The Forager's Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants

I have to start out saying I'm a complete novice in this subject. Many years ago I was clearing out some Queen Anne's Lace and discovered carrot-like roots. I asked around and found out it's also called wild carrot. That stuck in my head and made me curious about other plants. I never really did anything about it, though, until now. I've become interested in emergency preparedness and the thought occurred to me this would be a perfect reason to get into this subject. So this is my first book on the subject, and I gotta say I feel like I lucked out. I haven't read it fully, just the first 3 sections and more than a dozen spot-checks thru the rest, but I feel motivated to take my time and treat it more as a study than just a read. If opinion changes later, I'll update, but I'm feeling strongly positive right now. First, I'm impressed with organization. One of the reasons I avoided getting into this all these years is because I thought it would be a morass of details that would have to be memorized. But one of the first things I learned in reading was that the only thing you need to remember is to check your reference books. Obviously whatever you can remember will be helpful, but this book lays it all out in what I felt was a sensible manner, and allows for people who want good info but don't want to make a lifelong study out of it to be successful at it. And I don't mean that it preaches taking shortcuts, because very early on it warns you not to do that, and gives you extremely good reasons why. It covers an amazing amount of plant types, with lots of pix taken at the proper harvest time. There's some pix of tools you can make or find. It also emphasizes learning the terms used and provides their uses and definitions in the glossary. That last part I find incredibly thoughtful and useful. I've read too many how-to books that used subject-specific terms and you basically had to read them with a dictionary open. In fact, this whole book is written in a completely neutral style, as in no pretension, no tossing around specialty terms when plain language works fine, etc. It all follows the same format of picture at harvest time, a brief story on its place in history, then a thorough description, range/habitat, harvesting and preparation. All very sensible and down to earth. There's also sections on various storage methods, with details on how to use them. Big plus. The book itself is rather heavy, but not huge. I'm ok with that because it's good thick paper that will stand up to use in the field. I just find this book very complete, and knowing I'm at the learning-to-be-a-novice stage would normally make me refrain from saying such a thing. I really feel this book is going to give me a seriously good start, and remain a wonderful reference tool for the future.

Talk about going back to our roots (pun intended)! The Forager’s Harvest is quite the read. From front to back, the author takes extensive care to demonstrate his knowledge on the harvesting of wild plants. The author, Samuel Thayer, is clearly experienced. As he points out in “The Purpose and Organization of this Book” section, there is no college degree that exists for this particular subject. There are no experts in this field because there are no standards to be held to. He calls out what is wrong with other plant foraging books, pointing out their flaws, noting that there is misinformation being spread through some of the highest praised versions of these sort of guides. People research by reading other books, not by going out and actually gathering, cooking, and consuming these plants that they write about. By not having first hand experience with the plants themselves, they can’t even verify the information they are spreading because they have no field experience! It really shows. Thayer claims to do what no other author of this genre does and that is actually eating these plants thousands of times throughout his life, documenting the plants at different stages of their growth, and making it known at what stages different parts of the plant can be harvested to begin with. He provides stories dating back to when he was a young boy, tells of all the research he has done on his own, and provides evidence through his own experiences. Beyond that, he talks about the history of foraging for our own food and draws attention to the fact that it has been done for the majority of the time that humans have been around. Only recently have we ‘strayed from our roots’ and find ourselves dependent on packaged foods we get at the store (except maybe farmers and, of course, food forgers). Thayer’s passion for wilderness and the gratitude and appreciation he expresses towards nature is refreshing to read. I feel that way myself a lot of the time and it’s nice to read through the lenses of someone who feels the same. He gives all credit for good food not to humans, but to God’s green Earth. We’re just here to recognize its beauty! The closest thing I’ve ever personally come to harvesting my own wild plants is stealing a few blackberries from an empty lot in North Carolina one summer when I was thirteen. They were growing along and up a mountain bank on bushes surrounded by some of the biggest bumblebees I had ever seen. It looked like no-mans-land and after collecting a good amount, I took them back to my family’s cabin and my mother made a jam out of them to accompany homemade shortbread cookies. The next day going back for some more, I found a small rope going across the area they were in and that was the end of my journey. Besides that, the next closest thing to any foraging experience is picking strawberries or blueberries from a farm where you pick them and then buy them by the pound! I’ve never tried to forage for my own plants or collect various weeds to garnish or accompany meals like Thayer and others have. It is certainly a cool way to interact with nature that a lot of us have given up! I thought the book was fantastic. It is simple enough to understand for a beginner food forager (myself) and the way it is laid out is easy to follow. Personal stories, history, the importance of it, safety, how, when, and then specifics about each plant that is presented. The parts of this book that I really enjoyed were the opening sections as well as all the pictures of the plants that were shown once he dove into the different types. With so many pictures, the plants prove easy to identify- especially since it shows the plant growth cycles through different seasons of the year. Another useful bit of information is the timing calendar that Thayer included on pages 76-77 that shows when plants are coming into or out of season as well as their peaks at different times of the year for the different species. He also covers how to prepare the plants once you harvest them and how to store them for future use. There is a glossary in the back that defines obscure plant terms and also includes drawings that identify various leaf shapes, parts of the plants, and underground parts too. The index is extensive and helps to accurately locate information from the book. My one complaint is that there aren’t that many plants (comparatively to other guides to harvesting wild plants), however he made it clear that this is the first of many in a series which I am looking forward to buying as well! I can appreciate that he chose quality over quantity. I suppose the true sign of a good book is in whether or not you would recommend it to others, and let me tell you- I would most definitely recommend this book to another person! In fact, I already have! Not even halfway through the book and I found myself eagerly telling one of my friends about it, insisting that she borrow my copy as soon as I finished reading it. The reason I wanted to tell her about it is because she is a huge plant person and I knew she’d appreciate the fondness and passion of which the author writes this book. I feel like the targeted audience here is mainly outdoor enthusiasts although, this book is written in a way that even beginners or people interested in dipping their toes into the subject will appreciate. Plant people, food people, campers, and just regular people too will get something out of this book. General information about this book includes: title: The Forager’s Harvest, author: Samuel Thayer, place of publication: Wisconsin, published by: Forager’s Harvest Press, published in: 2006, length of book: 360 pages, paperback price: $22.95, ISBN-13:978-0-9766266-0-2; ISBN-10:0-97-66266-0-8.

