The May meeting of the Greater Newburyport Edible Garden Group will be on Monday, May 14th, 6:30 PM at the Topsfield Town Library.

We are going to take advantage of an appearance by John Root, noted naturalist and educator, who will be presenting his program Edible Wild Plants of the Northeast, a comprehensive introduction to the identification and uses of wild plants for food and beverage. The 90-minute power point presentation features distinguishing characteristics, seasons of availability, habitats, methods of preparation, and nutritional value of our region’s most common and appealing wild plants.

Questions and comments are welcome throughout the presentation. Food samples are offered to participants, and illustrated pamphlets with plant descriptions, guidelines for responsible and safe foraging, and a bibliography for further study are distributed as well.

Why is this of interest to gardeners? Because some of those so called “weeds” we have been rooting out of our garden are actually edible .. chickweed, dandelion, lamb’s quarters, purslane.

The Edible Garden Group was formed by community members who are interested in getting together to learn and share information about sustainable food growing – veggies, fruits, nuts. The meetings are focused on building community resilience through increasing the availability of safe, nutritious, sustainably-grown local food. To learn more visit the website at http://hyperlocavore.ning.com/group/egg and feel free to join the discussion on-line.