Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) grows abundantly at the Community Garden. I used to pull it and compost it along with common sorrel, smart weed, mugwort and various grasses. Until I ate it as a gourmet dinner salad at Modesto's in Asheville. There they served a bed of it topped with roasted peaches and a balsamic vinaigrette. Heaven. And now purslane is my favorite summer salad when peaches come in from South Carolina. Which they have. So keep an eye out for this succulent, slightly tangy weed and harvest it for your table, not your compost.

According to Wikipedia, "The stems, leaves and flower buds are all good to eat. Purslane can be used fresh as a salad, stir-fried, or cooked like spinach, and because of its mucilaginous quality it is also suitable for soups and stews." Purslane contains more omega 3 fatty acids than any other leafy plant. It also contains vitamins A, C and B as well as the minerals, iron, potassium, calcium and magnesium.

Here is a link to a salad recipe using purslane. The recipe also calls for potatoes which you should be harvesting your first crops of now. http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/Web%20Recipes/PerfectPurslaneSalad.html

On a final note, if you determine that purslane is not to your taste, you may decide to leave it in your garden as a companion plant! Again, from Wikipediea: "As a companion plant, Purslane provides ground cover to create a humid microclimate for nearby plants, stabilizing ground moisture. Its deep roots also bring up moisture and nutrients that those plants can use, and some, including corn, will actually "follow" purslane roots down through harder soil than they can penetrate on their own. It is known as a beneficial weed in places that don't already grow it as a crop in its own right."