Foraging and Gardening Update

It's been a while since I've posted a foraging update... but I have still been eating those wild things. Here's an update:

I made grape juice again. I think that is the last batch of the big grapes in my area. I've exhausted everything, except those bunches that are higher than my reach. I've made four batches of juice this year, for maybe a grand total of 3 gallons of juice, and each time I've learned a little more about how to do it efficiently. My wife bought me a good strainer for my birthday, and that has been a big help. But I think these big beautiful grapes have spoiled me. Now I'm simply too lazy to try to make grape juice from all the little grapes that are abundant around here.

I've been eating Nannyberries for the last week or so. My children all hate them, but I sort of like them. They have the texture of something like a banana, and they have a subtle flavor of something like a fruity almond. They're good!

Last night, my wife brought home a strange fruit she found dangling from a tree. After a bit of research, my eldest son determined (correctly) that it was a Kousa Dogwood. Surprisingly, we also determined the fruit was edible based on Steve Brill's book. So I tried it. It won't say it was bad, but it wasn't exactly good either.

I found a walnut tree which has started dropping nuts all over the place. I know nothing about gathering and using these, but now's a good time to start.

In addition to these highlights, I've been munching on wild apples, evening primrose flowers, foxtail seeds, wild amaranth seeds, autumnberries, and ground cherries.

In other news, Thing #1 and I broke ground on the new garden.

I set up a tiny little garden last year inside our pool fence. Tiny as in 3ft x 8ft. I grew peas (semi-successfully: I didn't really stake them up and the slugs had a field day) and kohlrabi (a little better: I planted them too close together I think) and carrots (even better: but they still were too close together). My wife planted tomatoes (and these were a great success) and sunflowers (these were a bust. They were completely devoured by chipmunks.)

For this new garden, the plan is to have six 3x8 plots in raised beds. Thing #1 and I build the first bed this weekend. The plan is to do one or two a week until we're done. I'll keep you posted on the progress.