Foraging Thread

[ShawnaK]

Any foragers on the forum? As someone who occasionally forages in the yard or in the park for edibles, I'd like to know what kinds of wild plants you pick and what if anything special you do to prepare them.

I have broadleaf plantain regularly, because they're always abundant, shaggy mane mushrooms and meadow mushrooms when they're out, chickory root for coffee when I can find some , and I've had sumac pink lemonade and, of course, dandelions.

[Howard Brown]

Well..when anniversaries pop up over here, I usually "forage" my neighbor's rose garden ... and make out like a bandit. Gotta know how to save a buck.

Seriously...Nina used to have land where wild strawberries grew. She says she would eat them. She's an encyclopedia when it comes to herbs.
I once picked up a cigar butt a senior citizen dropped and smoked it. That was like two weeks ago, but I don't do that all the time.

Like those mushrooms I see...hmm...

Let me ask you Shawna...what do you do with dandelions ?
I ain't real keen on nature to tell you the truth. Too many bitin' bugs and plants in it for me.

[gjcab09]

When I was young, we used to walk the ditchbanks in early Spring, hunting wild asparagus. So much more delicious than the store-bought kind, alas, the county irrigation wonks have concreted-in most of the ditches round here , and it's been ages since I've cut my own asparagus. We've got more poisonous mushrooms than non, so its best to steer clear of them altogether.

best regards,

Rod

[ShawnaK]

I'm glad most foragers in the city are like Howard and only forage for tobacco! If everyone started foraging, the parks would be denuded in no time! Although it would help with the weed problem!

Actually, Howard, I'm not too keen on dandelions. Not when there's plenty of plantain. Not to be confused with banana plantain. Here's a site to help you identify it. http://weeds.cropsci.illinois.edu/images/Broadleafplantain/pages/broadleaf%20plantain.htm

Plantain can also be used as field dressing for when you get bit by those bitin' bugs and plants. It's called Soldier's Herb for this reason. It's also called Waybread and Bird's Meat.

As for mushrooms, Rod, I still test anything new by rubbing it on my lip even after positively identifying them. There's always a risk though. I hope there aren't any poison ones that look like Shaggy Mane!

Clovers are out now and starting to turn purple. They're always nice to nibble on.