# Who else practices wild foraging?



## spiritbear (Jan 6, 2016)

I'm sure this has been brought up in the past but feel it's worthy to talk about again. I wondered if there are others that forage for food as a way to prepare themselves for the future. It's very healthy eating of course but it's also a a great way to be prepared. We can only store so much food. It's costly, takes up room and stored food loses some its nutrition after a while. I find it a fun challenge and it brings a whole new level of independence. This past spring and summer I stepped it up and tried eating a lot more by foraging. Most every meal had something wild in it and many meals were completely wild with just some homegrown food in it. Most of what I ate was just found right around the house. Does anyone else try this and enjoy it?


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

we do.


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## spiritbear (Jan 6, 2016)

Wind in Her Hair said:


> we do.



Everything looks great!!! I'm not sure which I like better the fun in hunting for mushrooms and the taste in eating them.  Last year I made a lot of pot herb stews. Basically just a pot full edible plants and a few potatoes. There's so much nutrition that we miss that is in wild plants. Much of the medicines in plants have been lost in domesticated vegetables.


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

For us it is less to do with prepping, than a way of life. Between wild game, mushrooms, berries, fish, weeds, nuts, cattails, etc., we have many, many meals a year only using what we have gleaned from our land.

The prep factor is kind of a bonus, I guess. The best part, is that my kids think it is cool, and are learning along the way!


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## spiritbear (Jan 6, 2016)

farmerDale said:


> For us it is less to do with prepping, than a way of life. Between wild game, mushrooms, berries, fish, weeds, nuts, cattails, etc., we have many, many meals a year only using what we have gleaned from our land.
> 
> The prep factor is kind of a bonus, I guess. The best part, is that my kids think it is cool, and are learning along the way!



Agreed. I don't look at it as a way to prep but it will be great knowledge if we ever have to. It's fun especially getting the kids involved and trying new things to see how they taste. I remember reading an old book years ago about living off the land and the author said that most of the world produces enough food to live off of naturally if you learn how to live with it. That there's no reason for starvation.


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Looks like great finds, and a good idea with one major caveat...

"Wild" foraging on someone else's land without permission is trespassing and theft. When we first moved here I had to discourage the ginseng "foragers" with a few shots fired into the ground. In a SHTF situation, it wouldn't be the ground I would be aiming at. (FWIW, in Alabama a hunter of any type has to have WRITTEN permission to be on property or they can be charged with trespass. Theft of valuable plants can get to felony status.)

As long as you practice being a good neighbor and share your finds or reciprocate in some way, none of the above should affect you.


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## spiritbear (Jan 6, 2016)

Wild foraging can also be done on your own land. It's about harvesting wild plants not going into the "wild". A neighbors property can be just as much wild or tame as your own. I've foraged on others land many times. Most people will easily give permission if you build a little relationship. I've done it in the city too. Several times when I've found a lot full of dandelions I've asked to harvest them and have never been told no. Here in missouri it's also legal to forage on state conservation land so there are many places you can do it. Most of the best places can be in your yard or just walking down a street. Many of the edible greens and flowers like to grow in disturbed soil so anywhere humans live they tend to live also.


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## Wind in Her Hair (Jul 18, 2002)

I love asking my city grandchildren if they are hungry and I say "Lets go get something to eat", then I grab them by the hand and head out into the woods- they ask me where we are going and I say "To the grocery store".  (The woods.)


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## Laura (May 10, 2002)

I refer to it as "local sourcing," and it makes up 75% of our diet. I learned long time ago discussing foraging and free food causes incredible damage to the environment. Most people don't care about sustainable harvest, stewardship or whose property they're on.


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

Mother nature is such an artist and she paints with fragrant colors that are gastronomically pleasing. Thanks for the posts and pictures.


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## spiritbear (Jan 6, 2016)

Laura said:


> I refer to it as "local sourcing," and it makes up 75% of our diet. I learned long time ago discussing foraging and free food causes incredible damage to the environment. Most people don't care about sustainable harvest, stewardship or whose property they're on.



Very good on making it 75% of your diet!!! I'm up to about 50%, sometimes more. Whether I'm harvesting for food or Wildcrafting for medicines I only harvest a third of anything.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

One of my only regrets, not learning from my Grandma everything I could about foraging. She and Grandpa and 3 kids made their way from a concentration camp across the country to Germany thru the woods. Grandpa would sometimes go into the towns along the way to get some foods from the locals during the darkness of night.Grandma was something ,it always amazed me that she knew no english but the foods and mushrooms must have been near the same from there to here. My sis and I as small children , mimiced her and made all kinds of "soup" from things we found in the yard.


