| Author |
Off the Grid/Homesteading Skills:  Foraging  |
|
Annika
True Blue Farmgirl
5602 Posts
Annika
USA
5602 Posts |
 Posted - Dec 13 2012 : 08:27:12 AM
|
Do any of you forage or hunt mushrooms? Hunt? Fish?
Before my first marriage, I was an active forager in the north western Washington area. As a girl I read every last field guide and book on natural foods and plant foraging available and had a good grasp on habitat, level of availability of the species and what was scarce and not to be harvested, what was safe to eat and what was not etc. My husband was not fond of my foraging and so I quit. I was young and dumb in those days  Now that I'm living in North Idaho, I've decided to give it a try here beyond picking road side apples in the autumn.
I'd get into hunting but I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a cannon ball, so I think I'll try fly fishing instead  If done safely with a level of respect for the health of the habitat and level of the plants/critters availability to harvest, foraging is fun and adds to your food stocks, can save money and gives you a depth of knowledge of your local area. I've never learned mushroom hunting enough to do it safely and not bump myself off the food chain  but it's something I'm thinking about getting into.We have a lot of puffballs around here and we've picked them when we feel like hunting them up.
So, I'm starting this thread to discuss foraging and our "finds/catches" if we do forage.
Hugs n' cookies =}
Annika
Farmgirl & sister #13
http://thegimpyfarmgirl.blogspot.com/
http://pinterest.com/annikaloveshats/
|
|
|
Mountain Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
806 Posts
JoAnn
Colville
Washington
USA
806 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2012 : 2:51:38 PM
|
My husband is a retired mycologist and taught mycology at the University so we are into mushrooms big time. He has led forays here and of course he's always looking for them when he wanders the woods. This has been part of our lives since dating days!
Collect Moments Not Things |
 |
|
|
Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Dec 13 2012 : 4:57:43 PM
|
I hunt for morels! I am also studying "The Forager's Harvest" by Samuel Thayer. It is a guide to indentifying, harvesting and preparing edible wild plants. Can't wait until spring to go out foraging!
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
I am trying to be the person my dogs think I am.
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
|
|
|
countrymommy85
True Blue Farmgirl
898 Posts
Krystle
MT
USA
898 Posts |
Posted - Dec 20 2012 : 1:02:01 PM
|
I also loved to forage before I got married! Now that the kids are getting a little older and able to walk on their own I want to get back into it! There is just nothing like wild leeks, morels, crab apples, apples, berries and grapes galore! Plus if you ask neighbors a lot of the time they will let you go and forage their property too :) Never hurts to ask!
Mothers are those wonderful people who can get up in the morning before the smell of coffee. ~Author Unknown
http://countryrenaissance.blogspot.com
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SunflowersAndHoney |
|
|
|
westfork woman
True Blue Farmgirl
554 Posts
Kennie Lyn
Emmett
Idaho
USA
554 Posts |
Posted - Dec 20 2012 : 4:31:37 PM
|
We hunt morrels, huckleberries, and chokecherries. We also look for apples and other fruit at old homesteads. I sometimes pick rosehips to add to jam or jelley. One of my favoite trees is a yellow plum, that ripens early in August. They are about the size of the end of my thumb, really, really juicy and sweet, except very bitter next to the pit. I love them. The tree is about 6 miles from our house, and the only way to it is on horseback, or with a 4 wheeler. There is an old nut orchard about a mile beyond the plum tree. There are nuts I have never seen anywhere else. Love wild foods.
Greetings from the morning side of the hill. |
|
|
|
YakLady
True Blue Farmgirl
652 Posts
Natalie
Montana
USA
652 Posts |
Posted - Dec 20 2012 : 4:42:32 PM
|
We went huckleberry picking this year, it was a blast! Looking forward to next year for sure :)
~Hen 4316~ Just a farmgirl in Western Montana.
Starting a family and raising up a small ranch using natural resources.
www.mydoterra.com/thurman |
|
|
|
desperadosdream
True Blue Farmgirl
197 Posts
Malena
Versailles
Indiana
USA
197 Posts |
Posted - Dec 20 2012 : 8:32:05 PM
|
Hickory nuts and walnuts are the only wild thing I brought in this yr but I hope to do more foraging next yr. Definitely share your knowledge of good books on edibles etc. if you know of some good ones.
Malena |
|
|
|
Emily Anna
True Blue Farmgirl
863 Posts
Emily
Fort Atkinson
WI
USA
863 Posts |
Posted - Dec 21 2012 : 01:07:55 AM
|
My dad and I foraged for black walnuts this year. Before this, I never really thought about it. Would love to find other things in my area for next year though!
