Crops

Verdolaga (Portulaca oleracea)

Verdolaga is a vegetable green used in many Latin American countries. It is also popular as a salad green in France and other European countries. It is similar in taste and consistency to watercress. Verdolaga is also valued in Latin America for its medicinal properties. It is believed to be native to Iran or India, although it was present in the New World at the time of European colonization.

Many farmers in the Northeast know it as the herbaceous weed common purslane (also Portulaca oleracea). There are cultivated varieties that grow in a more upright fashion than the weed.

The weed common purslane (Portulaca oleracea) at a farm in Massachusetts (Photo by Frank Mangan)

Production
There is a cultivated variety which is larger and grows more upright than the wild species. Seed after danger of frost and thin to 4-6” apart. It can also be started in pots and transplanted. For production of the wild type, farmers will disk a field that is infected with common purslane to encourage uniform growth.

Cultivated variety “Goldberg” at the UMass Research Farm. (Photo by Frank Mangan)

Seed Sources
Many growers in the Northeatsern US will harvest the weed common purslane.

A cultivated variety, "Goldberg", is available from Johnny's Selected Seeds

Processed vedolaga for sale at a Latino market in Atlantic City, New Jersey. (Photo by Frank Mangan)