The Tastiest Wild Vegetable You Haven't Eaten 

Thanks Jessica!

Me too, I'm stuck for 2+ hrs now, I want the book!!!

Just a heads-up from a fellow railroad fan and forager: I would avoid foraging right along railways. The creosote used to treat wooden sleepers (railroad ties) contains multiple toxic compounds (to prevent the wood decaying) as well as known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents). You're probably aware of this, James; but for others reading: the EPA states that a person should wear respirators and chemically-impervious gloves when handling railroad ties, not letting them near water supplies and so on. Serious business. These compounds are persistent in soil and linger more-or-less forever, but slowly get diffused/leeched away by water, carried off by worm activity and so on. This says nothing of the diesel, oil and (on old railways) coal dust that's been drizzled all over the environment during the rail system's use. Of course, eating a helping of food from a railroad side probably won't hurt you (in the way that swallowing a teaspoon of gasoline probably won't hurt you), but it's best to be safe. "Safe" is going to be relative, and the only way to be sure of contaminants is to have the soil tested. It will depend on how long the railway is/was used, how long it has been idle, how much traffic it's seen during that use, and whether/how much remediation has taken place. Naturally, a siding track out in the country that only saw occasional use in the 1960s is going to be safer than a heavy-traffic, in-use main line in a metropolitan area, due to the other pollutants I mentioned. However, it will still carry the creosote load. Those chemicals will have spread farther from an old track than a new one, but will also be less concentrated. TL;DR: Use common sense. In general, take into account the lay of the land. It's best to forage well uphill of a railroad or, if there's a dip in the land nearby, on the opposite side of the "V." Basically, away from the direction of drainage. Consider the amount of rain an area gets, local water-flow, etc. On old railways, where coal was used for fuel, also take into account the prevailing wind direction. Finally, when considering what to forage: fruits and flowers tend to carry rather less creosote load than root products and fungi. Dame's rocket flowers, raspberries and so on are safer (again "safe" being relative) than burdock root or mushrooms. Indeed, mushrooms are known to accumulate heavy metals and radioactive compounds (like the carbon 14 in coal), so I'd keep them right off the menu near railways. Anyway, this "quick heads up" is turning into a wordy field guide, so I'l wrap it up. In short, railroads can be lovely places to walk, and often provide valuable in-roads to other foraging sites, but I'd recommend foraging on them directly.

Agreed. I like it better than the smell of phlox. I found is susceptible to powdery mildew, however, if not in a free airflow location. I have a roadside field of it as my computer screenshot.

Awesome, let me know what you think!

Thanks Louise! Yes... this does look a lot like Wild Phlox, so it's easy to see how the two can be confused for one another. If you try Dame's Rocket, let me know what you think!

Louise Hiker me too! In Michigan we call this wild phlox as well!

Ikr😜

@@beccareul Dame's Rocket has 4 petals, Phlox has 5. They're actually two completely different species that just happen to look really really similar :) Phlox is native to N. America, Dame's Rocket is native to Europe.

You're welcome, Scott! As always, thanks for watching and commenting.

Awesome Josh! Glad you found it and liked it!

It's one of the things that makes his videos so enjoyable to watch.

You're welcome, and thanks for watching!

Awesome, Scott! Let me know what you think about the buds... especially when stir-fried.

You're welcome, Yvonne!

You're welcome... I hope you get a chance to try it!

Nice, let me know what you think!

Hey thanks for sharing your thoughts! Glad you're enjoying these videos!

I just got back from harvesting some. Ate it raw and at various stages of cooking. Once it got nice and crispy it tasted amazing. I tasted almost a broccoli and mushroom thing going on. Do you have any suggestions for how to prepare the rest of the plant?

You're welcome!

Hops and teasel, Yah bless you

Awesome, try it out and let me know what you think!

It is a weed. www.appliedeco.com/dames-rocket/

Hey Zach, check out all book by Samuel Thayer. You won't be disappointed.

They're easier to make, too. ;)

You can buy seeds and grow these even in containers

Scott - I typically don't clean these. Because the stalks are very tall (several feet high in most instances), they're relatively clean and free from debris. As long as you store them well until you get home, they should remain clean.

Hey Geoffrey, apologies for that! The developers and I are currently tweaking the site to fix that. If you want to receive updates on videos and events, here's the newsletter sign up: confirmsubscription.com/h/i/8F756D78F98F8632

Thanks

Thanks for writing that! I should've mentioned the differences in the video because I did receive a lot of questions about the two plants. You summarized it nicely!

Thanks, but cannot take the credit for the summary. (copied it online)

Great idea mike rogers!

Hello, I have not filmed a video on mullein. Perhaps I'll film one this year... thanks for the suggestion!

Learn Your Land thanks for the reply, i learned alot from your channel keep yp the great work dude

Yes, it is quite beautiful too!

Hey thanks Ian!