Happy February, food & foraging friends!
What a weird winter it has been… every year we comment on the weather being unusual in one way or another, but this DC winter truly has been extraordinary on a number of fronts. The city is on track to have one of the top five warmers winters on record, and is also on its way to breaking the record for going the longest without snow (with the record dating back to 1874). Across the east coast, flowers and trees are blooming up to three weeks earlier than normal.
What does this mean for us as foragers? Phenology, which I learned and blogged about as part of my Fox Haven Foraging Level II experience, is the study of such periodic events in nature and how these are influenced by seasonal variations in climate. Given the fleeting season for things like ephemeral wildflowers and elusive morels, foragers and naturalists learn to tune into subtle changes like trees budding or bellwether species flowering that can indicate just when an anticipated event like peak cherry blossoms may occur.
One bellwether I look for as a spring indicator is the first dandelion flowering, dandelions being one of the first important nectar sources for pollinators. It’s one of several beloved spring weeds I’ve already seen popping in my community garden, including:
Hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta): This wild edible in the mustard family has a lovely peppery bite. It grows in a rosette of scalloped leaves and features tiny white flowers (like all brassicas, the flowers as well as leaves are edible). I’m already seeing these flower in my neighborhood.
Purple deadnettle (Lamium purpureum): This beautiful mint family plant (note the square stem!) is nutritious and medicinal. Its tiny purple flowers, already blossoming, make a sweet snack or a salad add-on.
Henbit (Lamium amplexicaule): Henbit is sometimes confused with purple deadnettle, as the two purple-flowered plants often comingle in a garden. These two plants have very different leaves, but similar uses — eaten raw or cooked, or steeped as a tea.
Onion grass or field garlic (Allium vineale): Onion grass is extremely hardy, so I see it nearly year round. The entire plant from bulb to flower is edible; the leaves make a delicious stand-in for chives. Marie Viljoen’s cookbook Forage Harvest Feast has a great section on this species. Her field garlic marmalade recipe is delightful.
Chickweed (Stellaria media): Chickweed, which grows in lush, shallow mats, is already flourishing and flowering right now. This delicate plant makes a great substitute for lettuce on a sandwich, or a beautiful garnish on top of a soup or appetizer, as you might use a smattering of microgreens.
Left/top: Spring edibles are already coming to my corner, which include (from top left, clockwise) hairy bittercress, speedwell, henbit, purple deadnettle, mallow, dandelion greens onion grass, and dandelion flower.
Right/bottom: Chickweed is a versatile spring edible, great as garnish, salad, or pesto. My cat loves chickweed, dandelion greens and onion grass among other wild edibles (and yes, they are safe for felines!).
While it’s tempting to take those first precious tender shoots and flowers, Braiding Sweetgrass author Robin Wall Kimmerer talks about the “honorable harvest”: Take only what you actually need and will use; never take the first or the last of anything. I will leave those first dandelions for the bees as they awaken from their winter hibernation; they certainly need the food more than me.
Get out in nature early and often. Note the subtle changes in the trees and other species on your block. Spring’s bounty will be here before you know it!
Wildly yours,
April