Nourish and Thrive
You have most likely seen usnea, also known as Old Man’s Beard, when you are out in the forest. I see it all the time hanging in long strands from conifers when I’m hiking here in the pacific northwest. What you may not have known is that usnea is a super medicinal lichen! I love…
Ever since I’ve been a wild food forager, I’ve always known about chickweed, but haven’t really come in contact with it all that much. This is strange, because chickweed is really quite a common and abundant plant! It’s not that I had never seen it, I know that I’ve pointed it out on a few…
I think the thing that I love most about wild violets is that they are usually the first flower to show their face in early spring. Actually, where we live in Southern Oregon they come up in mid-February! These little purple flowers give us a nice little foreshadowing of spring when we’re still in the…
Foraging in winter is not always easy, and it gets even harder the further north or higher in elevation that you are. The super cold temperatures, low light, and heavy snow cover in these areas can really make it difficult for anything to persist and survive through winter. There are a few wild plants that…
Mushroom hunting can be a bit scary, especially if you’re a beginner. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do it, though. Everyone has to start somewhere! I always advise that beginners should first start mushroom foraging by simply paying attention. Observe the different mushrooms that you may see, and consult a guidebook as you go…
Chicory might be one of those plants that you’ve probably seen a thousand times but never knew what it was. It is extremely common along roadsides in many areas of the country, and I’m sure that you’ve passed it by a time or two. What you may not have known is that chicory is an…
Hunting for mushrooms is always one of my favorite pastimes. To start with, the areas that most mushrooms prefer to hang out in are usually gorgeous. They are often near water, in lush green rainforests, which we have plenty of here in Oregon. Many times when I actually find wild mushrooms I’m not even actively…
I’ve been visiting family on the central California coast, which has been wonderful. I always like going to other parts of the country to see what I can forage, and the temperature here is so mild that you can pretty much find edible or medicinal plants year round. Late spring and summer is when the…
On a recent camping trip to the central Oregon coast, we went on hike like we usually do, and came across what we believed to be salal berries! I snapped a few photos, then double checked my guidebooks when we got back to camp, and discovered that they were, in fact, salal berries. We decided…
Hello and happy summer solstice! We are fully into the summer season now, and wildflowers are popping up everywhere. I love finding and identifying them, especially when I discover that they are edible or medicinal (or both!). Wild California poppies are a common sight for us here in Southern Oregon. No, they won’t quite put…
Mugwort is one of the first plants that I foraged for as an adult, and it sort of happened by mistake. It grew in huge patches along the river in Yosemite National Park, where I spent many summers. Joel and I loved how it smelled and thought that it was a variety of sage (turns…
I can almost guarantee that you’ve seen purple dead nettle growing at one time or another. You may not have realized it, as it can sometimes be fairly inconspicuous, but if you really start to pay attention to the plants around you, I’m certain that you will see it growing. It’s one of those plants…
This spring has been an exciting one for many reasons, but most recently because I found some morel mushrooms! This elusive mushroom is prized for it’s tastiness, and can only be wildcrafted as no one has figured out how to grow them (yet). They come up in spring to early summer, depending on where you…
I’ve been interested in foraging for stinging nettles for quite a while now, but I have to admit that I was a bit scared because of the “stinging” part. There’s a definite reason that I don’t have any tattoos, as I’m not super excited about voluntarily inflicting pain on my own body. I mean, I…
One of the first trees or shrubs to bud in early spring is the willow. I remember as a child getting so excited to find pussy willows, although back then I didn’t liken it to the changing seasons. I’m pretty sure I just thought they were neat and fuzzy and like little tiny kittens, so…
Late fall and winter can be a tough time for foragers in the majority of North America. After the fall mushrooms are gone, there isn’t a whole lot left in the realm of wild food. The one thing that most of us have, no matter where we live, is pine or other conifer needles. They…
Hello my foraging friends! I have something a little different for you today. As we all know the holidays are happening soon, and with that usually comes buying gifts for those you love. Over the next few weeks I’m going to show you some items that I’ve found that can be used for practical purposes…
I have something really exciting for all of you today! I recently received a copy of Emily Han’s new book Wild Drinks and Cocktails, and let me tell you, this book is seriously awesome! It is all about wildcrafting herbs and plants and then making delicious drinks with them. Some have alcohol and some are…
