Learn how to identify, harvest, and preserve wild American persimmons, a tasty late-fall foraged food! Look for American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) trees growing along field edges. They can sometimes have a shrubby appearance, especially when young, but can eventually grow quite tall – 20 to 60 feet. Unfortunately, many invasive shrubs, such as Autumn Olive…
Grow your own American ginseng from seeds (or rootlets). Learn where to buy seed, how to choose the best spots for planting, how to identify baby ginseng plants, and more! American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a valuable native plant that’s been used in herbal medicine throughout history. Because of its monetary value (mature roots sell…
Learn how to turn ripe cayenne peppers from your garden into cayenne powder and red pepper flakes. It’s super easy to make your own healthy and wholesome kitchen spices! Related articles: Grow & Make Your Own Paprika Powder and How to Make Celery Salt When to harvest your cayenne peppers: Harvest cayenne peppers when they’re…
This recipe for yellow squash patties is quick, easy, and delicious. They’re also super simple to make gluten free! A family favorite, this recipe comes straight from our late Grandma Tiny’s recipe collection. Our grandpa grew a ton of vegetables in his home gardens, and as a child of the Great Depression, Grandma let nothing…
Learn how to make traditional corn cob jelly, with a naturally colorful twist! This stunning scarlet jelly features Double Red, an heirloom sweet corn that’s loaded with anthocyanins – antioxidant rich plant pigments, similar to the ones found in blueberries. This year we grew a small test patch of Double Red heirloom sweet corn and…
Learn how to freeze fresh berries, their expected shelf life, and what to expect when using them from the freezer. We’ll cover: alpine strawberries, blackberries, boysenberries, blueberries, elderberries, raspberries, and strawberries! 7 Berries to Freeze Berry season has arrived, and so the harvests begin! There are few things better than a bright bowl of your…
Spotted bee balm (Monarda punctata) is a stellar pollinator plant in the mint family which attracts all kinds of native bees and butterflies to your garden. As a bonus, the plant has use as an edible herbal too! At a Glance: How to Grow Like other bee balms, spotted bee balm is super easy to…
Learn how to turn black pansy flowers into a beautiful jelly. The flavor is light and mildly grape-like! (You can also use this same recipe with any other kind and color of pansy flowers!) Black pansy flowers are just like other pansies, only they’re a very dark purple – so dark that they can appear…
Now that you’ve learned how to forage for St. John’s wort, let’s turn those flowers into an herbal oil and salve that’s helpful for tired muscles, sciatica, cold sores, shingles, or general aches and pains! If you haven’t read up about collecting this sunny summer herb, check out our article: Foraging St. John’s Wort: How…
St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a common weed with beautiful yellow flowers that are well loved by pollinators and herbalists alike! Learn how to identify and when to harvest this herb – then check out our accompanying article for information on making St. John’s Wort infused oil and salve for aches and pains! Tips…
In this article, you’ll learn what the data says about ghost pipe (Monotropa uniflora). Is it endangered? Edible? Poisonous? Find out the answers to all of your questions below! Around June 8 every year, we start finding Ghost Pipe (also called Indian Pipe), mainly around our creek area. This year so far, we’ve had a…
Learn how to use honeysuckle flowers to make tea, tincture, salve, jelly, and more! Benefits of Honeysuckle Japanese honeysuckle has been well studied for its ability to help the body clear viruses. It’s cooling, making it useful for hot, inflamed, and swollen conditions like sore throat and colds/flu. In Chinese medicine, the unopened flower buds…