Slow Food Starts At Home

Backyard Foraging in Spring by Crystal Stevens

Just because wild food is all around us doesn’t mean we should pick every last leaf, twig, and wild berry. The earth needs wild places untouched by the hands of man. The beauty of plants is that they are widely adaptable. When I lead ethical wild foraging classes, I encourage individuals to get to know these plants and create cultivated ecologies in their own backyards, front yards, community gardens, and neighborhood green spaces. I encourage participants to study each plant and observe what type of ecosystem they thrive in to mimic it at home. If everyone started to forage, we would have very few wild spaces left. Luckily, there are a handful of plants that are abundant in population such as dandelion and plantain that actually thrive from a gentle picking. Even still, a set of foraging guidelines needs to be maintained to preserve wild integrity.

To know nature is to love nature. Loving nature sometimes often means to leave it wild. For me, ethical wild foraging is a plant immersion that allows the plants to teach us. When I forage, I often come back with just a handful of edible plants in my basket primarily because I find myself mesmerized with every foot I walk. I spend less time looking for things I can take and more time being in awe of the tiny miracles all around me. While the thought of foraging is intriguing and romanticized, it is crucial that we also do the work to create cultivated ecologies in our cities,  neighborhoods, suburbs, and rural areas. It is vitally important to leave behind legacy plantings for the seven generations ahead of us, for the wildlife that will walk the earth long after we are gone. One of the most powerful acts of kindness we could do during our time on this earth is to plant fruit trees and perennial plants for communities to enjoy 40 years from now. 

Foraging basics:

Never forage a plant that is endangered, at risk, or rare. Never forage a plant if there are only a few in the stand. When foraging for abundant wild food such as plantain, violet, or lambsquarters, it is a good rule of thumb to only harvest a small amount-never take the entire stand of plants. Typically, it is a good idea to only harvest ¼ of what you find, and only if the plant population is abundant and thriving. Also, foragers should practice ethical harvesting by using appropriate techniques to remove plants. 

Guidelines: If you do have access to a wild area and wish to pursue ethical wild foraging for educational and survival purposes, there are several guidelines to follow. 

Rules to follow:

• Do not forage in sprayed areas or near polluted areas. 
• Do not forage in areas where chemicals are present. Do not forage in areas that are sprayed with herbicides or pesticides.
• Forage ethically and for educational purposes.
• Do not consume plants unless you can ID them 100%
• Get involved with the local Botany group or Mycology Club and participate in plant id walks and mushroom forays led by experts to learn ID
• Do not eat raw mushrooms. Do not eat plants without thoroughly washing them.
• Always ask property owner for permission
• Make sure foraging on public land is allowed
• If you find a large amount of mushrooms, do not take all of them.
• Tread lightly in the forest. Be mindful of the habitat/ecosystem

Plant Identification:

Identifying plants can be a very complex endeavor.  because many look alike, making them difficult to distinguish. Plants look slightly different when growing in diverse conditions or throughout various stages of their growing cycle. Your local library should have a plethora of books on native plants and wild edibles specific to your region. Dandelion and plantain are easy to identify because they are everywhere.  Some weeds, such as violets, may provide a lovely ground cover in your vegetable garden. Violets are a wild food and could offer delicious and nutritious greens and flowers that can be added to salads when other greens are not in season. Other weeds, such as spiny pigweed, will out-compete cultivated crops. It is important to note that weeds are maintaining soil structure, in most cases helping to prevent erosion, and creating biomass for the soil. Most weeds are attracting pollinators during their flowering stages. There are a number of highly nutritious edible weeds that could be utilized for food and medicine. Dandelion, purslane, lambsquarters, plantain, yellow wood sorrel, red clover, yarrow, and wild onion are some of the most common edible or medicinal weeds that grow in our garden.

The following describes ethical wild foraging concepts for ABUNDANT PLANTS such as dandelion and plantain. It is unethical to harvest at-risk plants or plants that are dwindling in population.

Wild Plant Medicine:

For centuries, weeds have been used worldwide for food and to treat ailments such as headaches, nausea, menstrual cramps, cold and flu symptoms, as well as labor and birth. When foraging, it is a good rule of thumb to only harvest a small amount-never take the entire stand of plants. Typically, it is a good idea to only harvest ¼ of what you find, if the plant population is abundant and thriving. Also, foragers should practice ethical harvesting by using appropriate techniques to remove plants.

