Foraging On My Mind

This past autumn was a spectacular time of year for us.  Matt and I had put up most of the summer’s bounty, allowing us to turn our attention to foraging the backroads of Muskoka.  It seems that there is an endless number of things that can be found if you take time to enjoy the countryside.  And, despite experiencing longer winters and a much shorter growing season than areas a 100 kilometers south of here we still have an extensive variety of edible plants and berries. 

Now, late autumn the foraging in this field is over. But, during the spring and summer months this is a wild edible plant hotspot and provides us with wild leeks, milkweed pods, choke cherries, raspberries, and blackberries.

If you’ve ever foraged before you know how addictive it can become and I’m not really sure why.  Maybe, like with so many things “it’s the thrill of the hunt.”  There is a seductive sense of mystery created when you start searching for foods to forage.  You never know when, where, or what nature is going to offer up and there is an element of surprise lurking around each and every corner. Or, perhaps it goes back to some primal human instinct and the need to collect and gather in preparation for the long winter ahead?    Whatever the reason, it is present in both of us.  Stumbling upon a patch of wild leeks can send a jolt of excitement through my spine and the fact that we’ve got to walk through knee-deep mud to dig them up only makes it that much more exciting! 

Large Elderberry Bush

Over the course of the summer, we discovered berry ladled elderberry bushes, choke cherries galore, milkweed pod covered fields, wild leeks, not to mention the obvious sumac berries, wild blackberries, crab apples, and rose hips.  It was a smorgasbord of deliciousness, all calling out to be responsibly harvested and turned into something we could enjoy until next year. 

Foraging Rose hips ~ best picked after a good frost...some time in late September. Photograph courtesy of Turnbull Photography.

The truth of the matter is that there just wasn’t enough time to get to everything we found.  Matt and I are very conscious of both the environment and our surroundings.  It is important when collecting wild edible foods to be both cautious and courtesy.  

First, do your homework.  Know which plants and berries are edible and which ones may be harmful or even poisonous.  There are lots of excellent field guides available that can become useful resources.  When looking for books and information on wild foods you will want to make sure the information is specific to the geographical area you forage and that it has lots of photographs that will help you identify each species.  Doing some reading before hand and carrying a useful guide will assist you in making educated choices about identification and sustainable harvesting practices.  Be aware that many edible plants can look similar to harmful or poisonous varieties.  So be sure to be safe! 

Second, pick and collect only what you can prepare and be sure that you are doing it in a sustainable manner.  If you want to enjoy nature’s bounty for years to come you can not forage endlessly without consequences so learn about sustainable harvesting and be respectful.  Sometimes this means collecting only a small amount and moving on or leaving it for another year.  It may be helpful to keep track of the areas you forage in a notebook.  Record the location, plant or berry species, the size and health of the area/patch, the time/month the food is ready to harvest, as well as the weather conditions from year to year.   This information will help you determine the health of the areas you forage as well as where, when, and what you pick each year.   For example, this year we experienced a relatively dry summer and as a result our regular wild blackberry patch had very few berries.  The previous summer the crop was glutenous and we picked and put up several batches of jam while still leaving tons for the birds and bears.  This year we decided it was best left untouched. 

A selection of butters, curds, jams, and jellies that were created from our foraged foods. Photograph courtesy of Turnbull Photography.

I know this post is coming well before the foraging season begins but it might be a great time to get those helpful resources together and decide what you want to look for.  With our gardens, fields, and sideroads covered in several feet of freshly fallen snow I can’t help but daydream about getting back outdoors in search of some wild eats.  This year, we’d like to expand our foraging adventures and add to our list fiddleheads, sumac berries, and some leafy greens like wild spinach, wood sorrel or chickweed.  Knowing what, where, and when to  look for wild foods is half the battle. 

In late summer, fields of blowing milkweed silk give away the location of a potential place to forage the pods.

We’d love to hear about your experiences foraging or if you’ve never foraged before but are curious…tell us about it?  Are there any books on wild foods, foraging, or edible plants you can’t live without?   When do you do most of your collecting?  What do you forage?  And, what do you make?