Wild Crafting - starting small

[Anna]

I have always been intrigued by the idea of wild crafting. I believe we receive the most benefit from whole foods and I love it when I can grow them at home. BUT wild crafting freaked me out. How could I identify anything, how could I know what I was getting?? I'd look at pictures and read books and the picture never looked like anything in my yard.

On a whim, I joined Herb Mentor for the $1 first month trial. That was a few days ago and let me tell you about last night's dinner. We had a huge salad with greens from the garden, tons of chickweed from the yard and a creamy dressing made with 2 cups of wild violet leaves. It was DELICIOUS! My oldest loved the dressing for a veggie dip. I'll post the recipe below. Also, my youngest and her friend gathered 2 cups of violet flowers and they are current immersed in apple cider vinegar, where they will pass along their wonderful properties that I can then use to make other salad dressings.

What I have decided is to start small. So in my yard right now, I know I have chickweed and I know I have wild violets. The violets are the easiest to identify. The leaves are heart shaped, the plant is low to the ground and there are small, gorgeous purple flowers.

The chickweed was pretty easy too, once I stepped back and really looked. There are several key points. There are sets of two leaves opposite each other on the stem, there is a line of fine hair on one side of the stem and at the leaf sets sometimes it will switch sides. The flower is small and white. It looks like it has 10 petals but really it's just 5 with very deep slits.

I won't even begin to tell all the benefits, I'm just learning myself. But they are loaded with vitamins, minerals, all kinds of micro-nutrients. They both have wonderful healing properties. I'm going to make a poultice with chickweed and some comfrey I have. I can't wait to see how it turns out.

I'm really just writing this to say that even though it feels overwhelming at first, it is really fun to scour your yard and find these amazing treasures! Start small, pick one or two and learn about them. I think you will find, like me, it's so fun that you want to learn more and more. I also found out yesterday that kids think this is a lot of fun! It's a treasure hunt and helps mom at the same time!

~Anna

Dressing Recipe. There are so many wonderful ingredients in this. You have the greens and all that they have to offer it's a great use for homemade yogurt with all of the wonderful probiotics, garlic and honey are both powerful healers. Soon I'll be using my infused apple cider vinegar for even an extra kick there.

Enjoy!

Creamy Green Dressing

• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (could use lemon)
  
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 cups fresh Violet greens (chickweed also works)
  
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 garlic clove
• dash of pepper
• ½ cup yogurt

1. In blender or food processor, blend all ingredients but the yogurt thoroughly.
2. Add yogurt, and blend gently until smooth.

[Francie]

Awesome! Our woods were loaded with good stuff in Iowa. It was oak savannah, and we were trying to help it out. I wonder what is in our woods here?! We miss morel hunting!

[Francie]

great pics, too!

[Pam Genant]

I wonder if you could use kefir instead of the vinegar, hmmmm.  I have bought Chickweed, never even thought to look for it in my backyard, but looking at your picture I have a ton of it out there.  I guess it is all in the identification.  LOL