Who is harvesting what where from nature? I'm harvesting wild sage this year, and rocky mountain juniper on the northern plains. There are many kinds of sage out growing in the different parts of the world. It's used in many Native American and new age rituals, it's good for healing and cleansing. Here on the northern plains, there's some pretty spicey big sagebrush growing in the poor rocky soil of eastern Montana's badlands. I'm busy collecting it and drying it out to use in my herbs, incense and oils lab - my witner project. What other types of wild plants do you enjoy harvesting in your neck of the woods this time of year?
I've not gotten real big into foraging, but it definetely interests me... I got 2 HUGE batches of blackberries a few months ago.
I've been cultivating quite a few wild plants when I have the time. I live in a city, so it's a bit of a trek to the nearest area of foraging space. There are wild plants growing in the midst of fairly built-up areas, but - if you want to maintain any sort of veneer of a normal existence - you don't go picking wild fucking leaves outside a block of rented apartments. I would be nervous of the effects of air pollution as well. When I do manage to get to a (relatively) 'wild' space, I've been cultivating plants I don't even know the name of to be honest - berries, flowers, leaves etc.. Off the top of my head, ones that I do know the names of are dandelions, blackberries, nettles and ferns. Like yourself, I've been drying some of them as well. I don't smoke, but - for experimental purposes - I've smoked some of them as well. It seemed to work fine. Some of them (barely two handfulls, at a guess) have been drying for about two months now, and still smell gorgeous. I was actually thinking of starting a thread on this some time - you got there before me!
ive ben foiriging for years,mushrooms,trees for bonsai,wild esparagus,cat mint,sage,a few diffrent kinds of barrys,wild aregano,wild horse radish root,ginsing root,wild onion .i have my faverat gathering areas mapped out and the time of year ,conditioins and temps that they are most plentyfull.its alot of fun to know that ,hay its gettin close to the correct time to gather.i get really exsited about it.as long as you make sure the speicies will still grow there its good for natchure andf good for the soul. sunshine to you frog
Ahaha.. I collected walnuts today that I am drying out adn then eating? ahahahah yes?? Ooooooooh and I'm going to get some bullrushes tomorrow for the shoots,etc. Have you guys ever tried acorns?
No, but they make good flour, don't they? ------- Some links on wild plants: Jared Diamond's article The Worst Mistake in the History of the Human Race Plants For A Future Database Foraging with the Wildman Note well: I don't necessarily agree with everything on the sites/articles I've linked to, but I think they're thought-provoking - in a very positive way. They're certainly an 'eye-opener' anyway.
thanks for the links. I just grabbed a somewhat locally written book on foraging, should be insightful.
"Good" might be pushing it a bit too far. They can be ground up and added to flour to make more flour and then cooked like regular flour to make a product that tastes OK and is probably better for you than plain white flour.
I'm here to learn, too, about what uses all these wonderful things can be put to. But as a botanical type, I have to tell you, the sages used for seasoning, certain drug uses, and garden flowers, are Salvias. The several sage brushes of the west are Artemisias. You're right, Salvias are a huge group, and I learn more every year. BUT, the sage brush you know in Montana and Wyoming is something else, a very beloved something else, to me. I lived in Yellowstone for several years, and those types of sage brush became precious to me. But sagebrush is an Artemisia, not a Salvia. I don't mean to split hairs here, but botanically there is a difference. But, please, do tell me what you are doing with Montana sagebrush. I really love them very much. I remember thinking, as a child, that the big sage must be tasty if used for seasoning. But probably more, too. And I also have happy memories of Rocky Mtn juniper, too.
prefer the bur oak acorns. They are really big and usually really sweet compared to many of the others. It is not hard to leech the tanic acid out of them.
GREAT thread by the way! i *love* to wildharvest! i study medicinal plants & of course so many of those are our common 'weeds' so far this spring, i have gathered cleavers & elder flowers to tincture & i plan to gather more elder flowers to dry for tea & use in vinegar & of course i'll harvest the elder berries later this summer nettle, chickweed, & violets are a favorite too! the blackberries have already been very plentiful this year. i can't believe how early they came in....we were picking the second week in april!!!! even this far south, i've never picked before may! yes, it's blazing hot here already, but it sure makes for a long & plentiful growing season!!!!
Mostly I've used the wild sage for spiritual purposes, smudging, mixed with Rocky Mountain Juniper and Vite E. oil makes for very uplifting spiritual bathes. I've used it for smudging and also in my water pot on top of the wood stove adding beatufiul smells to the air as I'm humidifying it. I'm still learning all of the Natives uses this species of sage. I think this species of Artemisia sage we have out here is even different than the Artemisia sage of western Montana. I've used it to help relieve head cold symptoms and have dried sage purposefully placed in decorations throughout my home and even a bundle is in the back windsheild of my car.
We have mountain laurel growing all over the woods where we live. Is there any use for the leaves or flowers? When I was a kid I used to go with my grandmother foraging in the woods. I sure wish I could remember what the stuff looked like. One thing she would get is called creasie greens, for adding to turnip or mustard greens.
