What can we eat in nature ? [Archive] - The Project Avalon Community Forum

Maria Stade

14th March 2011, 18:34

There are many things that we can eat in nature if the food storage is short !
What you can eat and what is growing in your area is and can be the difference between life and death.

I can only write about plants that are growing where I live !
They are common in the north but I have seen some of them in China too when I was visiting !

I hope others can share their knowledge on other parts of the planet !

I start with one of the most common !

Family Latin name Urtica
English Nettle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nettle

http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy77/Vitabuffeln/nssla.jpg

You need gloves to pick this one, a knife or sissors is useful too.
Just dry the leafs.
They dont burn on the skin after they have been dried.
Then mash them and they can be used in bread or in soup as they are.

The stem I usually dont use but it can be put in water and rotten for a week then the fibers can be used to sewing !
You free them by hitting the stem with something so they separate from the outer weed.
It has very fine fibers and was once in time used in fine hand crafts in Sweden.

If you want fibers you let them grow longer.

If you only need food you can start harvesting as soon they come up 10 cm from the ground.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO73lvid_MM&feature=fvst

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ZdKdhKfcw&feature=related

:luv::hungry:

Maria

daddy fishwick

14th March 2011, 19:01

Hello all, I am a survival expert. It would be extreemly difficult to name and itemise all of the things we can eat or use from our local environments, but, a simple test in times of desperation or lack of sustinence can be used.

The edibility test: To test any potential food source.

1, Select item to test
2, Grind the item up as much as possible
3, Rub the ground up potential food source on to your inner wrist or other soft skin area of the body
4, Leave for at least 1 hour
5, If your skin turns red or itches, discontinue test
6, If it does not turn red take a tiny amount of the ground up potential food source and rub it on your gum or lip
7, Wait for at least 1 hour
8, If no redness, itching, sore sensation, numbness or pain occurs then you have a "potential food source"
9, Eat the "potential food source" in very small amounts with 15 minute breaks in between ration
10, If you do not experience any stomach pain, illness etc, then potentially you have found a viable food source

Note: This technique should only be employed for extreme survival situations

Autumn

14th March 2011, 19:54

Anything sweet is edible. This is the reason we from natures side have a "sweet tooth" - it is natures way of letting us know that it is harmless.

Real Intent

14th March 2011, 20:03

Know that there are far more harmless plants than harmful ones. Memorize and remember the harmful ones and test everything else. :)

Great Thread BTW!

Lancelot

14th March 2011, 20:06

Thanks for this post.
I got a great little Collins Jem book called Food for free, originally written in 1972 but widely available in the Collins Jem format.
It fits in your pocket and has a guide to over 100 edible plants, berries, mushrooms, seaweed and shellfish and I can highly reccomend it!

Maria Stade

14th March 2011, 20:06

king anthony

14th March 2011, 23:08

This is one of many topics that will aid in the time to come.

DeDukshyn

14th March 2011, 23:44

Latin name: Chenopodium album

English name: Lamb’s-quarters, pigweed

http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy77/Vitabuffeln/svinmlla.jpg

This is another common plant !

It can be dried and used as Nettels !
Or fresh as they are :love:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0swabMLoBo

Yummy :hungry:

When we got dirt poor, my mom used to pick this stuff for us all the time (she called it pigweed) - find the younger plants, and just steam them like spinach - add some salt and butter if you have it. It's actually really quite good. Also, Morals (any easy to spot edible mushroom), and most berries that are not red are ok to eat. Only eat red berries if you know 100% for sure what it is. Any other colour is likely ok but use Daddy Fishwicks technique above before eating. Stay away from mushrooms you don't know. Also Chamomile is a weed - the stuff can be found everywhere if you know what it is - you can eat it or make tea.

Maria Stade

14th April 2011, 00:15

A nother comon plant is clover all kinds of clover is food !

The plant can be eaten fresh or dryed for later use !

