Sat Mar 23, 2024 11:33 pm by globalturbo
Wild Foraging: What’s Already Happening in Nature?
Posted April 27, 2013 by laurabruno
David put together this great resource for Transition Goshen’s “Open Space” Meeting, and we both thought some of my readers might find the information interesting and helpful as well.
Topic: What’s already happening in nature?
foraging & wild edibles
leaf mulch
minimum effort and resources
less control over nature
Discussion notes:
Beneficial plants and “weeds”
Right this very moment we are surrounded by abundant food, healing
herbs, and fertilizer – if only we had the eyes to see them not as
“weeds” and understand how to use them properly! – that we routinely try
to rid from our gardens and yards. It somehow all seems very
resource-intensive, unnecessary, and backwards.
This discussion centered around embracing beneficial plants and
resources/processes already naturally occurring in our yards, gardens,
and neighborhoods that require little or no effort to grow or harvest
while providing great potential benefit.
Why do we work so hard to eradicate so many established, resilient
edible & beneficial “weeds” from our gardens and yards in order to
painstakingly cultivate/propagate a very narrow variety of finicky
“acceptable” plants of equal or lesser nutritive value which requires
tremendous resources from us (time & effort) and the earth
(additional water & higher quality soil – likely sourced
off-site)? And, why do we spend a great deal of time and effort every
fall to rid our lawns of leaves that are nutrient dense and can easily
be used to enrich our gardens and lawns?
Forget manna from heaven – let’s learn to properly use these bountiful natural resources that already surround us!
Foraging/Wild Edibles
As there are frequently “look-alike” plants that could potentially be
harmful, it would be wise and prudent to learn to forage and identify
wild edibles from an expert to raise our awareness and confidence
levels.
Local Expert Foraging & Wild Edible Resources:
Within our community it was suggested that Paul Steury would be a great
resource. We will coordinate with Paul to request that he create a group
event.
Elkhart County Parks is offering the following wild edibles tasting and hike:
“Wild Edibles”
Spring brings a bounty of nature’s best succulent wild edibles. Fried
dandelions, wild leek, stinging nettle soup, cattail muffins with mint
and sassafras tea to name a few. Please join us as we sample some of
nature’s best recipes. Your taste buds will thank you! A wild edibles
hike will complete our program so dress appropriately.
Date: Sunday, April 28, 2013
Time: 2 – 4 p.m.
Cost: $4/person or $10/family
Preregister by: Thursday, April 25
Call
(574) 535-6458
Location: Black Maple Shelter, Ox Bow County Park
(from the Elkhart County Parks Events Calendar at http://www.elkhartcountyparks.org/)
Regional Expert Foraging & Wild Edible Resources:
For regional experts, if there is adequate interest we could explore
what would be required (cost, minimum number of registered participants)
to have Chicago-based urban foraging expert Nance Klehm lead an urban
foraging hike or have Wisconsin-based “Wild Eats” founders Linda Conroy
and “Little John” Holzwart prepare a group wild food dining experience.
Nance Klehm information:
(from: http://spontaneousvegetation.net/bio/)
“Nance Klehm is a steward of the earth. She is an ecological systems
designer, landscaper, horticultural consultant, and permacultural
grower, as well as an in demand consultant, speaker, and teacher. She is
respected internationally for her work on land politics and growing for
fertility.”
“She is the bioinstigator-in-residence at the Center for Land
Interpretation’s off-the-grid site in the desert outside of Wendover,
Utah. Since 2007, Nance has worked with post-consumer materials
(including solid and liquid human waste, grey water from sinks and
showers, food, yard waste, manure, and cardboard) and transformed these
materials into biologically rich soil (using decomposition, filtering,
and fermentation). The resulting waste-sponge soil systems sustain a
habitat of edible and medicinal plants, digestion of soil salinity, and
the capturing, storing and use of precipitation.”
