Wild edibles – Insectamonarca's Blog

Seeding of a pollinator habitat

Ryan Conner, Happy Tonics Volunteer in Hayward, WI has a native habitat in his front yard. A few years ago, he decided to stop mowing. Bravo!

This past winter Ryan sent me some seed that he gathered from his own property. I am implementing a Wild Butterfly Habitat, on Ashby West Road, Fitchburg, MA. It is on family land and private.

RYAN’S NATIVE SEED:

Asclepias syriaca common milkweed

Desmodium canadense Showy tick-trefoil

Echinacea pallida Pale purple coneflower

Ratibida pinnata Gray-headed coneflower

Rudbeckia laciniata Green-headed coneflower

Solidago speciosa Showy goldenrod

I also bought seed packages for the following plants that were also scattered.

PACKAGED SEED:

Nepeta cataria Catmint

Aguilegia canadensis Columbine

Artemisia caudatus Love lies bleeding

Artemisia tricolor Joseph’s coat

Monarca media Monarda

Ecinacea purpurea Purple conflower

Helanthus spp. Sunflower

Ryan Conner proudly stands next to his Conservation Star Home Award sign.

I won’t look for instantaneous results. I have found that native seed sprouts when conditions are compatible to its growing needs. Sometimes seed can lay dormant for years before it emerges. We will see as time develops what takes.

In the meantime, I have put up a driftwood recycled birdhouse. This week another fanciful bird house for my sister’s grandchildren, a small shrine for for La Senora de Guadalupe and a wildflower wood-chime will be placed at the habitat.

My sister Ronnie already thoughtfully brought a chair up to the habitat for me. It is set in the cool of the pine grove. She also planted ground cover succulents in an old wooden log that had the center eaten out by some critter. Each touch we add will offer refuge to me. There is a reason for this. My life is centered on living a purpose driven life. It is busy with speaking tours, leading restoration gardens, implementing pollinator habitats, teaching environmental classes and writing my third book. I simply need a place of refuge where I can unwind and listen to the wind. Here I do ceremony for water and communicate with the Creator’s natural world, which renews me. I love it so.

Amaranth leaves are better tasting than spinach

Yesterday Joan Quenan, Deborah Healy and I pulled weeds at the Monarch Butterfly Habitat in Shell Lake. I pointed out red root pigweed or amaranth as I know the plant. We decided to pick wild edibles and so I loaded up a bag with this tasty wild edible. Meanwhile Deborah picked purslane and lambs quarter.

I am here to tell you that young amaranth leaves taste better than spinach. I sautéed them in a little olive oil and water and steamed the tender leaves. Then I scrambled two organic brown eggs into the mix. Upon completion I sat down and eat one of the best meals I have ever prepared. I noticed my brain started to spark like little lights going off. It was as if my cells were lighting up and thanking me for REAL FOOD. Is this called a natural high? It was to me. I have been eating more wild edibles all the time and I am starting to notice an internal chemical reaction to and in relationship with my food.

Amaranth with young leaves and starting to go to seed

Update: Lots of Amaranth is growing in my garden and I do not pull it as a weed. Rather, I am picking it and starting to freeze small bags of it. Also, I will use with basil and garlic when I make pesto.

July 30 – Last night at the Water Ceremony held at the Hospitality House in Minong, I served a dish of steamed leaves and the water sisters enjoyed a taste on the wild side.

Nutritional value of Amaranth: 90 % Vitamin C, 73% Vitamin A and 28% calcium. Want to learn more about Amaranth leaf nutrition? Visit http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2304/2

There is another side to this story which is Amaranth seed. I haven’t ventured this far yet. It is all in the seasonal timing.

Wild Edibles Club First Excursion

The weather in northwest Wisconsin is below average and I am still heating my home in Minong. It is a wet and rainy season this spring and impossible to start a garden under these circumstances.

debora1 — Debora with gathered leek greens.

My friend Debora and I went out to the Washburn County forest at 5 p.m. last evening to a favorite haunt between Hayward and Minong in search of leeks also known as ramps. There were large colonies of leeks and yellow trout lily. The lily bulbs were quite small and we decided not to gather them outside of a few that came along with the leeks when we dug in the deep, composted and compacted forest soil. I tried a few yellow trout lily bulbs and they tasted like raw potatoes.

I never saw as many trout lilies in my life.

yellow trout lily — Yellow trout lily in bud

This was certainly a bountiful colony stretching across the forest floor in the near and far away woods.

The leeks are difficult to dig when growing in large clumps among other woodland plants. One needs to separate them out after digging. Leek leaves and bulb are both edible. Yellow trout lily on the other hand only provides an edible bulb. The fun is in the gathering.

I have learned over the years that it takes three times the work to clean, sort, cut roots and save leaves after gathering.

Leek leaves need to be dried by using paper towels and placing single leaves in a tray, separated by layers of paper towel sheets between each row of leaves. Place the leaves in the freezer for a few minutes to start the freezing process.

Then remove the trays from the freezer and transfer leek leaves with paper sheets intact to a ziplock freezer bag. Be sure to mark the bag in order to identify what you have preserved. Believe me, after a while, most foods will look the same after they have been in the freezer for any period of time.

Debora noticed something else in the woods and went to explore what it was. She discovered emerging what we thought were ostrich ferns.

It was only later I learned that the fern was cinnamon (Osmunda cinnemomea) or interrupted fern (O. claytonia). I have gathered fiddlehead ferns before and I enjoy bracken fern as fiddleheads. Now I know why I prefer them.

For one the ferns left a stain on the plastic bag we were using. I should have been alerted then that something was wrong. Then I tried to eat one that I blanched and it tasted terrible. Even an experienced gatherer like myself can get confused. Always research before gathering. We should have carried the Forager’s Harvest or Nature’s Garden by Samuel Thayer to the gathering site and verified the species before picking. I had left the books in the van. Live and learn!

Fiddlehead ferns of cinnamon and interrupted fern have a hairy covering and simply are not worth taking a risk. Don’t ever use either one. Seek true ostrich or bracken ferns for wild edibles. They are delicious and you will be well pleased.

Another group of wild edible gatherers are going to another forest where Happy Tonics has a wild butterfly habitat with land use for the habitat from the DNR. I know we have bracken fern out there in the clearing and I hope the ferns are ready to gather on Monday. I will let you know next week how this turns out.

Be happy insectamonarca friends where ever you are.