Please educate me on Thistle

Good point.

Oh, you mean chadrons?

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Look up videos on harvesting and eating them.

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Sorry, I meant harvesting more on a commercial scale. Why has there never been a company that has come in and gathered them up for sale? I know they're a prickly PITA for the individual, but surely a company would have a tool to shred them like celery stalk and discard of the weed. Like you mentioned, my co-worker friend also tells me they're tasty and that if I tried them in the right spices and oils then I would be hooked.

While growing up on my grandfathers farm, there were two things he would not let me spray... thistle and poke (polk) weed (salad). Pretty much everything on thistle is edible except thorns. Stalk, leaves (minus thorns), midrib, flower buds (minus thorns) and root. Obviously, its a work vs reward thing.

You can come to you own conclusion about commercial viability:

The thistle has 2 years it is edible. First year is mostly leaf growth, root spread and short stalk. We would usually leave first year growth, but can be harvested. Second year, stalk about 3', we would strike the leaves off the stalk using a knife while still standing. Then strike off flower bud, then cut the base of the stalk. The bare stalk would then need to be peeled to remove green layer. We would take a few leaves, depending on how much we got from stalk. The leaves would be stripped from base to tip leaving just the midrib... much easier to salvage the midrib than leafy part. We would also take the root, which has both runners and bulb, and can grow pretty good size. Stalk, midrib and root would be cooked in several ways. The stalk is hollow, so there is a lot of work for not much yield. Stalk and midrib is similar to celery, roots are similar to mild radish.

Maybe in today's think green, sustainable, foraging mindset, there maybe an opportunity for it to be commercial in say southern California.

Fun fact: There are several very closely related species of thistle, all edible, that grow in all parts of the world except Antarctica. Indigenous and native people used it in similar ways as they traveled around different areas and climates.

chadrons!!!!

Awesome to eat! great with just vinegar and little salt and pepper! don't get the big ones that are reddish! they are too old get the skinny small ones! they are more tinder and not striney. Just like everyone said just peel the outer skin off and cut into small pieces. Great with fresh fried fish!!!

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great with just vinegar and little salt and pepper!

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This is the way to go.

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why isn't this stuff harvested

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Milk thistle is sold in pill form where the pill capsule is filled with powdered thistle. Liver supplement and if you take before a night of drinking then it cuts the hangover dramatically the next day.

A pair of heavy gloves and good kitchen shears are your friends when harvesting. I saw on the foraging FB group this week where someone fried pieces like okra. On my list to try. My buddy’s family alligator farm is loaded with them around all the ditches.