Foraging and Wildcrafting

Recently I went on a wonderful Plant Walk with my father hosted by Amber of The Wild Garden. It was a fantastic experience. We toured a very small section of wild growth around the Ottawa Canal. I took lots of pictures and wrote down tons of info. And instead of writing it down numerous times for myself and others I shall write it here. Please note I am in no way a Botanist or experienced forager, this information is for the Ottawa region and should you wish to use it please cross-reference with at least 2 field guides.

Sumac - deer horn sumac, has fuzzy stem like antlers. The berries are edible and can be dried and used as spice or made into a lemonade style drink.

Wild Grape - Wild grape is on the left, Virginia Creeper is on the right. They are often confused but Virginia Creeper is not edible. Wild grape leaves and berries are edible. Can make stuffed grape leaves. The grapes are good for juice but are high in tartaric acid so the juice should be allowed to sit for 24 hours, the tartaric acid will settle to the bottom. The tip of the young vine can be made into a tincture that is good for varicose veins.

Thimbleberry - has an edible berry that looks similar to a raspberry but is about the size of a thimble.

Milkweed -(love this plant!!) The new shoot of the plant is tasty and can be cooked like asparagus. The milky latex is toxic (to us but not Monarchs!) so it can't be eaten raw but once cooked it is fine. The unopened flower buds are delicious in a stir fry or cooked as a fritter. The pods can be eaten whole when very small or you can stuff and the larger pods. The white fluff is also edible before the seed starts to form, you can eat it straight from the plant or add it to casseroles.

Garlic Mustard - young leaves are edible. Invasive plant!

Yellow Wood Sorrel - leaves have a lovely lemony sour flavour.

Catnip - in the mint family, has a square stem. Stimulating to cats but calming to people. Great for a sleepy tea. Cooling which makes it good for fevers. Soothing to tummy. Essential oil makes a great bug repellent.

Amaranth - nutritious leaves similar to spinach.

Daisy - Pretty much everything is edible. The yellow bit can upset tummies but is fine in a tea once dried. Leaves are good raw or cooked, the flower bud is good pickled or frittered.

Yarrow - Is a wonderful styptic, stops blood flow. Crush leaves or make a spit poultice. Can be made into a tea to wash wounds. Is an anti-inflammatory and anti-pyretic.

Lambs quarter - Another excellent nutritional leaf similar to spinach. It is in the same family as quinoa. The graininess on the leaves is a normal part of the plant.

Elderberry - very revered in uk. Prevents and treats flu. The flowers are edible cooked or dried but not raw. Good as tea, frittered flower buds, syrup. The rest of the plant is toxic.

I've already noticed many of these plants in my regular walks and even my front yard. Cant wait to use this info more.

I miss my internet

Not having internet sucks! And makes blogging kinda difficult. So I'm at the mall making use of their free wifi before I head to work. There have been a ton of projects lately. Some of which have been a disaster and some which worked out quite well. Pinterest certainly fuels the creativity, even if reality is sometimes very different than those pretty picture people post. So here's what I've been working on.

Garden - I failed. I know, so sad :( It has been a rainy rainy spring here and it has not done my garden good. I spent hours clearing the bed of the damn gout weed. And then planted my little veggie sprouts. They are all dead. Every last plant. tear.

The Birdbath - I dont know if I didnt use strong enough rebar but it was not effective. After trying a few times I gave up. I had painted all my terracotta pots in lavender and blue. I had secured my little bird statue to the bowl. And thats as far as it got because those pots all stacked were not sturdy enough for the wind let alone the birds. So the bowl is on the end of a bench near the raspberry bush. Not what I wanted but still cute.

Pickles - I made pickles! Who knew pickles were so easy? Cucumbers, salt water, dill, coriander, garlic. done. Delicious, not super crispy though so I might add some raspberry leaves next time. They apparently release tannins that will crisp up the pickles.

Personal Oatmeal - My boyfriend calls these his Breakfast Poop Muffins. lol. And they are effective! Simple whole ingredients make for a nutritious and easy breakfast. Also all the fibre makes ya poop. I do plan on posting a recipe for these as they are staples at our house.

The next project on the list is JAM. We have a giant loganberry tree in our yard  The loganberry is a hybrid of blackberry and raspberry. I'm a fan but there are way to many to just eat. Even with the ones I cant reach and the ones the birds eat I will have so many berries it isnt funny. So jam it is. Im a bit nervous so wish me luck!