When I was very young, we lived in a big old
house in the country. Like most rural families, we had a huge
garden. I remember Septembers filled with warm red tomatoes,
deep yellow corn, green and yellow beans.
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VIKI MATHER |
As a young adult, I would visit my
grandparent's farm and spend many joyful hours weeding the
tomato patch.Weeding, and eating the succulent fruit.
I didn't know back then the pigweed I freely
tossed aside would become one of my favourite garden
vegetables.
When I came to live in the forest many years
ago, I attempted to bring the joys of the summer garden to my
yard.
In nearly 30 years of gardening here, I find
I still hardly know a thing about growing tomatoes. Corn is
only a dream for me, and this summer some furry
critter ate nearly all the green and yellow
beans.
Still, I did get another good crop of garlic.
Those of you who have asked for a starter set will find them in
the mail by the end of this month.
I like to think my poor garden harvest is
related more to the poor Canadian Shield soil than my lack of
gardening skill. But it could be my reluctance to pull the
weeds.
You see, my second big crop for the summer of
2004 is chickweed. In fact, most of what is growing in the
garden as we reach the middle of harvest season are weeds of
one kind and another. Crops are few.
Fortunately, I have been studying edible wild
plants for as long as I have been gardening. Nearly everything
green that overflows the edges of the garden is good to
eat.
Nettles, winter cress, dandelion, daisy, and
sorrel are just a few of things that grace our dining table.
Wild carrots outnumber the seeds I planted at 10 to 1.
September is also mushroom month, and this
year's abundance is just beginning to bear fruit. Instead of
scratching for the few potatoes that I planted in June, most
days will find me wandering through the forest looking for
these emerging fungal treasures.
After our cool and damp summer, I'm expecting
to be busy for the next month finding, cleaning and drying
mushrooms.
Would you like to learn how to identify,
collect and prepare edible wild plants and mushrooms?
Allan and I will be teaching a course on
edible wilds on the first weekend of October this year. The
workshop starts late Friday afternoon, and runs through Sunday
afternoon.
The cost is $295/person, and includes
accommodation and six wonderfully wild meals. Call 853-4742 for
details.
