Big Boys Hobbies

Anyone else into wild edibles?

Smooth23

Smooth23

Elite Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2009
Messages
618
Location
WI
I'm always on the lookout for things I can pick from the wild to feast on. I figure us metal detectorist types all like to find something of use, and a lot of the older places we detect can be great for finding wild edibles. Anyone else go for them?

Around here, starting right about now I'm on the hunt for morel mushrooms, wild asparagus and wild leeks. MMM soo good, hope I get some real soon.
 
I've never really thought about...of course not til the blackberries are in season:D

Have you ever tried Dandelion Tea? I've been thinking of trying it myself.
 
SueLue80 said:
I've never really thought about...of course not til the blackberries are in season:D

Have you ever tried Dandelion Tea? I've been thinking of trying it myself.
Click to expand...

Nope never tried it, but I have been known to eat me a dandelion leaf or two, but they just aren't that tasty.
 
Keep us posted on your foraging finds....

Also, any tips on how to recognize things? I can't have a garden where I live (apts....with destructive neighbor kids...and maintenance men) I once actually got some Bluebonnets to start, then they stomped on then...and yes, I had a garden fence around it...little jerks:mad:

Oh, well...anyways....I really would like to learn more about the wild things:D
 
Years ago my grandmother would look for a plant she called "Poke" It was very good , but I have not heard about it in years. We live in the Ohio Valley>:grin:
 
As a child, many many many years ago I made money by digging dandelions (before the weed killers were developed) for a penny apiece. Dad then made dandelion wine.
 
I've made Dandelion salads, I pick sapling sassafras to brew tea from the roots (great for helping colds), we have wild blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and mulberries come late summer all throughout the woods. I've also picked birch bark to chew on while out in the woods when I have a headache (it works!!) Also one of my favorites but it tends to be time consuming is Honeysuckles... I love em!!
 
There are several huckleberry bushes near our house in the woods, and every spring, we try to pick enough to make a huckleberry pie or two.
 
I'm in the process of learning about wild edibles. As much camping as I like doing.......It's good to know.

Dandelion tea is considered a mild sedative and a diuretic. Also, sprinkling several leaves on a salad are not bad either. They're high in vitamins A, B, C, G, calcium, phosphorous, iron and natural sodium. They also help to purify the bloodstream.

MAN........It's been a long time since I've had a morel!!!........Used to hunt them in NE Missouris when I was a kid.
 
Sounds like we need to bring salad dressing along for the hunts as well.

Also the fiddleheads are up, if you're into them.
 
Yep, wild onions are sprouting now in this area. Also, cattail shoots should be starting soon. Spring dandelions are best for salads (no bitterness yet) and for dandelion wine. Wild grapes will be much later, but the blackberries will be out in about eight weeks. Blueberries too. Wild mint should be starting in about three weeks or so. Lots of good stuff out there if you look for it. RickO
 
My wife recently bought a Blendtec blender (the one with a motorcycle engine, that can turn a 2x4 into toothpicks, and a chicken into a soft drink).

Yesterday she scoured the yard for dandelions, which she promptly "blended" with a lot of other weird stuff and drank it down.

All well and good, I guess, but I envision rabbit/squirrel/bird urine (or worse) all over that stuff...
 
I try to get out for wild blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and easy to ID stuff. The girlfriend goes looking for mushrooms. I'm not brave enough to try IDing poisonous / non poisonous / bad trip mushrooms, I let her handle that department.:lol:
In 2008 wild blueberries were so plentiful I could pick a gallon in an hour. I took the mountain bike out into the woods to carry em all out.:D
I'm not kidding. The bush the bike is leaning against is one I picked clean....:yes:

Now I need a rack for the MD on the bike, too! I freeze all the berries and we use them throughout the year for smoothies.
 

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I too love morels. My brother is great at finding them here in WI. We typically find them here near dead elm trees.

My grandmother who was an adult during most of the depression was great at identifying wild edibles. One I like is small nettles (maybe up to 3-4 inches in height - of the stinging kind), you can boil them like spinach or collard greens when they are small & then add a little vinegar. So tasty.
Also gooseberries - make a great pie!
Puffball mushrooms as well (when they are white)
 
I'd heard nettles were edible...... I remember a friend's country grandmother telling us she was going to make a rhubarb pie, and he was all excited. She then began wandering around picking this celery looking stuff around the yard.
(is rhubarb wild?). She made strawberry rhubarb, and it was awesome. Nothing like celery, :lol:
 
digdug1968 said:
I'd heard nettles were edible...... I remember a friend's country grandmother telling us she was going to make a rhubarb pie, and he was all excited. She then began wandering around picking this celery looking stuff around the yard.
(is rhubarb wild?). She made strawberry rhubarb, and it was awesome. Nothing like celery, :lol:
Click to expand...

There is wild rhubarb.. Can't say I've ever tried it because I've always had a readily available patch of the not wild stuff.
 
I have been looking for mushrooms but have dug ginsang and goldenseal for years.I have also picked poke greens but do not care for them.
 
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