Category: Forest farming

University of Maine’s Agriculture and Non-Timber Forest Products Professional, David Fuller, explains what an ostrich fiddlehead looks like and how it compares with its toxic cousin, the bracken fern. When harvesting fiddleheads, it’s extremely important to choose those from the ostrich fern which are characterized by a hairless, smooth, deep green stem that has a deep groove on the inside. The fiddleheads have a brown, papery substance on the outside of the unfurled frond called ramenta. Ostrich fern fiddleheads should …

Wasabi is generally thought of as a pungent green paste that accompanies sushi. That green paste is more often than not, made up of grated horseradish or mustard. In this video, we take a look at the plant whose grated root makes up the real wasabi. It was traditionally eaten with sushi to combat food poisoning that can result from eating raw fish. Today, it’s considered as the natural condiment for sushi. Joe Hollis, founder of Mountain Gardens, explains what …

Forest landowners often want to make some profit from their land, if only to pay the property taxes. Other than cutting timber, which can only be done so often, how can you generate income from your woods? In North America, our forests are often populated with a wide variety of valuable native plants and fungi that can be sustainably wild-harvested and sold. Many others can be introduced and cultivated to provide a steady stream of products to harvest for many …

Wild fiddleheads have long been a part of the springtime diet for folks over the range of the ostrich fern, Matteuccia struthiopteris. Ostrich fern fiddleheads are tasty and beautiful in the landscape. But it’s important to properly identify ostrich fern fiddleheads and to not over-harvest in the wild. Other considerations in the consumption of fiddleheads is proper cooking. If you don’t have wild ostrich ferns growing on your property, perhaps you can establish your own planting for future harvest. Ostrich …

Woodland medicinal, edible and decorative plants can be managed in prepared beds beneath the forest canopy. We take a look at some of the woods-grown plants at Enchanter’s Garden and see how a changing forest may dictate where new beds should be planted and old ones should be abandoned. Once invasive plants or insects enter the picture, various tree species may die off, leaving an open canopy and allowing for too much sunlight to reach the forest floor. A prepared …

Edible forest products are becoming more popular in the culinary world. Foraging for wild foods is the latest craze among foodies. But this may be putting excessive pressures on natural plant populations, and the long-term conservation of the plants requires sustainable production. Forest landowners may have opportunities to produce edible forest products under the shade of their woodlots. Though this presentation focuses on forest farming wild onions (aka, ramps or leeks) it includes discussions of other edible forest products, as …

Al Robertson and Mike Burns love exploring and experimenting with everything they can find in their forests. Your forest may contain the key ingredients for delicious all-natural beverages. Learn how to tap into some non-traditional forest products to create hot, cold and even adult refreshments. Al Robertson covers the basic steps of creating apple cider, from selecting the right varieties to fermentation and bottling. Mike Burns explains how to use forest ingredients to advance the flavor of beer. 

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Tired of raking those hardwood leaves in your yard? Maybe you should consider raking pine straw from your forest instead! Pine straw is a non-timber forest product that is produced when southern pine trees such as longleaf, slash, or loblolly pines drop their needles in the fall. The resulting pine straw can be raked by hand or harvested using a mechanical raking machine and turned into bales. Landowners can manage their forest to harvest and then sell the straw on …

Non-timber forest products include plants, lichens and mushrooms used for specialized art and craft practices: basketmaking, fiber dyeing, and more. Artisans who gather and use these species have specialized knowledge of their micro-habitats and require certain qualities in the material they use. This session will focus on northeastern species including black ash, paper birch, red spruce, red osier dogwood, surprise webcap mushroom, and rock tripe lichen, but its concepts can be easily extended to other geographic regions and are informed …