Now that spring has finally arrived in the mountains, the wild edible plants are making their appearance. I decided to see what kind of wild edibles I could find in my backyard in about 5 minutes without too much effort. (Translation - I don't want to dig, peel, cook, or do anything but wash the stuff off and eat it.)
It turns out that you can make a pretty mean salad behind my house.
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...pictureid=1683
TOP ROW (L-R): Violet greens and flowers, Daylily sprouts (the tender part),
Dandelion flowers and leaves (the blanched part at the bottom), Wild Onion (I was too lazy to dig for the bulbs, which are small this time of year anyway).
BOTTOM ROW (L-R): Broadleaf Plantain (very small this time of year), Redbud flowers (these were NOT from my backyard, but about a 5 minute drive away), Wood Sorrell, Sheep Sorrell, and Mint.
http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...pictureid=1684
The resulting salad was considerably more bitter and "peppery" than the typical salad of store-bought ingredients, but it was pretty good with some Italian Dressing. I wish I could have thought of some kind of "wilderness salad dressing" to go with it so it could be completely "authentic."
You certainly couldn't call it eating like a king, but there is a very rewarding feeling of self-sufficiency to know if it came down to it, you could live off of the weeds in your backyard for at least a little while.
