What are you foraging right now ?

Hey all,
I posted on the herb healing section and wikipedia of plantain.
The original name is "plantego" which is different of course than the plantains that look like bananas.
I envy some of you in the warmer climates who have all this interesting stuff to forage.
I will list what I have foraged so far.
Dandelions
( I hope to use the root sometime)
Plantain
Oxe eye daisy greens ( I read somewhere to be careful about how much you eat of this - if one of you knows more about this let me know )
Fiddleheads ( this was a big deal for me because this is the first year I felt brave enough to know what I was really foraging ! )
Ground nut ( well I am cheating just a little because I planted some in my garden three years ago and am pruning some )
Cranberries that wintered over
Partridge berries ( just a little )
Wintergreen
Some wild mint
Lambs Quarters ) I am SO happy it is coming up in my garden !! )
Soon to be foraging grape leaves , and maybe service berries for the first time this year.

Garden-( not foraged but it is where I find some of my foraging items which some might call "weeds")
Through inspiration from Katrina, this is not foraged, but I did learn about Chia seeds, and am planting them this year !
I have many more heirloom seeds than any year.
My Burgamot came up like crazy and my oregano, and also , I have at least thirty volunteer heirloom tomato plants !! And some coriander and sunflower...
I planted loads of lettuce, arugula, spinach, brocolli, Brocolli raab, and Kale and parsely and am now harvesting asparagus.

Susan,
I NEED you to come down here and teach me what to forage around here. I'm soooo out of my element. So, when are you coming down again????

We foraged for morel mushrooms but I think they are thru for the season. I am afraid to go thru the wods behind the house very much we have very big snakes here. I have two mulberry trees One in the woods and one by the chicken house that I get a little off of when the birds let me. Want to go pick black berries this year. Sassafrass grows here so I can get leaves and roots. And I forage the corn fields around my house after they pick it to pick up all the left over dried corn for the animals. (4 pick up truck loads before I got tired of doing it)

Sonshine wrote:Susan,
I NEED you to come down here and teach me what to forage around here. I'm soooo out of my element. So, when are you coming down again????

Hey dear heart - do you get oxe eye daisy ? You might have blooms at this point but I am getting buds.
What is your county again ? I can look up forager events in your area - Susan

I'm in Peach county. I'm not even sure what oxe eye daisies are. LOL I'm a hopeless cause. Remember, I'm a city girl who has never stayed in one place long enough to learn this sort of stuff. That's why I haven't done much foraging. I don't know what's edible and what's not. I don't want to poison my family.

Sonshine wrote:I'm in Peach county. I'm not even sure what oxe eye daisies are. LOL I'm a hopeless cause. Remember, I'm a city girl who has never stayed in one place long enough to learn this sort of stuff. That's why I haven't done much foraging. I don't know what's edible and what's not. I don't want to poison my family.

I did finally forage the oxe daisy heads in my yard. They were buds ( and I felt a little evil and bad stealing them from the plant when the poor things did not have a chance to bloom ! ) but I did it, and I leave one on each plant. I am sure they replenish themselves - these are tough plants. And, by the way, you can do this with Dandelion buds too !!! So Katrina , don't worry about oxe eye if you wonder about that.
Right now I have them stored in green bags. I will try to walk early and gather more tomorrow - here are some really neat ideas !!!
I love it when it is possible to make things from really common stuff.

http://www.wildfoods.ca/products-vegetables.html

Sorry about the multiple posts - here is the recipe for capers

http://www.sacredearth.com/ethnobotany/foraging/daisies.php

Want to forage for mushrooms. They are all over the place here due to all the rain we have had. I just do not know what kind are safe? any good books or sites with pictures that can help?

Oh and I for got about fiddle head ferns. I do not think they grow in tennessee but on a food forum they were talking about them?

amybyrd21 wrote:Oh and I for got about fiddle head ferns. I do not think they grow in tennessee but on a food forum they were talking about them?

Yes, they are ostrich fern. I have a pretty good quote on some of this, but forgot the source.
One of the best sources on the internet is Wildman Steve Brill - google him - he really is the best.

Here is the information below ( but feel free to always check on anything here to verify )
Ostrich ferns are the ones you want. The heads of bracken
fern are good too, but large quantities can give you cancer, or even
kill you. Snacking on a couple here & there is OK. Ostrich ferns do not
have these bad chemicals.
Some books say cinnamon fern fiddleheads are edible too, but I hear
they are not that good. Kind of bitter.
Do NOT eat any fern that is unfurled! That's when they get toxic and
yucky. You want them when they are still coiled up tightly.
Ostrich ferns grow mostly in low-lying sandy river bottom type areas,
but also on shady, damp, hillsides. In summer, they grow huge. some
more than 6 feet tall. The fronds get wider and wider until about a
third of the distance from the top, where they are the widest. This
shape is distintive, and looks like ostrich tail feathers. Hence the
name. Last years dead fronds will be matted down now. You can find the
patches by spotting the small, brown, spore fronds that will still be
standing. There won't be many of them. The spore fronds come up from
maybe one out of twenty clumps or so. Where you find them, there will
be little clumps all over the place. Every foot or two. Before the
fiddleheads start coming up, they are tightly packed in these clumps.
Wait 'til they come up. The coiled fidlehead part will stay coiled up
for up to several days, as the stems grow taller. When they first come
out, they are covered with a thin, brown, scaly, papery sheath. Most of
this falls off soon enough, but there's always some left to rub or wash
off. Now, some young ferns have a white fuzzy covering. Ostrich ferns
do not. Some ostrich fiddleheads have a whitish powdery coating; like
plums, but no fuzz. A unique feature of ostrich ferns is a deep, U-
channel groove that runs down the inside edge of the stems. The coiled
fiddleheads are nested in this groove.
Ostrich fern fiddleheads are good sized; about a quarter inch thick,
3/4 inch diameter, and they can be havested from stems that are over a
foot tall. When they feel kind of spongey, and start looking leafy,
it's too late. Look in more shady areas for later-growing patches.
Harvesting: walk through a patch, choosing good fiddleheads, snapping
off the stems at the lowest point they will snap off. This is a "feel"
you will soon aquire. These stems are very delicious, and should not be
wasted. Only harvest one or two fidleheads from each clump; maybe 3 or
4 from really good clumps. Keep moving. Whatever you pick will not grow
back, so don't overdo it.
I like to eat a few raw, but be careful with this. Raw, they can upset
some people's systems. When you get them home, snap the fiddleheads off
the stems, and seperate them for different uses. Wash in cold water.
Try this: blanch some fidleheads for a minute or so, rinse in cold
water, marinate for several hours in any good vinegrette; like
raspberry. Serve as a treat, or salad ingredient.
Check out Steve Brill's website for pics & info.

amybyrd21 wrote:Want to forage for mushrooms. They are all over the place here due to all the rain we have had. I just do not know what kind are safe? any good books or sites with pictures that can help?

This website,( right below ) I believe to be one of the best on mushrooms I have ever visited.
One person once suggested to me to grow them for full confidence of what they are.
I have not done any of this yet, but as of yet am only perusing this subject. I do hope to do this someday. I did break one barrier this year and foraged the fiddleheads And the Oxe Eye Daisy capers which I am excited about !

http://thegreatmorel.com/


http://www.naturalhub.com/gather_hunt_food.htm