“She lives and grows in the middle of Little Village, a densely
packed, diverse urban neighborhood in the heart of Chicago. Her house
and land are daily practice in permaculture and urban living. She has
worked with chickens, quails, rabbits, fish, and dairy animals. Nance is
bilingual in Spanish and English, understands basic French, is a
canner, a preserver, practices yoga and meditation, has traveled the
world, and can be totally hilarious.”
Utne Reader article: http://www.utne.com/environment/nance-klehm-zm0z12ndzlin.aspx
Nance Klehm on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nance-Klehm/182381225215544
Nance Klehm videos:
Urbanforaging with Weedeater Nance Klehm: https://youtu.be/DMapV2LXslw
Early Spring Forage w/ Nance Klehm: https://youtu.be/7kmxRYqtBtE
A visit to the Simparch Clean Livin’ project at CLUI w/ Nance Klehm: https://youtu.be/w8QmQZMHJ_o
Linda Conroy information:
(from: http://www.wisewomanuniversity.org/conroy/index.html)
“Linda Conroy is a bioregional, wise woman herbalist, educator,
wildcrafter, permaculturist, and an advocate for women’s health.”
“She is the proprietress of Moonwise Herbs and the founder of Wild
Eats: a movement to encourage people and communities to incorporate
whole and wild food into their daily lives. She is passionate about
women’s health and has been working with women for over 20 years in a
wide variety of settings.”
“Linda is a student of nonviolent communication and she has a masters
degree in Social Work as well as Law and Social Policy. Linda has been
offering hands on herbal programs and food education classes for well
over a decade. She has completed two herbal apprenticeship programs, one
of which was with Susun Weed at the Wise Woman Center and she has a
certificate in Permaculture Design. Linda is a curious woman whose
primary teachers are the plants; they never cease to instill a sense of
awe and amazement.”
Additional Linda Conroy resources:
Linda Conroy and “Little John” Holzwart’s “Wild Eats” dinnners: http://www.moonwiseherbs.com/eat-wild-community-meals/
http://www.moonwiseherbs.com/eat-wild-community-meals/wild-eats-schedule-2012/
Audio interview with Linda (30 minutes): http://www.wisewomanuniversity.org/conroy/index.html
Linda’s Moonwise Herbs page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Moonwise-Herbs/183651188323934
Leaf Mulch & Wild Edibles resources:
Leaf Mulch information:
At the very least, mulch your leaves into your lawn rather than
raking them to the curb to have the city dispose of them for you.
Better yet, save your shredded leaves to use as mulch in your garden the
next season. I own an electric mulching leaf vacuum as well as a
mulching mower (which can be used with the bag to catch the mulched
leaves to save for next season’s garden or without the bag to put the
shredded leaves on your lawn) that I would be happy to lend anyone in
the fall.
(the following information is from the article “Using Leaves for Composting”: http://compostguide.com/using-leaves-for-composting/)
“The leaves of one large shade tree can be worth as much as $50 of
plant food and humus. Pound for pound, the leaves of most trees contain
twice as many minerals as manure. For example, the mineral content of a
sugar maple leaf is over five percent, while even common pine needles
have 2.5 percent of their weight in calcium, magnesium, nitrogen and
phosphorus, plus other trace elements.”
“Since most trees are deep-rooted, they absorb minerals from deep in
the soil and a good portion of these minerals go into the leaves. See
the accompanying chart for an analysis of the nutrient elements in
fallen leaves.”
“Actually, these multi-colored gifts from above are most valuable for
the large amounts of fibrous organic matter they supply. Their
humus-building qualities mean improved structure for all soil types.
They aerate heavy clay soils, prevent sandy soils from drying out too
fast, soak up rain and check evaporation.”
“The ability of leaf mold to retain moisture is almost miraculous.
Subsoil can hold a mere 20 percent of its weight; good, rich topsoil
will hold 60 percent, but leaf mold can retain 300 to 500 percent of its
weight in water.”
“Freshly fallen leaves pass through several stages from surface
litter to well-decomposed humus partly mixed with mineral soil. Leaf
mold from deciduous trees is somewhat richer in such mineral foods as
potash and phosphorus than that from conifers. The nitrogen content
varies from .2 to 5 percent.”
