When it comes to foraging, nothing says “end of summer” like wild plums. During that late August/early September time with cool mornings and moderately warm afternoons, I know without looking that American and Canada plums are ripe.
Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Wild Plums”What to Forage
Foraging in Minnesota: Chicken of the Woods
Just the other day I was driving down a forest road in central Minnesota. As I glanced into the woods on my left, a flash of orange caught my attention.
Chicken!
I slammed on the brakes and backed up so I could take it home with me.
Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Chicken of the Woods”Foraging in Minnesota: Wild Grapes
I never paid much attention to wild grapes until a couple years ago. Growing up in the Minnesota River valley, we often encountered beefy grape vines in the woods that disappeared into the tops of the tallest treees. They were sturdy enough to swing on if you could break them at the bottom. The fruit I tasted on occasion wasn’t very good compared to the green and red grapes from the store, so I wrote them off in my youth. For decades, I didn’t know what I was missing.
Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Wild Grapes”Foraging in Minnesota: Sand Cherry
A couple days ago, my daughter found a single cherry. I could not have been more elated.
It was our first Sand cherry. We’d been searching hard for two whole days, covering almost 10 miles on foot, in three distinct parts of Minnesota. The triumph was not so much the harvest (ultimately a couple dozen cherries) as it was the successful conclusion to our foraging quest.
Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Sand Cherry”Foraging in Minnesota: Stinging Nettles
The growing season has begun, and with it, the foraging season. While many have a laser-like focus on morels, others recognize this as the time when many useful and tasty greens will appear. This includes one plant which is easily overlooked, if not considered a downright nuisance: the stinging nettle.
Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Stinging Nettles”Foraging in Minnesota: Snozzberries
If you’re reading this, you probably don’t know what you’re missing. Everybody else is in the woods.
The snozzberries are out.
Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Snozzberries”Foraging in Minnesota: Blackberries
It’s blackberry season. While I sit here typing this out in mid-August, I have a hunch there are literally tons of them out there going unpicked. And while not every year is good for blackberry picking, we’ve had good rainfall in 2020, which is a good sign. It was the same last year, when I literally picked gallon after gallon throughout most of August and into September, within a mile of my home. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Blackberries”
Foraging in Minnesota: Hedgehog Mushrooms
Yesterday I found my first hedgehog mushrooms of the season. It was on a short outing with my daughter; she was after raspberries and I wanted to follow up on the sudden burst of mushroom activity in the yard. I suspected some edible mushrooms would be available, mostly chanterelles and lobsters. Those were good finds, but I hollered out loud when the first few hedgehogs appeared on the forest floor- they are among my most favorite mushrooms to eat. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Hedgehog Mushrooms”
Foraging in Minnesota: Juneberries
Berry foragers, rejoice! The juneberry crop this year appears to be robust- as was last year’s- and they’re fruiting right now. Never had juneberries? I’m not surprised. They’re easy to miss, but maybe you should give them a closer look. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Juneberries”
Foraging in Minnesota: Dwarf Raspberries
Every year about this time there is a lull in the foraging season here in Minnesota. The early season has passed and the frenzy over morels, fiddleheads, and ramps is over. The summer mushrooms and berries really haven’t started. However, while raspberries, blackberries, thimbleberries, and other members of the Rubus clan have yet to even finish blooming, their little brother is here to take center stage.
Enter Dwarf Raspberry. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Dwarf Raspberries”
Foraging in Minnesota: Wild Strawberries
If you’re itching to get out and forage some wild berries this year, I have good news for you: the strawberries are in. They won’t be for long and they won’t offer the volume of picking as later berries, but they’re still worth pursuing. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Wild Strawberries”
Foraging in Minnesota: Ostrich Ferns
The Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) seems to be gaining in popularity among foragers, if mentions in social media are any indication. Posts about “fiddleheads” are becoming more and more common this time of year. Also apparent in the social media soup is how much confusion there is when it comes to knowing which species are edible and how they are identified.
Some people- a proportional few- are vocal in their opinion that the Ostrich fern is not the only edible fern in Minnesota. While that may be true for sometimes complicated reasons, I will not subscribe to that school of thought. Allow me to explain why. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Ostrich Ferns”
Foraging in Minnesota: Ramps
Once again, I blame social media. For what, you ask? For the ridiculous fame that ramps seem to be “enjoying” nowadays.
Of course, people have known about ramps for a long time, even holding spring festivals for them in parts of the eastern U.S. where they used to grow prolifically. I say “used to” because it is well known that wild ramp populations are hurting. Because of that, they really don’t need any extra harvest pressure. Every foraging group I subscribe to on Facebook, however, is currently experiencing Ramp Mania. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Ramps”
Video Log
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Lake Sturgeon Fishing, 9/18/20
Foraging Berries & Cherries- July 15th, 2020
Northwoods Snorkeling, July 4th, 2020
Minnesota Springtime Catfishin’, June 3, 2020
The Lake Trout of Gillis- May 20-22, 2020
Mission: BWCA Brook Trout, May 18-20, 2020
Floating Rice Creek- NAGC Video Log
Snowy Day Ramp Harvest- NAGC Video Log
The Search For My Honey Hole In The Woods- Covid-19 Isolation Week- NAGC Video Log
Coronavirus Isolation Week- Maple Tapping, March 24, 2020, NAGC Video Log
The Ice Jam Cometh- St Peter, Minnesota- 3/7/20
Trout Fishing, Smelt Catching- February 28, 2020- NAGC Video Log
The Women Ice Angler Project, February 1, 2020- Never A Goose Chase Video Log
Ice Fishing Devils Lake at Woodland Resort, Jan. 29, 2020- Never A Goose Chase Video Log
Perch & Walleyes on Devils Lake January 28, 2020- Never A Goose Chase Video Log
Mille Lacs Tullibees and Walleye, January 24, 2020- Never A Goose Chase Video Log
My First St. Paul Ice Fishing Show- Dec. 6, 2019- Never A Goose Chase Video Log
Al's Goldfish Ice Fishing Test- Dec. 5, 2019- Never A Goose Chase Video Log
Minnesota Pheasant Hunt in Wet Snow- Nov. 29, 2019- Never A Goose Chase Video Log
Cutting a Christmas Tree in Chippewa National Forest, Nov 26, 2019- Never A Goose Chase Video Log
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Foraging in Minnesota: Black Cherry
I’m sure you’ve heard of “black cherry,” either as a flavoring or as a type of wood. For me, the name evokes a certain flavor of candy. But did you know it’s a harvestable fruit here in Minnesota? Yes, it is. And this year’s harvest was outstanding.
I’d been waiting several years for a good crop of these cherries- perhaps 4 or 5. They were not something I went out of my way for, but I usually checked on a couple different trees at least once toward the end of each summer. Well, this year, it was clear conditions were somehow just right. Branches were full of green clusters by July all over in my area. Continue reading “Foraging in Minnesota: Black Cherry”