Fiddleback Foraging

Nbrackett said:
The blueberries are not quite ready and the cabbage in the garden still has a little more growing to do.

03dccc4eea1c74c44c99ae5ba74ea535.jpg
Click to expand...

Could you please post some more pics of the blue berries? I have a plant I am trying to identify.

DSC_0016_zpsx7al6f1e.jpg


DSC_0014_zpst96e5oyg.jpg


DSC_0025_zpsjbq6ufpj.jpg
 
That looks real close to the blueberries. Hard to say! Definitely in the Vaccinium genus. Though that's probably not helpful because there are about 450 species within that genus.

The only one I regularly run into is Vaccinium scoparium, grouse whortleberry. Tiny little berries that remind me of a tart Starburst candy. Not really worth trying to collect enough for anything though...
 
Nbrackett said:
a9ca3cab6017b58ab06ec4372e1bac33.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Thank you. Looks very similar. Though it will be hard to tell with the differences between growing in the open and growing under a canopy. I will keep my eyes on it as it progresses, and maybe even transplant one or two to my own yard.
 
Well the onions are about done for the year, but the wine raspberries are looking good :)

7.jpg


8.jpg


9.jpg


10.jpg


11.jpg
 
We don't have wine berries that I know of, but I've been watching the thimble berries develop!
 
I thought some of you might find this interesting or maybe you've had it before at a fancy restaurant! We've got corn smut, or in South American whats call Huitlacoche, on some of our corn in the garden at work. This is caused by a fungus called Ustilago maydis and it's a rare and prized edible. The guy who kind of manages the garden didn't know what it was so he cut the infected stalks out and threw them out of the garden a few days ago. Well I got word and went to see if there was any more or any that was salvageable on the removed stalks. Most of the tossed ones had gone to spore and are no longer good to eat at that point, but I was able to find some small ones that hadn't spored out, and one perfect large on still in the corn patch. There's more coming along so hopefully I can harvest those as well. I'm going to give them a taste later tonight and I'll report back with my findings. Apparently they're delicious!


2ZF6CUEh.jpg


kjwPfysh.jpg


UcUnA9Qh.jpg


Sorry for the lack of Fiddlebacks in the pictures. My F2 is off being used for a sheath template and my Warthog got left at home today.
 
I'm interested in how the smut went. Growing up, we put corn in the garden for years. But due to half of it turning into smut, dad quit planting corn altogether. We didn't hear until years later you can eat it.
 
It was actually pretty good. Very interesting. Really mild, reminiscent of corn and slightly smokey or bitter in a good way. No mushroomy taste that I could find.

It didn't break into my top favorite mushrooms but I would eat it again!
 
Odaon said:
It was actually pretty good. Very interesting. Really mild, reminiscent of corn and slightly smokey or bitter in a good way. No mushroomy taste that I could find.

It didn't break into my top favorite mushrooms but I would eat it again!
Click to expand...

Man, thats neato. I've seen that on my grandads corn when I used to spend the summers on his place as a boy. Never knew. Thanks!
 
Fiddleback said:
Man, thats neato. I've seen that on my grandads corn when I used to spend the summers on his place as a boy. Never knew. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Definitely! I found it super interesting. Watching the corn for more to pop up!
 
MY hiking buddy, 10 year old daughter Kimber, and I hit the woods today in search of some ginseng. In the couple hours we were out we did find some "roots" but the time spent with her outdoors is what I enjoy the most.

bfc3189eaddf7f077bc3586ef0e1c61b.jpg


21dfe5389931fa3d2b45a5ec5b48acda.jpg


She wanted to hold the Bushboot to be part of the action.

353c82457fde8e774be3e621d00374ce.jpg


The dry summer has a lot of the plants already yellowing and even dying down.

59b7e218b99919aabc0c69d08a650243.jpg


20639099db83f6b8ffb25308ee74665a.jpg
 
Odaon said:
What do you do with the ginseng?
Click to expand...

We sell it to a local buyer. We don't usually have that much but at $450 - $1000 per pound dry it doesn't take too much to add up. Since Kimber has been going with me I usually just give it to her.
 
Last edited:
When we went to sell last year there was someone else selling that had been back deeper in the woods and came out with this. Needless to say Kimber was bummed that she didn't find it. She since has talked me into buying her a camelback so she "can spend longer in the woods finding bigger roots".

b3350142d1b9aa489abc2a057c877682.jpg


298da22df46c51cb86ab65922c8ec66a.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top