Tracking wild edibles…

**Mature plants stand tall under the “harvest moon” of October**

Grabbing an ice-cream cone and drivin’ the back roads is a thing our family really enjoys.

We could be looking for wildlife, looking at old homesteads or just enjoying each others company. Every trip is different and takes us on a new journey. For me, its to share my outdoor passion and to be close the wife and kids… but don’t tell them that.

We see something new every trip and as of late the wispy green asparagus plants have been catching our eye.

The folks who belly up to our dinner table loves wild asparagus.

It is a tricky vegetable to find in the dense spring undergrowth but during the fall, in early October is when the bright green plant reveals itself. Recently this wild delicacy has been really popin’ in the fields near our home and I want to be sure and take full advantage of these opportune moments.

**Disturbed areas along fields are a great place to look for asparagus!**

To find them now is very easy, especially when the wind blows they are a beautiful and unmistakable in the fall here in Michigan. The short days and cold nights of autumn turn the vibrant green plant yellow, then dark brown.

This makes the fall an opportune time to track the wild veg we love so much!

Soon the wild asparagus will loose all of its branchlets and seeds leaving just a dead shell of its former self. The plants usually get crushed or bent over by the winds and winter snow. Come spring, sometimes its hard to find them but this is where the new growth will begin.

**This plant was protected by the dead log and will be an easy pick in the spring**.

I like to make a map the location of large patches of wild asparagus when I find them.

Its not hard to spot when they grow tall and wave you over when you look in their direction.

Notebook, journal, map out- do what ever you can do to help remember the places where the wild stuff grows!

Recently I have been using my cellular phone for tracking my own movements and transferring this data to a hard map at home. Its such a good idea and now I’m trying to map out ALL of my wild resource hot spots!

Its kind of’ High-Tec but so very helpful- I simply drop a pin on Google Maps and add a few notes with a quick picture for reference. The whole process takes a minute or 2 and it time stamps/dates every action. Later on I simply add them to specific labeled folders and save them. Now I can share with a press of a button with others and have a personal reference library of these great seasonal opportunities!