Additional Foraging and Wild Edibles Resources:
Wild Edibles Videos:
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens: Dandelion: https://youtu.be/UebH2Pb-18s
Lambsquarter: Christopher Nyerges Class: https://youtu.be/z17zdk7FXz8
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens : Wild Violet: https://youtu.be/SjSTa5kDZYQ
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens: Miner’s Lettuce: https://youtu.be/coB-qhAHLo8
Sergei Boutenko – Wild Edibles: Daisies: https://youtu.be/H7Xm8VUTlOQ
Sergei Boutenko – Wild Edible Stinging Nettles: https://youtu.be/bhK2jAeCgyk
David Wolfe – How to Eat Stinging Nettles: https://youtu.be/KpxMDeH1x5Y
Sergei Boutenko – How To Eat Wild Grasses: Wheat Grass: https://youtu.be/THAcyXDvn8E
Purslane – a Super Green for Super Nutrition: https://youtu.be/rfFEO9FYEsU
Eat The Weeds: Episode 91: Purslane: https://youtu.be/8tw8DcGAGmo
EatTheWeeds: Episode 12: Chickweed, Stellaria: https://youtu.be/qy3vRYftDqE
Edible Weed Chickweed anti-inflammatory blood purifier: https://youtu.be/ewH5h5VZZJU
EatTheWeeds: Episode 13: Plantagos, Plantains: https://youtu.be/uBeI3tc6Xdo
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens: Fool’s Onion: https://youtu.be/8_hbHhuzjGY
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens: Wild Strawberry: https://youtu.be/EYib6gheBSU
Sergei Boutenko – Purple thistle or prickly lettuce: https://youtu.be/cfeohjOsJKE
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens: The Cattail: https://youtu.be/fjwh4ghZx3A
Edible weeds in my garden: https://youtu.be/mCQaMyncR6I
Thanks to: http://laurabruno.wordpress.com
Posted April 27, 2013 by laurabruno
David put together this great resource for Transition Goshen’s “Open Space” Meeting, and we both thought some of my readers might find the information interesting and helpful as well.
Topic: What’s already happening in nature?
foraging & wild edibles
leaf mulch
minimum effort and resources
less control over nature
Discussion notes:
Beneficial plants and “weeds”
Right this very moment we are surrounded by abundant food, healing
herbs, and fertilizer – if only we had the eyes to see them not as
“weeds” and understand how to use them properly! – that we routinely try
to rid from our gardens and yards. It somehow all seems very
resource-intensive, unnecessary, and backwards.
This discussion centered around embracing beneficial plants and
resources/processes already naturally occurring in our yards, gardens,
and neighborhoods that require little or no effort to grow or harvest
while providing great potential benefit.
Why do we work so hard to eradicate so many established, resilient
edible & beneficial “weeds” from our gardens and yards in order to
painstakingly cultivate/propagate a very narrow variety of finicky
“acceptable” plants of equal or lesser nutritive value which requires
tremendous resources from us (time & effort) and the earth
(additional water & higher quality soil – likely sourced
off-site)? And, why do we spend a great deal of time and effort every
fall to rid our lawns of leaves that are nutrient dense and can easily
be used to enrich our gardens and lawns?
Forget manna from heaven – let’s learn to properly use these bountiful natural resources that already surround us!
Foraging/Wild Edibles
As there are frequently “look-alike” plants that could potentially be
harmful, it would be wise and prudent to learn to forage and identify
wild edibles from an expert to raise our awareness and confidence
levels.
Local Expert Foraging & Wild Edible Resources:
Within our community it was suggested that Paul Steury would be a great
resource. We will coordinate with Paul to request that he create a group
event.
