tart cucumber. We often make purslane salads in the summer and feel satisfied in ways that no other salad vegetable can.

Some of purslane’s appeal is her juiciness. Purslane’s leaves and stalks are crispy, slightly tangy and full of water, much like cactus, another hot lover. (Or should I say lover of heat?) Also similar to cactus, purslane is slightly mucilaginous (though not super slimy like cactus or okra—thoughtfully so, as not to put off the more sensitive western palates).

Mucilage is extremely beneficial for our entire digestion system and gut health, so our family welcomes more mucilage in our diet when and where we can get it.

While purslane enjoys regular water and fertile soil, it is has some extremely resilient ways of retaining water in dryer conditions. When I pull or clip purslane and forget to bring it inside right away, or set it aside as mulch, purslane always amazes me with its ability to hold water.

After severed or pulled from the soil, in the hottest days of summer, purslane’s leaves stay hydrated longer than most other plants—and the stalks especially, who seem to seal up their ends—keep their water inside and remain semi-fresh for days in the hot sun, long after other garden plants would have withered and desiccated to a pale crisp.

It is a testament to her gentle strength and hydrating, healing and nourishing abilities.

Purslane is so refreshing! On hot summer days if I am walking by a patch of purslane I always make it a point to munch on a handful or few purslane leaves and stalks—the juicy, lemony, mucilaginous plant really perks me up and I instantly feel rejuvenated, cooled down and hydrated!

This way of eating the local greens and herbs that thrive in each season really does wonders for our bodies. In purslane’s case, not just for hydration in the garden, but also for quite literally absorbing and feeding us the specific soil nutrition and intense sunlight that are only available during summer days.

In addition to being hydrating and nourishing, purslane is cooling and soothing, which are qualities we can all use in the hot summer.

Feeling parched from the sun? Snack on some purslane. Got a temper? Cool it down with purslane. Inflamed digestion? Sooth it with purslane. Want to be nourished? Enjoy generous purslane.

Cooked for long times, purslane’s cool, gentle demeanor is enhanced. She becomes incredibly soft and silky, in the most graceful way.

In soups, purslane glides over my tongue delightfully.

In chili, purslane really knows how to party and thickens the pot.

In curries, purslane adds green splashes of color and gentle textures.

Purslane the Beauty

Purslane is such an elegant beauty. On a hot summer’s day look for purslane’s graceful stalks meandering flat along the soil until they find another plant or obstacle where they will decidedly start growing skyward.

Her small yellow flowers will go unnoticed from a distance but up close they pop out from a green backdrop like little suns dancing in a green universe, and bring me lots of joy as I come in close to appreciate them.

And please do come in close, because when the sun is shining directly, purslane’s grace becomes pure, untethered magic. Her leaves sparkle! OK that actually bears repeating… her leaves sparkle!

As if that isn’t enough, turn her over and look underneath her leaves. The bottom side of her leaves are a gentle shade of purple and sparkle even more!!

Unfortunately no photo can do justice, the sparkles must be seen in person to fully experience and appreciate their shimmery amazingness!

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Purslane in the Garden

Purslane is one of those weeds that spreads thousands, even tens of thousands of minuscule seeds around. As weeds do, she is sure to come back in the summer where soil is exposed and moist, much to my delight.

Truly purslane is a summer loving herb, showing up in our garden after the cool weather weeds like chickweed are fading out from the hot days and intense sunlight. Domesticated cool weather greens like kale, lettuce and spinach shine in the spring and fall, but need a break in the summer when they are getting pounded by the sun and become more bitter as they protect themselves from stress and insects.

The summer heat—this is when purslane shines!

As a summer herb, purslane decidedly chooses and loves to grow among our corn, peppers and okra in our clay soils. But purslane also really enjoys spending quality time in our raised beds and nursery pots. I mean who can blame her for picking the choicest, coziest, warmest and fluffiest soil?

We just finished the second season with our new 2 year old raised beds. After topping off the beds with soil from our garden complete with our favorite weed seeds, thank you very much, during both seasons purslane has already graced us abundantly with her elegant, succulent stalks and leaves, cute little flowers and sandy black seeds strewn about to ensure her children would live here.

