Wildcrafting Wild Plants - Harvest Your Own Wild Foods!
Wildcrafting wild plants has been revered as a time of ceremony and sacred presence with the natural world in many traditions and cultures.
Sometimes songs are sung in respect to give thanks for all the abundance nature provides!
As you gather your food, medicine and flowery friends, you will notice that when you relax and open, magical things start to happen.
This world speaks in a different language and responds very well to a gentle and peaceful approach to harvesting your food.
You will be guided to discover more and more wild edible plants growing everywhere, once you open your eyes and look around, they start to appear out of the woodwork, or forests in this case.
Wildcrafting means harvesting wild plants in there natural habitat with as little impact as possible... gathering with conscious respect, taking appropriate amounts to ensure there continued growth.
The Art of Wildcrafting:
1) Time of Day
Many usually gather their edibles during the early parts of the morning or early evening hours. I prefer morning myself, when the dew is fresh and everything is waking up with new life.
2) Tools:
Edible plant guide book
Baskets or bags for collecting plants
Knife, or sharp scissors
3) Things to Remember:
Make sure there is a relatively large number of what you are harvesting close by so you don't wipe out the plants growth cycle the next year. There should be at least 10 plants in the immediate area.
Know which plants you are gathering. Use a guidebook to double check if you are even slightly unsure, it is good to cover your bases and take the safe road. There are poisenous plants out there as well!
Do not wildcraft by industrial areas or toxic roadsides where it is obviously polluted.
Make sure you harvest plants that look strong, healthy and vibrant. This is often visually obvious.
Give thanks and respect to the plant spirits for teaching and providing abundantly.
