With chaga people have alot of questions. And i see a bunch of posts with peoples chaga that has mold or other issues. Its easily preventable, and if done right can be stored indefinitely. I made a few videos on it https://youtu.be/3O8DV6UlxAA?si=pOawDcRgxZdds62z this one is how to dry and prepare it into a tincture. I also have another video in my channel that shows identification and if you think about it as some fungus growing outside on a tree.. yeah it probably does need to be cleaned! So once you harvest your chaga always clean it!! Scrub and wash with stiff bristle brush.

Hi, my friend wants to get into foraging. They live in the UK, around London. I'd like to get them a book they can use to identify mushrooms. Any book comes to mind? Something you'd like to recommend?

Hey all!

I have some chaga I foraged last year that I dried and ground. I have been making tea for myself, but I would really like to make something more akin to a tincture that I could just take a few droppers of or whatever.

I can't use alcohol, unfortunately, as I'm a pretty terrible alcoholic. I no longer drink, and I have actually had relapses in the past when I thought I would be ok with the taste of alcohol in tinctures.

Is there a way to make tinctures alcohol-free? Could I just boil a larger amount for a lot longer and make a super strong tea I could use as a tincture?

Thank you so much!

Any plants I should look for in the more cold weather that we have currently?

I've already found pine. I have access to 20 acres so there should be something

Mushrooms are a bit more dangerous so I am going to research like crazy but I live in WV and I’m curious what do yall use to verify what you have found

Currently checking if my acorns are dehydrated and am getting ones like this, is this just bad luck or did I go too hot with them? They seem too dark to be oxidized but I could be wrong?

These are red oak acorns btw, i like a challenge so I was actually looking forward to trying to get the tannins out.

Is this safe to eat if the rest end up like this? Or should I just cut my losses

There were some comments about how anti foraging laws came about in the post-civil war era to prevent black and indigenous people from supporting themselves off the land and it prevented them from engaging in traditional cultural practices. I hadn't thought about this before but it makes sense. Do you all forage in places where it's banned?

Everywhere I go in this jack pine location there are piles of cones randomly located. Do people collect them? If so, why pile and leave them?

Hi all,

Harvested some mussels from Pacific Ocean today in Northern California, in an area with no active shellfish advisories. Found some orangish/red liquid in the bucket among the mussels. Drained it out (with mussels still in the bucket), and the liquid came back, suggesting one or more mussels may be actively secreting it. Does anyone know what this may be and if it poses a safety risk? If I could identify which mussel(s) it was, would it be safe to eat the other mussels that were in the same bucket?

Please let me know, thank you!

Not as bright as I’ve found it in the past and I know the color fades over time. What do you think?

I’ve chopped and dehydrated some rose hips to infuse in oil for skincare. I’ve kept the seeds and skin as and will strain off the oil with a cheesecloth. Some of the rose hips had black spots, and the seeds inside were darkened/brown. I didn’t think anything of this become I’m not planning on consuming them (hence why I didn’t separate the seeds).

Is there any reason not to use these for skin care purposes?

Hello all,

I live southern Ontario, and was put walking my dogs in an open (unmaintained) field and along a slope there was this Rosebush. I've seen it before in summer and it looks like wild roses...

But today it was covered in hips...leading to my inquiry ! Can I eat these hips, and for my general knowledge --> can you eat any wild rose hips??

If i can eat these I'm.thinking of picking a bunch dehydrating and making into a powder.

TIA!

I used some in a deer stew last night. It adds just enough sweetness and helps thicken the soup

I've let them sit and ripen, but these ground cherries refused to stop being green, even when they fell off on their own. Most of the ones that just fell of were rotten from the moment I picked them up. This was a wild plant and my soil is genuinely terrible, being mostly clay. Should I give up on these or are they safe to make something with? Thank you for your help :)