I have
written before about foraging for wild edible plants, but I also like to forage
for plants that have medicinal properties. Most often, the haul I take home
will serve multiple purposes as it’s a bit difficult to separate the activities!
I have been
waiting for Spring to really announce itself so I can get out and forage! And
last weekend, which happened to be the spring equinox, was perfect for a long relaxing
walk with the opportunity to gather some wild goodies.
Foraging is
very much a spiritual and mindful experience for me. I get to exist in the
present moment as I engage with and walk among nature. From the moment I put
together my foraging kit (my bag contains good kitchen scissors, a small bag (preferably paper) to hold the herbs, garden glove for thorny or stingy plants), choose the walk to take, then identifying, harvesting
and later preparing and using the plants it’s a special experience.
Before
heading out, I usually have in mind what I would like to gather, and how much I
require. If I am going to be using it for adding to a meal, I will only take
what I need for a few days as the wild greens are often softer and less
resilient so tend to lose their freshness pretty quickly.
If I am
gathering herbs for making into medicinal remedies, I will still only gather
enough to prepare and store for what I think I need over that season. Although
the greens are free and I usually don’t deplete an entire plant, I don’t really
like to waste what I forage unnecessarily. I also tend to only collect plants
that I think I will actually use. That means I need to put in some hours of
research to and make a plan for what I want to find.
I have a
large collection of books that I spend many hours pouring over as I research
what I want to gather, how to prepare it, if I want to turn it into a remedy or
just store as a single plant.
My haul
over the weekend included the following for both food and medicinal purposes:
Dandelion
Parts used:
Flowers, leaves, roots
Season
harvested: Gather the young leaves in Spring when they are less bitter taste, and
wait until Autumn to harvest roots (although these can also be harvested in
Spring).
Uses:
Flowers and leaves are edible and good for using in salads or can be added to
cooked dishes. Leaves when dried can be made into an infusion that can help
with digestion or as a diuretic. With this collection, I used all the leaves in
our dinner.
Red clover
Parts used:
Flower heads
Season
harvested: Spring and early summer
Uses: The
flowers can be dried and stored, or used fresh. Fresh they can add colour to a
salad. Dried and stored they can then be made up into an infusion and used on
skin that is inflamed with eczema or can be gargled for sore throats or mouth ulcers.
Blackberry
Parts used:
Collect the young leaves early in spring before flowers appear
Season
harvested: Spring
Uses: The leaves
are dried and crushed for storing. These can then be made into infusions that
can be applied as an external use on skin that would benefit from antiseptic or
antifungal treatment. The dried leaves can also be made into a tea and drunk by
someone who has a cough or used as a gargle for a sore throat or mouth ulcer
Chickweed
Parts used:
Leaves and stems
Season
harvested: All year round
Uses: As
food chickweed makes a great fresh addition to salads or cooked into a meal
such as a pasta sauce or curry; it can also be made into a lemonade style drink
using the juice of the chickweed as it is a good source of vitamin A and C. I
used all this chickweed in our dinner. Chickweed is also great to use topically
either turned into an ointment, but also to crush and use fresh as a poultice
for itchy skin and rashes.
Also, since
my special spaces post last week I have now found the perfect spot in my
laundry to pop a small set of drawers for herb storage with the top to dry them
without being disturbed. And even better, it’s not out of sight and therefore
not out of mind (which can sometimes lead to forgetting all about them!).
Future posts
will build on my herbal collections and include recipes on how I prepare and
use them.
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