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## Falkor (Mar 19, 2015)

We are getting more into wild foods, there is a lot to discover in our area. So far I have learned to gather mallow, acorns, chickweed, plantain, elderberry and a local berry called toyon that is a pome and tastes like apple with a hint of cherry. We are surrounded by conifers and I am learning the many ways to use them as well.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

Falkor said:


> We are getting more into wild foods, there is a lot to discover in our area. So far I have learned to gather mallow, acorns, chickweed, plantain, elderberry and a local berry called toyon that is a pome and tastes like apple with a hint of cherry. We are surrounded by conifers and I am learning the many ways to use them as well.


Toyon? I never knew!! Lots of it around here.


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## TheKingsTable (Jan 13, 2016)

I guess I'm mixing the line between "wild foraging" and homegrown. I'm introducing more wild edibles into my yard and garden, either by transplanting when I find them somewhere else (with permission, of course) or by planting seeds. I selectively weed the garden, allowing many of the edibles to remain. I've found henbit, lambs quarter, purslane, dandelion, cats ear, wood and sheep sorrel, plantain, greenbriar and wild blackberries. Now if I could just get my husband to eat them. He still has an aversion to things not carried by grocery stores, so not much of our diet consists of them. Baby steps.


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## spiritbear (Jan 6, 2016)

There's nothing wrong with that. The two biggest advantages to eating wild foods is being able to identify a wild food and they are vastly more nutritious than domesticated varieties, saving money is probably number three. You're doing all that even if you are propagating them in your garden. I wouldn't tell him what he's eating lol. I've added them to meals and not told my kids and they ate them up. Most aversion to eating wild food is that it just sounds weird, not that it actually tastes bad.


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## Riverdale (Jan 20, 2008)

We 'Eat the weeds'. Dandelion, plantain, amarth, burdock.
We hunt mushrooms.
And wild berries and nuts.

Maybe 5% of our diet, but it is free.


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## City Bound (Jan 24, 2009)

I mix it in when I can. I wish I could do more but my resources are limited here.

I forage white and purple mulberries, dock, dandelion, purslane, goosefoot, blackberries, wood sorrel, Rose of Sharron flowers, clover. 

Dandelion fritters are very good as are rose of sharron flower fritters. 
Parslane is good in salads.


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## deb_rn (Apr 16, 2010)

Purslane and pig weed are amazingly tasty! I've started having visitors "eat a little wild" while walking around my small yard. Do you know purslane is high in the Omegas? 

Debbie


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I've cultivated wild plants for years and leave them in my garden area when found there. I especially am fond of Poke Salet; however, lambsquarter and wild mustard are enjoyable as well...all a lot more nutritious than store-bought spinach and tastier too. 

I've found great mushrooms here, some of which I don't like taste/texture of. Puffballs are abundant and are great when added to gravy/sauce for meats. 

Purslane, plantain, chickweed, dock and other greens not so tasty and one must be cautious to assure it is what one thinks it is and to gather it at the right time. Thus, with all the other types I enjoy in abundance, I usually just feed these to the goats/chickens.

INHO, knowing what you have around you growing wild is a great survival skill!


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## Vahomesteaders (Jun 4, 2014)

We wild forage all the time. Black and red berries, mushrooms, mulberry, wild onions, huckleberry and just about anything else that grows in our area. Then we also tap for syrup. That's amazing too.


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## Peggy (Feb 14, 2010)

wish I had more time to look for different plants. Love chickweed and purslane. I would like to learn the different mushrooms. there is a farm close by that is going to let me hunt for morels this year!


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## HoofPick (Jan 16, 2012)

We mainly go out for black berries around here. If we go up to Washington we'll pick some of the red huckleberries. 

I just found out you can eat hostas. Does anyone forage for those?


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

HoofPick said:


> We mainly go out for black berries around here. If we go up to Washington we'll pick some of the red huckleberries.
> 
> I just found out you can eat hostas. Does anyone forage for those?


Never heard of eating hosta.Only place I could imagine "foraging" for them is old homesites. Tho I guess one could plant them in the woods and let them grow like permaculture, harvest as needed.


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## HoofPick (Jan 16, 2012)

7thswan said:


> Never heard of eating hosta.Only place I could imagine "foraging" for them is old homesites. Tho I guess one could plant them in the woods and let them grow like permaculture, harvest as needed.



I was thinking that too. One of the sites said they grow wild in the woods but didn't say exactly where.


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## Rural Economist (Dec 14, 2013)

If you are looking to learn several plants that can be foraged for food and medicine, my youtube channel might help, especially if you are in the southeast, but lots of the plants I cover are found worldwide. https://youtu.be/UqPGrigdQ3Q


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## Ellendra (Jul 31, 2013)

I forage food and medicines from my farm all the time, but I've learned the hard way not to forage near the house. Dad has this thing where as soon as he sees me eating something wild from the yard, he'll sneak around and spray pre-emergent weedkiller on it, without telling anyone. Then he acts shocked when i get sick from it. His way of trying to "prove" that foraging is dangerous.

