Wild Food Foraging- Season 3- Milkweed, Tree Cambium, Fiddlehead, Pine, Cattail, Evergreens, Birch 

This is what kids should be learning in school. Very important

Beautiful I've never found anyone to break this down the way you have. As I have just found this channel I believe I'm going to stick with it for a while and see what I can learn. Earlier you were talking cattails. I have eaten Cattails raw and they have a slight cucumber flavor at least to me. I have drank the white pine tea and to me it has a mild turpentine flavor. As far as the fiddleheads, I have eaten raw fiddleheads and they have a very slight Walnut flavor to me and they done me no harm. I'm 71 years old and I know quite a bit about wild edibles which I'm just starting to teach my grandson. Part of this video is going to be a treat for him. I may know somewhat about wild edibles but I still love learning things that I don't know because the more I learned the more he learns and that is my goal in life. Thanks for the video please have a great day and stay safe and keep your powder dry and your sap running!

Been half Native American ( Creek Indian ) your foraging is TRULY ON POINT you have great knowledge & great video Brother I’m TRULY enjoying watching them‼️

I always loved collecting ripe but not blown cattail heads. We'd get them, put them inside an empty cloth pillow, and strip the fluff from the stem. The fluff would explode into a lovely lofty down, and you could keep inserting cattail heads and stripping them till you had a pillow to your firmness preference, then stitch it up. When the pillow started to get lumpy and not comfortable, or smelly, you pick the seams, empty out the fluff into your compost, or just let the birds have it for nesting, and after washing and drying the pillow material, do it again.

We have milkweed growing in our front 'ditch' garden. What many people do not know, is that milkweed flowers have a VERY strong, beautiful scent. We can smell them in the house for months -- and the monarchs are a big bonus.

I loved that you included that the finns used cambium to make bread! It was called "Pettuleipä" in our language!!

Most important statement in this video: “Just because you read about it on line, or see some guy on RU-vid eating a wild edible does not mean you should take them for their word”. I’m sick of other you tubers touting some nonsense as definite fact.

Milkweed used to grow in our backyard before we moved. Whenever I didn’t want to go to school, I would break off a piece of that plant and rub it all over me to make me have a reaction. Now that I am 16, and not 8, in retrospect that was not a good idea.At least it worked.

