FORAGING FOR WILD FOODS
in NATURE'S GROCERY STORE
Nature is our one aisle grocery store- also known as the bike path.
In the olden days, Bear would be looking for the canned food section. |
From Theresa: We soon began to like eating the wild foods from our tiny yard so much that we wanted more, so we began collecting wild foods growing along the bike path (owned by the DNR) that we could access across the street from our house. We already walked the path a lot for exercise and enjoyment, and it was hard to miss seeing all the free, wild food growing there, but it was also hard to find the time to pick it. Eventually, when Bear started realizing what good things we could cook from wild foods, we started finding the time to forage together, and brought home a lot of food.
Here are some of the tips we've learned, when we were standing on the trail wishing we had brought something along. We'll be referencing this page before we leave the house in the future. Happiness is a full shopping cart. No credit card needed.
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The Well-Supplied Forager:
Here are the supplies we've found to be most useful, because we've forgotten to take them along at one time or another.
If we can remember all of them, we will come home with more food.
If we can remember all of them, we will come home with more food.
Something to Carry the Bounty: At first we just walked around with a colander or two, but now we've graduated to a kid's wagon that we bought at a garage sale. It holds both supplies and the food we find. It even holds the eggs we bought from the neighbors. Note that if you're stacking metal colanders in your wagon, you might want to put some towels in between them so the rattling won't drown out the lovely sounds of the wild birds, bees, and insects.
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Colanders, buckets, and/or Bags: Processing is easier if you keep each type of wild food you find separated into different containers. Colanders work well for anything- I prefer them to buckets because the holes let some of the insects crawl away. Colanders and buckets are good for wet foods, like juicy plums. Bags work well for dry foods, like sumac berries.
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Apple Picker, Other Long Handled Device and/or a Ladder: Even if you bring your tall husband, there'll be lots of fruit you can't reach- way, way up there on the tree or on a limb just a bit past your farthest reach. We're still trying to figure out the best tools for dealing with this. Apple pickers look like a small basket on the end of a pole- they're designed so that you can reach the apple, put the basket around it, and pull it off the limb. We need to buy one (it's sold with gardener's or fruit grower's supplies) or borrow one and see what else it can be used for. We also realized that we need something to grab the grape vines and gently pull them down to where we can reach them. We're thinking maybe a garden hook (like those you hang bird feeders or garden decorations from), or the extendable arm device that they sell to help people reach cans from their top shelves (Bear bought one to pick up walnuts from the ground). If anyone knows of a good, lightweight ladder that would be easy to carry down the trail or attach to the side of our wagon, please let us know. Otherwise, we might start having to take our car....
Field Guides: Bring your plant identification books because you should NEVER EVER eat anything you're not sure you've identified correctly. Lots of plants have poisonous look-alikes that these books will help you identify. Be careful, because your loved ones need you. There are some suggested field guides at the end of this page.
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Camera: a camera can be useful to take photos of possibly edible foods that you can't immediately find in your field guides (like the berries above), so you can study them further at home.
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Paper & Pen: This is really helpful for taking notes or drawing a map of where you found what, and when. Unless you have a phenomenal memory, records will help you a lot next year. The camera might also be useful for this in some instances.
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A Friend or Two or More: One hand to hold the colander, one hand to pull down the vine, one mouth to cut the grapes off? Sometimes being a three armed mutant would be good. Or, you could bring a friend. Lots of friends can turn work into a social gathering. Anyone want to come foraging with us?
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The Well-Dressed Forager
Theresa remembered to wear old, dark clothing, since she was picking wild grapes, which stain everything a nice purple color.
Bear also remembered to wear:
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Foraging Photo Essay
Here are photos of some of the wild edibles we've found, just to encourage you to get out there!
(And remember to be safe- these photos are not enough to correctly identify a wild plant.)
(And remember to be safe- these photos are not enough to correctly identify a wild plant.)
HAPPY FORAGING!
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