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 in southern Oregon ours are pretty much perfect in late August to early September. Before…
Forage
Foraging and wildcrafting for your own food and medicine is a great way to get outside and reap the benefits of being out in wild areas. It gives you access to some of the most nutrient rich and healing plants, all while getting some much needed exercise and fresh air. Foraging is good for your body as well as your mind and soul! I love teaching others about the benefits of wild food.
Learn about foraging through the seasons, with guides on fall foraging, winter foraging, and spring foraging. If you want to learn about wild mushrooms, then read about these 5 easy to identify edible mushrooms.
Foraging for Mullein
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…
Growing and Foraging for Raspberries (and their leaves!)
We lucked into a raspberry patch at our place, that much is for sure. Such a welcome surprise to discover! Not only has it given us wonderful berries for the past couple of months, but it has also provided us with medicinal leaves that we have been drying and storing for use throughout the coming…
Foraging for Lobster Mushrooms
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…
Foraging for Oregon Grape
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…
Growing and Foraging for Lemon Balm
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…
Foraging for Cattails
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,…
Growing and Foraging for Comfrey
If you’ve done any reading on the subject of permaculture, then you have for sure heard of comfrey. This plant has become the permaculturists darling for good reason, as it has a multitude of benefits including, but not limited to, natural fertilizer, dynamic accumulator, living mulch, companion plant, compost activator, and numerous medicinal uses. Unfortunately…
Foraging for Dandelions
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…
Foraging for Bay Leaves
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…
