-
Calcium vinegar
Looking to make vinegars from native Michigan plants and anything else right now. @Torey What local (and not so local) plants do you recommend? I have the book “The Herbal Kitchen” by Kami McBride but it seems to be all difficult plants to grow. Thank you! —Christina
-
Home Medicine 101 is amazing
I find the Home Medicine 101 lectures here to be absolutely amazing. I have been sick, and it has really helped. Also that nice doctor that runs the Cures A-Z app is quite informative, I saw a lecture he gave about spices in the kitchen. How do we learn more about functional medicine / home medicine? I am very interested.…
-
Sea buckthorn- what do you do with berries and seeds?
My sea buckthorn My sea buckthorn (hippophae rhaminoides) bush has grown into a real beauty and this is the first year that I have so many berries. I have managed to obtain Friesdorfer Orange - a monoecious plant - the one that has male and female blossoms and I do not have to have two plants. Well the berries are there,…
-
What do you do with rose hips?
I have recently collected quite a few beautiful, red, fat rose hips. I know there is a lot of work to clean them - get rid of seeds and tiny hair inside the hips. I also know that they are very rich of vitamin C and, especially during autumn are great to strengthen the immune system. How do you prepare and preserve rose…
-
How would I find indigenous, heirloom seeds that were native to my location for gardening?
Hi! I'm interested in finding heirloom seeds that the indigenous people used to farm with in my area. I'm in the southwest/central part of Wisconsin. After a little research (hopefully, it is correct) I found that the people of this area were the Western Dakota and Ho-Chunk tribes. I am wondering where I could find…
-
Witch Hazel
Witch Hazel is one of my favorite trees. I like the native variety best. At this time of year I head out the the forested areas looking for a tree to harvest seeds or clippings from or if I am lucky small seedling under the trees. I always ask before I dig up any seedlings. Its usually from my neighbors property and he…
-
Great article about plantain
Has a few things in it that I hadn't known before.
-
Forest Farming
I came acrossed a book I've not seen before while at the library the other day. It really caught my eye and attention considering that a good portion of my land is forested. In fact our property hasn't had anything done much with it the last 15 years aside been being overwhelmed by kudzu vines, some of them as wide around…
-
Foraging article
This is just an introduction-to-foraging article, but it has some unusual entries like tumbleweeds and sycamore seeds. (Never thought of pickling and canning tumbleweeds before! Now I -almost- wish they grew around here.) There are also links in it to good articles with recipes for dandelion bread and cooking with nettles.…
-
Harvesting Wild Acorns with Katrina Blair (Video)
Hey, hey! I'm so excited to share how to forage with you. I went on an awesome trip with one of my mentors, Katrina Blair, in the wild mountains of Colorado to harvest acorns. Acorns are a great source of vitamins, minerals, protein, and fat! They're available almost anywhere and super easy to identify. Learn more about…
-
Chaga mushroom
During my hikes in the ancient forest of La Gomera I think I found another rare medicinal plant - the Chaga mushroom. It looks like one, doesn’t it? It was too high to collect any of it, but I will keep my eyes open for another one. Has anyone collected it in nature? What do you do with it?
-
Unique laurel forest. Impressions.
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/380/ We are spending our gloomy autumn weeks in one of the Canary Islands - La Gomera and it is notorious for its endemic Laurel forest, covering about 4000 ha of the island. It is a spooky forest and the trees are up to 20 meters high all tangled and overgrown with moss and lichen. It is so…
-
Wild carrot (daucus carota) for concentration
Wild carrot seeds (daucus carota) - useful for concentration and a great spice. I think many have seen wild carrots, but, maybe, not everyone recognizes or uses them. It is easy to recognise the plant in the second year when it blossoms. In autumn their seed "nests" look like a tiny bird nests. They remain long in fields…
-
Elderberry syrup! I’ve made it!
Now I have 10 bottles of elderberry syrup. Well prepared for the change in seasons and for the comming winter. I have already noticed that the edible black and dark blue berries are very useful for human body. The components are anti inflammatory, are good for blood vessels, for blood and circulation, for colds, for…
-
Mulberry leaf tea
Very helpful to know, since I have several mulberry trees.