Very well presented and informative video. Thanks, mate. I grew up in the Australian bush and I often saw the local native people harvesting sap fro native trees, like gum trees and wattle, but I never knew what they used it for. Possibly for other uses, too,not only as medicine or food. I also saw little native children sucking nectar out of a local Australia shrugged b called the "Bottle Brush" because it looks like a bottle cleaning brush, typically in shades of red. And once I saw such little native kids quickly scale a tall Eucalypt where they had spotted a parrot family of Crimson Rosellas nested each year. Mother parrot had just fed her babies on nectar from flowers she had gathered. So the little native kids felt entitled to also get some, as they love anything sweet. So they grabbed the baby birds, tipped them upside down with beaks open, so the nectar their mum had just fed them flowed out of their mouths and straight into the mouths of these little native kids. I couldn't believe the ease and dexterity they innocently did this in. "Hey, you! Leave them poor babies alone, they're little and hungry... " I yelled at these kids. "So are we... There's heaps more trees out there she can get food from... Grubs, worms, bull ants..." They had a point. There was any dant food in the bush, if you knew what you could or could not safely eat. They obviously instinctively knew that, if baby birds didn't die from what their mother had put into their mouths, neither would they if they took it straight out of the baby birds and put it into theirs. They seemed blissfully unaware of serious diseases that migratory birds in Australia, which can come from as far away as Siberia, in the northern hemisphere, can carry, when they come here to mate and return. These northern hemisphere ones are probably OK but there are many beautiful exptic species coming down from places like tropical areas, that could be bringing in diseases we cannot control. They don't go through Customs or respect any Covid lockdown travel restricts. They just fly in and out as they wish. And yet, despite all these potential health hazards from eating wild food and extreme wilderness survival etc, the Australian natives are the old surviving people's on earth, been around for about 70, 000 years and still here, though attempts to integrate them into white western society eg eating all our sugary, over processed foods, artificial drugs, alcohol etc kills them more than any previous very harsher life they lived, surviving by hunting and wild plant food, insects, reptiles etc they could catch, often in a very barren, hostile natural environment, with everything in nature ready to attack, eat, poison, hunt every other species in the competition for survival in a harsher environment. This sort of information you present is very useful to know because one never knows when it could come in handy. Like when those two dudes who decided to go on their last big adventure trip and died in the Canadian wilderness, after their killing spree. Had they know about extreme wilderness survival, they might have been able to enjoy their adventure trip with no need to go on a killing spree and then die of starvation themselves. I am sure there were enough beetles, insects, pine needles and Cambria, fiddlesticks ferns, Milkwood etc they could have eaten to remain alive on. A guy in Australia did this once, and remained alive a long time in the forest, just eating whatever he could forage in the wilderness, completely alone and nothing else, no outside help. It's possible. Re the clever girl Monarch Butterfly who is very fussy about her diet and very beautiful, watching her beauty and figure, by only eating Milkwood, I like the way she keeps herself safe from predators. By ingesting the plants poison which basically gives others a clear message to not mess with her. I wish we human females could find something we could eat that produces a very toxic "defence chemical" to quickly and automatically kill any rapists, murderers, domestic violence perpetrators etc on contact... (But not harm the good men...). I wonder if the lady Monarch's poison hurts male Monarch butterflies wanting to court her for her beauty? Maybe it kills them, too and, like the male spider, the male Monarch butterfly must die after mating and ends up eaten by his true lady love butterfly, so she can lay eggs etc and keep the life cycle going. Someone has to stick around to keep things going, lay the eggs, produce the next generation...

Hi, one small correction: neither the Yew, nor the Norfolk Island Pine are related to the Pinus genera, although they are evergreen. The best part of the pine, for me, is the candles that grow on the tips of the outer branchlets in late spring. Just eat them raw. The best way I have found to harvest cattails is to get them before they grow more than a foot tall. Also, the rhizome can be roasted on the grill. Don`t worry about the outer part getting burned, it`s the inner part you`re after. Thanks, enjoy your channel.

My great grandmother was Bavarian, and did Kaballic herbal work. These videos, at 71, remind me so much of her teaching methods. I was the first of her great grandchildren, and she lived to 103. I have at least 32 more years! Thank you for these, especially in these times, subscribing.

I used to us that “milk” from milkweeds as glue when I was a kid I would try to glue rocks together with that stuff It didn’t work lmao

You could save someone's life with this info. too many people starve to death in the woods, surrounded by food. The info isn't taught any more and should be.

My husband and I recently became the caretakers of a cottage of the Northumberland Straight, Nova Scotia. Back in the woods, we have just about every plant mentioned in this video. Excited to try everything! Thank you for your knowledge and videos.

"What part of the cattail is your favourite to use?" - I love the tender flower part at the top - not the part that turns brown but when past ready, it is the part that turns to fluff before the bottom section that turns brown. Boiling these tops (after removing the husk like you do corn) in water, then rolling them in butter (salt n pepper to taste) then eaten like corn (the core is too hard - like eating a stick). Taste reminds me of asparagus. When the tops have split their husks already & have started turning yellow with pollen, shake these into a container. The pollen is delish mixed with eggs. Gives them a slightly nutty flavour. The pollen can't be stored for long though, it will turn to fluff in a matter of days if not frozen to keep longer. The young new shoots that have not broke the water surface yet and still only the size of your thumb or smaller attached to the root is very good too. Great vid by the way. I like how you actually show people you are eating this stuff. It is one thing to say "this is edible" but entirely another thing to show people and actually do it.

