Birch trees are one of my fall and winter foraging favorites, and they have many edible and medicinal parts! Today I’d like to welcome guest writer Lucia Hadella who is going to teach us all about foraging birch trees including birch bark, leaves, and sap. You can read more about Lucia at the end of…
Spring Foraging
Foraging for Pineapple Weed (Wild Chamomile) + Pineapple Weed Tea
One aspect about foraging that I absolutely love is when I discover a plant that I’ve seen for years, since childhood even, is edible and medicinal! This was the case with pineapple weed, also known as wild chamomile. When I learned several years ago that it can be used in the same way as its…
What to Forage in Spring: 20 Edible and Medicinal Plants and Fungi
Spring is the season of new beginnings and new growth. As the temperature starts to warm up and everything begins to thaw from the winter, spring foraging options increase! This is the time of year for fresh salad greens, tasty spring flowers and shoots, medicinal plants, and a few edible mushrooms. This list of what…
Foraging for Chickweed
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…
Foraging for Wild Violets
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…
5 Easy to Identify Edible Mushrooms
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…
Foraging for Oyster Mushrooms
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…
Foraging for Purple Dead Nettle
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…
Foraging for Morel Mushrooms
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…
Foraging for Stinging Nettles
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…