There are no herbicides allowed on my farm.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

Ellendra said:


> I forage food and medicines from my farm all the time, but I've learned the hard way not to forage near the house. Dad has this thing where as soon as he sees me eating something wild from the yard, he'll sneak around and spray pre-emergent weedkiller on it, without telling anyone. Then he acts shocked when i get sick from it. His way of trying to "prove" that foraging is dangerous.
> 
> There are no herbicides allowed on my farm.


Woah!! Seriously? 
You do cook for your dad with stuff you've foraged, yea? 
How scary and dangerous, that approaches terrorism in a way.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

Ellendra said:


> I forage food and medicines from my farm all the time, but I've learned the hard way not to forage near the house. Dad has this thing where as soon as he sees me eating something wild from the yard, he'll sneak around and spray pre-emergent weedkiller on it, without telling anyone. Then he acts shocked when i get sick from it. His way of trying to "prove" that foraging is dangerous.
> 
> There are no herbicides allowed on my farm.



Nice way to poison your kid.


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## designer (Aug 19, 2004)

Hi I just found this thread. I am trying to learn foraging and plant ID but I can't find good info on how to use what you find. Most videos or websites just say tastes like spinach or can be cooked or eaten raw in a salad. I'm looking for better information like how to turn amerath seeds into flour, when do you harvest them? do they need to be dried first? etc. And recipes, I tried broadleaf plantain sauteed with olive oil but it was too chewy and stringy even though I picked young leaves. I need a wild edible cookbook or something. LOL


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## Nathan (Jun 8, 2006)

I'm getting more and more into foraging, and amazed at how many apples go to rot here in this small city, no one even notices, or cares that I gather at abandoned school property, I'm sure a few others get ate, most rot in the streets. anyone harvest wild carrots from queen anns lace?


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## Bret (Oct 3, 2003)

In the wet days of spring and fall, field mushrooms grow in the cattle field. I have picked a few now and then for omelettes. I pull leaves from the mint that grows in spots too and toss them in my mouth for a while as I walk. Does this count?


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

I'm constantly foraging over my 6 acres. When I first started this homestead I was fortunate enough to get the local agricultural agent to come out and do a walk-over telling me what was growing. What he was unsure about, he took samples of and sent them off to be identified. Thus, I have been enjoying not only the wild berries but also poke salet, lambsquarter and chickweed. I have both kinds of plantain too but have not found a way to enjoy those. The others I can eat fresh picked; however, I really enjoy the poke salet lightly cooked and it is my favorite green now.

I do have amaranth growing and have considered taking the seeds; however, I planted some "golden amaranth" a few years ago and never did find out how to use those seed. They are still in the freezer waiting for wisdom to hit me in the head!

Oh I also forage for mushrooms; however, this year I've not found any at all....strange!


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## Ellendra (Jul 31, 2013)

designer said:


> I'm looking for better information like how to turn amerath seeds into flour, when do you harvest them? do they need to be dried first? etc.


I'm not much of a "greens" person, but I can tackle this one. Wait until the seedhead has dried some. Pinch a few seeds and see how easily the hulls crumble off. You want it to be dry enough to thresh easily, but not so dry that the seeds fall on the ground as you're picking. It takes a few tries to get a feel for it.

If you're only harvesting a little, you can rub the seedheads through a fine-meshed screen to clean them off. I've never done it that way, but that's what most books and websites recommend. Personally, I prefer the bucket thresher: http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/ge...estions/554524-bucket-thresher-pic-heavy.html

Winnow by pouring the grain from one container to another, with a fan blowing lightly on it. The grain is light enough that too strong a breeze will blow your grain away along with the hulls. You just want the hulls to blow away.

Once the grain is winnowed, you have several choices for how to use it. The simplest is to toss a handful into a pot of soup and simmer until tender. You can also pop it in a dry skillet, grind it into flour, or boil it plain like oatmeal.


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## farmerDale (Jan 8, 2011)

I assumed every one of us who have joined this site, forage in the wilds?


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

farmerDale said:


> I assumed every one of us who have joined this site, forage in the wilds?


Nope. I don't enjoy cactus and scorpions though I have a few animals that like mesquite beans and rattlesnakes.


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## wdcutrsdaughter (Dec 9, 2012)

I've used plantain leaves to make a bug bite salve that works pretty good on mosquito bites. Luckily I haven't had any other stings to try it on yet.


Someone recently recommended Rosemary Gladstar's book Medicinal Herbs : A Beginners Guide. Notes ways to use.


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