Gardening and Foraging

Due to the pandemic and fear of the food supply becoming disjointed, more people are looking at gardening this year. I'll share a few tips on gardening, but will also delve into the little talked about world of foraging, because there is food everywhere, we've just been told it's a weed.  This will in no way be an exhaustive list of gardening or foraging tips, but hopefully it will be enough to pique your interest and get you started towards a more self sustainable life style.

You don't have to have a lot of land to be successful with gardening.  You can do a few tomato plants on your patio and a little herb garden in your window sill if that's all the room (and interest) you have.  However for those with a larger patio you can vary the size of your planters, growing potatoes in a trash can, a salad bowl garden in a nice planter or a wood pallet turned into a planter for multiple vegetables.

What and when you plant will of course depend on your location.  Here in Virginia we can still get frost as late as May 15. False spring is not uncommon here, so you have to resist the urge to get your vegetables in the ground too early.   Beets, peas, carrots, chard, collard greens and mustard greens can be planted in late February/early March.  Salad greens such as lettuces, spinach, and endive can be planted in early spring and again in early fall.

Potatoes (in VA) should be planted from the last chance of frost until about 6 weeks past that time.  Tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons and cucumbers are best started as seeds indoors in early-mid April and then transplanted outside after the threat of frost is gone.  If a freak freeze does happen after you plant, you'll need to cover your plants to keep the frost from killing them. Old sheets, glass jars, and even plastic shopping bags work well for this task.

Foraging:  A Lost Art

There are lots of edible items around you all the time, but most you'd never consider because you've been told they are weeds.  Here is a a short list of some pretty easy to spot plants that can be of benefit to your diet and budget.

Dandelions:  As we all know, dandelions are pretty prolific.  I personally think they are pretty in a lawn, but I know the majority of people try to kill them.   However, the maligned dandelion packs quite the punch when it comes to nutrients.

One half cup of dandelions contain more calcium than a glass of milk, and more iron than spinach.  One of dandelion greens contains 19mg of Vitamin C, and the leaves contain more Vitamin A than carrots.   Dandelions are also a great source of Vitamin K, potassium, folic acid and magnesium.

The flowers of the dandelion can be used to make jelly and wine, and can be added to salads.  The leaves can be cooked as greens, or added to a salad and the root can be roasted and used to replace coffee.

Violets (and pansies):  These lovely flowers and their leaves are rich in Vitamins A and C. The flowers can be used in salands and also to make jelly.  The leaves can be added to salads or cooked.  Both are natural pain killers.

Henbit: These cute little "weeds" are high in iron and Vitamin K.  These little beauties aid in digestion, reduces fever and can be used to help induce sweating.   The leaves can be eaten raw, used as an herb to season with, or boiled to make a tea.

Lilac bushes smell beautiful and add an intoxicating aroma to flower arrangements.  But did you know you can also make jelly out of those lovely flowers?   You may not get the deep purple color, but the fragrance and taste will be a wonderful addition to your toast and biscuits.

Poppies are a lovely addition to your flower bed, and their seeds are of course edible.  Poppy seeds can be used in cakes, breads, cole slaw and porridge, to name just a few options.

As we all know, aloe vera is great for treating burns (including radiation burns), however it is also edible.  When ingested, aloe vera helps reduce blood sugar, inflammation and help with constipation.  It can be added to salads, poached and juiced to start with.

Like I said, this is not an exhaustive list, but it should get you started if you're so inclined.  All of the "weeds" I've shared here are things that are just in my yard on their own.  Obviously you don't want to use pesticides and weed killer in an area you're going to forage from.  You can also go into the woods to forage for morels, blackberries and nuts.  Always be alert around berry bushes, they are prone to attract snakes, and bears.

How are your food habits changing?