Cheapskate gardening 3: Foraging

The first two episodes of the Cheapskate Gardening miniseries (Propagating plants and How to get plants cheaply) focused on actual gardening. Now that it’s the height of harvest season--at least here in the Northern Hemisphere--let’s talk about foraging, also known as cheapskate harvesting. Why forage? Because you can chow down on this sort of yumminess:

That's a jar of apple pie filling on the left. I canned it around this time last year (using this recipe from the National Center for Home Food Preservation), when my husband brought home two huge boxes of foraged apples. There's a dentist's office here in Flagstaff with several large apple trees on the property. They don't use the apples (maybe apples have the same effect on dentists as they do on doctors) and like to have people pick them so they don't fall and clutter up the property. So my husband showed up with a ladder and a couple boxes, and the rest is sugary, cinnamon-y, gooey history. The pic on the right is half of the apple crisp I made yesterday (using this recipe from Betty Crocker) with a quart of the aforementioned pie filling. It took about 5 minutes to assemble (thanks to the apples being already prepared) and is heavenly. 

Now that you know why you should forage, let's talk about where and how.  

Foraging in the wild

This is what most people think of when someone says, "foraging"--wandering around in the forest like Euell  "Many parts are edible" Gibbons, tasting foul-looking plants until you end up needing a Poison Control Center and/or a stomach pump. You can avoid that scenario by learning what's safe to eat in your area. To do that, check out one of the many books available on foraging. Your local library probably has some, or you can search Amazon. Here are just a few of the zillion results one gets when searching Amazon Books for, "foraging." 

• Northeast Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Beach Plums to Wineberries (Regional Foraging Series)
• Southwest Foraging: 117 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Barrel Cactus to Wild Oregano (Regional Foraging Series)
• Foraging the Mountain West: Gourmet Edible Plants, Mushrooms, and Meat
• Foraging Oregon: Finding, Identifying, and Preparing Edible Wild Foods in Oregon (Foraging Series)
• Midwest Foraging: 115 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Burdock to Wild Peach (Regional Foraging Series)
• Southeast Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Angelica to Wild Plums (Regional Foraging Series)
• Pacific Northwest Foraging: 120 Wild and Flavorful Edibles from Alaska Blueberries to Wild Hazelnuts (Regional Foraging Series)

You get the idea. There are tons of books about foraging in just about any region of the US (and I imagine there are plenty on foraging in other countries too; I'm just less familiar with those, since I have no money to travel, because I spend all my money on plants). 

I don't do a lot of wild foraging, but when I do, it's relaxing and fun (and in the case of wild blackberries, delicious). It's an excuse to get out in nature, get some exercise, and come back with food. What's not to love?

Here are a few tips to get you started: 

• Know what you’re picking. If you can’t identify it, don’t eat it! That's especially true of mushrooms, but plants can mess you up too, and I hear stomach pumps are no fun. Take a class or a guided hike; ask about those at your local arboretum, ranger station, or nature center. Definitely get a guidebook for your region. Foraging is no bargain if it sends you to the hospital or the funeral home. 

• Obey all laws. Know what you’re allowed to pick and from where. Foraging is, as far as I know, illegal in national parks. Rules for national forests, BLM land, and other public land can vary by location and by the agency administering the site. Check online or contact a ranger station or agency office to learn the rules. 

Foraging in civilization

Foraging possibilities abound in cities, suburbs, and rural areas. Lots of people have fruit trees that produce way more than they can use. Edible stuff--especially old fruit trees and blackberries--grow in vacant lots and on abandoned properties. And some ornamental garden plants have edible parts. In rural areas, sometimes you can ask to glean in the fields after the harvesters come through (My dad used to do that in the Central Valley in California when I was a kid. That's how I learned to can tomatoes: Dad would bring home a giant box of them, usually dead-ripe and needing immediate processing. Mom had to work, so I learned to can by the time I was about 12. In a house with nothing more than a swamp cooler for A/C. In the summer. When it was usually over 100 degrees. Uphill. Both ways.)

A great book for the beginning suburban forager is Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn't Know You Could Eat by Ellen Zachos. Her book will teach you what's edible in your yard and your neighborhood. Did you know you can eat your day lilies? And quite a few weeds? And think how satisfying it would be to chomp down on weeds--the gardener's ultimate revenge. Now if only I could stomach the thought of eating grasshoppers...

