I see some folks mentioning purslane. I remember pulling the stuff in my Grandma’s garden when I was a kid. We never ate any of it. Today, I pulled a bunch out of the garden and figured I’d add some to a salad. My wife wouldn’t try it, but I put a fair amount of purslane on mine. Just another leafy/crunchy thing in a salad. Nothing too exciting, but certainly not off-putting either.
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I helped my neighbor at the community garden “weed” her plot and this is what I came home with.
Yep thats a sink full of purslane. I have no idea what to do with it. I will likely try pickling it.
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I collected elder flower once and made syrup. It was very good I planted 7 bushes. This year the strongest two set plenty of fruit.
I picked plenty of Purslane this year. I am hoping to maybe make pickles.
I have access to wild sun chokes in the fall/winter but they are over grown and develop small tubers. I am actualy trying to eradicate them.
I managed to find a large Chicken of the Woods Mushroom once. and I still have quite a bit of that frozen in the freezer.
Wild blackberries are a thing but so thorny its almost impractical. I am hopeing to find some wine berries this year. Found a few blackcaps last year.
The community garden is overrun with Violets. Next year I am going to harvest and candy them. Do violets flower again in the fall?
Dandelion, clover flowers of coarse.
I am planning to add Japanese Knotweed to my list next spring.
every few years, plums from the purple leafed cerasifera the city plants are a welcome treat.
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This year I made a salve out of dandelion, and it works great for bug bites. It is supposedly an analgesic, so good for sore muscles. My husband is a chef and gets sore from standing and chopping for hours, and I have found this salve to help his back.
I tried to candy violets, and only got about ten done. It is very tedious work! The petals are so delicate that trying to paint the egg white on is time consuming and made my back ache. But the few I did get done are pretty. I’d use them if I was making an occasion cake, I suppose.
My kids love to munch purslane, so I let it grow within reason in the garden.
Elderflower syrup and tea is delicious, and I do elderberry syrup too. Will try a jam this year also.
We have wild plum growing down the street in a park. The pit is very large with only a small layer of fruit “meat”, then the skin is thick and super puckery tart. I and even my kids who suck on lemons like it’s no big deal can only handle a few at a time. The same park has serviceberry and apples, which are great!
Planning to harvest black walnut this year, probably will use it mainly for bird food. I have a daughter who is allergic to peanuts, and most tree nuts are packaged with peanuts, so she can’t have them. Maybe wild black walnut will be the way to go to get her some nut protein.
Sumac lemonade will be tried this fall.
Found three morels here this year, but it’s the most I’ve ever found, so I was excited!
Made syrup from box elder trees this spring, turned out great. Would love to try birch syrup for birch beer but haven’t located trees to tap yet.
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i read the spring sprouts taste like asparagus . afraid to try it as anyone that has a patch of that stuff is trying to kill it or at least keep it at bay with round up! toughest weed in the world!
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@Katie_didnt_Z4b
You may know already but you can tap those nut trees also and make syrup from them Tapping trees for their sap
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I read that texture is like asparagus and the flavor is like Rhubarb. I have also read the flavor is nothing like Rhubarb but more like lemon. The concessions seems to be you can substitute it 1:1 for Rhubarb and you get a lemony product and as a asparagus substitute you get a lemony stalk with inferior texture. Both sound great to me because you know FREE.
I also plan to harvest roots after the stalks die down to the ground chop and dry them for tea.
I am still trying to figure out if the leaves can be used. I think they may have oxalic acid like rhubarb leaves do but not finding definifiteve info.
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I’ve munched so heavily on the wild purslane that I wiped it out as a week in my yard (and 2 neighbor’s yards as well). Leaves are good in salad.
Lambs quarters are good and I’ve put a hurting on them as well.
I added nettles this year. I used to get fiddleheads, but I’m not near a good source anymore.
I finally won the battle against Jerusalem artichokes and I’m in no rush to replant them.
I’ve never cared for dandelions. Maybe I’m just picking them too late…
Scott
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got to get them before they start to produce a flower bud. in a warm spring its easy to miss this window of opportunity.
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you can plant your own fiddleheads if you have a shady moist low spot in your yard. got mine i think from park or jung seed and planted in a low spot in compost under my big spruces. they’re small right now but will take off and spread next year. alot of people grow their own patch of wild dug fiddleheads on their property. many people sell them in the farmers markets in the spring. they even sell then at the grocery stores. we usually pick around a local stream. we blanch and freeze about 50lbs. for the winter. planted some less stinging type nettles i got from Oikios. if i don’t care for them ill harvest them and feed to the chickens.
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I’ve picked lots of stuff over the years. Poke, cattails, burdock, mustard greens, mints, nettles, etc etc. The only wild plants I still find worth pursuing are paw paws, persimmons, wineberries, and occasionally some nuts. Mushrooms too, of course, more than anything- but those aren’t plants…
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I harvest lots of mushrooms and wild berries as well as many of the weed greens mentioned above. One spring shoot that is very tasty and not often taken is false solomon seal, it makes a nice steamed vegetable early in the season
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Garlic mustard
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whats a cattail and how do you use them?
they are the plants found around ponds and in wet ditches. the root bulbs and small shoots are edible. never tried them but supposedly very good.
In Colorado and finally learning some edibles around here. Many grow in my yard which is convenient.
Mertensia franciscana
Fireweed
Mushrooms if we’re counting fungi
Currants
Raspberries
Chokecherries (i eat em raw! tangy!)
Anyone have a wild plum recipe? Or does anyone make fruit leathers and can tell me how to do that without a dehydrator?
I have had fireweed honey. It is quite good.
You will find several plum jelly recipes here:
https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can7_jam_jelly.html
I haven’t made wild plum jelly for several years, but the plums made it through the spring frosts this year, so there is some in our future!
My notes say to try the recipe without added pectin, as they have plenty pectin to jell without needing to add any. My first batch with pectin added came out extremely firm, as in NOT spreadable!
Here is info on making fruit leather:
https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/dry/csu_leathers_jerkies.pdf
This turned out really really good. It is fun making fruit blends If you have other fruits to add to the plums, or excess applesauce from your trees… Basic method is to cook or steam lightly until fruit softens. Remove the pits, then run the remainder through a food mill to remove the skins. The skins can be very astringent, depending on the variety, and can reduce the quality of the leather if not removed. Acidify, add sweetener and spices to taste, and purée. Spread parchment or plastic wrap on a rimmed cookie sheet. Spread a really thin layer of purée on each sheet. Dry in oven on lowest setting, crack the door to keep temp around 145. Keep checking until it is dry and pliable, ~4+ hours. Sometimes I flip it over on a new piece of parchment, pull the first piece off, and put it back in. It helps in drying both sides more evenly. I prefer parchment as it doesn’t melt, like plastic wrap does. 
Good luck!
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The Japanese eat lots of Burdock roots. How do you CLEAN them and prepare them?