AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Pacific northwest edible plants3/11/2023 The top of the leaf does not have any of the stinging property but the edges and underneath and stems all have the stinging property but as soon as they are cooked, all of that goes away. Make sure you use gloves when collecting these. You probably don’t want to eat them raw’s they will sting the inside of your mouth but young shoots and plants are edible when steamed or cooked, the leaves can be turned into a beautiful tea, and they grow best in moist soil collected in spring or autumn. Those bothersome nettles that you often ran into when you’re a kid are edible. You can slice them up, clip the leaves off the top, and throw them into a big salad with a delicious vinaigrette. They grow excellent in moist, shaded woods and fields so I find a lot of these up against fences or in places that don’t get a lot of sunlight. All parts of this plant including the roots are edible raw and are excellent in salads or ground into a pesto. This one I see a lot, especially in areas where there’s a lot of moisture. Red clover in the autumn should be avoided or not eaten in large amounts and experts say you should dip clover in saltwater to counteract any bloating. We have a lot of Clover throughout the Pacific Northwest including Red clover, White Clover, Springbank Clover, and Alsike clover. The flower heads and seed heads can be ground into flour but the sprouts of the Clover have the best taste. Most of the aboveground parts can be eaten raw but are best when cooked or dried. ChicoryĬhicory is often found on disturbed ground ranging from the planes to foothills to some mountain regions and roots can be in raw if their younger, but the entire plant can be cooked and used as a coffee substitute. They’re mostly grown in lawns and highly composted areas. Chickweed contains a lot of vitamin A and C and has a similar taste to spinach. I used to pick handfuls of these out in the pasture and feed them to chickens and cows but did you know that they are edible for people to? The young leaves are edible raw but most the leaves are better tasting after cooking. Here are just some of the more common ones found in the everyday homeowners backyard. Of course, you can’t collect these items where you are prohibited to do so, but nobody stopping you from taking a few leaves of minors lettuce, arrowhead, or Bitterroot from your own backyard. There are nearly 100 edible plants in the Pacific Northwest including Oregon, Washington and parts of British Columbia. However, there are some pretty common ones we have around here that you could throw into your salad or whip up into a pesto that you might not even realize you have. There are a lot of resources, books, and articles about Pacific Northwest foraging, and if you’re interested, you should definitely get the book so that you can identify the right plants to keep you and your family safe. We make sure that we clear out any weeds, trim, prone, and clean up the landscape, but many people may want to keep some of these natural, edible plants for their own enjoyment. In landscaping, I come across a lot of these plants and while most people don’t even realize they have them, some want to make sure that I don’t destroy them. But, if you’ve lived in your home for several years and the property is at least 10 years old, you may find yourself with some edible plants on your property that you don’t even know about. A lot of smaller subdivisions that have lots of less than 5000 ft.² have probably been wiped clear of the topsoil, which means that it may take a while for topsoil to regain allowing a better atmosphere for Northwest vegetation. Well, the Pacific Northwest is a great place in which to do that but did you know that you could also do that in your backyard?ĭepending on the type of property you have, you may or may not have access to natural, random, and wild edible vegetation in your own backyard. You have probably heard of the term “foraging”, which means basically traipsing into the woods and finding any and every edible thing you can.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |