Some of Nature’s Finest Food
I always enjoy collecting and of course growing my own fruits and vegetables.
What do we have growing for this year:
Carrots (from last year)
Curly Leaf Parsley (from last year)
Cauliflower
Sweet Basil
Sage
Rosemary
Chives
Habanero Pepper
Medusa Pepper
Husky Cherry Red Tomato
German Queen Tomato
Roma Tomato
Marglobe Tomato
White & Yellow Onions
Quince
Wild edibles that we collect:
Poke Sallet (Phytolacca americana) -tender shoots mixed with Plantain and eggs to produce an omelet
Plantain (Platago majora) – leaves mixed with Poke Sallet and eggs to produce an omelet.
Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina) – Berries produce a lemonade like drink when soaked in water over night.
Morels (Morchella esculenta) – These mushrooms are soaked over night in brine and then dipped in egg and rolled in cornmeal before being fried.
Queen Ann’s Lace (Daucus carota) – Root is sorta like a cross between carrot and parsnip.
Black Raspberry (Rubus occidentalis) – Berries are a bit more tart than commercial raspberries.
Black Berry (Rubus laciniatus) – Berries are comparable to commercial blackberries
Dewberry (Rubus trivialis Michx) – Berries are much sweeter than blackberries and considerably larger
Wild Ramps (Allium tricoccum) – Bulbs and blades are treated like leeks
Wild Pear (Pyrus communis) – Pears must be pulled before fully developed or they become quite stoney and flavourless
PawPaw (Asimina triloba) – Fruit tastes sort of like a more custardy banana
Black Walnuts (Juglans nigra) – Nuts are incredibly good in candies and icecream, a much less bitter alternative to English Walnuts
Shagbark Hickory Nuts (Carya ovata – Nuts are slightly bitter but edible.
Chestnuts (Castanea dentata) – Nuts are traditional at Christmas/Yule
Ground Cherry (Physalis virginiana) – husked berry can be eaten like a fruit or served like tomatillos
Elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) – Berries make an incredible wine, and are great as a jelly or jam
Possum Grapes (Vitis rupestris) – Grapes are used in jellies and jams
May Apples (Podophyllum peltatum) – Fruits can be eaten fresh or made into marmalades
Cool, I always wished I could grow food and herbs in my garden but it is a jungle – really, we haven’t had a loan mower for about 10 years, we have slugs and generally poor soil thanks to an undergrownd stream…it’s a shame as our garden is huge compaired to most peoples.
June 17th, 2005 at 6:20 pmWe mow very infrequently as well probably twice a year tops, and our first mow was just a few days ago too.
Some plants do really well in containers for window sills or porch/patios.
June 17th, 2005 at 6:43 pmDo you guys plant all these things or do you pick them wild? On your own property?
June 18th, 2005 at 9:44 amMost of the plants that we pic are literally extremely common weeds and grow all along our driveway, the bits of scrub land between yards, along roads, and in the mountains. We literally picked a gallon of blackberries every morning just around the driveways between my house and my uncles.
Some things like black walnuts and the winter pear grow in clumps around roads or in the woods. Poke Sallet is common everywhere and will pop up in any field left unmown.
We found a clump of morels last year in our yard.
June 18th, 2005 at 2:20 pm