Here are a few of my favorite abundant edible weeds that grow in abundance in the Midwest and some throughout the United States:

Foraging in the spring:

As the soil thaws, the roots and rhizomes awaken from winter’s slumber and plants begin to emerge again, blanketing the earth from after dormancy during the bitter cold. Serrated dandelions, soft and delicate red clovers, dainty wild onions and garlic, succulent chickweed and burly plantain are among the first to emerge, even before the grasses begin to green. They have all been dormant throughout the bitter cold winter and are ready to reach for the sun. The wild greens in spring are vibrant, and herbalists around the world consider them to be spring tonic plants.

Spring tonic herbs help overall nourish the body, stimulate and tone the digestion system, and focus on plants that are abundant and harvestable at this time. Herbs provide essential minerals and vitamins for nourishment, moving lymph, and help cleanse various body systems. Dandelion, plantain, chickweed, violet, and wild onions are some of the very first plants to emerge in the spring.

Dandelion has a plethora of medicinal uses. The roots are a powerful antioxidant and a friend to the digestive system. They can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute.  The greens make an excellent pesto or salad and are high in vitamins and minerals. The flowers are high in iron, beta-carotene and vitamin C. Dandelion is a powerful detox herb. Aesthetically, the flowers make a nice garnish for any dish and are absolutely gorgeous in a refreshing herbal lemonade. Dandelion fritters are one of my favorite wild food dishes.

Plantain is a resilient herbaceous perennial found growing in full sun and partial shade. Plantain has been used throughout history as a panacea, meaning a medicine that is used to treat everything. It has antibacterial, astringent and anti-inflammatory properties. Young leaves can be eaten raw and are loaded with vitamin C and calcium. Plantain is one of the main ingredients in first-aid salve. To treat insect stings quickly, simply pluck a leaf of plantain, tear it apart and use a little saliva to make an instant paste. Hold it on the sting for at least a minute. While it is abundant in lawns, it can be found in prairies, savannas, glades, woodlands, near streams, and creeks, along roadsides, and even growing through the cracks of concrete. Plantain is recognizable by its low-growing rosette-like pattern with parallel leaf venation.  Plantain is drought and heat tolerant and resistant to most diseases and pests. Plantain can be cultivated into a garden setting. 

Chickweed is found in sunny and shady areas of most backyards. If you wild harvest chickweed, make sure the area is not sprayed with chemicals. It is high in vitamins C, A and B and packed with phytonutrients, magnesium, potassium, selenium, manganese, and zinc. I enjoy taking nature walks with my children. They love to help me harvest chickweed because it is easy to pull! We bring it home, wash it and make a salad. I combine beeswax and oil infused with chickweed, plantain, comfrey and dandelion for a salve that works well for cuts and scrapes.

Wild onions can be found in the spring and summer throughout the US. They look like grass but are hollow and tubular, found in clusters and have a very potent onion flavor. Use them just as you would chives, scallions or onions. Cut with scissors and serve raw in a salad, cooked with meals or added to flavor sauces and soups. Wild onion soup is delicious served with wild onion biscuits. Onions have been used historically to treat respiratory infections. They contain high anticancer sulfur compounds and help regulate healthy cholesterol levels.

Violets make a lovely low-growing groundcover. They have beautiful edible and medicinal dark green leaves and vibrant purple flowers. They are one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring. Their leaves are high in vitamins and minerals. Flowers can be used to garnish salads, decorate cakes and cupcakes, and offer a gorgeous color to any dish. I love to make violet vinegar and violet syrup.

Dead nettle is a highly nutritious common edible plant. Dead nettle is among the first plants to emerge in the spring. Dead nettle often grows in huge patches and acts as a nice wild groundcover. Dead nettle leaves and flowers can be eaten sparingly.

Morels are prolific in the Mississippi River valley. We enjoy finding just enough to eat. They have a unique rich flavor and simply wonderful texture. It is best just to harvest a few though it is tempting to harvest all you may find in a patch. Morels have a hollow stem. There are several different varieties of edible morels including black and yellow. 

Oyster Mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms can be found growing on dead or dying deciduous hardwood trees throughout the seasons. Oyster mushrooms are edible and nutritious. Pleurotus ostreatus, is one of the most common edible mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms are fairly easy to identify by their decurrent gills and oyster-haped cap. The gills run directly through the stem.

Meet Eric Stevens, the new board President

With great appreciation, I am very humbled to step into the role of President of the Board for Slow Food St. Louis Chapter. I have been proudly serving on the board for the last four years and have been Vice President for the last year. I am honored to be serving on the board with a group of amazing individuals.

Slow Food STL’s New Year’s Resolution

Winter Gardening Tips

After composting for years with great ideas from Worms At Work by Crystal Stevens, my awesome daughter, and the addition of our resident scientist, my wonderful husband, Steven McGehee, our soil is rich and ready! We have a tiny space in our yard used for planting veggies and herbs. This tiny space is pictured in Your Edible Yard (pg 193) by Crystal Stevens. This book is full of knowledge for landscaping with edibles. We utilize this space by growing & harvesting all of our favorites during summer.

