Foraging Seasons By Month: A Cheat Sheet
When is the best time to forage?
It’s a question I get asked at every class, walk, or lecture that I host. My answer is always the same – any time, depending on what you are looking for. The art of foraging relies on three essential skills: knowledge, observation and timing.
Knowing what plants, fruits, nuts and fungi are available in your specific local environment, identifying them in the wild and understanding when they are at their prime make for successful trips.
Learn From Locals
If you are new to foraging, I strongly recommend researching foragers and resources that are specific to your location. When I first started to explore the idea of wild edibles, I simply Googled “New England foragers” and “Boston foragers.” Russ Cohen, an author and forager out of the North Shore of Massachusetts, kept coming up in my searches. Cohen works side by side with the Essex Greenbelt Association and has been instrumental in land conservation throughout Massachusetts. His book, “Wild Plants I Have Known…And Eaten,” was my very first purchase. Perfect for beginners, the book highlights about 40 common edibles including key details for identification, descriptions on growing habitats and a variety of delicious recipes.
The best part, however, is that Cohen brilliantly features an incredibly thorough wild plant calendar, broken down into weekly periods. This section in particular became invaluable to me the first few years I was learning on my own. I have yet to find another book that does the same in such detail. Using his original matrix as a guide, I began making my own calendar, specific to the areas I frequently foraged – Boston, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, etc.
Observe on Your Own
Each time I went out to explore, whether in my yard, the woods, along marshy shorelines or on a beach, I would bring my phone, a notebook and whichever book or field guide I was studying at the time, starting with Cohen, then moving to Petersen’s Guide to Wild Edible Plants. I took pictures and catalogued data using apps like Foragers Buddy and Picture Mushroom and used my notebook to jot down identification details, observe various environmental surroundings, record weather and rain patterns, whatever I could think of!
What amazed me the most was the fact that although in a colder climate like New England, every single week of the year presented completely unique prime foraging opportunities. Even in the very deep depths of winter, when the woods are worn down with heavy snow and nor’easters gnarl the coastline, the tides are at some of their lowest all year and afford the perfect opportunity for gathering delicious seaweeds, mussels, clams and more.
Understand Timing
Once you have gotten a handle on what is available in your area and how to identify it, the next step is to understand it’s life cycle/edible parts and when it is at it’s most prime. Some edibles may only be available for a week or two, while others may be abundant for half of the year. For example, the may apple plant grows here in eastern MA from June to late September. All parts of the plant are poisonous, except for its ripe fruit, which are prime for 2 weeks in early August. On the other end of the spectrum is garlic mustard, an invasive plant that is edible from root to tip. The roots are best in the colder months, when the above ground plant is dormant, but then you can follow and forage each part of the plant as it grows – young leaves, flower buds, flowers and finally their seedpods and seeds.
In the fungi world, morels are typically at peak for 3-6 weeks, while chicken of the woods/laetiporous grow steadily from June through October. Similarly, flowers like magnolia or lilac are at their prime for 2-4 weeks, while violets will continue blooming for 2-3 months. All this may seem a little daunting, but not to worry dear friends, you know I have got you covered!
To help those just starting out on their wild food journey, or those that are interested in booking a class, home/land survey, or group walk, I have put together a new Seasonality page that showcases my own month by month list of frequently foraged plants, fruits, nuts and fungi available around New England. It includes invasive species and those most commonly found in our area. When possible, I have tried to use common names for plants and fungi.
The list is certainly not exhaustive – I purposely omit endangered, at-risk, or rare edible species. I also tended not to include any plants or resources that could be considered ‘year-round.’
Think of it as a kind of guide, cheat sheet, or use it as a check list to start your own foraging calendar! My plan is to continue adding and fine tuning content as my knowledge and foraging territories expand and as seasons change, so be sure to check back often!
