Tag Archives: wild edible plants

You have just read the title to this blog and you’re thinking ‘Whoa! What? Wagner is way off base with this one!’ PL-EASE … Allow me, the avid forager, to explain. Now that spring has sprung and while you wait for your morel mushrooms to emerge, some of the more prolific, more accessible wild edible foods are making their initial appearances … in your yard! No kidding! This is the time of year when when edible wild plants emerge and …

I always get rather impatient this time of year. Is it because of the weather being so hot, humid and hazy? No. Is it that the hunting seasons are just around the bend? No. Then, why? Well, I am a gatherer, a prairie wanderer, and I am anxiously waiting to harvest elderberries during these dog days of summer. However, it’s not quite time yet. Here I am checking out wild elderberries for ripeness on a Saunders County, NE farm in …

The apple blossoms have emerged. Why is that important, you say? Well, it is a reliable indicator that tells me I now will find one of my most valued vegetables in Nebraska’s rural landscape — wild asparagus. The wild asparagus harvest season almost always overlaps with the emergence of apple blossoms in my eastern Nebraska area. Apple blossoms. Photo by Greg Wagner/Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. Sure enough, I was right! Wild asparagus emerging in early May in eastern Nebraska. …

You have just read the title to this blog and you’re thinking ‘Whoa! What? Wagner is way off base with this one!’ PL-EASE … Allow me, the avid forager, to explain. Now that spring has sprung and while you wait for your morel mushrooms to emerge, some of the more prolific, more accessible wild edible foods are making their initial appearances … in your yard! No kidding! This is the time of year when when edible wild plants emerge and …

As I glance around my Omaha yard from the mailbox, my eye catches bright yellow blots dotting the front lawn. Hmmm … I know this plant. I know its flowers. I know its leaves. And I can eat them. All of them! What is it? Why, it is the dandelion, of course! No, don’t stop reading the blog, stay with me here, please. Look, I know the dandelion is the scourge of yards, lots, flower beds, gardens and fields this …

The lawns are greening. The flowers will soon be blooming. And the trees will be budding before you know it. But, let me ask you a question: Did you know you that you may have food growing right under your feet in your yard, lot, garden, acreage or field edge? Yep! Most likely, you do! Now that spring has finally sprung, some of the more prolific, more accessible wild edible foods will soon begin to make their initial appearances. It’s …

As the trees bud, the lawns green and the flowers bloom, did you know that may have food growing in your yard, lot, garden or field? I bet you do! Now that spring has finally sprung, some of the more prolific, more accessible wild edible foods make their initial appearances. It’s when edible wild plants are at their most tender, tastiest stage. And your own backyard, garden, vacant lot, alleyway or patch of woods or prairie, could very well be the closest and most productive place you’ll find to forage this time of …

“A weed is a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson. The morel mushroom picking season is well underway in Nebraska. But, did you know there are other spring delicacies growing wild in the Cornhusker State’s outdoor scene? Oh yes, there sure are! Nebraska offers an abundance and diversity of edible wild plants that can be harvested in the simplest of locations, especially in the springtime. Many of these can be acquired while on a morel mushroom hunt! The spring season (April/May) truly …

If you’re a morel mushroom hunter, here’s a must-read update from my good friend Mark Davis who’s the Outdoor Writer at the Omaha World-Herald: http://www.omaha.com/article/20130511/SPORTS/705119880/1603#hunt-is-on-for-wild-mushrooms Check your spots in the woods. Make certain that you have landowner permission on private property. Happy hunting!

Quick blog post here.  Although we found no morel mushrooms in the hilly woodlands of northern Douglas County, NE this evening, my son Zach Wagner and I discovered a large patch of wild asparagus ready to sprout!