Red clover is well known as a medicin plant and the flowers are picked to dry, or to put fresh in oil for infusion to put on sallad !

As dryed it can be put in soup or bread or what ever !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khXolKnO7sw&feature=related

phimonic

14th April 2011, 00:32

http://aound.net/

friends of mine, who are cooking only what they find, or from where they know, that it is consciously grown or hunted (my best friend there is vegetarian since i know him. 16 years or so - but this he eats even.)
they do not even use salt , or anything which is of unnatural source. ( i mean they wouldn't go to the supermarket to get pepper, or anything. if they don't have it, they don't use it. making a salad from the ground basically for example.
and the food is sooo delicious, they make, i can tell you! - the "chief cook" has learned at an excellent house, and those skills (which basically everyone can learn, who wants to) and some nature is all what is needed to eat like an elite.

i kind of like that ^^ - eat like an elite - nature's all you need ! - :)

thanks for this thread!

Maria Stade

14th April 2011, 00:50

Yes, You Can Eat Dandelion to !

The whole plant can be used it can be dryed to. All plants can be dryed !

The root should be made to bits so it dry fast !

I fancy the flowers that are sweet and good fresh in sallad or as tea warm or later as cold.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0hFHBfaILA&feature=related

Spring and time to clean your system ??? This is the plant and all free !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV5LAHoByoo&feature=related

phimonic

14th April 2011, 03:53

really appreciate this thread - everyone should know all this - kids learn nothing about such essential things, nothing about harmonics,.. golden mean etc. - the most basic principles get forgotten, while we discuss if george bush can change his pupils or might need an extra large coffin. ^^

Maria Stade

14th April 2011, 10:10

really appreciate this threat - everyone should know all this - kids learning mainly BS in school. - nothing about such essential things, nothing about harmonics,.. golden mean etc. - the most basic principles get forgotten, while we discuss if george bush can change his pupils or might need an extra large coffin. ^^

Thank you !

Yes it should be basic nolige learned early in life ! :hug:

luciole

14th April 2011, 10:30

ENGLISH NETTLE!
This plant grows everywhere,like bad weed where I live! In France, it is called "Ortie".
I pick them (with dishwashing gloves!!!!) and then take the leaves of the stem, and cook them like spinach! If you pick a lot, you can also make an excellent soup! Yes the best leaves are the top ones
The "prickles" go away when cooked, I don't even dry them!

I haven't gotten around eating them raw....:mmph:

luciole

14th April 2011, 10:43

Maria Stade

14th April 2011, 11:00

Oh and here is a good one, because you can eat it raw!

I think that it grows mainly in europe (southern, and western).

In french we call it "nombril de Vénus" (venus belly button!) much more interesting than it's official name: Umbilicus repestris.

You can find it growing on shady walls, or damp rock crevices.

Bon appétit!!!:hungry:
6850

Makes a great salad!!!

Latin names changes some times !

I dont know this plant maybe to cold climate here !

Thank you !

I found it as Umbilicus rupestris can you confime this is the same ?

http://www.google.se/images?hl=sv&gbv=2&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ONGmTeD3DMil8QPFmKGnBg&ved=0CDEQBSgA&q=Umbilicus+rupestris&spell=1&biw=994&bih=468

luciole

14th April 2011, 11:20

Yes it's the same one!! Yes maybe that this plant is only found more south:tsk:

Right now it is growing everywhere by my place!

Thanks for this thread Maria!!

John Parslow

14th April 2011, 11:21

Icecold

14th April 2011, 11:51

Food for free:

http://www.torrens.org.uk/FFF/index2.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x97jebTQisU&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdtOFkMQzzQ&feature=related

Maria Stade

14th April 2011, 11:52

Nettles I wold not eat raw LOL
I also use dishwashing gloves when I pick them and they do not irritate the skin when they are dryed !

I had my first harvest 2 days ago ! Yummy !!