Another resource is a great post from Gayla Trail's You Grow Girl blog on foraging for free fruit. And if you're wondering where to go to forage in your neighborhood, you guessed it: there's an app for that. Check out Ripe Near Me. You might also check out your local Craigslist or Facebook gardening group. Someone might be selling or giving away their excess produce.

Here are a few tips for foraging in not-so-wild places:

• Respect private property. Sometimes you can find great foraging on abandoned properties. Around here there are old apple trees all over the place (like at the aforementioned dentist's office), and they keep pumping out apples for decades. Lots of times, homeowners have fruit trees that make more fruit than they can use. They're often happy to have someone pick it, in part because unused fruit makes a giant mess when it falls from the tree and then becomes a yellow jacket magnet. But don't just stroll onto someone's land. Ask permission. 

• Offer to barter if you're asking to pick from someone's tree. You could offer a jar of home-canned applesauce made with the apples they let you pick or some produce from your garden. Or you can offer labor, like picking some for them or cleaning up the fallen fruit around the tree (note: people with health issues may especially appreciate your help. Imagine how frustrating it would be to see a tree full of  beautiful apples but be physically unable to pick them). Be careful eating fallen fruit--it's usually either rotten or infested with something--but it can make great compost or livestock feed.

• If you do pick from someone else's garden, treat their trees and plants gently so you don't cause damage. 

• Avoid foraging from busy roadsides where the food likely will be contaminated by pollution from car exhaust or herbicides. 

Foraging fall décor

Pumpkins and fancy (or funny-looking) winter squash will start showing up in stores and on front porches soon (seriously--there are Halloween decorations in the store already. Sheesh, people, it isn't even technically fall yet!) I'll let you in on a little secret: these are edible. And doctored up with a sufficient amount of butter, sugar, and cinnamon, they are delicious. 

Here are a few tips for acquiring and processing Jack O'Lantern and his relatives: 

• This one's obvious, but if you like to decorate with squash and pumpkins, eat them before they rot. How long you can keep them on your porch before they rot will depend on your climate. If they freeze and thaw, they deteriorate quickly (gotta love those 40-degree daily temperature swings here in Flagstaff). If the weather is warm, they'll rot quickly. Just keep an eye on them and be sure to butcher 'em before they get nasty. 
• Hunt for bargains on or after Halloween*. Last year I scored a cool, giant white pumpkin at Home Depot on Halloween for $5 (original price: $20; it's the big thing at the far left in the picture above). Supermarkets and pumpkin stands often sell (or sometimes give away) their pumpkins the day after Halloween. All pumpkins are edible, but the big carving pumpkins aren't the best for eating. Look for the smaller pie pumpkins if you can find them. The red Cinderella pumpkins are getting more popular, and they are great for cooking. So are some of the weird warty pumpkins. All pumpkins and winter squash have edible seeds too--and you can save some to grow next year if you have the space. I currently have 2 enormous vines started from the seeds I got from that huge white Home Depot pumpkin. 
• Ask your neighbors if you can have their pumpkins and winter squash. (Note: don't eat the carved ones--though they are fine for livestock feed.) Then take them a warm loaf of pumpkin bread as a thank-you. 

And if you've never cooked with fresh pumpkin or winter squash, check out a post on my old garden blog on how to prepare them. I puree them and freeze the puree to use in recipes. It usually contains a little more water than canned pumpkin, so I adjust recipes accordingly or let the puree drain in a colander for a bit before measuring. Oh, and in case you didn't know: pumpkin and winter squash are generally interchangeable in baking. In fact, what we know as canned pumpkin actually isn't pumpkin: it's a winter squash similar to a butternut. I know, I know - the label says, "pumpkin." Damn Libby and their #alternativefacts.

So there you have it: 3 ways to get some free or low-cost produce. May your foraging be fruitful!

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* The pedants in the crowd are probably arguing that acquiring squash from a store doesn't meet the literal definition of foraging ("the acquisition of food by hunting, fishing, or the gathering of plant matter," according to dictionary.com), but since pedantry only puts food on the table if you're an academic, we'll ignore them. Hmm, wait, *I'm* an academic. Maybe I should rethink that.