Wildcrafting

Haven't written a post in awhile but my friend told me she expected this in her inbox and she's holding me accountable. That was over a week ago though.

I was so glad I went! The Olympia Free Herbal Clinic organized their second annual Dandelion Seed Conference and fundraising adventure. I was lucky to obtain a scholarship to attend (although the entry fee is affordable compared to most conferences). I didn't know anyone there but ran into a tea seller (Bird's Eye Tea) I sometimes chat with at the University District Farmer's Market. She told me some of her stories about wildcrafting acorns, or driving to southern Oregon to harvest pine nuts, except there were none. That and Saturday's keynote, Heron Brae, “Beyond Ethical Wildcrafting: Remembering Our Human Place in the World”, who shared photos from her wild food foraging excursions while living off the grid -- I found most inspiring. She talked about the importance of giving back to the earth, such as replanting, or helping plants reseed themselves, for all that we consume of them.

One month ago I picked up The Front Yard Forager by Melany Vorass-Herrera at the library, and just started looking through it. There are some plants listed such as dandelion and clover that I am familiar with (I tried making dandelion fritters once) and many that I have yet to learn. Her basic claim is - why go out of your way to buy produce that has less nutrient value, is less fresh, and has more pesticides than the food you can harvest right in your neighborhood. I've always felt reluctance toward harvesting plants right in the heart of Seattle thinking they're polluted from the air, traffic, and other sources. She says to stay away from railways, but otherwise just to give the plants a good washing. Most of her recipes contain other ingredients you buy from the store though.

So you can't base your entire diet off wildcrafting, but there's value in rekindling your relationship to the plants around you. I suppose it would be good for me to be familiar with most of the plants I walk by in my day to day. So that is the big seed the conference has planted for me in the time that has followed.

New Weed-lot

I'm moving two blocks away to a studio beneath a house with a weed-lot in the back. The studio is street level and noisy, so potted plants out front are not likely to fare well. Unless they are super resilient. Something has to live there. Perhaps some climbing plants?

Then in the backyard it's still TBD how much light shows up. Perhaps we can install one or two raised garden beds and grow some greens, herbs or beans. Perhaps we can host some chickens. I think they could enjoy the graffiti.

There must be ways to turn this harsh urban landscape into something more nourishing.

A Walk In The Park

Back in April I posted about noxious weeds in the Puget Sound area after wondering about all the weeds in my garden. What I should come to understand about them before weeding them out. My roommate sent me a link to this blog about edible weeds: http://www.eattheweeds.com/ Well this man is working out of FL so obviously the plants will be different. I like his acronym "ITEM" which signifies an ethic toward reasonable wildcrafting.

[I] Identify - the plant (no pretending)

[T] Timing - consider the plant's needs, should you be harvesting right now?

[E] Environment - is right here a proper place to eat from?

[M] Method - be careful (do it for the kids)

I recently went for a walk in the park (Boeing Creek in Shoreline), December 24, 2012 to see what is growing. I brought one of my guide books. Northwest Foraging by Doug Benoliel If it were back in the day and I had to rely on berries, plants and roots, what could I reasonably eat from this park? I was mostly curious about edible greens. I saw a lot of Oregon Grape.

As for environment, I'd harvest from this sweet little, woodland. I used to run these trails back in Cross Country. Here is a nice, historical article about the park: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Creek And atleast one review on Yelp recommends the park for smoking pot and harvesting Indian Plum (not the time of year for that one). But most of all how could I say no to this beautiful log formation?

I saw one plant with enough abundance and large leaves just perfect for a salad. But I didn't know what it was. The book I had with my demonstrated no similar pictures. No answers.

Now King County has a great archive of "noxious weed photographs" http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification.aspx for people like me without a mentor to follow. Though they are largely organized by flower color and now is not this plant's time of year for flowers. You can send them your photos though through email and they will help you identify it.

Needless to say my ITEMs weren't checking out so I left the park with only a few photographs.