Here is some tips on how to dry plants !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48nX_NrD7xM&feature=related

Maria Stade

14th April 2011, 11:55

Icecold

14th April 2011, 11:55

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxG_84TU17Y&feature=related

Maria Stade

14th April 2011, 12:23

Hello Maria Stade

Thank you very much for this very useful thread - can you tell me how long that English Nettle should be dried before use? I don't think it was mentioned anywhere. Also does anyone have any recipes for this excellent free food?

Love, peace and good health to all. JP :cool:

I use it fresh like this !

Put them in a pot or wha ever you do a suop in !

Ad water so they are under the water ! I use only leavs and the soft parts !

Ad some salt

Let it boil 5 min.

Remove some of the water ( I use it to water other plants)

Ad some cream and black pepper ! Bon apeti

They are usualy eaten with a boiled egg here in Sweden !

You can ad union and if you dont have cream make the souo thick with corn meal /weet meal !

Some use cream fraish in after !

As dryed it can be used to ad to most everything ! Soup, in pankakes, in bread and so on !

When thet are dryed I much them fine and put them in a container !

Your imagination is the limitation ! Have happy experiments !

:gossip: invite your frindes when you have thested first your self !

Learn others to use it when you know how your self !

John Parslow

14th April 2011, 12:32

Hello again Maria Stade

Thank you very much for the information - I will give it a try and let you know the results ...

Love, peace and good eating to you. JP :cool:

Maria Stade

14th April 2011, 12:43

It should be warm when drying plants This time of year (early spring here ) I use the light ramps ( that i have for the seeds that need to be grown inside first) heat and drye the small nettels on it with just some paper under ! It takes about 24 hours and they are comlete dry !

Dont pack them to tight lots of air so they drye fast 1

I dont like the idea to use electricy for plants but it is well used energy to use what is already in use.

On the frezes is a nother warm place that can be used with good results !

When the days are warm plants can be dryed outside in the shadow !

I actualy plan my days withe the werther rapport !

I am rigth now sercing for my cabel to charge the battery to the camera.

Wll ad some photos when I do !

luciole

14th April 2011, 13:10

Cjay

14th April 2011, 13:12

25 common edible weeds
plus a huge collection of practical information regarding self-sufficency and survival

http://www.survival.org.au/bushfood_weeds.php

Maria Stade

14th April 2011, 13:15

Common Reed

The roots of this plant are sweet and can be coked as a meal !

This plant can be given to animals as food to (early in the season it sholuld be harvested then)

It have hade many uses , making paper, coloring sheeps wool,skin,fethers and the roots was dryed and mealed to powder for food !

http://www.google.se/images?hl=sv&source=hp&biw=994&bih=468&q=P.+communis+Trin.%2C+Arundo+phragmites+L.&btnG=S%C3%B6k+bilder&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=

Icecold

14th April 2011, 13:32

Ta da.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm-eA39mrRk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dyvk8dUabQ&feature=related

Icecold

14th April 2011, 13:39

Wild Food Recipes

http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/wild-food.php

luciole

14th April 2011, 13:46

Ta da.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm-eA39mrRk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dyvk8dUabQ&feature=related

hoooray!!! thanks Icecold!;)

Maria Stade

14th April 2011, 14:13

yes! I would not use the microwave to dry plants!! lol

I'm actually looking into a food dehydrator....don't know what you think of that..then again, it's another gadget, and it uses electricity!

Have fun drying your gatherings!
:P

I hade mercy on a broken refrigerator with glas on the front ( they sell cocacola and such in those) it needs to have some holes in the bottom and I will collor the inside black but it should be a natrual dryer in the sun when its done and rain will not come in !

Stones can be used to get it to give warmth when the sun goes down.

The warm air rise and tryes the plants and go out in the top !

I cant tell if it will work well yet !

