Urban Foraging

[stabman]

Same here. More than once I've wondered at some of the homeless peoples' lack of awareness of local resources. Our local parks are full of rabbits, squirrels, geese, ducks, Mulberry trees, black berries, dandelions, plantain, onions, garlic, black walnut trees, hickory trees, etc. and most are near the river and have creeks running through them.

Good to know about your local resources.
Back where I used to live, an old local man used to be down by the river at one spot many days of the week. Always had a bucket or two of fish he'd caught, at least from spring through fall. The fish were not small.
He fed his family primarily with fish he'd caught from the river, right in the heart of a city (a smaller city, but still a city).

 

[USMCPOP]

Here around Richmond the Greenbriers (Smilax) are leafing out nicely and some shoot tips are pretty plump. Get 'em while they are young! (These are a bit old.)

The new shoots are great. Very tender.

Don't forget violets and dandelions. We have stands of bamboo and have been gathering shoots. Delicious in a stir fry. Some people around here have bamboo taking over their yards and are happy that we harvest shoots. We've gotten a couple bushels so far.

 

[USMCPOP]

Here's what you do. Get greenbrier leaves and the following:

toasted shredded coconut
dried baby shrimp or bacon chips
peanuts
chopped shallots
chopped hot peppers
limes
chopped ginger
A tamarind-based sauce

Take a fresh leaf and sprinkle any or all of the above on the fresh leaves, roll them up and enjoy. The ultimate finger food. In Thai language, it's called Miang Kham I think. They use different leaves but my wife says greenbrier is even better.

 

[Dergyll]

How did I not see this thread before?

I'm in CT and we have alot of edible "weeds"...maybe not as much as Maine but still s good amount.

Early spring we go pick fiddleheads (hard to find the big thick ostrich ferns here, sometimes I use bracken) and japanese knotweed shoots. Then, the ramps leaves and new dandelions/chicory will have started and be ready for picking. Sometimes I snag a few garlic mustard but I find them a little too bitter.

Fast forward a few months, and I go hunting for stinging nettle. I seem to find these at pure random, just recently I stopped my car on the side of the road to pick some and got boxed in by some guy in a pickup telling me its private property (dont see any signs or what not). My fault, wouldn't even know where to ask for permission even if I could.

Once we hit late June, the berries will be almost ready here and I go pick Amaranth and purslane, delicious!

Still looking for a few I know exist around here, namely chickweed, bittercrest, and a few others.

During Covid lockdown, I took some time to plant a little survival garden behind my house, I've got some of the above mentioned weeds growing (not knotweed, that stuff is impossible to control) and also asparagus and mint, etc...

I love low-maintenance plants, especially ones I can eat

Wild weeds/veggies usually have alot more nutrients than bulk store veggies, and I always encourage people to eat them.

Cheers guys, keep foraging!

 

[upnorth]

Nice thread. Just remember that dogs piz on the lower stuff.