Fiddle heads are amazing when first par-boiled in salt water, then pan fried with lemon zest, minced garlic, butter, salt and freshly ground pepper

When driving down our road in Michigan, my son 4 years old, saw the cattail heads and shouted "Look at the hot dog bones!"

Milk weed flowers also smell soooo nice! Like strong lilac.

Simply outstanding presentation...Absolutely the best presentation I have seen on RU-vid...your attention to such detailed photography and your clear explanations are a cut above...thank you very, very much...

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Monarchs in Maryland are drastically disappearing. I've planted milkweed in my yard to help the Monarch population.

thank you for also showing how to cook them. describing how to do it is just not the same, and for showing so thoroughly what it looks like without bogging down on details.

After you cut the roots off , you should put them back in the water (replant them) most times they will grow back. I've done this several times. Also you can take the brown portion of the cattail ( with a lo n g portion of the stalk) put it in some type of flammable liquid and then use it as a torch.

You're a good teacher because when you tell us something you show us too!

Your cattail information was fantastic. You definitely know your stuff 👍🏻 I worried for a second thinking the important details of this plant wouldn’t be shared because of the invasive plant but you did a great job at explaining 😁

This is the most useful video I’ve seen on RU-vid. And I‘m very surprised how it’s underrated.

I'm In Maine and enjoy most everything here on your list! Never had to harvest cambium although good to know. My personal favorite way to eat cattails, after picking, I clean off just the outer layer of green leaf leaving a layer of light green. Cut off the top leaves, leaving it to be around a foot. I then roast them over an open fire till singed, wipe off the blackened part. What an amazing flavor! Eat all the soft and the core pops out as if a surprise! Scrape out the rest of the softest parts with your teeth. A corn and asparagus smokey flavor! MY FAVORITE! :)

This is pretty much a whole wild foraging meal guide and this really inspires me to embrace the wilderness when i am older.

Awesome video, if your not a narrator by profession, you could be.

Southeastern pines, with long, very sharp needles in bundles of 3, are full of turpentine and would probably kill your liver. (Pinus taeda, carribea...).

These are among my favorite videos on RU-vid. Really appreciate the time you spend on them to provide excellent wild edibles education. Looking forward to anything you produce! >

This brought back such sweet memories of me and my daddy walking the woods picking wild onions, lettuce and him teaching me, difference between poison an edible, thank u because as I've gotten older and he passed years ago , I didn't trust my memory, so now excited, wild onions are one of my favorite veggies, they are delicious,

Fiddleheads on our land in upstate NY appear on Mother's Day. Best gift ever!

God i love fiddleheads,, still lots of snow in Maine,, I am down to my last package,, 2 lbs left.. I usually freeze 80 to 100 packages!! I made a box with rat wire on the bottom & 4 inch cedar around the sides.. I try to pick when they are dry, easy to clean, I winter them first to clean most of the crap away!! Aloha My friend..

When I was a kid my mother rubbed milkweed sap on my sunburns. It worked great but now I use aloe to save the milkweed plant. The Monarch 🦋 needs it far more than I.

Dude you are bloody amazing! Your wife is lucky to have you and I am sure VS versa. Keep the videos coming, God Bless You Both and all that encompasses you. Off grid KY

Just yesterday, March11, 2019, I harvested about a pound of wild fiddlehead from my favourite foraging spot! I steam them, rather than boiling, as I feel that process retains more of the nutrients. Thank you for a great video! Edit to add: they are delicious!

Very well done. It is so good to find instructions that are clear, well paced, and thorough. THANK YOU for not having annoying music or "canned" over enthusiastic narration. Watching your video is borderline therapeutic.

Good informative videos. You asked about our favorite part of the cattail... I really like the stem centers but my favorite is the immature seed heads. They have a flavor a little like corn. I have also added the pollen to ground up nuts and made like a pancake. I have always been told the roots are edible but they are too bitter, but after I saw another one of your videos I see the edible part is only the starch(I will be trying that). I drink pine needle tea all the time, I add mountain mint and the pine around here (TN) has a lemony hint which makes a really good combination.

