Gather Ye Wild Things: A Forager's Year by Susan Tyler Hitchcock

Gather Ye Wild Things: A Forager's Year Reviews

• 
  Bill

  An interestering book about gathering wild food. I think she accentuates the positive and fails to properly inform the reader of the negative aspects of foraging, viz., some of these plants can be poisonous if poorly prepared or have evil lookalikes. She does give a recipe for each plant which I think is very helpful.
• 
  Jennifer Heise

  I checked this out of the library in hardback, and now need to own a copy. This is a book that can be read straight through as an armchair book, or used as a reference/suggestion for the wild plant enthusiast.
  The sketch illustrations are excellent and show why sketches are often more useful than photos for plant identification.Admittedly, some of the safety information can be dated by now, so I'd want to double-check it (Note that periwinkle (vinca) is no longer considered safe for internal consumption). I would also check the status of endangered/threatened plants before I gathered.
  
  If you have already read Hitchcock's Wildflowers on the Windowsill, on growing wild plants indoors, some of this will be repeated information. Certainly if you are a reader of books on wild edibles and foraging, some of this will be familiar, but the author's take on it is worth reading.
  
  I really enjoyed the 52 short articles (divided more or less calendar-fashion), and the recipes and tips they contain.
  -yarrow-laced creamy salad dressing
  -making terrariums with wild plants
  -recipes with chickweed/that chickweed can be found in winter
  -basement winter gardening (root sprouting)
  -wild sunchokes
  - eating day lilies
  - tea from cleavers
  - wild spices
  - wild pears and apples
  - how to cultivate praying mantises
  - using soapwort
  I thought she did an especially good coverage of Lamb's-quarters and purslane, two edible weeds that I have latched onto myself; though I found her instructions for identifying true wild strawberries confusing.
  The bibliography is also full of promising citations.
• 
  Sandy D.

  Good for browsing - and has some interesting recipes.