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California Winter Wild Edibles ....

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 12:37 pm
by vja4Him
I'm putting together a list of California winter wild edibles to order. I'd like to get my order in very soon, so I can hopefully start planting these winter wild edibles by early January. I'm in Growing Zone #8, very close (about three miles) to Growing Zone #14.

This is what I have so far:
1) pepper grass
2) chia
3) dandelion
4) Indian turnip
5) wintercress
6) garlic mustard
7) plantain
8) daisy

Please help me add to this list! Thank!

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 2:24 pm
by soil
the only thing thats coming to my mind right now because its booming here and I'm harvesting it like crazy is chickweed. eaten fresh or dried for tea later.

oh yea miners lettuce as well

watercress

I got at least 20 wild eatables growing right now on my property ill have to go out and refresh my memory.

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 4:08 pm
by vja4Him
soil wrote:the only thing thats coming to my mind right now because its booming here and I'm harvesting it like crazy is chickweed. eaten fresh or dried for tea later.

oh yea miners lettuce as well

watercress

I got at least 20 wild eatables growing right now on my property ill have to go out and refresh my memory.
Thank you! I added miner's lettuce. I actually already had chickweed on my list. Forgot to list it. I'm not sure if watercress would grow in our yard. I thought it needed to be planted by a water source?

Please let me know what other wild edibles you have growing. Which growing zone are you in?

I'm hoping to place my order by this weekend.

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 4:42 pm
by applestar
I'm not familiar with the Sunset Zones, but I would consider mushrooms if I lived in an area conducive to growing them. So far, I haven't been successful -- I think the long drought we have in the summer would preclude them, though I may try Chicken of the Woods and Turkey Tail as a possibly more drought tolerant species....

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 5:10 pm
by vja4Him
I found the botanical names for these winter edibles:

1) Chia (Salvia columbariae)
2) Chickweed (Stellaria media)
3) Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
4) English Daisy (Bellis perennis)
5) Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata)
6) Indian turnip/Jack in the Pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum)
7) Miner’s Lettuce/Winter Purslane (Claytonia perfoliata)
8) Peppergrass (Descurainia pinnata, lepidium fremontii)
9) Plantain (Plantago major)
10) Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris)
11) Wintercress (Barbarea vulgaris)

Posted: Mon Dec 13, 2010 5:13 pm
by vja4Him
applestar wrote:I'm not familiar with the Sunset Zones, but I would consider mushrooms if I lived in an area conducive to growing them. So far, I haven't been successful -- I think the long drought we have in the summer would preclude them, though I may try Chicken of the Woods and Turkey Tail as a possibly more drought tolerant species....
I'm really paranoid with mushrooms! I actually don't like mushrooms very much anyways, except Chanterelle, fried in butter, which I used to pick when I lived in Washington state.

[img]https://www.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID22346/images/chanterelle.jpg[/img]

I accidentally ate several very tiny poisonous mushrooms, and thought I was going to die! The stomach pain was like nothing I've ever experienced before!!!

Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2011 4:15 pm
by The Helpful Gardener
Shrooming is a seperate topic I do not feel qualified to speak to in depth; get some qualified local help before you start there...

Watching a documentary on Arizona winemaking (Maynard Keenan from Tool starred, so not as dry as it might sound), I noticed lambsquarters growing next to the vines in one shot; might this extend to your area? He was in northern AZ...

HG

Posted: Sun Jan 09, 2011 4:37 pm
by soil
I don't see purslane or lambsquarters on your list either, I absolutely LOVE purslane. cant wait until summer when it grows free with no water, no care at all when everything else in the garden is hating 100+ days the purslane loves it and grows faster.