Stalking the Wild Harvest: Part I

Euell Gibbons brought foraging for wild edible plants back to the mainstream in the "dominant culture" back in the late '60s-early'70s Stalking the Wild Asparagus.

However, what was a novelty and charming to many of his readers was 'ho-hum to those with whom he grew up, and many others for whom the bounty of Nature was not just a fun thing to do, but how you survived.

My Mother's Mother, "Tommy" Walsh raised awareness in my young life regarding the bounty that Nature provided. When we visited her at her home on Cape Cod, she would have jams, jellies and wine made from plants she had collected. She was considered somewhat "eccentric in my staid, proper and very modern New England family.

I remember that- one time she my brother Jimmy brought  home live conch shell  (think the shell in the movie Hawaii that the Indigenous Hawaiians blew on). She declared to the general congregation (my Mom- who was slightly scandalized and me and my siblings) that Native people ate conches. She said that she was going to boil it and eat it. She did. I had a taste. It was ok. Everyone else looked green.

Fast forward to the 60s-70s. Back to the land. I was THERE. I went out and STALKED the wild asparagus. Yummy!

                       ...and poke weed:

...and burdock root (where the burrs that stick on your animals come from).

When I lived in New Hampshire we always had a substantial garden.

We still enjoyed a bounty of Nature. The Bryn and Hilary and I, and sometimes their dad, would hike to the top of North Pack Monadnock in late August and pick the abundant blueberries growing there... although we probably ate more than we packed out!

Fast forward to: South Dakota. It seems to be in my blood that when things get green, I start looking for what I can harvest. This year's harvest started with the tinpsila, known as prairie or wild turnip in English- Pediomelum esculenta, member of the breadroot family. It forms a tuber that is dug, the outer husk removed braided into long braids where is dries and can be kept indefinitely. It can be eaten raw, ground into recipes, boiled, sliced and added to traditional soups stews- even ground into flour and added to thicken stock. So, on a beautiful, sunny June day, JhonDuane and I set out to: stalk the wild tinpsila!

Everything seemed glad to be alive on such a day! With all the rain we had this spring, the prairie was bursting with life- and flowers.

...and the flowers were- everywhere!

Penstemon

Blue Bells

Wild Prairie Rose

Coriopsis

Scarlet Globemallow

White Penstemon

Gumbo Lily

And, of course- there were millions of tinpsilas!

They are tough little guys to dig, and you need a special sort of shovel- such as you see below. Luckily, Jhon has a knack for digging them, not surprisingly, since he has done it since he was a little boy with his Unci- grandmother in Lakota.

 

Tinpsila

This one was about the size of my hand. They vary from little marble-sized guys, to the size of a fist.

After a  long hot day of digging, we loaded up the truck with our earthy treasures, and headed back to the house to peel and braid the roots for drying.

This takes hours and is hard on the hands, but- when they're done, the braid is beautiful, and will last for a long, long time. It was a really good day!