-
Black Medic?
Never heard of this one before. Amazing what you've seen and never really looked at.
-
Uses for Dodder?
Has anyone used dodder for food or medicine or any other useful purpose? I just passed by one of my nettle patches a bit ago and noticed the nettles were covered in what looked like yellow twine, Took a closer look, and realized it must be dodder--I've only seen it in photos until now. Have no idea how it suddenly appeared…
-
Herbal infusions
I would like to start making herbal infusions. Does anyone have resources that would teach me how to do this? I really want to take a class on this but I don’t have the funds for it right now. So I’m trying to be resourceful 🙌🏾🙌🏾
-
Plantain Hummus
As if there weren't already a jillion uses for plantain,,,,I never thought of hummus, but this sounds as good as it is healthy. Good thing plantain is plentiful! And I don't see why you couldn't just as well use broadleaf plantain? And on another page these guys recommend you sprout your chickpeas before you make hummus…
-
How Many Uses for Cattails Are There?
Seems like we'd have a thread just for cattails, but I couldn't find one--lots of mentions on other threads, but how about pulling it all together in one place? Here' a good starter--
-
Elderflower sirup
I have just finished making elderflower sirup. I hope it will last until next elderflower season. I collected 20-30 elderflowers. They should be very fresh and very fragrant. I spread them on a sheet outside, so that all insects can escape, then checked each and every. I never wash elderflower as they loose so much if…
-
Foraging and propagating plants
I just came across these two articles--interesting lists, and they have links to other useful articles. I sometimes think you have to take this guy with a grain of salt though--the photo of the plantain bandage in the "Wild Plants" article looks at least a bit odd to me...
-
Fir spruce tips cake. I made one!
Fir spruce tips cake. I made one! It tastes wonderful of conifer forest on a warm day! I found this recipe and wanted to try it out. This is the original recipe: -1 cup of yogurt (here 0.5l) -1 cup of flour -1 cup of sugar -1.5 cups of chopped young spruce or fir shoots -Some oil -4 eggs -1 packet of baking powder -If you…
-
Wild sage. Do you use it? How?
Wild sage (salvia pratensis) is in full blossom in our Alpine meadows. I collect it every year and use it in my herbal infusions, because of its mild taste, the deep purple colour of the blossoms, because it’s ethereal oils are so good for respiratory tract. Sometimes I add it to my summer wild flower lemonades. So far I…
-
Sugar Plants
This is mostly about plants for natural chewing gums, but it is an interesting list. The two that have me stumped are Red Grass and Skeleton Weed. According to this they should grow around here, but I can't place either of them.
-
Hop shoots. Do you cook them?
I am writing a blog on edible wild plants and a few followers asked me about hops. I know that the shoots can be cooked or stewed, but I have never tried that out. Have you? Do you have a favourite recipe? Could you share?
-
Garlic mustard for salad, soups, herbal butter, pesto...
Alliaria petiolata, or garlic mustard One more plant for my salad, soups, herbal butter, pesto. The name indicates the taste - garlic mustard. And the taste indicates it’s medicinal benefits. As I eat raw plants to retain health and strengthen my immune system, this is a proper one for me. So far I have not tasted the…
-
Foraging wild fruit
There are many wild fruits you can harvest. Sometimes you can move the plant or shrub or take a clipping to add to your property. Ask before you move any plant and make sure you know what it is. There are many poisonous plants out in the wild yonder. But as with any foraging you really need to make sure you have identified…
-
Lady’s bedstraw Galium verum
Lady’s bedstraw (Galium verum), goosegrass, cleavers (Galium aparine) The young shoots of these herbs are also added to my salad, herbal butter and curd. Some of them are a real pest to gardeners during summer time, when one has to weed them out of vegetable beds. The more one eats out in spring, the less one has to weed…
-
Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) a new herb for my salads, herbal butter and soups
Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) a new herb for my salads, herbal butter and soups This one I have always weeded out until one day I tasted it. Rather sharp, but pleasantly sharp. Well, it belongs to the same family like rocket or radish, so no wonder. It is a tiny plant. Sometimes not bigger than a hand. In spring…