Rain and night moist will keep out ! I know some years when it has been rainy and moisty the drying prosess can be a problem if you have many plants to dry !

yaksuit

14th April 2011, 14:14

John Parslow

14th April 2011, 15:15

For anyone that is interested, here is a Nettle Soup recipe I found in one of my favourite Soup recipe books:

Nettle Soup Recipe

Apparently, Nettle soup has been eaten in the Spring for hundreds of years to cleanse the system of the salty preserved foods traditionally eaten in the Winter. It is also rich in iron and vitamin C.

Preparation and Cooking time: 30 Minutes

Serves: 6

25g (1oz) Butter
1 Medium Onion finely chopped
2 Garlic cloves crushed
400g (14oz) Potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
450g (1lb) freshly picked Nettle tops
1 Litre (1¾ pints) vegetable stock
150ml (¼ pint) Double Cream [I use milk]
Freshly grated Nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

Melt the butter and cook the onion and garlic gently for 10 minutes in a covered saucepan, without colouring. Add the potatoes and nettles and cook for 2 minutes. Add the stock, cover, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Allow to cool a little, then purée in a liquidiser. Return to a clean saucepan, stir in the cream (milk) and season with freshly grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.

Reheat gently and serve - Source: New Covent Garden - Book of Soups

Enjoy. JP :cool:

P.S. I have found the best way to dry herbs - hang them in bunches upside down in the kitchen

Just made a pan full and it is delicious. JP :thumb:

Maria Stade

14th April 2011, 23:37

Bush Tucker Man, an Australian ABC TV series from the late 80's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1gVqNhoruQ

In The Bush With Malcolm Douglas, Channel 7 Australia (2008).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4km3dVMlzrM&feature=related

Thank you for sharing this !

I hade one a kelpie dog ! The best dog and friend I ever hade !
I thoght all dingos was yellow so I learned some thing new to day :cool: black to lol.

Australia is amazing ! Have never seen it for real !

Thank you !

9eagle9

15th April 2011, 03:58

The first plants I show people around here are the ones most easily id'd and abundant. Plantain and Burdock. Both grow like weeds all over around here in Michigan.. Second season growth is best, get the leaves when they are young, and toss them as salad with dandelion leaves. Plantain makes an awesome poultice when you crush the leaves. . The females are rounder leafed and more tender without so much spine in them. Burdock root and leaves are good for burns to name a few multi purposes . Burdock will thicken soups and stews. Just a few of their uses. Mullein also known as false tobacco is the best to keep on hand for a quick cough remedy. Dry the leaves, grind, steep into a strong solution and your congestion woes are gone. The plant is fuzzy so it makes an absorbent material and I stick them in my shoes when I start getting a blister. I don't use anything else even in non emergency conditions. Three plants so common we tend to stop 'seeing' them they are so abundant here. Another one overlooked a lot are May Apples (American Mandrake). All over the place here, and can be made in jam and jelly. Don't eat the rind or seeds.

Cat tail roots. Pound out the fibers and you get a sort of a mashed potato consistency. Acorns are hugely abundant here, you have to grind them up and rinse them a lot to get rid of the bitterness.

Cedar tips are a good source of vita c and will help prevent parasitical infections if eating out in the wild has you eating a bit more than you bargained for.

Jewel weed not sure if its only in this region is an on the fly remedy for poison ivy and oak rashes. Before we screwed everything up jewel weed nearly always grew near poison ivy, but it can be found in marshy areas still. This too I prefer over patent medicines even when there's no emergency. Handy to have around and very easy to find because of its little crimsony orange flowers.

Sorry no photos...all are super easy to ID though.

AuCo

18th April 2011, 14:53

I found a couple of these varieties in my backyard in Minnesota that are also edible (boiled, have not tried raw). not sure what they are called in English though. Scientific name are Portulaca oleracea and Amaranthus. During tough times in South East Asia, where they grow abundantly we ate them almost like every meal. Sorry folks, my first post - could be goofy!:o

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Portulaca_oleracea_stems.jpg/240px-Portulaca_oleracea_stems.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/vi/thumb/6/66/Cayraudenvn.jpg/485px-Cayraudenvn.jpg

9eagle9

18th April 2011, 16:10

The top photo is a plant that grows in the wild around here , but we call it Perseus . Why? I don't know.

