Urban Wild Foraging with Garliq

Episode #1 - Nettles

In this first video, I take you to my favourite Nettles patch so that you can meet the plants where they grow.

Nettles are the most nutritious food you have access to. Plus, they're free to gather!

5 keys to Nettles foraging:

1. Where to look
2. How to identify them
3. 3 Remedies to treat the sting + A Tip for sting prevention
4. Nettles as food and medicine
5. The Most Important reason I suggest everyone eat Nettles

Where to Look

Stinging Nettles love moist, rich soil. So look in wet places like lakes or river beds, or the forest near ocean. You can check near old compost or manure piles. Horse stables can provide for a rich harvest. 

Identification

Nettles are fairly easy to identify, once you have a few keys to look for. They almost always grow in patches, so when you find one you find many.

4 key attributes:

1. leaves growing in pairs on opposite sides of the stem
2. triangular shaped leaves with large even 'teeth'
3. purple colour in stem or new leaves (frequent, but not always present)
4. hairy stem and leaves

If you're still not sure, you can sting yourself by rubbing your arm or hand against the plant. Be cautious by avoiding sensitive skin. As you see in the video I stung my inner arm. It hurt! 

3 topical remedies to relieve the sting

1. Yellow dock (Rumex spp.) leaves chewed or crushed
2. Plantain (Plantago major or P. lancelata) leaves as a 'spit poultice'
3. Nettles (Urtica spp.) leaves crushed fresh

But if you really dislike the sting, just wear rubber gloves while harvesting and processing. (Cloth gardening gloves seem like they'll work, but they don't do a great job) 

Why I suggest everyone eat Nettles

To understand why I think Nettles are so important, you have to understand a little about my approach to plants. I don't get really excited about all chemicals that are found in plants. I'm not a nutritionist who will tell you lots of stats about which vitamins and minerals are in each plant.My approach to plants focuses on understanding their character (or personality) to learn about their healing traits. Where and how they grow and especially how they respond to stresses reveals a great deal about how they work as medicine.This holistic approach opens you to surprising secrets about plants. But you'll need to watch the video to find out about some of Nettle's secrets.

Urban Wild Foraging with Garliq

Episode #2 - Violets

Allow me to introduce you to my 2nd Favourite spring green: Violet

 In this 2nd episode of Urban Wild Foraging with Garliq, I'm nestled in the beautiful woods of North Vancouver, exploring the shady, wet world of the Streambank Violet.

In this Video, you'll learn :

1. How to Find Violets
2. How to Identify Them
3. Violets as Food
4. Traditional Uses of Violet
5. A Caution when Foraging

How to find them

They like wet feet. Look in wet places! The Streambank Violet (Viola glabella) loves the shade of the woods and can be found in the forest not far from rivers and streams. 

3 Keys to Identification

1. Flowers have 5 petals, often with dark lines painted on the lower 2 petals. They range in colour from yellow, white, light purple (violet), or dark purple.
2. Heart shaped leaves often growing in pairs from the base of the stem. These pairs usually have one large and one small leaf.
3. Roots are stolons. meaning they run parallel to the ground surface, but just under the soil a little. Examining the roots, you'll see that many plants are connected.

Caution: there is a look-alike!

False Lily of the Valley (FLV) could be mixed up with Violets. It grows in the same places and also has a somewhat heart-shaped leaf.But don't worry, it's easy to be sure you've got Violet. The sure fire way to make sure you've got the right plant is to only pick it when the Violet is flowering. The False Lily of the Valley has a white flower that looks much different AND it flowers at a different time of year. So, if you have a Violet flower in your hand, then the leaves and roots in your hand (must be Violets, right?

False Lily of the Valley looks different from Violet in 4 Clear Ways

1. FLV has larger leaves that do not grow in opposite-facing pairs, as Violets do.
2. FLV leaves are shiny ("glabrous") with veins running parallel up the leaf vs. Violets has a network of veins in the leaf
3. FLV flowers grow in a spike, with small bell-shaped white flowers.
4. FLV has one or two stems coming out from the root together vs. Violets leaves growing in a cluster

Violets as Food

I eat the leaves and flowers raw, mostly Either nibbling while hiking or mixing them into a spring salad. The roots can also be eaten cooked or raw.It's high in Vitamin C and Vitamin A, but the reason I eat this wild gem is because I feel great when I eat it. The taste is mild and can come with a little tingle in your mouth.

Violet Vinegar

If you're adventurous, try making an Infused Violet Vinegar. Chop up some violet leaves and flowers*, stuff them in a jar and pour in apple cider vinegar until the jar is full. Shake it every day or two. After a month, strain it through some cheesecloth and use the vinegar as a secret ingredient in a salad dressing.* If you have a big patch of violets, you can try putting only flowers in the vinegar. This will create a beautiful colour change in your final vinegar.

Violets as Medicine

You'll find Violets in many old recipes for coughs and colds. If you check the cough syrup at a health food store, it's likely there.It has a long tradition as a women's herb for supporting breast health and regulating a woman's cycle. More recent scientific studies are showing that Violet is effective at reducing or eliminating tumours in breast tissue. (*I'm sorry that I don't have specific materials to reference this, so take it with a grain of salt until I track down some sources) 

A Caution when Foraging

Wild Violets are delicate plants living in a delicate ecosystem.

Take only what you need.

Tread lightly.

And Remember ...

The point of these videos is to encourage you to get outside and look for wild plants.

Next April, go find Violets!

Urban Wild Foraging with Garliq

Episode #3 - Wild Edibles

In the 3rd episode of Urban Wild Foraging with Garliq, you're invited to share in the abundance of my community garden. Specifically, the "weeds" I found growing around the fence and between the garden plots. In this video, you'll learn 7 Wild Edibles common to community gardens everywhere.

Plus, you'll learn

• How to Identify All 7
• Why You'll Want to Eat Them
• Tips on How to Eat Them