Gathering Report February 2019

GATHERING REPORT FEB 13, 2019

You've probably noticed miner's lettuce, the most widely recognized native green, growing this month in luscious rosettes in feral places. Bitter cress, with its frilly purple-tinged leaves, is also succulent and delicious right now -- not bitter as the name insists. These sturdy rosette-forming biennials don't get limp or moldy even in heavy rains. Meanwhile, in cultivated winter gardens, the "weeds" chickweed and wild lettuce may be experiencing some mildew or flooding with the very wet storms we've been having. But a few days of sun will make them stronger and sweeter than ever. In sunny wayside places, look for the "maltese cross" flowers of all the wild brassicas - wild radish, turnip, and mustard. All these flowers are edible -- just like the stalks and leaves that support them! Brassica flowers have an addictive tangy sweetness. Eat them just like raw broccoli, stems and all. That sweetness attracts other herbivores besides you. So if you see a few aphids clustered around the flowers, don't worry about them, because they're edible too!

Thank you,

Wolfy Rougle