Holly Lindin

18th April 2011, 16:24

There's a really fabulous film all about this called "Free Food and Medicine" (http://freefoodandmedicine.com/). It's over five hours in length and goes through different parts of Canada and the U.S., actually showing the plants out in nature and explaining what they're good for and how to find them and all that. The DVD is for sale, but I'm not flushed with money, so I just found it on File Serve or File Share or something like that.

Daniel Vitalis also talks a LOT about this, and I absolutely love him - truly an indigenous man in a modern age.

And I TOTALLY hafta mention cannabis and its incredible properties - possibly one of the greatest medicines we have out there. If you're someone who still believes in the propaganda surrounding cannabis (and I used to be one of them.), I highly recommend watching "The Union (The Business Behind Getting High)" and "Medicinal Cannabis and Its Impact On Human Health" (http://marijuanamovie.org/). Absolutely mind-blowing, and at thirty years old, it completely changed myself around from being completely, disgustedly against cannabis to becoming an advocate of it. (And before anyone says this is off-topic, remember that this is a medicine and food and certainly falls under the Hippocrates idea of "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food". :))

<3

Maria Stade

18th April 2011, 18:54

Cannabis is a strong medicin plant and I would not call it food !

If I grow it here it would be prisson for some time or I would be punished by law in some other way !

But yes I would, if I got cancer or some other illness that this plant cure !

Medicinal plants have like medicins side effects.

But Yes we have been given the food and also medicin from the planet and it should be free to use for all.

Holly Lindin

18th April 2011, 19:14

Before anyone else misunderstands me, what I meant by posting about cannabis (and I don't care if it's "illegal" or not because I don't follow laws I don't agree with.) and recommending its amazing properties is because of thinking of plants, anything we can walk out into a forest and gather, as medicines. Cannabis is one of the greatest medicines out there, so if there's ever an issue where it isn't just about food, per se, and more about health or healing a specific problem, cannabis can do a great deal - and many who are experts in these field don't believe there's a greater medicine than that. That's all that I meant by it - I haven't read through the thread, so I don't know if anyone has mentioned it or not, but I just thought I would put it in there. :) <3

Gaia

18th April 2011, 19:43

Des Pissenlits par la racine
http://maludan.3dtoast.com/images/Dandelions.jpg

Tt is the root of the dandelion has been the most used for its bile, choleretic and purifying the liver, kidneys and gallbladder. Is harvested in spring or fall when the plant has at least two years. It can be eaten raw or dried, boiled or steamed, as a decoction and tincture. It is used for constipation (She has a mild laxative), skin problems (Eczema, acne, psoriasis) or rheumatic (Gout, arthritis) And as a tonic. The washed root takes about two weeks to dry, stretched on a rack or grill, in a place in the shade and well ventilated.

pyrangello

18th April 2011, 20:08

how about dandelioned wine? My grandma always told me about that???

Maria Stade

18th April 2011, 21:02

Thank you Gaia Yes I read that dandelion also is helpful if exposed to radiation !

pyrangello Yes I have once picked flower for danelion wine It was very good, taste like almond oddly.

luciole

22nd April 2011, 15:02

Ok Maria, all the best luck with your homemade food dryer! Let us know how it worked! A photo maybe?;)
Does anyone have some food drying methods?

I did some research on the one you sent a video link, Icecold, have you tried this one out?

luciole

22nd April 2011, 15:08

Wild Food Recipes

http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/wild-food.php

Hummm, the nettle beer sounds nice, with all the nettle around here, I'll just put on my washing gloves, and make myself some beer!
:wink:

sunnyrap

22nd April 2011, 18:02

Pine trees can save your life by providing both water, vitamins and protein. White pines, mostly, were used by the Indians in the winter to survive long periods of no game and no vegetable sources. They would peel the outer bark from the tree and scrape the white inside woody pulp and make it into a mash which they would cook into a kind of bread. Pine needle tea is a bit bitter but very rich in vitamin C. When water is scarce, you can tie plastic bags to the tips of pine tree branches and affix them tightly. Overnight, the branch will give you a cup or so of potable water.