Cattail pasta with deep fried fiddlehead and tree bacon bits 🤘🏻

Just discovered your channel. Binged watched all there was, and am so disappointed there are no more. Love, Love, Love!! Please don't stop. I would even watch what is on the cutting room floor...you are just that great!! Thanks!

You do such an amazing job and carefully telling each characteristic and doing so easily not confusing or unfocused or too fast or anything ...great job !

Your videos are my favorite bc other channels either have bad quality cameras or don’t go into detail on the signifiers of plants and/or their dangerous similar counterparts. Thanks so much!

Thank you for taking the time to show the difference in growth pattern of fiddle heads. I appreciate how through you are and even doing the cooking process with various suggestions. Much gratitude.

Definitely one of the better survival videos around!

I hope that you will continue to do research and increase your library of edibles and techniques for harvesting and consumption!!! I’m very interested ,and I’m impressed with how easy it is for me to understand you and glean the information from you.

How did you learn about wild edibles and such? I did learn a few thing from my grandmother but I do wish I'd gotten to spend more with her before she left us she had the kind of knowledges you display you know, the kind we all should have but have lost over the years just because no one was using these tidbits of knowledge from days gone by and so we've forgotten them completely. Well , most of us have but gratefully you have not. 😄

The cattail slime has helped for sore muscles in my family. Also we have roasted the pods. They were a bit like corn. I also have used cattail flour. Great cornbread.

My favorite part of cattails is the flowers/pollen... use it to make flapjacks... I use the leaves for crafts (baskets, mats, sandals, etc)...

Nice work!

I made a tea with stinging nettles, white pine and a bit of bergamot(bee balm) leaves. it was pretty tasty.

What a detailed, amazing, presentation!!! It is almost 1 AM and I am hooked. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Blessed is the man who knows what he is eating and has a patch of woods where he can roam without being chased off. Thank you "The Outsider" for being outside and taking notes just to increase our knowledge. Beautiful video. I just wanted to remind people that the Milkweed is the ONLY plant that Monarchs can lay their eggs, hatch, and survive as a caterpillar (to my knowledge). I haven't seen a Monarch in 20 years or more (Mid Missouri) but have seen Admirals, which resemble them. Also, Milkweeds are scarce because they like to grow along roads, like blue Chicory, and the highway department likes to spray everything with poison. Correct me if I'm wrong. I also heard the Monarchs stay in one small area of Mexico which may be endangered (winter time). Also, I'm worried about the increasing encroachment of non-native plants (all imported by idiots in the past) such as Japanese honeysuckle.

when harvesting the cambium, making a paste of dirt and moss if possible and putting it on the area of cambium taken to help try to prevent disease and bugs.

You make really great educational videos outsider. And I swear by the terrain you traverse in it is in the Halton region of Ontario. Specifically Twiss Road. Looks so familiar to me. And after I watched the video on white cedar tea I went out on a hike and tried for myself. Its actually very good and I will drink it for life now. Thank you sir.

Milkweed has deep roots that grow extensively sending up new shoots. I removed all the seed pods from my milkweed last year so I wouldn't have a ton of new seedlings everywhere. However, since they are in the garden area, one of the keeper plants continues to send new shoots up into one of the nearby beds. I hope pulling the shoots is not releasing toxins into the bed soil... yikes. Now I have milkweed growing only in that one corner in the back garden. It used to grow near my back door, but I removed those plants when I found it it's poisonous to dogs. At the time, I was able to use a gate to keep him from roaming into the back garden. My current dog doesn't go back there without me, but I'll have to make sure I remove the pods so he doesn't get to them. Last year was the first time I saw Monarchs and their eggs in my garden. The bees LOVE the flowers and squash vine borers like to hang out and mate on the milkweed.

