Question about Foraging.....

[Boyd]

I was wondering if anybody could recommend a good book on plants for foraging. Some things I am somewhat versed on ... wild asparagus, fiddleheads, nuts and for the most part I know what berries to stay away from. But I'd like to get some more info. There is half a mile worth of roadside and fields (owners I know) that would allow me to forage and stay on my road. Any help would be appreciated

 

[freemotion]

I have actually found the internet to be more useful than most of my books. This is because you can see what others are actually doing with the plants and how they prepare them. There is more liability, it seems, when something gets printed in a book. Danger Will Robinson, danger! Poke is poisonous! So is comfrey! Avoid all mushrooms!!!!

Sorry, I didn't answer your question....but check out the foraging thread on this site for some ideas. I often will bring a plant home and get on the computer to identify it, then see if I can find any uses for it. I recently discovered a plant growing in my pasture that I thought was a bad weed....turns out that it is an amazing forage plant for goats! So it will be encouraged, not eradicated. Like the poke patches....I learned here how to prepare it, and can't wait to try it soon (I collected it too late last spring....I'm ready this year!)

 

[FarmerDenise]

I was wondering if anybody could recommend a good book on plants for foraging. Some things I am somewhat versed on ... wild asparagus, fiddleheads, nuts and for the most part I know what berries to stay away from. But I'd like to get some more info. There is half a mile worth of roadside and fields (owners I know) that would allow me to forage and stay on my road. Any help would be appreciated

Euell Gibbons wrote books on foraging wild foods way back in the 70's. You might find his books in the library. They had pictures in them. My family relied heavily on one of his books. I think it had "wild asparagus" in the title.

 

[freemotion]

Oh, yeah! I think it was Stalking the Wild Asparagus.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Oh, yeah! I think it was Stalking the Wild Asparagus.

That's the one

 

[Up-the-Creek]

I was wondering if anybody could recommend a good book on plants for foraging. Some things I am somewhat versed on ... wild asparagus, fiddleheads, nuts and for the most part I know what berries to stay away from. But I'd like to get some more info. There is half a mile worth of roadside and fields (owners I know) that would allow me to forage and stay on my road. Any help would be appreciated

Hi Boyd!
I tell you looking at a book or a picture is hard to tell the difference in many plants. The best way I have found is find a LOCAL old timer who can tell you what is out there and what is "safe". I learned a lot from my great grandmother and grandparents plus many neighbors. As a bonus I am sure you will hear some great tall tales to boot!

 

[Occamstazer]

This guy does some very cool stuff.
http://www.honest-food.net/blog1/

 

[FarmerDenise]

This guy does some very cool stuff.
http://www.honest-food.net/blog1/

That looks like a great site. Bookmarked it for future reference!! SO might even like it, or I should say maybe he'll like it, if I use some of those official looking published recipes to make meals that use wild meat!!

 

[chickenjoe]

There a book called ediable wild plants of north america they even tell you which plants or part are poisonous

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Not a book, but a set of videos which have proved very helpful.

Green Deane - http://www.youtube.com/user/EatTheWeeds

Not only talks about what, but how to fix it and whether its worth it or not.

Free, I've found it harder to "reverse engineer" a forage plant, if you will. If you don't know the name how do you find out what it is?

I have been sucessful using the google image search for known edibles, like purslane, dock, chicory, chickweed, but not in finding out what is that leafy green growing in the pasture.