Pay dirt! Literally!!!

Hooray!!!

I made my first substantial find of the spring season. I found both wild onions and garlic in two different places and I found them both by smell.

I went out hunting for new edibles on Monday. The weekend didn't offer much in the way of desirable weather. I walked close to a river-bed not too far from where I live. At first I found the standard items like dandelions and sow thistle, both of which provide decent salad greens if one was so inclined.

(I'm not focusing on those sorts of basics yet. Not until berry season when I can stand to create a dressing. I'll be looking to add walnuts to that salad, but I'm getting ahead of myself.)
I had walked a long while by the river and hadn't come up with any significant finds. I caught a strong smell of onions on the breeze. At first the scent was so strong I thought there was a BBQ close by. I quickly realized that wasn't the case.

I literally followed my nose to the area that smelled the worst. I had a good idea what they looked like (seen above in the photo, they look very similar to green onions. Details for both wild onions and garlic are at the bottom of the post )and walked around slowly so as not to trample any specimens.

I quickly found the plants. I took some to eat right away, I made a delicious piece of herb and onion crusted fish. I mixed the leftovers into my butter and sour cream for an added kick to other dishes.

I took another bunch and transported them home to a flower pot. I'll let you know if they survive. When I left the scene I made sure to mark the area mentally so I could return for more later in the season and even in following years. That's an excellent tip right there.

I also took note of some young cattails and a crab apple tree. Both will yield edibles further into the year. Each time I come back for onions I'll check on the progress of the trees and cattails.

Wild Onions: They are just beginning to sprout and can be found throughout North America. Note that the plant will take slight visual variations depending on area and climate, such as height and colour. They will maintain through May and June, which are the best months, but can be found throughout summer.

I found them in dark, clay-like soil very close to the river bed. They taste very much like green onions with a slightly hotter or spicier aftertaste. The entire plant from bulb to stalk is edible and quite tasty. Make sure you take off the roots and rinse in warm water. Great for onion nuts. Don't eat too much or you may end up needing a shower.


I was pretty eager to go out again the next day after such a great find but I wanted to look elsewhere to see if i could find something new. The way I see it if I can find fruit trees and bushes, nut bearing plants and trees and other edible plants and catalogue where they are I'll have a lot of harvest points for years to come.

Like I always preach its good exercise, easy on the wallet and it increases our knowledge of nature. It might even make us better cooks!

Like on Monday I went close to water but very different conditions. There was very little in the way of foliage and tree cover and the water body was more of a large pond than a flowing river.
There was evidence of cattails everywhere. All too young to eat.

I moved through the thin brush and vines pretty easily. Once again I picked up an onion smell, a little stronger than before.

Remembering how I found the wild onion the previous day I moved towards the stink. It was that strong to warrant stink as a description. I found a small field of wild garlic. It grew in patches that were mostly centralized around the largest clump. Only in this one spot did I find any at all.

The garlic is from the same family as the onion I found from the day before. As such they follow much in the way of growing season but the conditions I found them in were quite different.

The image here shows a clump of wild garlic uprooted. Notice the dark green leaves which change close to white by the base and finally settling into a purple colour right where the roots and bulbs connect.

The plant can become a little tough towards the bottom. Simply trim off an inch above the roots to avoid the worst of the base. Blanching and boiling the bases can add some zip to a vegetable stock for soups if you don't like wasting anything.

As always, consult official guides and books before consuming anything. I will post the 13 step tasting guide and a list of foraging tips this week. If you would like to see certain information regarding the plants please comment and let me know and I will grow this blog to a useful tool. I'm doing this because I had such I hard time finding foraging information.

Thanks guys! Talk soon.