I’m so glad you like our garden enough to bring your children over! And boy they did sprout up! Just as thickly and lushly as they grew last year, they filled our raised beds again this year.

A Story of Abundant Nourishment

I will admit that I was humbled as a gardener with purslane last season. The onions and carrots got a late start and were still really small in the summer when purslane joined the party. She quickly filled the space, to my excitement since I love purslane.

Alas, I was too busy to weed and prune purslane in time. Weeding our beloved friend essentially is inviting her over to our kitchen for dinner! But that dinner came late. In fact she grew so much that we quite literally filled our freezer with purslane and received the gift and joy of spending all summer and all winter with her too, as we ate our warm meals cozily by the fire.

I honestly and enthusiastically shared this story of abundance last season and another gardener said something along the lines of: “What a shame, those storage vegetables you planted got smothered.”

I agree with the second half of her statement but I really don’t like shaming myself or shaming our garden friends. Instead our family rejoiced with abundant nutrition from generous purslane and our bodies and hearts are all the more nourished for it.

In fact there is another hidden gem in this story. As a gardener I love saving seeds, especially because I know next years’ plants will be more adapted to our garden.

Well, I eventually got around to cutting back purslane so my flimsy but precious carrots and onions could have more light. I didn’t pull purslane’s roots so we could have more purslane. Well I got my wish because they outgrew our carrots and onions a second time before I could liberate them again. Careful what you wish for!

With our fairly generous season the surviving carrots and onions were still able to grow to a relatively decent size and we had a nice harvest, all things considered. I am proud to say the biggest onions have become our seed stock, because they have proven to hold up the best against weed pressure. Some of their offspring will undoubtedly hold up better to weed pressure.

In case you noticed this isn’t a story of failure, even if I failed to produce as many pounds of onions or carrots as I thought I could have as I sowed their seeds.

That’s why this season I welcomed purslane back again. I was more on par with my timing, both with an earlier sowing of my carrots and onions as well as keeping purslane harvested to the kitchen regularly so that our root crops could have a better chance to swell this season. We enjoyed a more balanced harvest of root veggies and purslane, in fact I’m proud to say we got large yields of both crops. And to our delight we managed to put away much purslane into the freezer yet again!

I don’t regret last season because I know my reasons for not weeding the bed earlier. I was emotionally tired as a father, active as a homesteader and busy as a familypreneur. (Is that even a word? ;) While it was tempting, I could find no reason to add shame to all that—I strengthened my friendship with one of my favorite garden pals and our family was more nourished through the winter.

Like many other weeds purslane shares a similar lesson with her gifts: For all the effort I put into trying to get a specific outcome, the garden and our wild green friends are always ready to provide nourishment, medicine and beauty abundantly. I am so grateful!

A True Companion

This year purslane also grew abundantly between our corn, peppers and okra. Those plants are less delicate and much taller than onions once established, so I allowed purslane to get bigger and spread wider (purslane doesn’t get super tall) with her taller companions. She rewarded us all by helping shade the soil between and above our veggies’ roots.

Well since I already said the “V” word, I’ll just put it out there that I consider purslane a vegetable in her own right. She has the resilience and nutrition of a true weed and at the same time is at least as delicious and versatile as the average domesticated veggie. Save for the oldest parts of the stalk at the base, which can get slightly fibrous around the skin, her long, fat, delicious stalks are tender and smooth.

It’s no wonder traditional agricultural communities like Mexican campesinos (traditional gardeners/farmers) and their families embrace and rely on purslane growing among and around their other crops.

As a weed I am still enthralled by her magical appearance in our garden so many seasons ago. Out of respect, honor and joy, I enthusiastically invite her to live and go to seed where she chooses in our garden. While it’s not necessary in order to enjoy her abundant presence, I also collect the tiny, black, sand-like purslane seeds and save them to scatter throughout the garden in late spring or early summer where there is exposed soil or between our summer crops. It’s a beautiful ritual in her and our family’s honor.

Here’s to walking hand in hand with purslane.

I hope you learned something new about purslane or came away inspired to know her better! If she’s not already present in your garden or containers, perhaps you’ll consider inviting her to join your other green companions.

Happy gardening, friends!