Wild Food Foragers - Page 1 Thistles

Vol 1, No 1
Page 1

Thistles
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family)

April

Oh, lordie, Spring has Sprung! And what a pleasure it is for me to walk through my neighborhood, naming off a dozen edible weeds (chickweed, cleavers, lady's smock, wood sorrel, sow thistle, dandelion, violets, wild lettuce, hawksbeard, yellow dock, wild onions, hedge-nettle, and more) harvesting handfuls every day for the evening meal, a pot of tea, or for drying, freezing, etc. It's a powerful feeling, maybe like when a weekend fisherman brings home "the day's catch". Foraging makes me feel so wealthy, standing "knee deep in the abundance stream", if you will, and maybe that's why neighborhood kids really do call me "the weed lady".

For this first newsletter I hardly knew which beloved weed to feature. Then I read several articles about how thistles are such obnoxious pests, invasive, hard to eradicate, and pesticide companies are literally "making war on thistles" the world over. I thought, what if I could mobilize foragers to harvest thistle and eat it instead. We could do our bit to reduce chemical pollution, world hunger, and maybe guard ourselves against liver disease or something like that. (I'm neither a scientist nor a doctor, but the idea that thistles have been put here for our use and delight and its profusion might be in response to, and a cure for, some rampant illness, has a romantic ring to it that inspires me.)

There are over 21,000 pages about thistles on the internet, mostly botanical info about its growth habits and how to kill it, and not one page on how to eat it. Here's my niche, I realized. So in this newsletter you'll find links to two slide shows, graphic depictions on how to harvest, store and prepare Spiny Thistle and Sow Thistle. Both are widely distributed across the continent, have a long growing season, are easy to identify, and can be harvested young or old.

There are over 200 varieties of thistles, and they go by just as many names. Bull Thistle, Spear Thistle, Yellow Thistle, Field Thistle, Swamp Thistle, Tall Thistle, Russian Thistle. There are annual thistles and perennial thistles. It's impossible to know them all. Don't even try!

Just know that thistles are called the "armored knights of the vegetable kingdom" and cannot be mistaken for any other plant. Their leaves, bristling with sharp spines that can pierce through thick gloves, protect their delicious stalk from would-be predators, so they have few enemies. Their well developed root systems ensure a water supply in dry conditions. Their flowers, raised up on tall stalks, look like dinosaur food and probably were. They spread by seed and root.

So, let's get on with it. The slide shows and colorful photos are linked to below. And so is the:

Information Exchange : Subscribers and visitors, please add your knowledge of this weed here--recipes, experiences, anecdotes, questions, opinions. (A unique thread is posted with every issue to gather more information. Please do check out our Wild Edibles Info Exchange.

Archived issues: Thistles, Chickweed, Spiderwort, Wild Green Onions , Plantain, Elder, Hawksbeard, Wild Green Onion, Wood Sorrell. Dock, Hedge Nettle are in progress. Sign up for notice when the next issue comes out.

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Thanks, and enjoy!

Standing knee deep in abundance!

P.S. While this newsletter is free, your donations help keep it coming. It's a gosh awful lot of effort. Suggested donation per household is $15/year. 4 major credit cards, Visa, MC, Discover, and American Express are accepted. You may also send a check to: Wild Food Foragers of America, P.O.Box 41621, Baton Rouge, LA. 70835-1621
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Disclaimer:

Information given in the newsletter is educational but should not be considered definitive. Every effort is made to present clear testimonials from personal experience, however, different people may have different reactions than the author's experience. The author makes no attempt to identify every plant. If you choose to eat weeds, start out with a small amount and notice your reaction. Considerable effort is made to provide readers access to additional materials for the positive identification, harvesting and preparation of wild edible weeds, BUT you are ultimately responsibe for your own education, actions and diet.
To avoid poisonous look-alikes, foragers should always identify by SEVERAL indicators (by leaf, flower, seed pod, root and stem, by shape, texture, veination, color, hairiness, growth pattern, season, etc.) before eating from the wild. Different plants might look very similar to the untrained eye.
You should not pick weeds in polluted areas--along roadsides, near trash dumps, in fields or gardens likely to have been sprayed with pesticides or commercial fertilizers, etc.
You should not over-pick. The general rule of thumb is to harvest no more than 20% of an area, leaving the plants ample opportunity to regenerate for the next year, the next generation, and leaving something behind for the next forager. Becoming familiar with propagation methods can assist you in determining the most prudent conservation techniques for each plant.
You should always wash weeds before eating them. Dust is everywhere, insects and slugs naturally make their homes in vegetation, and birds do fly overhead! Let common sense be your guide.
Do not hesitate to call a doctor if you should have an adverse reaction to anything you touch or ingest in the wild. If you can bring the physician a sample, or identify the offending plant by name, all the better.

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