Blogs → Today at Mary's Farm →
In the Wild
(page 2 of 2)
I had found a likely patch beside the road, about a mile from here, and gone in to pull a few for my evening meal. But they are hard to pull and if you don't employ a suitable tool (I think that such a tool would be the weeder my father used to uproot dandelions), the leaves tear off at ground level and you've lost the heart of the plant. So I went into that patch, all full of enthusiasm and sudden impulse but without the proper tool and I ended up with nothing but disappointment and sorrow that I'd interrupted the growth of these good congregants of the forest. That night, I dreamt that I walked into a field scattered with ramps that had already been uprooted. The leaves were a tender spring green, the roots bright white even down to the root tendrils. Perfect. And lots of them. They lay temptingly on the ground, ready to be scooped up. I was about to realize this easy harvest when I saw that I was sharing the field with a half dozen or so pigs who were the ones who had rooted up these ramps, or so I assumed. I thought that perhaps the pigs had contaminated the roots and reluctantly pulled myself back. I woke up feeling as frustrated as I had when I drove away from the ramps I'd yanked from their placid places beside the stream. I guess the moral of the story is that nothing comes easy. Except milkweed shoots. Watch for them before someone starts to charge $9 a pound for them.
Read more: Annie B. Copps on Fiddleheads, Ramps
Reader Comments
Comment from Doris Matthews on May 28, 2009
Oh, that tool-I call it 'the almighty' because I use it to uproot all the dandelions and other stubborn weeds that grow on our lawn and in our gardens. I don't go out to weed without it!
Comment from Alice Wagner on June 2, 2009
I believe I'm the only one on the block, I assume to the dismay of my neighbors, who doesn't soak my lawn with poison and do away with the dandelion and friends. I call it my Packers lawn - Green & Gold. I believe the in-trouble bees appreciate the feast that I leave for them and that more than offsets the once-in-awhile wish that my lawn looked better. Alice in Wisconsin
Comment from Patricia Zegarelli on June 11, 2009
Oh the memories of going out with my Italian grandmother, my grandpa was a truck farmer, but my Grandma liked nothing better, than the wild greens that grew everywhere in the fields around us. If you get dandelions early enough they are a tasty treat, the inside tender shoots make a great spring salad with a red wine dressing, and the tougher outer leaves made a great boiled and then sauted dish much as we now treat escorole. I don't remember ramps, but milkweed and burdock were also featured.
Comment from Needel, Sylvia on June 16, 2009
I've been told that you have to get to the dandelions before the flower buds emerge. We have lots of dandelions, but I've never gotten to one before the flowers come out. Too bad.
Comment from on June 18, 2009
You are right. Almost all these spring greens are best if picked before maturity. Dandelion greens are famous for being "bitter" but the reason is usually that they have gone beyond their prime. Always nip those milkweeds shoots off before the plant goes to flower. I've heard you can harvest ramps all summer but I've never tried that. I think of them as a spring delicacy. Edie
Comment from George W. Bentley on June 21, 2009
I have fond memories of dandelion greens and cucumbers in white vinegar from my childhood. Can't wait to try the milkweeds and ramps. Fiddleheads were mentioned on the Bizarre Foods TV show the other night as the host returned to his home state of Maine. Apparently they are very tasty and safe in the early Spring but become toxic after that. Beware.
Comment from Marjorie Tietjen on July 19, 2009
I agree...we need to take advantage of the free food that nature has provided. It's silly when one really thinks about it ....to buy herbicides and pesticides to spray one's lawn to rid it of weeds and then perhaps a different chemical to eliminate the insects. We seem to be concerned about chemicals tainting our store bought vegetables and fruits and then seek organic foods which we also have to buy and which often need to be shipped.
We are conditioned to think that a green outside carpet...free of any ...what we call "weeds"...is the utmost desirable goal. We buy a lawnmower and pay for the gas and repairs. The lawnmower also produces pollution. We buy...as I mentioned before weed and bug killers and maybe lime to help along the greening process. Many people having riding lawnmowers because their outside carpet is so large. Then we pay a membership to the gym and the gas to get there because we don't get enough excercise taking care of the goat which would clip our lawn...and from picking all the violets, dandelions, chives and chickweed which would otherwise be available.The membership to the gym also entails being away from one's family. We also have to buy fertilizers.....some buy organic but others use more chemicals. Another plus of a natural lawn is its absolute beauty and interest. Face it...huge totally green lawns are boring :-)
If we go back to the goat or family cow...we are privileged to have a well cropped lawn and free natural healthy fertilizer....PLUS...healthy uncooked and unhomoginized milk This is the true meaning of "Green"...not necessarily buying more and more products that are supposed to help us save the environment. Much of the green movement is fed by industry and creates more pollution
It just doesn't make any sense.The foods which nature provides can be all around us if we only give them a chance.These foods also magically appear when our bodies need them the most....for example...dandelion greens in the spring when our livers need cleansing from the heavy foods eaten in winter. I realize that people who live in the city and in dense suburbia, are limited in utilizing the above ideas ...but we need to begin somewhere. Thankyou Edie Clark for bringing this wonderful idea to the attention of the public. Oh...one more thing...we also run to the healthfood stores to BUY many of the natural medicines which can be created from the natural plants which grow all around us. It's really a simple beautiful thing!
Registered users can add comments.
Registration is free, and just takes a moment.
Login or Register.