Plantain is a hardy cooking green. It grows low-flat leaves and is a pioneer species for disturbed and compacted soils where other greens are struggling to grow.
How to use in the kitchen: younger, tender leaves can be eaten raw like baby spinach. Fry or blanche, then cook the medium-age leaves in soups, stews and collard greens. Seeds can be roasted and sprinkled onto salad. Plantain herbs have long been harvested by humans for use in food and medicine for millennia now, and it can be a valuable addition to permaculture systems as a food or soil remediation species.
Broadleaf plantain propagates itself well, and is often found growing on bare and disturbed soil, like the sides of footpaths, or freshly overturned patches.
Please note that seeds need light to germinate. Sow seeds by sprinkling them across damp soil, and sprinkling a light covering of dirt 1mm deep. Keep soil moist throughout, and seeds should germinate in 21-28 days.
Plantain is a prolific self-seeder, and will need to be monitored if you want to keep it contained. When the flower heads are brittle and dry, snip the flower heads into a bag to protect the seeds from spilling while you gather them. Into a bowl, pull the achenes off the long flower spike. Shake and sieve the chaff to separate the small black seeds into the bowl.