You are mine and my 10 year old daughters new favorite youtube'r! Your so awesome. Thank you!

As always totally awesome video. Now I know why my dogs love chewing branches, besides just cracking them up. Keep sharing it teaches so many of us what we should really already know. Blessings.

From seed pod to flavor pod in 15 minutes flat. Well played Sir. Interesting series and great delivery.

I really enjoyed your video. From identification, thru to the taste test. I appreciated that there was no music to deal with while paying attention to your details provided. Great info. Thank you!!!!

my favorite cattail dish is dependent on time of year...in late spring the flower heads are still in the sheath...the immature heads boiled or steamed can be eaten like mini corn on the cob..in spring the new leaves can be grasped and pulled til they break off down at the root and slide out... the tender end tastes a little like cucumber...when the flower spikes bloom they contain lots of pollen which can be collected by gently bending over and tapping on the edge of a cup...the pollen can be added to batters and other recipes similarly to flour .. not as a flour substitute but just as a supplement...there are lots of ways to enjoy cattails...I have enjoyed your videos on one of my favorite subjects

What a great video series! So glad to have stumbled upon you. Thank you. You offer such great information about the different species and the nutritional benefits. I’ve always enjoyed the idea of foraging from the forest but have only learned to harvest limited species i.e., chanterelles, Oregon Grape shoots, nettles for tea and the obvious berries of salmon, black jack, thimble, huckle and blackberries. Really enjoyed your tree needle tea tasting test. 👍🏼

Awesome information!! I will keep this knowledge for life. Thanks.

I heard skunk cabbage is healthy. So I ate a few bites & my mouth tingled for HOURS. I have 50 acres, riverfront, swamp, creeks & a 5 acre island. Lots of blessings. God is good.

Those little pink flowers are so unique, officially my new favorite flower!

Milkweed flowers smell so good. 🌷

Great vid! When I make tea with the white pine needles I try to use young needles from the present years growth. I find the flavor pleasant and sometimes add a bit of honey and it's very good.

I am 1/8 Cherokee on my mothers side. She taught me about a number of edible wild plants. Having grown up during the depression, wild plants were sometimes all they had to eat. I am grateful for the knowledge and wish I could have learned more! I have not tried the other evergreen teas, but I have made pine needle tea and love it!

My favorite part of the cat tail is the corndog on top. Delish.

Excellent! Great photography and information

Thanks. I really enjoy your program. Very well done.

Great subject matter and presentation. Love all the camera angles and close ups.

I grow these in my flower garden. Their blossoms are big fragrant, smelling like sweet cookies or perfume. After the plant dies and the stem dries out, you can peel the long thin bark off in strips and twist strong cord from it that is very flexible and soft to the touch.

I love this channel so much

I love your videos they are very cool i myself even tho im in my late 40s I'm glad that you are exsposing wild edibles that my generation didn't know about. Thank you for sharing this information I'm looking forward to more videos from you.. Thank you brother.. GOD BLESS you and your family..

I have harvested fresh pine needles and blenderized them after rinsing in water. After they have been blenderized in pure water one may then strain the pulp into a glass and "Voila" a healthy drink from mother nature and very quickly accomplished~! Rock & Roll Baby~!

I'm glad to hear you talk about the different pines and how they are not all edible

Thoroughly enjoyed this video that I subscribed. So precise and to the point, this makes me want to scout my area to "see" what plants and trees are available if and when they asked needed. Thank you-Well done.

in case you plan on harvesting birch sap this year s well, there is alternative method. just cut off a small branch and hang the bottle on the branch. the higher the branch the sweeter the sap. over here we harvest it from white birch primarily.

The part where your chipping on the tree made me wanna fall back to sleep. So soothing.

the sound of your hatchet harvesting cambium lets me know your words are worth listening to thnx so much for your woodsmanship so needed today

I've eaten young milkweed leaves and flowers raw. Damn tasty, and have never had any ill effects!

