Anyone supply themselves with food via foraging? I've really wanted to start doing this, the most I do now is make teas with pine/rosehip/juniper and some others but would love to sustain myself a bit more off of what I can find in the woods. As I am blessed to live in an area where there is lots of woods. I live in Canada and our woods are mixed woods, hard/soft woods..... any help would be great....I am also close to the ocean so coastal foraging is possible for me too.... I'm just too nervous to start this on my own as I have no idea what is edible in the "wild" world, which makes me sad, thus I am hoping to rectify this. Thanks everyone.
I loooove going blackberry picking and strawberry hunting out in the bush. =] sometimes when we go camping I'll explore for miles for a blackberry bush.
Not the best idea in the winter. learn in the summer. Even animals have difficulty in winter. Coastal areas are rich ecozones. There is information out there about the wild food sources in your area. Vegetarianism is not a good choice for living in the northern forests.
where would you look for blackberries/strawberries? This is kind of my problem, I find myself walking aimlessly through the woods in search of plants, yet have no idea what areas im looking for..... boggy areas? dry? wind sheltered? etc... Yeah, I'm no vegetarian, I hunt and fish (during season) but never took the time to forage plants... only seems right to learn about all edibles in my environment.
Mississippi. Sorry, but I haven't a clue as to what wild berries grow in Canada. But blackberries grow wild all over the Southeast U.S. as well as huckleberries (wild blueberry I think) Of course the wild variety is usually smaller with bigger seed than the cultivars. We also have muskidine a big wild grape and wild persimmon trees. But persimmon is only edible after first frost when they are dead ripe. My friend in Maine sent me pix of raspberries and blackberries he picked this week. IDK if they were wild or cultivated. Also in the South is Poke weed but it is only good to eat in the spring when leaves are tender and stems not yet red. Also you have to parboil and throw off that water or it could be a bad stomachache. I have seen poke in Missouri and Baltimore so its range may extend to Canada. Here in S. Florida there is quite a bit of foraging berries, including sea grapes that grow along the dunes, coco plumb and Brazilian cherry.
We have loads of herbs grow wild here as well as figs, olives, almonds and then of course there's the lemons and oranges. But you really need a good book if you're new to the game, you've got to be able to recognise what you're lookin at or you could be in for a few shocks or worse.
You should get a copy of an "edible wild plants" book.These show alot of plants and describe different ways of preparing them.Then pick out about four or five to learn and follow them from spring through winter,so you will be able to identify them in any season.I started with things like dandelions,cattails,wild onions, wild potatoes and prickly pear. Nuts and berries are,pretty much a given,just remember to start with nibbles instead of mouthfuls,just in case ya picked the wrong plant.Try to save your root plants for winter,but dig them before the ground freezes.
