It’s a balmy 54F degrees here in New Jersey and all the snow is finally melted – perfect for stocking up on “real” water! I went to my local spring today and collected 20 gallons. With 3 feet of snow this winter, I had to resort to store-bought (a.k.a. plastic tea) and filtered tap water for awhile, but not anymore!

I found these BPA-free containers (see picture) at the Container Store for a decent price. I would LOVE to collect the water in glass, but then I couldn’t lift and haul it back home. UNLESS I got a LOT of mini glass bottles! But that’s kinda impractical.

Yay – I’m so happy Spring officially arrives next week. Bring it on!

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Since my last mushroom forage, I’ve had much better luck! I found a beautiful little reishi here in New Jersey. In fact, lately I’ve been spotting mushrooms all over the place just walking around town. Some puffballs even popped up out of the ground one day in my own backyard! I feel like such a nerd, but it’s fun spotting mushrooms and trying to identifiy them. It’s like being on a treasure hunt all the time.

"Puffballs in my Backyard"

"Looks Like Exploding Marshmallows!"

In August, I went to the Annual NJMA Fungus Fest in Morristown, NJ and joined the New Jersey Mycological Association (NJMA.) It was super informative! I had some of my mushrooms identified, went on a short foray and learned about using plugs to grow mushrooms on logs.

I hope to get confident at some point to be able to identify and eat some edibles. Except for my reishi, I’m a bit hesitant to eat any just yet. It would be nice to be able to forage enough wilds to make up a substantial part of my diet some day. I see purslane, dandelion and wood sorrel everywhere in the ‘burbs, but again I’m weary of picking them because of road pollution and potential pesticide contamination. Anybody else out there into mushroom foraging? I would love to hear about it.

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I was so excited when I found a water spring a few miles from my home at Holy Face Monastery in Clifton. I contacted the state to try to get information on it, but no luck. After hauling 8 gallons back home, I took out my tds meter (forgot to bring it with me) and the reading was 320ppm!!! I was shocked! Then I tested my tap water and it’s 110ppm. From what I understand that means one part contaminant per million parts water and the higher the number, the more contaminated the water? So the spring water is nearly 3xs worse than my tap water. I’m not sure, but now I don’t even want to give it to my plants, let alone drink it myself!

The next closest spring that I know of is about an hour drive away from me. Hope to get there soon. Read about raw living spring water on Daniel Vitalis’ website and why it’s so important to drink clean pure water. Also check out FindASpring.com for springs all around the world.  This is a great site developed by Daniel Vitalis, Heidi & J.S. Olander. If you find or know of a fresh water spring, you can contribute to the database too.

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Hey guys! Here is my photo album of some of the wonderful wild plant foods you can find locally in the NY/NJ area. These were taken during a foraging tour with Wildman Steve Brill in Central Park in early April. I highly recommend going foraging with someone who knows there stuff just to be sure you don’t pick something poisonous.

The availability changes seasonally so foraging every week can produce new and different edibles. Just make sure you select an area away from traffic and that is not treated with pesticides. Ever since I took the class, I can’t walk outside without spotting something edible – cool!

Black Birch Tree

Chew on the black birch twigs. It has the anti-inflammatory oil of wintergreen. If you steep the twigs in tea, it is equivalent to half an aspirin.

"Black Birch Tree"

Garlic Mustard

Best in early spring – has a strong mustardy taste. Yum!

"Garlic Mustard - Love it!"

Japanese Knotweed

Young stems are edible in April & May with a flavor similar to rhubarb. Peel and chew on the stem or dice it up and steam. Good source of the antioxidant resveratrol.

"Japanese Knotweed"

Mica Cap Mushroom

Edible when young but not the best-tasting. Turns into black ink. Um…I’ll pass.

"Inky Mica Cap Mushrooms"

Plantain

Doesn’t taste good raw, but can be dehydrated into chips. Mashed up leaves are good for cuts and mosquito bites.

