For the Northwest forager, early spring provides a unique array of tempting new edibles. Nutritious buds are appearing on the Indian plum, salmonberry, blackberry, huckleberry and Douglas fir branches. Sprouts such as sweet cicely, cleavers and bittercress are pushing through the warming soil.

Bumblebees and other pollinators are re-appearing, early enough this year to ensure successful pollination and a fruitful crop. When plants flower earlier than their pollinators, nuts and seeds tend not to develop. On Vashon, we saw that happen with the native hazelnuts last year.

One of the first signs of spring in the plant world is a tiny green bud discreetly forming at the end of a seemingly dead branch. The new buds are one of the most nutritious parts of a plant since they are packed with all they need to become a mature leaf. Bud development is triggered by warming outdoor temperatures, and this year all the plants seem to be on an accelerated schedule due to our balmy weather in January and February.

On Vashon, the sweet smell of the cottonwoods and the eerie call of the varied thrush herald the arrival of spring. It is the season when the cornucopia of wild edibles and plant-based medicinals begins to unfold, each phase of the various plants holding a different treat. Foraging wild seasonal foods adds a wealth of vitamins and minerals, in their natural form, to your diet. The early spring menu is limited only by your imagination.

Last week at nature camp, we made an alder catkin bread. We crushed loose alder catkins (taking out the limp stem), and added pancake mix and an egg. We grilled small loaves on salal leaves over a campfire, and they were quite tasty. You can also fry batter-dipped dandelion flowers in olive oil. Try serving with warm syrup or rolled in powdered sugar.

A lovely and vitamin-packed foraged salad this season can include chickweed, bitter cress, cleavers, violet, salmonberry flowers and buds, blackberry buds, sweet cicely, Indian plum buds, evergreen huckleberry buds, red huckleberry leaves, nipplewort leaves and Oregon grape flowers.

To make a fabulous dressing for your wild greens salad, pick young purple nettles and soak in white vinegar for 10 days. The result is a delightful rose-quartz pink vinegar. 

An excellent seasonal beverage to boost the immune system involves steeping new red cedar tips, fresh Doug fir tips with buds, fresh nettle leaf, usnea lichen, salal leaves and huckleberry leaves in hot water overnight in a thermos. Gently reheat before drinking. Adding a copious amount of Vashon honey turns this refreshing cup of tea into an even more potent antibacterial tonic. 

As we all become aware of the importance of eating locally and seasonally, it is even more imperative that we understand how to safely forage the wild plants within our arms’ reach. Not only will it keep you healthier, it could literally save your life if our food distribution system ever broke down. Knowing how to eat off the land is not only useful, it can be very self-empowering.

— Erin Kenny is a longtime Vashon resident and director of the nonprofit Cedarsong Nature School.