What is foraging anyway? Well, in the simplest terms, it means "to search widely for food or provisions”. In that sense, foraging could include hunting and fishing, but generally, it’s most often used to refer to the gathering side of hunting and gathering. For most people, foraging probably brings about images of picking mushrooms, gathering nuts and berries, and collecting baskets of fresh spring greens. In this article, we will talk about that side of the definition!
How to Get Started
As a foraging and wild foods educator, I often get asked about how to get started with foraging, and I always give the same response, “Just get out there and start learning!”. I follow this up with more advice, but that is the best way to start!
It's very easy to get overwhelmed as a beginning forager, so I recommend starting with one to three species and focusing only on those until you feel ready to add more! This process of feeling ready can take as little as a few hours or as long as several months. It depends on the species you choose and how quickly you gain confidence and comfort in their identification. More on that in a bit. I find that it’s best to start with the more common and easy-to-learn species in your area. I will share some suggestions for these in the end!
Once you’ve chosen a few species, it’s time to start learning! I will use morels as an example. You’ll want to research their identifying features. They have a hollow stem, attached cap, etc. What sort of habitats do they prefer in your region? Riparian areas with elms, under oaks, or maybe burned forests. What season do they fruit in? Spring for most of us, though here in Colorado, we sometimes get morels into September. What look-alikes are present in your area, and what traits differentiate them? Verpa has a cap that attaches at the top of their stem and cottony fuzz inside it. They’re also as edible as morels and are good to know!
Repeat this process of learning about your chosen species while also getting out to look for them! When it comes to morels, this might not be so easy, but if you’re learning dandelions, you can probably start in your backyard! I also want to mention that you should not only focus on the edible species but also become proficient in identifying the most toxic and deadly species in your area. There aren’t many dangerous species, but you should know them nonetheless!
Join The Forage Colorado Newsletter!
Sign up for our email newsletter to get seasonal foraging tips, wild food classes,
early access to foraging events, and more!
Gaining Confidence
Now, let’s touch on the above-mentioned confidence and comfort. The number one rule I follow and teach when it comes to foraging is to have 100% confidence and comfort in a wild food before you eat it. That means you’re 100% sure of your identification, with no second-guessing and no uncertainties. Then, if you’re confident, you need to become comfortable with the idea of eating this new food. There have been many times that I’ve brought something home with the intent of eating it but decided that I’m not quite ready. That’s okay!
This confidence comes with time and familiarity. Study the species you're hoping to eat, go find it, and observe its traits during its entire life cycle, from sprouting to flowering. Look at pictures of it online. Ask questions of people who are more familiar with it than you are! Try to find similar-looking species that you might confuse for the one you're learning and what their differences are. The more you do this, the faster and easier it becomes.
Misconceptions and Best Practices
There are also some misconceptions about best practices when it comes to foraging. One big one is being sustainable and respectful of these plants and mushrooms. Often, there are generalized rules thrown out, like only taking 30% or never taking more than 50%. I find these too broad and can sometimes lead to unsustainable practices. It’s best to take each situation as you find it. You should stop and consider how much of a thing would be sustainable to forage in each situation. How much should you leave? Are there possibly other foragers coming through that might also take some? Is it a native plant that might not have a large population? Is it important for wildlife? Is it a noxious weed damaging the ecosystem you found it in? There are a lot of parts to this idea, but I think quickly considering these ideas before foraging something is important. Think about the ecosystem you’re in and become connected to how it functions and how you can improve it!
Other more hotly debated topics include best harvesting practices, especially regarding mushrooms. But first, we'll talk about plants! You want to forage the portions that are in season! More specifically, when the plant is focused on those portions. The plant isn’t putting energy into making tender leaves or delicious roots when it's busy growing flowers. Only take the tender parts when they’re in season. You won’t know those parts until you’re 100% confident in your ID of a plant!
For mushrooms, there's a regularly held debate about cutting versus picking. If you've been taught this bit of misinformation, that photo above might have bothered you, but it shouldn't! Firstly, mushrooms are not like plants. A new mushroom will not grow from a cut stem. Mushrooms are in their kingdom of life, Kingdom Fungi, and have their own biological and physiological traits that we need to consider separate from what we know about plants and animals. The mushroom is the fruiting body of the mycelium, the fungal organism that lives in the soil and/or plant material it's decomposing. The mycelium has been shown to be unaffected by the picking or cutting of its fruit. Those links are scientific studies and articles regarding this topic.
In my opinion, the best practice is to use both harvest methods. Some species, like morels, chanterelles, and oysters, are better to cut. Pulling mushrooms from dead logs or stumps can damage the substrate and dead wood if one is not careful. Intact bark helps those substrates hold moisture, which means better mushroom conditions! Others are better to pick and then clean up, like the porcini pictured above, which has large amounts of stem underground that go wasted if cut at the surface level. When picking mushrooms, I find a gentle rocking and twisting motion best!
Species Recommendations
Plants to Start Learning First:
Feral asparagus has been recorded in every state in the lower 48. If you can ID it at the store, you can ID it in nature!
Dandelions are everywhere! All parts are edible, but some take special consideration to result in the best eating experience.
Lambsquarters are a common yard and garden weed related to spinach, and they are very similar in flavor and texture!
Purslane is another common and delicious weed commong in yards. It's very high in Omega-3s.
Salsify is easy to identify and is common all over North America. All parts are edible!
Mushrooms to Start Learning First:
Morels only have a couple of look-alike species that are easy to learn. They can be found in most states!
Chanterelles can be harder to find but easy to learn! Many different species are widely dispersed.
Dryad’s saddle is common, easy to identify, and underappreciated. It should be foraged when small and tender.
Oyster mushrooms are very common in many places, are delicious, and abundant!
Porcini! Every state doesn't have a Boletus edulis, aka King bolete, group member, but many do. There aren't too many look-alikes to worry about.
Lobster mushrooms are quite common throughout North America, though their habitat range is limited in the western states. These striking mushrooms are easy to identify and delicious!
These ideas seem to float around foraging that it's this secretive practice, and you need special knowledge and perfect habitats. In reality, it's just realizing that wild foods surround us and then using them, gaining respect and appreciation for them, and learning to love them as food! Once you start getting into foraging, you gain so much more than the knowledge and a diverse diet, though those benefits are worth it alone. It is usually eye-opening for people to realize the abundance of food around them. It’s often surprising how many edible species can be found in backyards! So, if you're interested in foraging, take the plunge and start learning about the edible plants around you!
Foraging Calendar
To learn more about the best seasons to harvest these species and many other wild foods, check out my Foraging Calendar & Wild Food Database! You can try the demo version to learn more, and join my Patreon to gain full access to the Foraging Calendar and other exclusive perks! Joining is the best way to support all the work I put into my content and website to help you learn about foraging! Thank you for checking it out!
