I had a thought the other day as my son was picking greens to hand-feed to the sheep. We should go on a hunt to find as many wild edibles on our land as we could!

About Our Land

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We live on one acre which is a part of a larger tract of family land. To be fair, we set the following rules on ourselves for this hunt.

• Search only our land. Do not venture into the woods or other areas on the property where there are known wild edibles that we have previously found.
• Only edible plants--no herbs or medicinal plants.
• No picking items that we have planted since living here.

The Search

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We started at our house, stopped by the workshop area, and then worked our way down the driveway to the mailbox near the road. After the mailbox, we went down towards the garden. The below image is from Google Maps which last scanned our land while the house was still under construction.

1: House, 2: Workshop, 3: Mailbox, 4: Garden

Show and Tell

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Here are the wild edibles we found. Note: Several of these have medicinal qualities, but I am only writing about their edible qualities in this post.

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Broadleaf Dock

Rumex obtusifolius

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumex_obtusifolius

Can use the leaves for a salad, to make into a broth, or cook/steam like any other green.

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Wood Sorrel

Oxalis acetosella

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis_acetosella See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxalis

Edible leaves and tubers, consumed by humanity for millennia. Natives used it medicinally for a variety of treatments. Sailor used to as a source of Vitamin C.

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Broadleaf Plantain

Plantago major

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plantago_major

Leaves are edible in salads or in stews when cooked. The small young leaves are better tasting as the larger ones get tough and very fibrous.

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Wild Prickly Lettuce

Lactuca serriola

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactuca_serriola

Young leaves are preferred for eating in salads or cooking. Leaves have a bitter taste that will get stronger with the age of the leaf.

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Red Clover

Trifolium pratense

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trifolium_pratense

Commonly used for making sweet tasting teas for drinking.

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Lambs Quarter

Chenopodium album

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenopodium_album

Leaves and young shoots are good to eat raw, or cooked. Seeds are high in protein and in close relation to quinoa.

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Eastern Black Walnut

Juglans nigra

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juglans_nigra

Husk the nut while still green. Crack open the shell and eat the nut inside. Can be roasted or eaten raw.

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Black Raspberry

Rubus occidentalis

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubus_occidentalis

Pick and eat the berries when their color ranges from dark red to black.

Closing Thoughts

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Please visit the source links and research for yourself the edible qualities and other factors of these plants before ingesting them. Each has multiple uses and should be evaluated on your own.

This aside, we had great fun walking around and picking out what was growing. It is amazing!

Sorry, we didn't eat the grasshopper... but our chickens may have!

Learn About SteemitHomesteaders Here!

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See you in the comments below, and on the next post!

Until next time, @greenacrehome

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