Foraging is a wonderful way to get FREE food and medicine for your family. After all, in ancient days, our ancestors were either hunters or gatherers. The gatherers sustained the group when the hunters didn’t have a successful harvest. And the gatherers probably had many more consistent harvests than the hunters!
I love to forage. Every time my family is out in the great outdoors, I’m looking at the plants around me. I’m taking pictures and doing research if I have internet. If I don’t have internet, I’ll take pictures and document anything that I can to identify the plant and find it again for future reference.
I have a plant identification app on my phone, Picture This. It’s so helpful in identifying new-to-me plants. And I also have a book that I reference often, called “Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places” by “Wildman” Steve Brill and Evelyn Dean. It’s a great book to learn how to identify, harvest, and use edible and medicinal plants.
I also do a lot of internet research. I like to break down one plant at a time, and learn as much as I can about it before I move on to the next. This has built my knowledge up over time.
I hope you’ll join us here to further your knowledge about the resources Mother Nature provides to us. We strive to be one of your best sources of information and learning.
Remember, proper identification of the plants you’re going to consume is of utmost importance. Don’t just rely on one source of information. Cross-reference many different resources to make sure you have proper identification.
Don’t be intimidated, though! Trust your gut and your resources. You can do this, we can help!
Start here for the foraging “rules” and guidelines.
Foraging is a life-long adventure. You will gain knowledge every step along the way. Enjoy the journey!
If you ever found yourself out in the wild, with no food, would you know what plants you could eat to sustain you? Or would you inadvertently poison yourself? This is a question that even seasoned foragers ask themselves. So do you know how to test if a plant is edible, without having access to …
Survival Foraging: How to Test if a Plant is Edible Read More »
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. At no additional cost to you, I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post. This post contains affiliate links. However, I only recommend products that I know will be of benefit to you. Do you have a special forager in your life? Are …
It’s fall, which means it’s harvest time. My garden is done for the year, but I have been doing a different kind of harvesting. Harvesting edible and medicinal weed seeds! You might know that I’m a forager. So I gather things from the wild to use for food and medicine. But the great thing about …
Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Weed Seeds in the Fall Read More »
Dandelions are thought to be pesky weeds by many people. HOA’s ban them. Chemical manufacturers produce herbicides to kill them. And yet no one stops to consider how many benefits dandelion actually has for our health. Dandelion should actually be known as a “miracle weed”, as it really is that good for us. Come with …
Have you ever foraged or used black walnuts? They are a wonderful tree that grows wild in many parts of the world. People typically associate black walnut with the nut that you roast or put in banana nut bread. But the shell has actually been used medicinally for ages. That’s what we’re going to be …
Benefits of Black Walnut Hull, Plus a Tincture Recipe Read More »
There are a lot of rumors going around about a potential food shortage coming. And while I’m not going to say that I’m sure of it, I have been doing my best to prepare for it. I actually have been for years. I believe that a good way to prepare for any kind of food …
I feel very strongly that everyone should learn about the weeds that grow in their area. There are lots of weeds that are edible, with some even more nutritious than the plants we grow in our gardens! Today, for the Self Reliant Skill of the Week, we’re going to make lamb’s quarters pesto. Lamb’s quarters …
This time of year, most of our yards are abloom with pretty yellow flowers. While some may hate to see the “dreaded” dandelion, others embrace them. If your yard is littered with these dainty flowers, why not make something useful from them? It’s so easy to make dandelion jelly from the dandelions in your yard, …
Fall is in full force here. Which means it’s time to harvest Horse Chestnuts to make Horse Chestnut laundry soap! Horse Chestnuts, AKA conkers, have been falling from our tree like crazy. Any little bit of breeze sends hundreds of conkers into the yard. And trust me, you do NOT want to be under that …
Chicory is a weed that grows through most of the United States. It has pretty blue flowers throughout the summer. As a cousin to the dandelion, the entire plant is edible. But the magic is in the roots! Chicory root is medicinal. Let’s talk about the many benefits of chicory root. Medicinal Benefits of …