I love having like-minded farm girls! I was so excited about our black walnuts, but no one else "gets it".
It sounds like you all are finding some pretty good treasures!
Emily |
|
|
|
Emily Anna
True Blue Farmgirl
863 Posts
Emily
Fort Atkinson
WI
USA
863 Posts |
Posted - Dec 21 2012 : 01:10:44 AM
|
Annika, You crack me up! I was just rereading your post. I'm glad you're not going to hunt mushrooms until you learn more about it. We'd like to keep you on the food chain! :)
Emily |
|
|
|
queenmushroom
True Blue Farmgirl
985 Posts
Lorena
Centerville
Me
USA
985 Posts |
Posted - Dec 26 2012 : 08:06:13 AM
|
The only foraging I ever did as a kid was for wild blueberries, wild strawberries and apples. I can fish and have been bird ((grouse which we call partridge here in Maine). I take my son fishing and we "grow " wild Maine blueberries. We also look for wild raspberries and blackberries. I don't know if I could honestly shoot a deer but I.suppose if it was that or starve, I'd have to shoot one.
Patience is worth a bushel of brains...from a chinese fortune cookie |
|
|
|
westfork woman
True Blue Farmgirl
554 Posts
Kennie Lyn
Emmett
Idaho
USA
554 Posts |
Posted - Dec 27 2012 : 11:06:37 AM
|
My in-laws always gathered black walnuts. We had trees all over that we gathered from, most were in other peoples yards, they were glad to have the walnuts picked up. We shelled them with a hand corn sheller. My MIL spent the fall and early winter cracking the nuts. She put them in quart jars and gave them for Christmas gifts. Most of those old trees have been cut down, people don't want to mess with them in their yards. What I wouldn't give to pick up nuts and crack them with my wonderful MIL.
I forgot that we also pick watercress. There is some growing in our watering trough. I love it in salads and on sandwiches.
Greetings from the morning side of the hill. |
|
|
|
cajungal
True Blue Farmgirl
2349 Posts
Catherine Farmgirl Sister #76
Houston Area
Texas
2349 Posts |
Posted - Dec 27 2012 : 7:04:48 PM
|
We don't have many fruit trees that grow in our south Texas area. But, we have tons of berries and various pecan trees. It's easy to find blackberries growing wild in the woods or even along the roadways. Pecans, figs, blueberries and mulberry trees are plentiful. This past season, I put up about 50 pints of mulberry jelly and 20 pints of brandied figs. YUM!
The Red Bud tree is beautiful and the little buds can be picked and eaten. I think they go best on a fresh salad.
I can identify wild onions but that's about it on small plants. I wouldn't trust myself to identify an edible mushroom.
One of the best compliments from one of my daughters: "Moma, you smell good...like dirt." |
|
|
|
Amie C.
True Blue Farmgirl
2099 Posts
Finger Lakes Region
NY
2099 Posts |
Posted - Dec 28 2012 : 07:04:08 AM
|
I love the idea of foraging, but living in a city my experience is limited. For a few years, some friends and I were picking wild raspberries for jam in an urban park near the river...but then we started hearing about the city's pesticide spraying program to control mosquitoes. Got to be careful what you pick and where. That said, one of those same friends told me recently that she found a mulberry tree this summer growing in a little niche between two parking lots and made delicious mulberry cordial.
|
|
|
|
Mountain Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
806 Posts
JoAnn
Colville
Washington
USA
806 Posts |
Posted - Dec 28 2012 : 07:54:33 AM
|
On mushroom hunting. Before Jim takes out people on a foray we have this quote we tell them. "There are old mushroom hunters, there are bold mushroom hunters but there's no old bold mushroom hunters!"
Collect Moments Not Things |
|
|
|
Emily Anna
True Blue Farmgirl
863 Posts
Emily
Fort Atkinson
WI
USA
863 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2012 : 06:41:09 AM
|
JoAnn,
That saying has wisdom behind it, but it is sooooooo funny! :)
Emily |
|
|
|
forgetmenot
True Blue Farmgirl
3602 Posts
Judith
Nora Springs
IA
USA
3602 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2012 : 07:09:49 AM
|
I've been foraging for years from our own land. We used to collect asparagus, rose hips, elderberries, day lillies and other things from the ditches and fence lines. Quit doing that when the light bulb went on about pesticides. Food looks the same, tastes the same, cooks up the same...but, there is that dangerous ingredient I am not willing to put into my family, friends or self on purpose.
