Finding late spring or summer edible weeds to use for stir fries, soups or salads.

Good morning folks. I'm looking for more common weeds from my backyard and from vacant lots beside dandilions, lamb quarter and pigweed. Are there weeds that have more flavor for stir fry, soup or salad that I could simply use for daily use? Please reach me if you all have anything. Peace!

I would suggest stinging nettles, plantain, blackberries, and mushrooms.

The flowers or most plants are also good to gather.

Here are some threads that might offer more suggestions for you or others:

https://permies.com/t/134241/favorite-native-wild-fruit-harvest

https://permies.com/t/80/49164/Bulk-foragables-Big-Box-store#1090469

What is your region? I could be more specific if I knew what sort of environment you have around you and the plants that would be available. Keep an eye out for garlic mustard, purslane (DELICIOUS) , Japanese knotweed. These will be flowering into summer. Dandelions are always good for greens as well.

You can find out about new plants by doing a survey of your local ecosystem, identifying the local plants and then looking into them. I personally use the Native American Ethnobotany Database to do initial research. This helps me identify underused plants around me. I'll identify the ecosystem, find a list of the plants occurring there and start checking them out for usability.

http://naeb.brit.org/

This one had some great ideas I hadn't considered. How would you cook mulberry leaves?

From the Chicago area. I'm concentrating on native ones first, then the others.

Right now, we're eating a lot of violet leaves (Viola sororia) because they're still tender and abundant at this time of the year. They have a mild taste, but bulk up well a salad with more powerful greens.

Oxalis ( wood sorrel) is another favorite, used sparingly because it's fairly acidic (as well as being high in oxalic acid, which is not good to consume in massive amounts. But we're talking something like a cup a day over several weeks). It's better raw though, because it turns an unpleasant khaki yellow under heat.

Chenopodium album (lamb's quarters) is also a favorite "volunteer" in my garden, but it looks like we've eaten so much of it that we've actually managed to eradicate one of the sturdiest "weeds" ever.

Apparently, Aegopodium podagraria (ground elder) can be eaten, and my garden is overriden with it, but we don't find it very palatable.

I'm in Zone 5b on the East Coast, so timing might be different for you, but those are very common "weeds".

The tender leaves of goldenrod, basically the growing tip of leaves at top of plant are good to throw in stir fry. There’s also pokeweed and milkweed shoots, but I think we are a few weeks past the prime for them.

I agree with the others about purslane. It’s great and just getting started here now. For stir fry you can toss it in stem and all.

Young grape leaves when they are still pinkish and curly.

I believe I am in a similar growing zone as you over in the West Michigan area.  Right now my little homestead is chock full of various edible greens.  As a general rule if the plant is an edible then the actively growing part is usually what is best to eat at any give time.  

I do harvest and eat the growing tips of goldenrod, wild sweet pea, queen Ann's lace, mulberry leaves, and wild grape leaves.  There are also a couple varieties of chickweed, yarrow, wood sorrel, sheep sorrel, and the flowers of dames rocket.  

I've got milkweed still coming up in young tender shoots though I will admit I haven't yet tried harvesting milkweed at this stage though I understand it is edible that way.  I usually wait and harvest the buds, flowers, and immature pods.  I think normally it would all be up by now but things seem a bit slow this year.  

I understand the variety of $^&*@@$ bindweed I have is also edible.  There are tons of tender vigorously growing tips of those I should be trying to find ways to use!