Foraging

This year we expanded our search beyond our vegetable garden and started to forage. There's an abundance of wild fruits and vegetables if you know what you're looking for.

Apples

A few weeks ago, Mike got together with Martha and Isaac and their sons for a couple of hours of apple picking - all organic, all pretty much wild, and all free. We took the apples to an Amish fellow near here who pressed them into apple cider, and paid $16.50 for 15 gallons. By the time I'd canned it all, we had over 50 litres of apple cider. (If I'd filtered it, it would have been apple juice.) Nothing in the store compares, maybe because we used so many varieties.

Grape leaves

I started making fermented dills, and learned that the tanin in grape leaves helps keep the pickles crunchy. And guess who has wild grape vines growing up the side of the barn? Bingo!

Elderberries

I didn't get around to making elderberry wine or syrup this fall, but there are lots of elderberry bushes just walking distance from here. So that's a project for next fall.

Milkweed

Apparently tender young milkweed pods are wonderful fermented, much like capers, but better. Then I noticed that our lower pasture is full of milkweed, so I'll be trying that next fall, too.

Wild garlic

In the summer of 2014, we dug up some wild garlic from the ditch in front of our neighbour's farm and stuck it in the back garden, not expecting much. When I went out this spring, I was disappointed to see that they hadn't come back - until I noticed that they had, with a vengeance. Some of the bulbs were a good size, and they'll all be divided up this week and replanted.

Maple syrup

 Turns out most of the maples we have are hard maples - which means we can tap them for sap and make our own maple syrup! Martha and Isaac used to work in a sugar bush, and I'm sure they'll give us a hand until we figure out what we're doing. It'll mean a bit of equipment and a small sugaring shack, but once we're set up, we can do it every year.

Walnuts

Mark has a walnut tree - and doesn't like walnuts. So we got them all last year, and they all went mouldy because I didn't know what to do with them. The tree didn't produce anything this year, so I'll try again next year.

Dandelions

Dandelion jelly. Wow! We'd gone to visit Michelle, and she gave us a taste of some dandelion jelly that someone had given her. Sweet and suble and delicious - like honey, but better. I will never again be dismayed by their sunny appearance all over the property!

Wild edibles and herbs

Next spring we're going with Michelle on field trip to learn about wild edible plants and healing herbs. Really looking forward to that!