What do you like to forage? Calling all foragers!

[aimee750]

Stinging nettles, dandelion, and lambsquarter are my favorite forages but there are so many.

I have had severe allergies since I was very young. I have been off all allergy meds and shots since I started taking nettles every day, it has been a life changer!

 

[Barnette]

Stinging nettles, dandelion, and lambsquarter are my favorite forages but there are so many.

I have had severe allergies since I was very young. I have been off all allergy meds and shots since I started taking nettles every day, it has been a life changer!

Cool! I've never heard of using nettles for allergies. I have terrible seasonal allergies for which I take Zyrtec

 

[aimee750]

Barnette - I have read most people make a tea and drink that daily. But I am not a tea drinker, so what I do is dry the nettles, then powder them. I put them in gelatin capsules and take one a day.

 

[tripletfeb]

I'm only now getting into the whole "foraging and herbs for medicinal use" world but it's very interesting. I follow Rain Country on youtube and she(Heidi) is very knowledgable on plants and their uses. On her suggestion, I made a lilac tea from the lilac tree in my flower bed. It was pretty good but the next day, I had a screaming migraine. I get migraines often so I don't know if it's related. I would try again but the lilacs are done for the season.

 

[TooCheep]

On her suggestion, I made a lilac tea from the lilac tree in my flower bed. It was pretty good but the next day, I had a screaming migraine. I get migraines often so I don't know if it's related. I would try again but the lilacs are done for the season.

You are doing it the right way. Try a small amount of whatever edible or herbal that is documented safe and watch for any reactions. The fact that it is okay for others doesn't mean you will have a 100% favorable reaction.

If you have no initial negative reaction, then you can try again and increase the amount, again watching for reactions. If you have a negative initial reaction and aren't sure it is from the plant, then try another small dose to check it.

There is a much more stringent process to check if an unknown/unsure plant is safe to eat.

Ideally, you spend time discovering edible/medicinal plants before an emergency. That way to know where they are and how to identify them before you really want/need to use them.

When learning about such plants, pay attention to any "look-alike" plants. Most edible/medicinal plant guides and many videos will list look-alikes so you can avoid them.

 

[Sequoia Raven Bird Farms]

Lamb's quarter. Delicious!
Morels
Japanese Beetles (for the chickens! not me!)

Oooo Lamb's quarters is soo good!
My great grandfather called it pigweed and I think in the southern U.S they call it fathen.

 

[Sequoia Raven Bird Farms]

I'm only now getting into the whole "foraging and herbs for medicinal use" world but it's very interesting. I follow Rain Country on youtube and she(Heidi) is very knowledgable on plants and their uses. On her suggestion, I made a lilac tea from the lilac tree in my flower bed. It was pretty good but the next day, I had a screaming migraine. I get migraines often so I don't know if it's related. I would try again but the lilacs are done for the season.

Interesting. I use Heidi's videos every once in a while. I like her video on how to make jam with little to no sugar.
I wonder if you have a small allergy to it. It could also be that you were dehydrated since contrary to popular belief tea uses up more water in your body.

 

[Sequoia Raven Bird Farms]

Yup. I love capturing JBs for the girls. They're main defense when you try to capture them is to drop off the leaf and fly away. So, I hold a bowl of water under them and I capture a fairly high percentage of them. Then it's time for "bobbing for beetles"!

Cool! My chickens love when the water beetles come out after a rain. All I have to do is flip their water tubs over and it's game on!

 

[Sequoia Raven Bird Farms]

You are doing it the right way. Try a small amount of whatever edible or herbal that is documented safe and watch for any reactions. The fact that it is okay for others doesn't mean you will have a 100% favorable reaction.

If you have no initial negative reaction, then you can try again and increase the amount, again watching for reactions. If you have a negative initial reaction and aren't sure it is from the plant, then try another small dose to check it.

There is a much more stringent process to check if an unknown/unsure plant is safe to eat.

Ideally, you spend time discovering edible/medicinal plants before an emergency. That way to know where they are and how to identify them before you really want/need to use them.

When learning about such plants, pay attention to any "look-alike" plants. Most edible/medicinal plant guides and many videos will list look-alikes so you can avoid them.

The youtube channel 'insteading' is pretty good at showing the look-alikes, but there are many others.

 

[Sequoia Raven Bird Farms]

I don't forage as much as I would like to, but I love collecting morels in spring, wineberries in summer, and pawpaws in fall.

Ooo pawpaws!!!! I wonder if they grow wild here in Canada....