Week of 2/21/21 - 2/27/21
Due to the cold and rain, I did not find much to forage this week. While walking through my neighborhood I found a log covered in turkey tails that I have passed a few times, but they are old and drying out. I got to see what they look like when they are not in their prime, and I picked some to feel it. They're very hard and dried out, it was good to see this so if I ever do try to harvest any I can gauge when they are ready.
I also found some fungi on a branch that had fallen, they are pretty old and way past prime, it was hard to tell what they were but I believe they are some sort of turkey tail dupe because the bottom side has gills instead of pores. They weren't worth taking a picture of.
In my front yard, I found some grass-like leaves poking out of the ground I thought maybe wild onions. I plucked some, and they were! There is a wild onion poisonous dupe, but from my research, it also seems like if it doesn't smell like onion then it isn't one. My hands even after touching the leaves reeked of onions. I uprooted some just to make sure I was correct. After some more research, they are too small and not ready. I also learned that wild onion patches found in the wild should not be picked entirely. They are a bulb, in the lily family, so if the bulb is removed they will not grow next year. Be mindful when taking anything because if you take 10% and 3 more people take 10% each of the patches it may not survive until next year. Taking the leaves and leaving the bulbs and not taking many is the best way to go about harvesting. Since these are in my yard and I own the property it does not matter how many I uprooted or took. Apparently wild onions are considered weeds! I am going to keep monitoring them for when they are actually ready instead of pulling them too early like I did this week. I plan on checking back over the next few weeks to see how they grow and take progress pictures.