Here's a well-illustrated article on it (ggod survival site, too): http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival/edible-pine-bark/

Rainbowbrite

23rd May 2011, 09:52

Thanks for the great thread! As a family we eat a lot of foraged food - i see it as a great way to pass on skills to my children and also to deepen all our relationships with nature. I also think it essential that children (and adults!) know where food comes from and how to harvest respectfully, sustainably and safely - good skills to have... I have really enjoyed reading this!

I would like to add that Dead Nettle is also a good, none sting-y, source of vit c and iron - great starting plant to get any little ones involved in foraging. This is in the Food for Free book mentioned previously in the thread - a really good book - but i felt it a good idea to mention it seperately as it's so tasty, for those without the book. Dead Nettle is really easy to ID as it's very similar in looks to stinging nettle except for the fact that it has white or pink flowers - these flowers look a little like pea flowers - and it often grows near stinging nettle. You only have to cook the leaves a little as there is no sting and they're really good gently stir fried with garlic, lemon juice and tomato (and/or dandelion root if you fancy) :)

Elderberry is my favourite wild fruit - very easy to recognise also, it has 'umberellas' of white flowers in spring (also delicious and makes a very good wine;) )which form into deep purpleish small berries towards the autumn. The berries require cooking as eating too many raw can upset the stomach, also they do contain lots of tiny seeds, if this bothers you then just pass the cooked berries through a sieve and sweeten to taste. I use them to make an 'Elder Meringue Pie' - really tasty. And also elderberry jam is a fab way of preserving the berries for up to a year or more - you can also use crab apples in this jam to bulk out quantities and, imo, improve the flavour and texture. Another method of preserving the juice is as a syrup - i give my children a tablespoon of this a day throughout the winter for the added vit c boost.

I hope these ideas aren't repeated from earlier - especially in the videos, i struggle to watch them as my internet connection can be shaky at times... If this is a repeat then please feel free to delete!

Brightest Blessings to All

Rain

conk

21st June 2011, 19:56

Nyce555

21st June 2011, 20:42

My great grandmother makes dandelion wine and my grandfather made some greens that grew wild from his backyard. He called them Poke leaves and he told me that our Indian ancestors used to cook them. They were very bitter, not as tasty as collards, kale or mustards, but I guess if you are starving, they will get the job done.

Mathilde Lares

21st June 2011, 21:03

I use the leaves in salads, and also in omelets. Not only it is a great plant for humans but also for dogs, they love it cooked with eggs!

PixieDust

26th June 2011, 04:21

thanks for this thread! im taking my first steps to becoming self sustainable before im forced too. which i already feel somewhat forced with everything thats already happening. I feel the urge to push others to as well. Im a fire person and the fire is burning hard to start moving others into making the leap. anyway i would have never thought that nettle was eatable! i know its used medicinally but when we would visit my grandma in the mountains my sister and i learned the hard way that nettle hurts after "sledding" down a mountain side over thick vegitation that happened to be all nettle. After covering ourselves in mud (a trick our mom taught us) to sooth the burn and extract the poison we got back to the house we learned to stay away from that plant!

also after working in my moms herb shop i learned that almost all weeds and plants people try to exterminate are actually herbs and good for you. you can litterally walk outside and make a salad! obviously you guys know this though. i plan on starting to start foraging around the property and exploring more food options.

NeverMind

26th June 2011, 07:21

Yes, You Can Eat Dandelion to !

The whole plant can be used it can be dryed to. All plants can be dryed !

The root should be made to bits so it dry fast !

I fancy the flowers that are sweet and good fresh in sallad or as tea warm or later as cold.