Elkhart County Parks is offering the following wild edibles tasting and hike:
“Wild Edibles”
Spring brings a bounty of nature’s best succulent wild edibles. Fried
dandelions, wild leek, stinging nettle soup, cattail muffins with mint
and sassafras tea to name a few. Please join us as we sample some of
nature’s best recipes. Your taste buds will thank you! A wild edibles
hike will complete our program so dress appropriately.
Date: Sunday, April 28, 2013
Time: 2 – 4 p.m.
Cost: $4/person or $10/family
Preregister by: Thursday, April 25
Call
(574) 535-6458 Location: Black Maple Shelter, Ox Bow County Park
(from the Elkhart County Parks Events Calendar at http://www.elkhartcountyparks.org/)
Regional Expert Foraging & Wild Edible Resources:
For regional experts, if there is adequate interest we could explore
what would be required (cost, minimum number of registered participants)
to have Chicago-based urban foraging expert Nance Klehm lead an urban
foraging hike or have Wisconsin-based “Wild Eats” founders Linda Conroy
and “Little John” Holzwart prepare a group wild food dining experience.
Nance Klehm information:
(from: http://spontaneousvegetation.net/bio/)
“Nance Klehm is a steward of the earth. She is an ecological systems
designer, landscaper, horticultural consultant, and permacultural
grower, as well as an in demand consultant, speaker, and teacher. She is
respected internationally for her work on land politics and growing for
fertility.”
“She is the bioinstigator-in-residence at the Center for Land
Interpretation’s off-the-grid site in the desert outside of Wendover,
Utah. Since 2007, Nance has worked with post-consumer materials
(including solid and liquid human waste, grey water from sinks and
showers, food, yard waste, manure, and cardboard) and transformed these
materials into biologically rich soil (using decomposition, filtering,
and fermentation). The resulting waste-sponge soil systems sustain a
habitat of edible and medicinal plants, digestion of soil salinity, and
the capturing, storing and use of precipitation.”
“She lives and grows in the middle of Little Village, a densely
packed, diverse urban neighborhood in the heart of Chicago. Her house
and land are daily practice in permaculture and urban living. She has
worked with chickens, quails, rabbits, fish, and dairy animals. Nance is
bilingual in Spanish and English, understands basic French, is a
canner, a preserver, practices yoga and meditation, has traveled the
world, and can be totally hilarious.”
Utne Reader article: http://www.utne.com/environment/nance-klehm-zm0z12ndzlin.aspx
Nance Klehm on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nance-Klehm/182381225215544
Nance Klehm videos:
Urbanforaging with Weedeater Nance Klehm: https://youtu.be/DMapV2LXslw
Early Spring Forage w/ Nance Klehm: https://youtu.be/7kmxRYqtBtE
A visit to the Simparch Clean Livin’ project at CLUI w/ Nance Klehm: https://youtu.be/w8QmQZMHJ_o
Linda Conroy information:
(from: http://www.wisewomanuniversity.org/conroy/index.html)
“Linda Conroy is a bioregional, wise woman herbalist, educator,
wildcrafter, permaculturist, and an advocate for women’s health.”
“She is the proprietress of Moonwise Herbs and the founder of Wild
Eats: a movement to encourage people and communities to incorporate
whole and wild food into their daily lives. She is passionate about
women’s health and has been working with women for over 20 years in a
wide variety of settings.”
“Linda is a student of nonviolent communication and she has a masters
degree in Social Work as well as Law and Social Policy. Linda has been
offering hands on herbal programs and food education classes for well
over a decade. She has completed two herbal apprenticeship programs, one
of which was with Susun Weed at the Wise Woman Center and she has a
certificate in Permaculture Design. Linda is a curious woman whose
primary teachers are the plants; they never cease to instill a sense of
awe and amazement.”
Additional Linda Conroy resources:
Linda Conroy and “Little John” Holzwart’s “Wild Eats” dinnners: http://www.moonwiseherbs.com/eat-wild-community-meals/
http://www.moonwiseherbs.com/eat-wild-community-meals/wild-eats-schedule-2012/
Audio interview with Linda (30 minutes): http://www.wisewomanuniversity.org/conroy/index.html
Linda’s Moonwise Herbs page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Moonwise-Herbs/183651188323934
Leaf Mulch & Wild Edibles resources:
Leaf Mulch information:
At the very least, mulch your leaves into your lawn rather than
raking them to the curb to have the city dispose of them for you.
