# Urban Edibles- Fiddleheads



## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

I am pretty bad at identifying edibles, but I do know fiddleheads ferns. I have a LOT of them in my backyard(s). The harvest time is super short though, about two-three weeks. Boo.

Thought I'd share this video with yinz. He's making me hungry.





Also, if anyone cares to share an edible and a picture or video of how to harvest it. That'll be pretty cool. I love learning!


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

I'm pretty sure a lot of folks already know about Dandelions. Early spring the new leaves can be used in salads. Leaves can also be boiled like spinach or sautéed. The blooms can be used to make tea, wine or can be battered and fried. The taproot can be baked, ground and used as a coffee substitute.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

I' ve never tried dandelions before. I will check it out. Thanks!


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## Autumnvicky (Mar 30, 2012)

I've tried growing dandelions in planting pots from seeds, didn't work. I wanted to grow them away from any bad chemical run off it could experience during rain. I'll have to use my entire backyard, they don't seem to grow anyway but naturally.


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

Autumnvicky said:


> I've tried growing dandelions in planting pots from seeds, didn't work. I wanted to grow them away from any bad chemical run off it could experience during rain. I'll have to use my entire backyard, they don't seem to grow anyway but naturally.


I wanted to do that, too, but my husband _*REFUSES*_ to stop spraying back there.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

Thought I'd share this with the other visual learners on the forum. Cheers! 

EDIT: Apparently the link doesn't want to make a video on the forum. The video is about foraging DANDELIONS, just so you know what it's about before you click.


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## Salekdarling (Aug 15, 2010)

Also, I found something about cattails on Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants Facebook page.










Found along marshes, lakes, and streams. In early spring the roots are edible and choice. They can be pealed and eaten raw, but Survive Outdoors strongly suggests boiling. It can be served with butter and seasoning to increase the flavor. The pollen of cattails can be shaken into bags and dried and used as a protein rich flour for cooking.

Cattails at this stage with the brown tops can be soaked in kerosene and used as torches for light. Although the burning time may be short, it is a useful light source. Dried tops also make a great tinder for starting fires.

Other notes from Users included:

1. The roots are edible and taste great when sauteed in butter with summer squash and onion. Salt, pepper and garlic to taste.
2.Yes. the roots are edible. The roots all kinda grow together, so we just used the parts that went between the plants; to preserve the plant. We scrubbed, "peeled" them, and boiled like potatoes. I just put butter on them. They were ok. Something you'd have to get used to. However, My kids LOVE the cat tail pancakes.
3.You can make a flour of the root and eat the young "cattail" before it turns brown. You can also eat the lower part of the stalk in early in the growth of the plant. They are a very useful plant.
4. wild flag, aka sweet flag or calamus (Acorus calamus) was used medicinally for years. Like most medicines in the naturopathic or allopathic world, it contains a substance that is dangerous to health. Dosage is everything when dealing with any type of medicine.

At that point, I looked into SWEET FLAG or Blue Flag Iris. It grows in the same areas as cattails, and could possibly be mistaken as cattails. I won't go into detail about the Sweet Flag, and whether it is edible or not. I just want you to see the similarity between the cattail and the sweet flag. I would suggest that you do NOT attempt to eat sweet flag until you've made contact with a professional about what can and cannot be used with the plant.


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