Spring Wildcrafting!

WEED: a plant that is not valued where it is growing and is usually of vigorous growth

In my yard there are no weeds. . . Well, the one exception is the Virginia Creeper that tries to strangle my Japanese Lace-leaf Maple.  But aside from that, every plant is welcome in my yard and garden, whether I planted them or not.

In fact, I love my wild plants so much that I harvest them and mourn the end of their season as much as I do the veggies, herbs, and fruits that I grow intentionally.  

Over the past week I have watched as the violets and dandelions grew in number.  My neighbors have a hill by the road that turns purple and white this time of year for all the violets growing on it.  And my own yard has also blossomed with pools of purple, white, and yellow.  So, today I decided to take some time to do some wild crafting.

 

There are a few rules and guidelines to follow when wild crafting or foraging. . .

1. Get permission.  If you are harvesting on private property, be sure to get the property owner’s permission before you start plucking plants on their land.  In public areas, be sure that local law allows harvesting.  (Most public parks do not allow you to take anything but pictures.)

   

   Gracie came to check out what I was doing in her yard.

2. Always stay a minimum of 30 feet from roadways.  This is to avoid the toxins that can leach into the plants form exhaust, oils, and other liquids notoriously spilling from vehicles.
3. Harvest mindfully.  This means don’t pick every single flower, leaf, or plant you find.  Over-harvesting can lead to the disappearance of a plant from an area.  If you pick all the flowers, for instance, how will the plants reproduce?  If you pull all the leaves from a stem, how will that plant achieve photosynthesis?  A general rule to follow is to only harvest 5-10% of the population.  This also includes being sure the area you are harvesting in can sustain a harvest, and that the plants you are harvesting are in season.

   

   This picture shows a good comparison between what I picked, and what I left.
   (There are a lot more violets outside the frame.)

4. Never harvest endangered species.
5. Only harvest what you know.  In other words, if you don’t know what the plant is, don’t harvest it.  It could be poisonous or endangered.  Be sure you are 100% positive on the identification of the plant.
6. Give thanks to the plants and Mother Earth for providing your harvest.
   

Today I picked a pint jar-full of violets and dandelions, plus a few dandelion leaves.  

I fried the dandelion flowers for lunch, and the leaves will go into a salad.  When I fry my dandelions, I use a blend of butter and olive oil.  That's it!  The flowers are delicious all on their own, so I don't feel the need to add any other flavoring. 

Dandelion leaves are great in salads, but be sure to use the youngest leaves. Leaves tend to take on a bitter flavor as they grow, so the larger, and thus older, leaves don't taste as good.  For this reason, I've never purchased dandelion greens in a store.  They are always huge leaves, and I would worry that the flavor would be as good.  In general, greens are best when young.

I haven't decided just yet what to do with the violets.  I'd like to try candying some for my son and his friend tonight. (It's my son's first sleepover, so I'm pretty excited!)  I've made violet jelly in the past, but I'm not really up for that, and I don't have everything I need.  They are good on salads, so I'll save some for that, but I'm thinking I might try making violet vinegar. 

Hmmm. . .  So many options with violets!

Tell me about your wildcrafting adventures and how you use your harvest!