Local Wild Asparagus 2008
Some of you long time readers may remember last year in early June when I found a good locale for harvesting Wild Local Asparagus Yes, you read that right, WILD, asparagus. It exists, and I have found it. This is what you need to look for. (visit the link-to post for a few other pics.)
As I walked the banks of the ditches, I look for the wispy hits to the location of the "Green Gold". When I come up to a clump of the ferns, I kneel and root around in the grasses and voila.
Wild Asparagus! Could it be easier? Yeah, actually it could I guess. You could just trot on over to the local mega-mart and shell out 5.00 for a little bunch of the stuff, or maybe you want to keep it local and have a U-pick it farm or CSA that you can pick it up from. But you know what, it's just not the same as seeking it out, hunting it and gathering it yourself. This is food, given to us freely from the land in the most pure manner.
The harvest was not gigantic mind you. The weather has been cold the last week or so off and on, and that has a big impact on asparagus, but I'll go back for more, and see what I can find. The point of this exercise to me is that as I said, it is food that is provided for us freely from the earth. It is wild, and it is free. I liken it to fishing or hunting and enjoy the gathering no less. The flavors are different too, slightly earthier; not quite broken by cultivation yet. Keep your eyes open and look around you for the food in your midst and you may be surprised. We're all surrounded by foods that our ancestors lived on for millenia, if we neglect them, they just be turned over and destoyed or worse yet, poisoned as weeds. What a shame.
As I walked the banks of the ditches, I look for the wispy hits to the location of the "Green Gold". When I come up to a clump of the ferns, I kneel and root around in the grasses and voila.
Wild Asparagus! Could it be easier? Yeah, actually it could I guess. You could just trot on over to the local mega-mart and shell out 5.00 for a little bunch of the stuff, or maybe you want to keep it local and have a U-pick it farm or CSA that you can pick it up from. But you know what, it's just not the same as seeking it out, hunting it and gathering it yourself. This is food, given to us freely from the land in the most pure manner.
The harvest was not gigantic mind you. The weather has been cold the last week or so off and on, and that has a big impact on asparagus, but I'll go back for more, and see what I can find. The point of this exercise to me is that as I said, it is food that is provided for us freely from the earth. It is wild, and it is free. I liken it to fishing or hunting and enjoy the gathering no less. The flavors are different too, slightly earthier; not quite broken by cultivation yet. Keep your eyes open and look around you for the food in your midst and you may be surprised. We're all surrounded by foods that our ancestors lived on for millenia, if we neglect them, they just be turned over and destoyed or worse yet, poisoned as weeds. What a shame.P~
In Addendum... I found after posting this, that Red State Green had just posted something perfectly complimentary to this just yesterday. Check it out, and keep your eyes open.
4 comments:
what a great post! and a timely reminder of the bounty our heavenly father supplies us for the taking!
unfortunately, there is no wild asparagus in florida (that i've found) but each year i gather LOTS of elderberries, blackberries and blueberries that grow around here.
Wow, so amazing! I remember this from last year, and I often wonder if I went looking, really looking, could I be so lucky???
The asparagus looks great! Enjoy.
Asparagus is just what I have available. I know WA state for instance has a lot of wild blackberries.
I think the thing isn't so much what's available, it's making use of it regardless of what it is.
Jaydee~ your on the right track for sure. I wish we had more berries growing wild around here. As it is, we harvest a lot of berries from some of the older communities where people don't collect them anymore. Waste not want not right?
Eva, Drop by a library, and get yourself familiar with what some of the plants look like and you'll start seeing them. They may not be plants that you would see in the store like asparagus, but they may be things like purslane, dandylions or lambsquarters. Give it a try, but as always, don't eat anything you cannot positively ID. Check with a local university, they often have free services that will id plants for you.
P~
P~
You have wild asparagus nearby!!!
I'm so jealous.
You got a lot out of your trip there, that's more than my six planted asparagus plants give me. But they've only been there a year, so I'm cutting them some slack. *g*
Post a Comment