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
got to get them before they start to produce a flower bud. in a warm spring its easy to miss this window of opportunity.
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.
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…
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
Garlic mustard
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!
The Japanese eat lots of Burdock roots. How do you CLEAN them and prepare them?
I just wash off root veggies. Hand scrub dirt off. I like the skin on so i dont peel generally. Maybe a small veggie scrubber would do? Tho skin of roots seem to hold a lot of flavor
It IS used widely in asian foods. I suppose it can be used same as a water chestnut. (?)
I will be trying roasting them this fall. The raw taste i had was pretty good. Crunchy, like hard crunchy, think raw sweet potato. Mild flavor. If i bought them in a store i would not have thought they could be so easily foraged.
I started to look around heres a neat recipe article about it
we have tons of these on old farmland. never thought of them as edible. most people spray them to kill them.
I like them as edging. They shut down any other weeds. Makes a nice solid border. Plus being able to eat it, free and zero care
make a 4’ by 4’ 6in deep bed of fresh woodchips in a sheltered wet area. hardwood is best. get a winecap spawn culture. i use evertythingmushrooms. break up. your mushroom spawn into your sawdust. mix well. cover w/ 6in of straw. water when your garden needs watering. in 6 mo. spread the colonized chips around your plants as a mulch. apply another 3in of fresh mulch. in another 6 mo. you will have wine caps coming up every were! i did this 3 years ago and im still getting shrooms! just continue to add 3in of mulch every spring and they will continue to grow. elm oysters will grow the same way.
Anyone who has ever had a long haired dog get into burdock burrs knows why it is a hated weed.
I allow the stuff to grow when it’s well away from the house/dog roaming area, but any that pops up in the areas my dog roams is going to get a hot dose of 2-4D
Yeah those burrs r killer
Picked my 11th quart of wild raspberries today. Along the way I stumbled on some prickly gooseberries that are just starting to ripen. Anybody pick and use them? I remember my Dad liked gooseberry pie, but I don’t believe I ever tried it as a kid. The fruits seem a bit formidable with the spikes/prickles.