With 2020 being a challenging year, our garden has been very therapeutic. We decided to experiment with winter gardening in storage bins. We purchased black (attracts the sun) storage bins and shelving units. Our grandson, Cayan, assembled the shelves and measured for placement in the garden. Our containers are filled with a bag of soil ..a mixture of our compost, organic topsoil, soil nutrients and fertilizer. We then planted a variety of lettuces, kale and arugula in the bags of soil in the storage containers. We cover them if it gets too cool or rainy. We open them for sunlight. They are sprouting and we plan to use the sprouts in salads as we thin out the plants and prepare for winters harvest.

Gardening is a way for us to show that we believe in tomorrow!

Happy Harvesting!

Catherine McGehee

Rachel Greathouse’s Great Garden

Rachel Greathouse has a passion for gardening that literally grew out of a head of romaine lettuce and a desire to juice affordably. She started gardening on her window sill ledge in college and realized that romaine lettuce has the power to regenerate and therefore produce more food for her investment. She was officially hooked on growing her own food. After graduation, she moved to St. Louis and gained a ton of experience in two community gardens in the city. She now gardens almost every square inch of her one 1,000 sq ft backyard in Tower Grove South. 

“Start with something you love. If you don’t like onions, don’t plant onions! Get your feet wet by starting with plants that grow easily like tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and lettuce.”

In 2016, Rachel and her husband were looking for their first home and at the top of her list of priorities was a yard with enough space to build the garden of her dreams.  Today, Rachel’s garden is an impressive wonderland of vegetables, herbs, fruit and flowers. 

She recommends starting with raised beds and really good soil. She built five – 4 ft. x 8 ft. beds, one – 4 ft. x 6 ft. bed and one – 1.5 ft. x 30 ft. raised bed that runs along the fenceline. She used the raised bed soil variety from St. Louis Composting. 

Learn as you grow.  “Do your research.” Rachel recommends.  “We are so lucky to have access to so much information on the internet these days. We can easily learn from our gardening predecessors. From their failures and successes.“  The first time you try something it may not work out.  But don’t give up.  This year Rachel has a bumper crop of tomatillos since she learned from her first try that you need two tomatillo plants for success. 

This year Rachel planted a very impressive twelve varieties of tomatoes, fifteen varieties of peppers, two varieties of okra, three varieties of beans, four varieties of peas, three varieties of squash, three varieties of onions, three varieties of potatoes, lettuce, bok choy, sage, oregano, thyme, lemon balm, rosemary, yarrow, catnip, green chives, basil, cuca melons, strawberries, apples, zinnias, marigolds and borage. 

Don’t fret about the pests.  Rachel does not rely on pesticides for a successful crop production. She employs natural pest management and disease prevention such as using good soil, a thick layer of mulch to lock in moisture, companion planting, crop rotation and composting. Rachel participates in a composting program by the name of ShareWaste. Wisely, she also encourages new gardeners to take the time to be an observer. 

“Interact with your plants on a daily basis. Try not to over analyze. Your plants will work it out most of the time or unveil their needs to you. When overacting pests, research the entire life span of the pest online because it may not actually be a “pest” but a good bug that contributes to the overall health of the ecosystem.”

The harvest doesn’t always need to be eaten fresh.  This year Rachel has stocked up on pesto, preserved thirty five jars of pickles, ten jars of tomato sauce, six jars of tomatillo salsa, and twelve jars of strawberry/blueberry jelly. Rachel did not grow blueberries. She used the blueberries that she received as part of her Fair Shares CCSA. She also made blackberry pie filling using blackberries she also received in her CSA and a cherry pie filling with eleven pounds of cherries she picked from a friend’s tree. 

Gardening is rotational. Rachel started sprouting her fall garden the second week of August. She will be planting broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, onions, kale, and bok choy. She will also be planting artichokes for the first time! 

Rachel enjoys knowing where her food comes from and that it is clean and organic. She is also very moved by the perspective she has gained and the appreciation she has developed for our local farming community.

“Since I have been intensely growing my own food, I now realize the dedication and the effort that is poured into this work. My perspective has changed for the better as I now appreciate that produce does not have to look a certain way or be an exact size in order for it to be healthy and delicious. I am so grateful to be surrounded and to take part in our community of local farmers.”

You don’t need acres of land or awesome soil.  Build your raised backyard beds and order some premium soil.  Take your first steps to enjoying the fruits of your labor. Slow Food Starts At Home!

Board Member Rona Leah Shares Summer Recipes

 

Learn more about Rona Leah and other Slow Food Board Members.

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