I had a thought the other day as my son was picking greens to hand-feed to the sheep. We should go on a hunt to find as many wild edibles on our land as we could!
About Our Land
We live on one acre which is a part of a larger tract of family land. To be fair, we set the following rules on ourselves for this hunt.
- Search only our land. Do not venture into the woods or other areas on the property where there are known wild edibles that we have previously found.
- Only edible plants--no herbs or medicinal plants.
- No picking items that we have planted since living here.
The Search
We started at our house, stopped by the workshop area, and then worked our way down the driveway to the mailbox near the road. After the mailbox, we went down towards the garden. The below image is from Google Maps which last scanned our land while the house was still under construction.
1: House, 2: Workshop, 3: Mailbox, 4: Garden
Show and Tell
Here are the wild edibles we found. Note: Several of these have medicinal qualities, but I am only writing about their edible qualities in this post.
Broadleaf Dock
Rumex obtusifolius
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumex_obtusifolius
Can use the leaves for a salad, to make into a broth, or cook/steam like any other green.
Wood Sorrel
Oxalis acetosella
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_acetosella See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis
Edible leaves and tubers, consumed by humanity for millennia. Natives used it medicinally for a variety of treatments. Sailor used to as a source of Vitamin C.
Broadleaf Plantain
Plantago major
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major
Leaves are edible in salads or in stews when cooked. The small young leaves are better tasting as the larger ones get tough and very fibrous.
Wild Prickly Lettuce
Lactuca serriola
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactuca_serriola
Young leaves are preferred for eating in salads or cooking. Leaves have a bitter taste that will get stronger with the age of the leaf.
Red Clover
Trifolium pratense
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifolium_pratense
Commonly used for making sweet tasting teas for drinking.
Lambs Quarter
Chenopodium album
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenopodium_album
Leaves and young shoots are good to eat raw, or cooked. Seeds are high in protein and in close relation to quinoa.
Eastern Black Walnut
Juglans nigra
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juglans_nigra
Husk the nut while still green. Crack open the shell and eat the nut inside. Can be roasted or eaten raw.
Black Raspberry
Rubus occidentalis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_occidentalis
Pick and eat the berries when their color ranges from dark red to black.
Closing Thoughts
Please visit the source links and research for yourself the edible qualities and other factors of these plants before ingesting them. Each has multiple uses and should be evaluated on your own.
This aside, we had great fun walking around and picking out what was growing. It is amazing!