Dandelion has been traditionally eaten in many parts of Europe for centuries, if not longer. It is delicious in salads, especially with potatoes and a little garlic, but only as very young greens, in early spring. Later, it becomes bitter.
However, you can harvest those gorgeous yellow heads and make preserves alternating layers of dandelion and sugar (I use different types of brown sugar, for a more gourmet effect :-)) in a glass jar. Then you put the glass jar on a sunny window sill and wait for nature to work its magic. It will turn into a dark golden-brown syrup that can be eaten alone or as a sweetener. It is a wonderful tonic, especially for women, and contains a lot of vitamin A.

BTW, the same procedure has been used for many centuries to preserve young, tender tips of spruce (the light green tips that grow in spring). They are an ancient folk remedy against cough. You can munch on the tips alone, however. I do, every spring. I just like the tart flavour. :-)

A favourite drink in many parts of Europe, especially central Europe, is elder flower syrup, fashioned in the same way, only with the addition of a few slices of lemon. It is absolutely wonderful when diluted with cool water, and elder is, of course, an old remedy against high fever.

For more savoury tastes, wild garlic (Allium ursinum) is a wonderful substitute for ordinary garlic. Some even prefer it to garlic.
You can prepare it along with the nettles leaves for an invigorating soup or sandwich.

There are many, many more things in nature good enough to eat. :)

Tony

26th June 2011, 07:25

Finger nails?

NeverMind

26th June 2011, 07:26

my sister and i learned the hard way that nettle hurts

My grandmother's standard answer to this particular complaint would be: "Well, lucky you, at least you'll never get rheumatism!" :)
That is an old belief. Nettles, like everything that stings, are supposed to ward off complaints like rheumatism and circulatory malfunction (which actually makes a lot of sense).

Oh, and nettle "tea" is not only extremely healthy (a tonic, especially for the blood) as a drink, but can also be used as a tonic for massaging the hair. Among other things, it is supposed to prevent hair loss.
Research it, you'll see.

nomadguy

27th June 2011, 04:46

Arrowwind

8th July 2011, 01:28

I haven't read this thread but just adding here what I posted in another forum that I frequent...

I just found lambs quarters all over my property.. its always been there but I didn't know what it was. We had it steamed with dinner tonight and it was really good.

Here's what Mother Earth News says about it. Its probably the most nutritious vegetable there is and for me, its FREE!

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/1997-04-01/A-Better-Way-to-Heal.aspx

Nature's "Mineral Tablet"

The health food store shelves are full of pills, including mineral tablets. But nature provides an excellent alternative-one that you take advantage of by eating. This is lamb's-quarter, a spinach relative found worldwide in the wild. It probably grows in your garden even if you don't plant it. Used raw in salad or in juice mixes, 100 grams of lamb's-quarter (about a cup) contains about 80 mg of vitamin C, 11,600 IU of vitamin A, 72 mg of phosphorus, 309 mg of calcium, and small amounts of thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and iron. These figures are slightly lower when you cook the lamb's-quarter for a spinach replacement, or in soups, egg dishes, or vegetable dishes. You could nearly survive on lamb's-quarter alone!

Further Info and photos:

http://herbalspirits.blogspot.com/2009/06/identifying-lambsquarters.html

Seedling of common lambsquarters, Chenopodium album.

Photo by Jack Kelly Clark.

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Artemesia

8th July 2011, 03:41

Just took a foraging class with my friend and amazing woman traveler whom I used to guide with. Her recent book is on this topic, titled "Pacific Feast" by Jennifer Hahn. For more info, check out pacificfeast.com

She offers classes on foraging etc. Her big focus is on the sustainable aspects of it, how to do it kindly so you eat and the plants still live on to produce your next harvest. There is major issues with this 'wild edibles' movement right now in the PNW. During the class she discussed an incident where a friend of hers came upon some folks in the Bellingham area with big garbage bags full of fern fiddleheads (the newly sprouting leaf heads, curled up like the end of a violin or 'fiddle') back in February/March. The friend was wise to remain in neutral observer and just asked what they were doing, since they seemed to only be venturing into the woods in the first 20-30 feet of the roadway.

