Do You Forage To Supplement Your Food Supplies?

[harmony]

When you backpack, do you forage for edible plants to stretch your food supplies?

I've been working on learning about edible wild plants that grow in my yard. It is amazing how many weeds are nutritious.

 

[Grandpa]

A few sprigs of water cress sure livens up a Mt house dinner.:tinysmile_hmm_t:

Although, I too, am learning more about edible plants, I'm leery of trying anything so far away from other people.

 

[ponderosa]

I'd really like to learn more about edible wild plants. My foraging is limited to just for fun...a handful of hucklberries added to breakfast, some mint or chamomille for tea, a little peppery watercress with the cheese & crackers...the only significant food source we access is fish. We always carry adequate food with us, just in case the fishing isn't all it could be.

 

[mariaandrea]

Depends. If we camp in spring (which is not often because it's usually too cold to be that fun), I'll harvest nettles. Every couple of years I make it a point to go camping during clamming season so we can camp near the beach, dig clams and cook them on the campfire. And there's usually blackberries and salmonberries in the summer that we never pass up. But, that's it.

 

[Grandpa]

I just learned about stinging nettles this past winter. Too many boyhood "fishing along the creeks" trips still makes me nervous about trying them.

 

[mariaandrea]

I just learned about stinging nettles this past winter. Too many boyhood "fishing along the creeks" trips still makes me nervous about trying them.

I only started eating them a few years ago when they started showing up in restaurants (the local, organic, sustainable trendy kind) and a few friends served them at dinner. When I was a little girl a nasty boy threw some in my face and I will never forget that pain. Plus a couple of other encounters just from growing up in the country, so I was really leery too.

You have to wear gloves to harvest them, but once they're boiled there's no sting and they taste good and are really, really nutritious. But, it took me a while too. :tinysmile_twink_t2:

 

[Pathfinder1]

Hi...


Nope...I'm not a weed eater.

Do know some that are edible, though...like dandilions, fiddlehead ferns, clover, acorns (when "processed" properly), etc. Wouldn't mind learning about some others, though.

 

[Lamebeaver]

Nice idea, but the amount of nutrition you get from foraging is hardly worth the effort and time spent....unless you come across a nice berry patch.

 

[eyebp]

I do for practice for when the scat hits the fan in December.

 

[Hikenhunter]

A couple of scallions sliced and added to any supper meal makes a boring meal pop.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

I've done a little bit, but you have to be mindful of the rules- some places (State and Nationa parks; and in WV anyhow, state forests) have rules against foraging. Also foraging along heavily used areas should be foregone, even where it's legal.

 

[ChadTower]

I don't make it a point to forage but if I see something I want I will grab it along the way. I'm very good with berries so that's a common one over the summer. Depending on my cooking area's proximity to a marshy area I might grab some cattail roots, too. If I'm staying put, and they are all over the place, wild carrots.

 

[shaun]

I forage even when I am not camping. I love foraging for wild edible plants and fruits, it is very satisfying, and very good for you as well. I am always on the look out for food when camping.

 

[ppine]

I am an oppotunistic forager. The common ones are blackberries, blueberries, huckleberries and salmonberries. Sometimes we use fiddleheads, water cress or wild onions, and flowers for decorations.

Fishinig has been the most important contributor to the diet while on backcountry trips.

 

[littlefire]

I stay away from plants out in the wild. I would like to learn more about them, but I'd also much prefer to enjoy the calmness of my adventure rather than worry if what I'm about to eat is poisonous.

 

[ChadTower]

Well, if it helps, the vast majority is not poisonous. It just has no nutritional value for us.

 

[harmony]

It sounds like there are mixed opinions on this. I like the wild onion idea, and I personally like to eat young dandelion leaves. I think that's retribution for them threatening a hostile takeover of my yard, though.

 

[Judy Ann]

Nothing beats the blueberries at Grayson Highlands, VA, but they are so tiny that I just gather all I can eat and move on.

 

[JeepThrills]

We have foraged for blackberries, but that's about it. I have a friend that knows all about mushrooms so a few times I've been treated to those, but that's about it.

 

[dinosaur]

The areas I hike have myriad foods growing. In a few weeks I'll be picking raspberries and blackberries. I'll also harvest the May apples, poke salad, onions, and garlic. Of course my idea of foraging includes the use of a fishing pole or a gun. But, there are seasons for everything and there is almost always food available.