An Afternoon of Wild Foraging

in homesteading •  7 years ago 

Part of the fun of buying a new farm or homestead is getting to know the plants around you. We have a ton of red buds, wild cherry trees, rose of sharons and crepe myrtles that the previous owners lovingly planted around the house. However, today I went walking back in the field.

It hasn't been cut in months, between buying the house and buying a tractor, it's been left to grow wild - and I'm so glad that it has. We've got a combination of good and bad in that field. A part of it is covered in milkweed, which brings in the Monarchs. We've got tons of medicinal plants, too - clover, goldenrod, and thistle, for example.

But we also have lespedeza (a horrible invasive that nothing but goats will eat) and dog bane (which is poisonous to all animals). I guess you have to take the good with the bad, huh?

I wanted to share some of the pictures I took this afternoon while wild foraging. I did harvest some goldenrod and thistle to make tinctures, and will harvest clover, red raspberry and rose hips later.

Enjoy!

(I've identified the plants below by Google :) So if I've got any of them wrong, please leave me a comment and let me know!)IMG_7637.JPG

IMG_7625.JPG
Goldenrod

IMG_7664.JPG
Red Clover

IMG_7651.JPG
Thistle

IMG_7642.JPG
Thistle Close Up

IMG_7637.JPG
Dogbane

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
If you enjoyed what you read here, create your account today and start earning FREE STEEM!
Sort Order:  

Wow...nice photos of those plants...good post @aibell you did well and wish you success

Good luck for ur life job

Thank you!

many of these same plants are native to my homestate of Indiana. We had loads of the red clover and I used to pull out the purple buds and suck on them lol. They are really sweet. Which state is your homestead in @aibell? I like this post, reminds me of home. Upvoted and followed.

I post a lot of photos about nature myself. If you like travel, food, writing & photo blogs give mine a peek. I'm currently focused around Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand. If you like what you see give me a follow and I will gladly share the love back! Happy steeming!
https://steemit.com/@jakehorn87

Hi Jake! We're out of Virginia. LOL I knew you could dehydate red clover and make a tea (what I'm doing with them now), but I've never just sucked on them! I've followed you and will check out your posts now. I've done a LOT of traveling, but never hit Asia. It's next on my list!

@aibell Virginia is beautiful, especailly Shenandoah National Park. I went there on a trip with my family about 3 years ago and it was stunning!

And yes, as a kid we would just pull out the purple bit and the green ends were very sweet. Not sure if its the same kind that grows in Virginia or not, but just a fond memory from my childhood. Guess you should give it a taste then! lol

And thanks for checking out my blog! Asia is great, really another way of life. If you ever get the chance to check it out, it is most certianly worth the trip, I promise!

Will keep an eye out for more of your stuff. Thanks for your comment and take care!

I enjoyed your photo's. Its good to be able to put a name to the plants you see around you.

I loved your pictures. I invite you to vote on my last post: https://steemit.com/life/@emmanuel250998/walk-through-the-laguna-de-la-restinga-national-park

I voted in your post and I'm following you from now on... please follow me back: D

Congratulations @aibell!
Your post was mentioned in the hit parade in the following category:

  • Pending payout - Ranked 5 with $ 113,21

Beautiful pictures. I don't think I have seen dogbane before.

I certainly hadn't! It's neat to watch...now that the last few days have been so much colder, the stalks have all turned a dark crimson. It's very beautiful, but kinda scary with animals and a toddler running around.

Yes, I try to keep poisonous plants out of my yard as long as the kids (grandkids) are small and like to eat what they see....

Congratulations @aibell! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

Award for the number of upvotes received

Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here

If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

By upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how here!

Congratulations @aibell! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

You got a First Reply

Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here

If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

By upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how here!