The group explained that they were harvesting the fiddleheads to be sold at top dollar at Pike Place Market in Seattle, WA, where the foodie culture has gone WILD over wild edibles, and will pay premium prices for yet another mode of chic, local, 'natural' cuisine. The trouble was, the sustainable way of harvesting is to only take a maximum of TWO per plant, allowing the rest to mature and the fern to go on living. These folks had plucked every 'good looking' fiddle off every plant in the 30 foot by however long swath of roadway they were 'working'.

Another example of how the 'elite' or at least 'moneyed class' seeks to reconnect with nature and their wild selves, yet uses their money in ways which inadvertantly perpetuate ignorance and hardship on the natural world. One can make the same choices to savor the best of the wild cuisine world, but doing it FOR ONESELF, using known sustainable techniques, can bypass this issue.

Funny how even the best ideas, when employed and or brought to light in the current consciousness climate, demonstrate beautifully how any energy, if poorly focused with improper foundational principles, will backfire on itself and implode the very principle it was seeking to glorify or experience.

A valuable lesson, once again, brought to you by our mother, and my favorite teacher of all in this lifetime, MOTHER NATURE.

Arrowwind

13th July 2011, 17:06

Keep an eye out for wild asparagus... and you can plant it in low lying areas that are moist and it will take off.
Marth Washington type will reseed itself... they are good into zone 3. Hybrids like New Jersey giant will not but the plants will produce up to 15 years.

Carmen

13th July 2011, 17:53

This the stuff you mean Nyce555?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRF24LY5pvw

Nyce555

13th July 2011, 18:16

This the stuff you mean Nyce555?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRF24LY5pvw

Ha Ha!! Yes!!! That's it! That is too funny. I did not know there was a song about it and it's a pretty good song. Except we are from Pennsylvania and Delaware in the Northeast, but I guess it groes in the south of the States also.

Marsila

16th July 2011, 18:57

A few months ago i planted Celosia (aka lagos spinach) cause i thought it was pretty, then when i wasn't careful and the birds ate it along with everything else...the stems just produced leaves and grew again.

apparently it makes a popular nutty side dish for meat and fish dishes in West Africa. It also grows in the hottest most humid climates, with the least amount of care and reseeds itself.

highly nutritious and tastes good, so hopefully it will survive and help everyone else on the survival journey to if any catastrophe happens.

conk

18th July 2011, 20:00

My newest discovery is Passiflora or passion flower vine. Makes a great evening tea that will really relax you and help fall asleep. My friend calls it legal weed. Grows easily, taste is good.

Arrowwind

28th July 2011, 14:48

So far I have 8 pounds of lambs quarters in the freezer... its really good!

Maria Stade

19th November 2011, 21:50

I was visiting a friend and saw a aspargatus bed that was 70 years old and still producing plenty of food !
It hade lots of seeds so I picked some of them (as it is a very old sort)
We (Jorr and I) planted seed this spring and they have grow well all of them !
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy77/Vitabuffeln/danmarkresatrdgrd018.jpg

We haven harvested any yet because they grow slowly in this climat but next year I will not let them be :hungry:

Another plant that is growing all around is Sedum !
The leafs is good food and tastes almost like tomatoes !
My plant has red leafs but they are usual green !
http://i779.photobucket.com/albums/yy77/Vitabuffeln/persikapilorkide060.jpg

They have family in the nature and they can be eaten to they often have yellow flowers and leaves are green or red depending on season and light on the place where they grow !

The juice can also be put on burn wounds !

The plant can be eaten raw or cooked even the roots can be eaten !
It is rich in vitamin C and contains lots of water !

This plant is very easy to take cuttings from and just put them in soil and you have a new plant !

The cuttings can dry for 24 h before put in soil !