Forage Fellows 🍄🌱

It's the time of year to collect green walnuts for making nocino or vin de noix. Ive never done it before, but figured I should try since I have so many black walnut trees growing near me. Apparently, you should only use nuts you've picked yourself, not the immature fruit on the ground because the tree has rejected it, and it likely has pest damage.

There is a patch of wild black currants off the hiking trail we walk each morning. They are starting to get some color, now to beat the birds to some of them.

Not exactly traditional foraging but I have a lot of these that grow without care in untended parts of my garden and I’ve heard they are edible. The tubers are decent size for something that isn’t a crop and I could harvest a good number pretty easily if I wanted.

I have Ostrich fern on the front of my house that I have been waiting years to try. I keep missing the window when they are ready so I was overjoyed when I saw my fiddlehead popping up. I chopped 9, steamed with in a pan with a little butter for 5 minutes. I plated them with just a sprinkle of flaky salt and had them for lunch today.

I don't have a lot of experience with foraging but since we have so many dandelions this seemed like an easy way to start! They're laid out on a clean sheet to dry in the sun (it'll hit them in about an hour and stay on them just about until sunset).

At least where I live anyway lol. That wondrous single week where we exclusively eat elm samaras before they all disappear. All the ones here are the invasive Siberian ones too so I don't even have to be careful or considerate about harvesting them! This whole big bowl came from a single small branch.

Candy caps (*Lactatius rubidus*) are fruiting abundantly on the Northern California coast right now. My family and I picked about 2 pounds today. For those unfamiliar, these mushrooms develop a strong maple flavor and odor when dried.

I’ve got my work cut out for me. But the timing should be perfect with thanksgiving.

View the spoiler for my guess at what I think it might be, but please first come to your own conclusion before looking at mine — I don't want to bias your guess. My guessPsilocybe cyanescens

My first time finding lobster mushrooms! A nice patch of them was on a path I walk several times a week. I picked the biggest ones and left some smaller ones that are still growing. I plan on checking back in a couple days.

I recently found out that Screwbean Mesquite is ground into meal and flour and used in baking. As a kid we would chew on Mesquite Beans, but we never messed with these.

I'm gradually working through my forage wishlist. Next up, persimmons! What's on your wishlist?

Another first. Will be doing the nibble test tomorrow.

I liked the print as it was kinda retro colorful, so I sewed it into a bag with toggle closure and belt loops. The canvas belt is also a revived old belt I got 25 years ago. My mum made me the little labels (I had to edit my name off them for the internet!)

Butter and garlic, yep, it's delicious! Don't judge my filthy forager nails lol

I live in the Rio Grande valley, not much to forage until the rains come in. But these New Mexico Olive trees grow all up and down the river, they are always so full of fruit. But they are painfully bitter.

...until recently, ramps (Allium tricoccum) have been a fairytale. I went to Vermont for a trip and my friend showed me her ramps field, although it was summer and they'd all died back to flowers. Well, hiking in an undisclosed location in east Tennessee today, I saw this. I rubbed my fingers on it and... YEP, RAMPS. Further down the trail it got completely boombastic with them. This is a random trailhead off a main road, so I suspect I've got a good chance of snagging a respectable harvest next season. So exciting.

Il know that bramble are eatable and I can recognised them perfectly but I couldn't bring myself to eat it. It feels to weird. I should'nt have forrage it. I've made a flower-leave salad and mugwort fritters out of the rest.

My wife and I walk our dogs on a trail along the Rio Grande every morning, and years ago I found this patch of Mountain Gooseberries. The birds usually get to the ripe ones before I do. I never pick too many to ensure the birds do have enough. As the patch has grown, and continues to grow, I eat more.

I almost missed fiddlehead season but was able to get out Sunday and collect a few that were still curled up tight.

Found some in the woods yesterday and looked them up. Apparently the fruit is very tasty, resembling Starburst. Have you tried it?

I tried a tiny taste and it was pretty neutral, not "grassy" at all. Might work well in a salad.

They smell amazing

At least I'm pretty sure that's what it is. It has a nice garlic taste. I chopped it and put in some oil, salt and pepper for a nice little spread.

British Mycological Society Talk: Chris Knowles - A beginners guide to fungal habitats in the UK

Picked along the North Coast of California. Winter chanterelles, black trumpets, hedgehog mushrooms, and a few golden chanterelles which are not visible I don’t think.

Sorry this isn't actually foraging per se, but the only kind of people who'd grow these are probably foragers anyway. I've been growing them for a couple years, but this is the first year I had enough to bother trying to eat them! From two plants we got about 1/2 a cup.

Sadly, there are only a few small areas of ancient forest left in my area, but they are so diverse and abundant. They're always a treat to explore.