Plantain "Band-Aids"

Poison Ivy

The three red-tinged leaves in the center. Do not touch or eat!

"Poison Ivy - Stay Away!"

Pokeweed

Supposedly delicious when cooked, but requires several boilings.

"Pokeweed"

Red Bud Tree

The red buds right now in Spring are yummy! Beautiful little flowers with a hint of sweetness.

"Sweet Red Bud Flowers"

Shepherd’s Purse

From the cruciferae family, this herb is good for stopping haemorrhages of all kinds. Leaves look a bit like dandelion, but it has tiny white flowers. I wasn’t crazy about the taste.

"Shepherd's Purse"

Trout Lily

The trout lily leaves have a refreshing taste reminiscent of cucumber. I like these!

"Trout Lily Plant"

Wood Sorrel

Three heart-shaped leaves that resembles clover attached to the tip of a long stem. This has a nice lemony flavor. It’s high in oxalic acid, so don’t eat huge quantities.

"Wood Sorrel"

Field Garlic

Smells and tastes oniony – love it! You can eat the whole thing – stem and root bulb. There’s an imposter that looks almost the same and is poisonous! You can distinguish the real field garlic because the stem is cylindrical and smells strong of onion, while the stem of the imposter is flat and has no smell.

"Field Garlic - Looks like Green Onions"

Blue Violet

Pick in April & May and eat the leaves and flowers of the blue violet. Not much taste imho, but would make a pretty garnish in salads or ice cubes.

"Lovely Blue Violet - Beautiful in Salads"

Common Mallow

Leaves and shoots of mallow are edible raw or cooked. When cooked in liquid, it will thicken the liquid similar to okra.

"Common Mallow"

Chickweed

Chickweed can be steamed or cooked in soups, eaten raw salads or dry the leaves to make tea. The stems, buds, 5-petal flowers and leaves are all edible. It’s often recommended for weight-loss aid and skin irritations.

"Nutritious Chickweed"

Common Evening Primrose

Leaves and root of of common evening primrose are edible. The root contains essential gamma-linoleinc acid (GLA), a valuable fatty acid not often found in plants.

"Primrose Root"

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Wowee – I had such a greeeeeeeeeeen weekend!

Container Gardening

First I finished setting up my container garden on my patio. I planted kale, spinach, cilantro, arugula and onions. Next week, I’m creating a little plot of wild edibles – purslane, nettles, chickweed, lamb’s quarters, miner’s lettuce, etc. Seems strange to be planting weeds on purpose – LOL.

"Green Baby Plants"

Chickens Make Awesome House Pets

Then I went to a local talk on organic gardening and keeping chickens in my hometown of Montclair. I had no idea we are allowed to keep chickens! My backyard is too small, but I’m thinking of moving in a year, so chickens would be a great way to naturally fertilize the garden, eat pesky insects and even prepare garden plots when you move their pen over the area you want loosened and fertilized. Oh and don’t forget the fresh eggs! I asked about keeping goats but that’s a no-no. So there go my visions of fresh raw goat milk and cheese.

Foraging with Wildman Steve Brill

On Sunday, we went to a 4-hour wild foraging tour in Central Park with Wildman Steve Brill. This was INCREDIBLY informative! There is literally a salad bar all around us if we know what to look for and what to avoid.

"Wildman Bill in NYC"

I picked tons of greens, flowers, shoots and roots. I’ll go into that more later this week with a bunch of pics.

"Sample of my WILD salad"

So between my container garden, my new found foraging skills and my ongoing jar sprouts, Whole Foods can keep their over-priced produce from Chile!

Haha – I’m just kidding. I still love ya, WF! Even if you are pricey, you bring a good service to the community.

HOT TIP! Don’t forget to enter the Organic Coconut Cream Concentrate Giveaway. The contest ends on April 14th and the winner will be announced on the 15th – just in time to soothe the tax bite with a little coco cream!

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