Foraging for Ramps: Part III

Notice the seeds above

We've never seen these before usually the seeds are knocked off by spring.  We think the minimal snow fall might have something to do with seeds still being attached to the stems.

Here are the ramps fresh out of the ground.

Here they are soaking in a brook before we wash them off.

Nice and Clean

Morels & Lobster Mushrooms found in Vt

Here are my first finds.

 Morel

Lobster

Check out these morels they proved to be full of worms.  Yum!

Nettles Quick Look

We've been topping these for a couple days now.

I'll be posting how to pick and uses over the next week.
Here are a few closer shots.

Garlic Mustard Quick Look

Here are some photos of Garlic Mustard.  This a new edible we're trying this year.  The Flavor is awesome.  The first bite of the stage shown here is garlicky with a pronounced mustard finish.  Delicious!

Milkweed Part I

This just in!  Milkweed is starting to grow.

I'm very excited to try this out!

Foraging for Ramps: Part II

Do you notice anything?

Can you see the fronds?

These are getting close notice how the leaves begin to arch over.

As the bulbs increase in size the leaves are forced up and will eventually fall over.

These are just about ready.

Frosted Fiddleheads

Went to check out how some colonies held up after the frost.

 Can you see the wilted nettles on the left side of the photo?

As you can see our friends aren't fans of the cold.

Foraging for Ramps: Part I

Here we see premature ramps.

 Notice how vertical the leaves are pointing.

If you were to dig these up you would find immature pencil thin bulbs.  Patience is key to foraging.

Foraging for Fiddleheads: Part IV

After the heads unravel this much picking is over for these plants.

Cheers!

Foraging for Fiddleheads: Part III

Here is a head that could be picked.

 Now these are some prime little buggers to bring home.

 After the heads get taller then they are here you want to leave them be.
 

Foraging for Fiddleheads: Part II

Photo 1

Here is a view of the mound as the heads mature.

Photo 2

Photo 3

 Usually within 24 hours these heads will be ready to pick.

The time period between photo 1 and photos 2 & 3 is hard to judge.  Influencing factors are soil, location, and weather in my experience.