Wild Asparagus
by Catherine Haug
Can you really find adequate nourishment growing wild in the Flathead? Oh sure, you can hunt, fish and pick huckleberries, but what about salad greens, veggies, nuts, seeds and other fruits?
The answer is an abundant YES! Native Americans from our area were successful hunter-gatherers, at least until America moved west. Early pioneers also relied on foraging for their sustenance. And the day may surely arrive when we, too, must depend on our knowledge of what is/is not edible, and where to look for these foods.
To learn more, read on…
Foraging & Wildcrafting: Instructional Tours
Regular day-treks (Mondays, Thursdays): Tom Tracey at Swan Valley Herbs offers foraging and wildcrafting day-treks in various parts of the greater Bigfork area beginning with late May. These happen twice a week, weather permitting, on Mondays and Thursdays. See Wildcrafting & Foraging Treks for more information about these twice-weekly opportunities.
All you have to do is pick your date and sign up. Contact Swan Valley Herbs in Bigfork at 837-5747; sorry, they don’t do email. Their office hours are M – F, 10 AM – 5 PM, except holidays.
ESP late-summer Saturday foraging trek: Tom will also be our guide for a Saturday trek in late July or August (exact date to be determined). If this interests you, contact me to get your name on our list. Tom can accommodate up to 10 people at a time. If the interest is greater than this, we will arrange a second trek.
Here’s a sampling of the edibles you can find in our area (from Tom):
“Alfalfa, asparagus, arrow leaf balsam L. blue bells, blue camas, bull thistle, cat tails, chickweed, choke cherry, cleavers, cow parsnip, fox tail, glacier lily, huckleberry, lambs quarter, lomatium (small variety), miners lettuce, mustard, nettle L, service berry, shooting star, violet L, yampa”
Contact Cat (see ESP Contact for email info) to get your name on the list for this Saturday event! I will contact you to confirm, when an actual date is set.
A friend forwarded one of your newsletters to me inviting me to attend the foraging activity. I plan on sending your newsletters to a couple of friends who are interested in learning the info you are providing. I am excited to that we have this type of resource in the valley. Thanks for all you do.
Kathy
HI: If the date works for me I would love to go on the foraging walk.
I hope the date will work for me, I am very interested in this information and looking forward to being a part of the trek.I KNOw there’s much more edible stuff out there than I’m aware of!
Has this already happened? If not, please forward me the date and times so I can make it.
HI all who have expressed interest in the Saturday trek with Tom. I do not yet know when this will be scheduled. I’ll check with Tom and try to set a specific date.
Be sure to check out the twice-weekly treks offered by Tom on Mondays and Thursdays of each week, weather permitting, for additional opportunities. See Wildcrafting & Foraging Treks for more info.