Did you know that fall is the best time of year for wildcrafting herbal medicinal roots? All spring and summer long plants such as burdock, valerian, chicory, comfrey, and dandelion are growing long taproots. Once fall comes and the plants start to die back after a frost, that taproot stores all of the plant’s nutrition…
Aha! We finally did it! We have been out and about on many trails for the past few weeks with the hopes of finding some chanterelle mushrooms, as this is the time of year for them in the Pacific Northwest. Our luck hasn’t been so great, but it’s still been relatively dry in the Rogue…
Hello my peoples! How are you on this lovely fall day? I imagine that you are busy little bees putting up the harvest in all sorts of ways, which makes me smile :) I wanted to let you know about an article that I wrote for the The Herbal Academy recently, 10 Tips for Wildcrafting…
You may have heard the word “gleaning” before, or maybe you haven’t. In a world where people still suffer from hunger and malnutrition, it amazes me how much food is thrown away or let go to waste each and every day. I have worked in the food industry for many years, so I know first…
I’m pretty sure that I don’t have to describe to you what blackberries look like, as they are the quintessential foraging food. Ever since I was a kid I have been collecting wild blackberries from mid to late summer. I remember my little sister and I would start checking the local blackberry patch in late…
Well, the season is now upon us… what season, do you ask? Elderberry season! This extremely important wild edible and medicinal plant starts getting ripe berries any time from July to August, depending on your specific location and elevation. Here, ours are pretty much perfect right about now. Before the berries, however, come the flowers,…
I love it when a plant that I’ve seen for years, and is totally recognizable to most people, turns out to be a super awesome medicinal. That’s what it was like for me when I “discovered” plantain, a plant that I’ve seen under my bare feet since childhood. I was totally amazed at what this…
Joel and I have spent the past couple of days on the southern Oregon coast, and it was wonderful! I had my hopes set on finding some chanterelle mushrooms, as they can be quite prolific in the coast range. As we were driving south down the coast, we saw a small side road that led…
One thing is for sure, we are fully into the foraging season now. I’m starting to get really excited for all of the wonderful foraging that will be happening soon, especially berries! Today I will be talking about foraging for Oregon Grape, which isn’t technically a grape at all, but a bush in the barberry…
You have probably seen lemon balm growing whether you knew it or not. In the mint family, lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a perennial herb that spreads rapidly and has become a fairly common “wild” plant. When I’m out foraging and I see what looks like a plant in the mint family it is more…
Hello my friends! Today we’re going to talk about foraging for cattails. I would be surprised if you didn’t know what cattails looked like. I think that it was one of the first wild growing plants that I could identify when I was a kid, along with dandelions and clover. Besides being easy to identify,…
I don’t think I need to show anyone what dandelions look like. But I bet you don’t know all the wonderful uses that they have! They truly are the perfect Grow Forage Cook Ferment plant, and then some. They are so incredibly versatile, yet also plentiful. You know what I mean as I’m sure that…
Today I have the elusive Bay tree photos that I needed when I wanted to do this post last week. I’m pretty proud of my on the fly plantain post that happened instead, but this one I’m really excited for! Although bay leaves are sort of taken for granted in the kitchen, they really do…
I had a different post planned for today. I was going to tell you all about the wild bay trees that Joel and I found while hiking along the Rogue river a couple of weeks ago, and how to dry and use the leaves in your cooking. But then I had to go to Santa…
A few weeks ago we got a ton of rain. Yes, I know, it rains a lot in Oregon, but this was insane. Creeks flooded, ponds formed (yay ponds!) and trees fell. We needed it, but not all at once! Anyways, as it generally goes in Southern Oregon, we have had amazingly beautiful and sunny…
Joel and I were in Tahoe recently and I said to him, “I’m sure we can find some Juniper trees while we’re here.” After spending many years in Yosemite, I figured Juniper trees were fairly common in the Sierras, but we didn’t see any in Tahoe! However, not more than a week later, when I…
I was out on a run a week or so ago, in unusually balmy weather for January, when I saw a sight that made me stop cold. I stared at the ground, making the other people in the park think I was crazy, I’m sure. It couldn’t be, my mind thought, but by golly it…
Well, hello! Guess what? Even in January I was outside foraging for yarrow! You’re probably wondering what in the heck I’m talking about. You may have not even heard of yarrow. But, let me tell you, yarrow really is nature’s medicine, and it pretty much grows everywhere. Even if you’re not able to find it…
I’ll be honest with you, there isn’t a whole lot to forage in late fall and winter, at least where I live. I’m sure those of you in more southern and warmer climates have much more to choose from. But, while I wait for what seems like an eternity until I can go looking for…