Better yet, save your shredded leaves to use as mulch in your garden the
next season. I own an electric mulching leaf vacuum as well as a
mulching mower (which can be used with the bag to catch the mulched
leaves to save for next season’s garden or without the bag to put the
shredded leaves on your lawn) that I would be happy to lend anyone in
the fall.
(the following information is from the article “Using Leaves for Composting”: http://compostguide.com/using-leaves-for-composting/)
“The leaves of one large shade tree can be worth as much as $50 of
plant food and humus. Pound for pound, the leaves of most trees contain
twice as many minerals as manure. For example, the mineral content of a
sugar maple leaf is over five percent, while even common pine needles
have 2.5 percent of their weight in calcium, magnesium, nitrogen and
phosphorus, plus other trace elements.”
“Since most trees are deep-rooted, they absorb minerals from deep in
the soil and a good portion of these minerals go into the leaves. See
the accompanying chart for an analysis of the nutrient elements in
fallen leaves.”
“Actually, these multi-colored gifts from above are most valuable for
the large amounts of fibrous organic matter they supply. Their
humus-building qualities mean improved structure for all soil types.
They aerate heavy clay soils, prevent sandy soils from drying out too
fast, soak up rain and check evaporation.”
“The ability of leaf mold to retain moisture is almost miraculous.
Subsoil can hold a mere 20 percent of its weight; good, rich topsoil
will hold 60 percent, but leaf mold can retain 300 to 500 percent of its
weight in water.”
“Freshly fallen leaves pass through several stages from surface
litter to well-decomposed humus partly mixed with mineral soil. Leaf
mold from deciduous trees is somewhat richer in such mineral foods as
potash and phosphorus than that from conifers. The nitrogen content
varies from .2 to 5 percent.”
Additional Foraging and Wild Edibles Resources:
Wild Edibles Videos:
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens: Dandelion: https://youtu.be/UebH2Pb-18s
Lambsquarter: Christopher Nyerges Class: https://youtu.be/z17zdk7FXz8
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens : Wild Violet: https://youtu.be/SjSTa5kDZYQ
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens: Miner’s Lettuce: https://youtu.be/coB-qhAHLo8
Sergei Boutenko – Wild Edibles: Daisies: https://youtu.be/H7Xm8VUTlOQ
Sergei Boutenko – Wild Edible Stinging Nettles: https://youtu.be/bhK2jAeCgyk
David Wolfe – How to Eat Stinging Nettles: https://youtu.be/KpxMDeH1x5Y
Sergei Boutenko – How To Eat Wild Grasses: Wheat Grass: https://youtu.be/THAcyXDvn8E
Purslane – a Super Green for Super Nutrition: https://youtu.be/rfFEO9FYEsU
Eat The Weeds: Episode 91: Purslane: https://youtu.be/8tw8DcGAGmo
EatTheWeeds: Episode 12: Chickweed, Stellaria: https://youtu.be/qy3vRYftDqE
Edible Weed Chickweed anti-inflammatory blood purifier: https://youtu.be/ewH5h5VZZJU
EatTheWeeds: Episode 13: Plantagos, Plantains: https://youtu.be/uBeI3tc6Xdo
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens: Fool’s Onion: https://youtu.be/8_hbHhuzjGY
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens: Wild Strawberry: https://youtu.be/EYib6gheBSU
Sergei Boutenko – Purple thistle or prickly lettuce: https://youtu.be/cfeohjOsJKE
Sergei Boutenko – Stalking Wild Greens: The Cattail: https://youtu.be/fjwh4ghZx3A
Edible weeds in my garden: https://youtu.be/mCQaMyncR6I
Thanks to: http://laurabruno.wordpress.com
