Learn how to identify and use Eastern redbud – a beautiful spring flowering tree that produces edible flowers! Where Redbud Grows Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) is native to the eastern part of North America – from the top part of Florida, all the way up to southern New England, and westward towards the Great Plains….
Learn how to make this easy and delicious jelly using common dandelions growing in your backyard! This recipe uses low sugar needed pectin, to reduce the overall amount of sugar needed, compared to traditional recipes. Picking Dandelions To make dandelion jelly, you’ll first need to pick yourself some dandelions! For a full recipe, you’ll want…
Learn how to tell the difference between henbit and purple dead nettle, plus tips for using and eating these early spring weeds! Where to Find Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule) and purple dead nettle (Lamium purpureum) are two commonly confused weeds whose flowers appear around March, or early spring. You can easily go foraging for them in…
Learn how to forage and harvest pine resin, then use it to make a first aid salve, a decongestant balm, and a pine resin sore muscle rub! Resin is a substance that oozes or exudes from pine trees, and some other plants, to help heal wounds or seal off insect damage. Depending on what time…
Learn how to harvest and use Usnea, a gray-green forest lichen with medicinal benefits! Also includes recipes for usnea tincture, infused oil, salve, and wound powder. Usnea (Usnea spp), is also called beard lichen, lungs of the forest, or old man’s beard. It’s considered a cooling, drying herb and is valued for its powerful action…
Learn how to grow Antler Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum sensu lato) using an indoor grow kit. It’s a super easy way to produce your own medicinal mushrooms at home! While we selectively forage wild reishi mushrooms from our land, and also grow them on inoculated buried logs down near our creek, we can’t resist buying indoor…
Learn how to identify and harvest reishi mushrooms, plus how to dry and use for tea and tincture. Reishi’s distinctive look makes them friendly for the beginner mushroom hunter! There are multiple species of reishi worldwide – all are thought to have some forms of medicinal properties and none have poisonous lookalikes. Here at our…
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…
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…
Learn how to forage for Self Heal (Prunella vulgaris), plus how to use it, including tincture, tea, and salve recipes! Self Heal (Prunella vulgaris), also called “heal all”, is a common weed found growing on lawns, field edges, and creek banks all throughout North America and other parts of the world. Besides being a great…
Learn how to harvest, store, freeze, and dry elderberries, then how to turn them into healthy syrup, tea, vinegar, oxymel, and more! July 2023 update: I’ve also made a free printable “cheat sheet” of Elderberry Remedies & Recipes that you can grab below. (No signup required!) Have a bounty of elderberries and not quite sure…
Wineberry, also called Japanese raspberry, or wine raspberry, is an invasive (but very delicious!) species that can be found growing wild in the Eastern parts of North America. Wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius) has no poisonous look-a-likes in the U.S., making it a good option for beginner foragers to explore. Around here (growing zone 7 USA), the…