Make a delicious jam using fresh or frozen maypop fruit! It tastes light, tangy, and tropical, and can be stored in your freezer. (No canning required!) Identifying Maypops Maypops are the green, egg-shaped fruits produced by our native passionflower (passiflora incarnata). Be sure to check out our article: Growing & Foraging Passionflower & Maypops to…
Our native passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) is a plant with many uses: it produces edible fruit called maypops, the leaves and buds have gentle calming properties, and the beautiful flowers are adored by pollinators! In fact, one specific butterfly, the Gulf Fritillary, relies on species of passionflower for its continued survival- it’s the only host plant…
This spicy pain salve recipe features pain-blocking cayenne, warming ginger, plus herbs to help your aches and pains. Spicy Salve is pretty much the most popular and oft-reached-for salve in our house. We especially love using it on sore muscles and back aches, leg aches from working at a computer for too long, or any…
Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), sometimes called Autumnberry, is an invasive shrub that produces loads of tangy but tasty berries each fall. When perfectly ripe, we like to eat them right off of the bush (you can chew the seeds or spit them out) and turn them into a delicious seasonal jelly. In this article, we’ll…
Learn how to make delicious autumn olive jelly! The flavor is unique and hard to describe, but we think it tastes somewhat like peach or apricot, with a hint of cherry. Around here, we have acres of invasives, including autumn olive, kudzu, Japanese knotweed, oriental bittersweet, and more. It’s a constant effort to keep their…
You know that little bottle of paprika sitting in your spice cabinet right now? You can grow that, right in your own garden! Growing Paprika Peppers First, you’ll need to grow some peppers. You will want to buy actual paprika pepper seeds to grow for this – look for ones with the word “Paprika” in…
Fans of garlic will love this easy and yummy dish made with freshly foraged chicken of the woods mushrooms! Chicken of the woods is a choice edible mushroom, that actually does taste a lot like chicken! This makes it a great stand-in for some of the recipes you’d normally use chicken in. For more about…
For the new mushroom hunter, Chicken of the Woods is one the easiest and most beginner friendly mushrooms to find. This choice edible mushroom will quickly become a favorite that you’ll look for every time you head into the woods! What is Chicken of the Woods? Chicken of the Woods is a polypore mushroom –…
Learn how to identify and forage for jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), then how to use it to make a soothing poison ivy salve, and a jewelweed itch remedy with witch hazel or vinegar. Jewelweed’s always a fun plant to go hunting for! Loved by children for the explosion of seeds that burst forth at the gentlest…