Foraging

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>>823703
I've been foraging all summer

First in spring salmonberries.
Then red huckleberries, season is just now coming to a close.
Blackberries are coming into ripeness, they will produce all August long.

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>>823703
>>823743
I freeze as much as I can and make jam out of it all at the end of the season. Every year's jam will be different.

The season is just getting started in my area (Ricky Mountains, zone 3).
Serviceberries are just starting, along with currents and gooseberries. Raspberries and salmon berries will be next, followed by apples, crabapples and chokecherries.
By the first week of October we get our first snow, and the rose hips are ready just before big snow sets in.

All in all, foraging season lasts from July-October.

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Bberries ftw

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All the sumac that used to grow on my property is gone (the bigger trees took over and kilt them all) but I'm keeping my eyes out for local sumac so I can collect the berries and make some d'licious sumac lemonade

>>823743
>>823744
salmonberries? what the fuuuuuuck. Never heard of those but DAMN they look enticing.
How do they taste?

Also, @everyone in thread:
Where's the best place to forage? Where do y'all forage? I'm not against foraging but there's nowhere near my house that I could go. I suppose I could drive somewhere wooded (I live in Texas) in order to find some berries, but for $3 I can get a pint of blueberries/blackberries/raspberries, or a pound of Strawberries.

Is foraging worth it?

>>823774
foraging is worth it if the berries are at hand. If you have drive out to east bumfuck just for a chance at a couple handfuls of elderberries it kinda defeats the purpose. that said, spending a day out hiking some trails or enjoying the outdoors is a perfectly good way to spend your time, and if you can do some foraging at the same time it's a bonus.

now, if you're going to collect something truly rare it might be worth it, as opposed to plain ol' blue'breeze and rasp'breeze and such.

>>823776
Yeah, that's about what I figured. I'm enjoying this thread though, even if it's kind of young.

Back in high school I used to run track and cross country, and we would occasionally find some wild blackberry variants and eat those. They were delicious.

I'm always a little wary of trying smaller black/red berries though, because I don't know if they're poisonous or not.

>>823774
>salmonberries
They taste kind of like a cross between a raspberry, an orange and a cranberry.
>Where's the best place to forage?
That depends on what I'm looking for. I live in a dry area, so anything foraged near a body of water is usually high quality.

>Where do y'all forage?
Honestly? I get most of my stuff from plants right in town. Chokecherries and Dolgo crabapples are common landscaping plants here. They are watered and fed, so they have fruit every year. On private property I ask permission to pick of course, but a lot of stuff can be found in parks.

>>823784
They sound really interesting. I was trying to see how long they would take to bear fruit if I planted some myself, because I don't think they're common at all in Texas, but I couldn't find a time from a quick search.
Also, wikipedia said they have been described as "insipid" lol, but I'd still like to try them.

I don't know too many people growing fruit plants or berry bushes. I did meet one woman who was growing all sorts of peppers, squash, and even some lettuce in her backyard, but she was a rare case.

Still, this thread has renewed an interest for me in foraging. I'll definitely keep an eye out next time I'm on a trail!

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>>823743
I got a bunch of huckleberries yesterday

Blueberries, mostly. Soon lingonberries.

More common than grass here in Scandinavia. Quite literally

>>823703

Meadowsweet and rowanberries for brewing.

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I have a few pictures of mushrooms I'm trying to ID if anyone wants to give it a shot?

>>823848
Yew berries are pretty, but terribly bitter! Is that why you brew with them?

Went to a local park for some Wineberries a few weeks ago. I set 2 gallons up for brewing and my grandma made кoмпoт from the leftovers.

>>823848
Pick them after the first frost and make jelly from them and eat with wild game like the Vikings did.

>>823880
They are gone by the first frost.

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Chanterelles are in season here.

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>>823965
Elderberries will also be ready soon.

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>>823967
Also, I can some times find chicken of the woods at this time of year.

>>823970
On a side note, does anyone forage cattails? I can find them pretty easily here in Mississippi but have never foraged specifically for them.

>>823743
Where the hell are you?
All the blackberry here are dry as hell.
Maybe its just been too hot this year though...

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>>823965
Same here in southern Indiana.

Found 4.5 LBS on my woods place last Sunday and didn't cover the whole property. Hot as balls drove me out of the woods early.

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>>823965
They are definitely here where I live but I can never find them. Is there any truth that they grow near hemlock trees/hemlock groves? Do they need a lot of sun or do they grow in shade? I basically found every plant native to my area except them.

>>824491
Oh and I know that's COTW. I found some the other day.

>>823970
its hen of the woods where i come from

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>>824491
First, chanterelles aren't plants. Second, they tend to associate with hardwoods, especially oaks. I don't think I've ever found a flush of chanterelles growing in direct sunlight, so I will answer that they appear to prefer shady areas. I've had a lot of success locating chanterelles along streams or in soils that retain moisture.

>>824495
I was always under the impression that chicken of the woods (Laetiporus spp.) and hen of the woods (Grifola frondosa) were two distinct fungi. Taxonomy would suggest this to be the case.

>>824507
So, who knows how different the environment must be for one to grow, but not the other.

Got a nice haul of blackberries last weekend, plus some raspberries. I usually just snack on them but if I get some more this weekend I might make jam or something.