Excellent video. The one on the Milk weed was especially good. I have observed every aspect of the milk weed plant but thought is was inedible because of the milky sap. Generally anything like that should be avoided, Or so I thought. I will be all over that this summer. Regarding additional cat tail ideas.I have mixed 3/4 cat tail fluff with 1/4 flour and made great pancakes. Its a great way to stretch your supplies in the wilderness. I have stopped with scout troops to harvest, for a snack, cat tail as you have shown. WE ate them ray though with a sprinkling of salt. Lastly ground and toasted cat tail roots makes a good substitute for coffee. Great stuff OUTSIDER Keep on backpacking

My Grandfather and Dad lived in a Finnish community in Northern Ontario -- Papa owned a logging operation and camp, they always were in the woods. Yes they used to tap birch trees for the sap.

My aunt who used to live in Minn. Gave my parents a start of ostrich Fern. We planted it on north side of our house, where the soil was usually fairly damp. The ferns spread, but no farther than the shadow of our house. I used to go out, rub off the brown papery skin, and nibble just a few, flavor was like young peas. I might go on to gather a few more to cook with other spring greens. My father taught me that black birch twigs had a pleasant flavor. The family has since sold the land where the black birch stood. He also showed me where tiny wild onions grew in spring. He told me in his childhood, wild onions were the first fresh food of spring, much anticipated after months eating foods stored for winter.

Thank you excellent clarity on the milk weed. Thanks for this.

This is by far the best video or book information I have ever seen in this way... very easily spotted examples and very informative to explaining the plants

Your thorough detailed info is also diverse and delivered perfectly both visually and audibly. Great stuff man. I'm new to foraging and it's hard to find videos that are as detailed about the foraged species as your videos are. I feel so much more confident in an identification if I see it in your video not just a field guide or the inaturalist ap or something

The folks I know who eat milkweed pods treat them like okra. They oven roast them or pan fry them. I thought your fiddle head fern description was one of the best I have seen. You make it very clear. People should not eat tree cambium except in dire situations because it damages the trees too much. Cattail pollen when mixed with water and oil and maybe and egg, makes a nice tasty pancake, and it doesn't stunt the plant, only inhibits seed production. To me, if your being more foody, that is the best part of the cattail. My brother used to make a syrup that was a mix of tree saps. He combined maple, box elder and birch. It was one of those things that few can experience and most could not appreciate.

This is so thorough and informative.

I used to see so much milkweed when I was a child growing up in the 70's. It was everywhere. I can't remember the last time I saw any,,it's been many decades..... So very sad.......

It's good to see Canadian made videos on foraging

EXCELLENT EXCELLENT information! I am so impressed! Most of the crap people put on YT is full of bullshit......this guy EXACTLY shows you the defining characteristics of EACH EDIBLE - CLEARLY providing perfect video of important points.... What a great job! THANK you for your informative efforts! What a breath of fresh, informative air❣❣❣

This is so interesting. I wish I had studied trees in school for a career in that area. Thank you for sharing this with us.💖

Thank you for this

"Thanks,watching your show.I got up and made myself a cup of white spruce tea.....nothing beats mother NATURE "

Going from season 1 to season 3, your videos have gotten better with each one. keep up the great work!

Cattail shoots are great but, I like to use the dried and finely ground roots to make bread with th pollen d=from the spikes as a nice yellow coloring on the top of the bread!

Savage!that cambium looks delicious

I just love the phrase “tree pasta”

Cattails are wonderful! The roots can be used for flour and the yellow pollen on the spike at the top of the seed head can make a cattail flour bread look great and it is also, very healthy as the flour has a much greater amount of starch than wheat does. The seed heads can be eaten raw or boiled when they are still young and green! The stems after drying and a little straightening can be used as makeshift arrow shafts, too! Great video with tons of information! Thanks!!!