Farmgirl sister #3926
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon |
|
|
|
Mountain Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
806 Posts
JoAnn
Colville
Washington
USA
806 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2012 : 08:05:16 AM
|
That quote always gets a laugh before a foray. There's a cute one for for telling false mores from real morels. Can't think of it this minute but when I figure it out I'll tell you.
Collect Moments Not Things |
|
|
|
countrymommy85
True Blue Farmgirl
898 Posts
Krystle
MT
USA
898 Posts |
|
|
forgetmenot
True Blue Farmgirl
3602 Posts
Judith
Nora Springs
IA
USA
3602 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2012 : 7:17:31 PM
|
We still get lots of clean goodies off our own land though. Black Walnuts, puff balls, morels, black raspberries, wild grapes, honeysuckle, dandelion, lambs quarters,queen anne's lace, fiddle head ferns and lots more. I don't do the watercress now due to fear of runoff from streams. Just maybe a big scaredy cat.
Farmgirl sister #3926
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon |
Edited by - forgetmenot on Dec 30 2012 7:18:47 PM |
|
|
|
SheilaC
True Blue Farmgirl
1948 Posts
Sheila
Vermont
USA
1948 Posts |
Posted - Dec 30 2012 : 7:35:30 PM
|
this time of year starts our big fish-eating time. . .as soon as ice-fishing begins :) We actually were blessed this year as well to have an organic egg farmer nearby give us 24 of her old laying hens to butcher. Lots of work to process them, but good free food. ALSO -- my husband hunts and so we have the venison from 2 deer in our freezer and on the canning shelves. AND -- a neighbor who hunts dropped off 7 rabbits he didn't feel like cleaning (!) -- work for us, but we do consider them a blessing from the Lord. :)
http://troutwife.blogspot.com/
|
|
|
|
westfork woman
True Blue Farmgirl
554 Posts
Kennie Lyn
Emmett
Idaho
USA
554 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2013 : 10:34:40 AM
|
I have always heard that watercress will only grow in unpoluted water.
Greetings from the morning side of the hill. |
|
|
|
forgetmenot
True Blue Farmgirl
3602 Posts
Judith
Nora Springs
IA
USA
3602 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2013 : 8:06:54 PM
|
hmm. Now, you have me thinking. (dangerous territory). I quit picking the watercress when I worried about the asparagus, etc. So, maybe I should get the water of that little creek tested. I haven't looked for the cress in years. But, I could at least check to see if it is growing.
Farmgirl sister #3926
"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the belief that something is more important than fear." Ambrose Red Moon |
|
|
|
westfork woman
True Blue Farmgirl
554 Posts
Kennie Lyn
Emmett
Idaho
USA
554 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2013 : 9:53:23 PM
|
We picked some watercress out of the watering trough yesterday, I put it in a broccoli soup. Good
Greetings from the morning side of the hill. |
|
|
|
Emily Anna
True Blue Farmgirl
863 Posts
Emily
Fort Atkinson
WI
USA
863 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2013 : 05:38:21 AM
|
Judith,
I had seen a recipe using fiddle head ferns on Martha Stewart's website and it made me very curious. What do you do with yours and how do they taste? Are they something you can can or freeze?
Emily |
|
|
|
cj6
True Blue Farmgirl
196 Posts
cj
USA
196 Posts |
Posted - Mar 07 2013 : 11:59:36 PM
|
| I really want to start doing this but,how do I know for certain that what I think something is is what it really is? For instance I love morels and hadn't had them in forver,literally...till my son in love gave me some a couple years ago. We are moving(hopefully) to some acreage and I really want to be able to use what may be there as far as wild rasberries,blackberries,morels,various green etc..but,how do I know they are truely safe to eat.Sometimes pictures just leave me unsure,I think it looks like the pic but,is it the same? |
|
|
|
neeter302
True Blue Farmgirl
257 Posts
Anita
Hanover
Indiana
USA
257 Posts |
Posted - Mar 09 2013 : 06:41:08 AM
|
I know what you mean cj6, if you are inexperienced it can be questionable what to do. It's great if you have books to go by but can still be unsure. Fortunately my daughter took a foraging class in college so that really helped. Knowing someone who can reliably show you what to look for would be great. I was determined to find ramps a few years ago, it took a little searching but once you find some it's so worth it, we LOVE them. They come up about the same time as morels in the spring.http://theforagerpress.com/fieldguide/aprilfd.htm
Farmgirl #522
|
Edited by - neeter302 on Mar 09 2013 07:01:22 AM |
|
|
|
Off the Grid/Homesteading Skills: Foraging |
|
Foraging
