Elderberry in Kansas: October 7th, 2009

Well, I sent out a post to our local freecycle list requesting that anyone who had wild elderberry that weren't planning to use, kindly allow me to forage for it on their property. I received a response from a fellow list member explaining that he had been foraging recently and that the elderberry he saw was withered and dried at this point. So, in a nutshell it is too late this year. He said elderberry is usually ready in early September. I shall try again next year to get some elderberry. The elderberry fruit, is used for preserves. The fruit and leaves can be made into tea or tinctured.

July 12th, 2009 - Cattails, Blackberries, Nettle, Red Clover, Dandelion and Sage

Allergy Tea
Today, I experimented with my recipe for allergy tea. It contains nettle, echinacea, red clover, and peppermint. I added dried blackberry to the tea to see what kind of flavor it would give it. I have to admit, I couldn't taste the blackberry flavor much, but it did give it a distinct color similar to black tea rather than green tea. I have yet to find a good use for dried blackberries, so I do not think I will dry them anymore.

Nettle
Ben went and gathered some nettle from the river bank. When he got them home I gathered them up by the stems. Tied them in bunches. Rinsed them over the bathtub and hung them to dry in the pantry. Our house stays about 80 degrees which is perfect for drying herbs by hanging. They need a place with no light at all, so I put them in the pantry.

Cattails
Ben got me some cattails when he was at the river. I've got a place by the gutter drain that I've dug out to collect water. I thought it would be a perfect place for trasplanting cattails. One of my forage goals is to collect some of my favorite foraged plants and grow them in my own backyard.

Red Clover, Dandelion and Sage
After all this, I gathered up some more red clover and dandelions from my yard, which are about done for the year. I also harvested some sage from my herb garden. Everything got washed and set out to dry right away. Herbs do much better if you tend to them immediately after harvesting. I use a dehydrator for the clover, dandelion and sage.