By Nida Angeliadis
One of the things I love about Midcoast Maine is the vast amount of trails and preserves, even local public roads, for walking. I like to forage while walking, where safely allowed, and with plants that I am comfortable identifying. I am truly interested in expanding my current limited knowledge of foraging, since it will allow me to be even more self-reliant by providing a larger variety of food for myself. Native food that will provide a healthier diet due to a greater range of phytochemicals. I think that many of the plants that I look to forage elsewhere could be added to my home garden so that I don’t have to go as far or rely on other sources for these additions to my diet.
I belong to a FaceBook group called “Maine Foragers” and people have posted sightings of ramps and fiddlehead ferns already peeking out in the wild. Hopefully these plants aren’t being fooled by an early spring and will not get frozen. But I’m looking forward to getting some ramp bulbs this spring so that I can harvest them from my property, although it may take them at least 3-5 years to produce. Last spring, I saw several sources selling ramp bulbs or rhizomes online. They can be somewhat finicky about being replanted and require forest-like conditions - shade and moist rich soil with a neutral ph between 6.8-7.2. If you have a wooded area on your property that fits this description, it would be perfect for ramps. However, if you don’t, these conditions could be created by amending the soil and using trees or a shade cloth to limit the amount of light they receive. Ramp greens are delicious and the bulbs can be used similarly to spring onions. There are poisonous lookalikes, like Lily of the Valley, so please make sure you know what you are looking for before foraging anything in the wild.
While all fern buds are called Fiddleheads, only Ostrich ferns (Matteuccia struthiopteris) are considered edible. The other fiddleheads - like Cinnamon, Lady, and Bracken fern - are mildly toxic. Ostrich ferns are similar to ramps because they are shade lovers that prefer moist soil too. However, Ostrich ferns are pretty easy to grow and not as particular about variations in their growing conditions.
Lastly, I love to forage mushrooms most of all, although I am only confident in identifying a few wild varieties. Growing mushrooms at home has become quite easy and popular. One way of growing mushrooms in your yard is to find recently cut logs and inoculate them with mushroom spores or mycelium that can be ordered from many companies online (see https://northspore.com/ or https://fedcoseeds.com/).
A hole is drilled in the fresh log, ithe mushroom spores plugs ae inserted, and then the hole is sealed with wax. It may take 6 months to 2 years for the mushrooms to colonize and fruit, but they last for several years.
Another method of growing mushrooms is with a straw bale. The straw bale is submerged in boiling water in a cooler in order to sterilize the straw and remove any unwanted bacteria. The bale is then removed and put on aplastic tarp large enough to cover the entire bale. The bale is thoroughly inoculated with purchased mushroom spawn, wrapped up tightly, some holes are poked through the plastic, and the whole bale is set in a shady spot and kept moist. Some people lay the straw bale in a new laundry basket to make it easier to move around. More specific instructions can be found in the book “Straw Bale Gardens” by Joel Karsten, which is a reference on how to use straw bales, rather than raised beds, to grow not just mushrooms, but most vegetables.
Nida Angeliadis, is a member of GCW
and a garden alchemist.
Comments