Edible Yards

The weather was perfect for the wild edible walk yesterday. Thanks to everyone who participated! We saw several edibles on our walk along Blunn Creek in Travis Heights. You can incorporate most of the plants we saw into your own edible yards. Here’s a few shots of the plants we tasted:

Commelina spp. (Dayflower) – Edible leaves, stems, flowers

Morus spp. (Mulberries) – Edible fruit turns a deep purplish-black when ripe

Lactuca serriola (prickly lettuce) – Edible leaves, esp. early growth

Plantago major (plantain – we also saw Plantago lanceolata) – Edible leaves

Lepidium virginicum (Peppergrass) – Edible leaves and seed heads

We saw a lot more on our walk and I hope to post more photos soon. If you do decide to head out on a foraging walk, be sure to take a wild edible guidebook so you know what you are harvesting! When in doubt, don’t eat  it! Here are a few more foraging tips:

-       Be sure it’s legal and/or you have permission to harvest from the site.

-       Harvest responsibly; take only what you need.

-       When gathering flowers and fruit, leave enough for reproduction the following year.

-       If collecting perennials, cut the top and leave the roots.

-       When harvesting roots or tubers, you do kill the plant so harvest sparingly.

-       Wear long pants, carry harvesting bags or baskets, and bring along all the tools you’ll need (edible wild plant guide, pruners, scissors, gloves, shovel/trowel, etc.)

-       Be sure you know what you are harvesting and what parts of the plant are edible!