One of the commonest hedgerow plants, garlic mustard can be easily identified by its distinct deep veined lillypad like leaves and garlic smell when crushed. If you know where to look, this plant can give you plenty all year.
Only the young leaves and seeds are good enough to eat. Whilst the roots are tasty, they’re pretty small for the effort needed in getting them up and cleaned.
The leaves of Garlic Mustard can be found throughout the year and are a welcome addition to any salad. Once dry, the seeds can be gathered and used asa mustard (suprise!) or used in bread and other dishes.
The roots too can be harvested, however, I’ve found that they’re best after they go to seed in their second year, however getting the roots is a lot of effort for little reward.
March – May for new leaves
April – June for flowers
July onwards for seeds
First years basal leaves can be found all year round.
Garlic mustard is also known as Hedge-Garlic for good reason – it loves shady spots in hedgerows and along woodland edges.