Edited note: After having time to review this book in person, I will say this in this books defense to those who say it only covers around 32 plants and is mostly limited to North Central or Eastern U.S. plants... The author only talks about those plants that he is intimately familiar with (not like some who want to write about everything including the kitchen sink yet aren't really plumbers enough to tell you how to actually plumb a kitchen sink of your own). I know the general geographic area of coverage should have been more apparent in the title if the book specializes in few areas but it does cover some plants that can be found just about everywhere in North America. Also, this book isn't, nor do I believe written to be, an end all book with many plants. The author writes about what he knows in detail and I believe he selected the plants that are most abundant, identifiable to a beginner and plants that will reliably be able feed you quickly rather than a book that has you looking for everything under the sun including wild plants that have little nutritional value and are as scantly found as to have you looking all day for a single meal. Ask yourself this...Since most people want a book that will easily fit in a pack yet give you detailed preparation and photographic information for over 1/3 of North America's area, would you want this book of 32 tried and true plants that will fill your belly or, a encyclopedia of pounds of paper in you pack that also covers the other 2/3 of America you don't need and a plethora of plants that are edible yet not very filling unless you spend 3 days foraging for one days worth of meals?(especially if you're not alone!) My only criticism with the book, after considering the above question, is that it doesn't plainly state in the title or opening that most plants are from the North Eastern or Central region of North America. But I read reviews before I buy and was delighted by the contents thus,I knew before I ordered that this is not an "end All" book on foraging plants and mostly covered only about 1/3 of North America(the 1/3 I really needed). In other words, to the detractors of this book's content I say, if you can't choose a life saving book wisely on the internet and then want to whine about a good book, you'll probably not make it in the forests no matter what book you'd chosen. That's just the way nature weeds itself. Now to my original review: The actual construction for the book is quality and, although many pages, it is small enough to fit well in a backpack. The information in the book is more than I expected with a lot of photos. It is as advertised and more. I especially like the talk on cattails and it cleared up a lot of misinformation about them. The info on harvesting wampatos was very informative. It just has too much detailed information to list here. The seasonal harvesting guide and photos of the plants at different times of year is a real seller in my opinion. This book is, at the moment, in a ziplock bag in my backpack ready for the next time I head out into the woods.

Beneficial foraging books The opening paragraphs are designed to assist others avoid some of the pit falls I made in purchasing wild food literature. You can skip this and go directly to the individual book reviews if you choose. Please note that this review is of multiple wild food books. I prefer authors that work with the plants they are writing about, and don't just repeat things they read from another book (yes some wild food authors actually do that). I also prefer books with good descriptions, lots of photos of each plant to make identification easier, and to cover the plant from identification to the plate. That's my bias, here is my review. I'm just a guy who likes to forage and enjoys the learning and nutritional aspect of wild foods. My main purpose for writing this review of multiple wild food books on one review is to assist others coming to wild foods for the first time (like I was three years ago), and to hopefully help them avoid some of the easily avoided pit falls I made in the literature I chose. At first I wanted books with the most plants in it for my money. It made sense to me at the time but ended up being a grave mistake. Books that devote one picture and a brief explanation to a plethera of plants helped me identify some plants in one stage of growth, but did next to nothing that would have allowed me to use them as food. Example, most books will show you one picture of the adult plant. Many times that's not when you want to harvest it. No one would eat a bannana that was over ripe and pure black and call banana's in general inedible due to that experience. Yet many who have sampled a dandelion have done exactly that. As I've learned from John Kallas, one has to have the right part of the plant (this includes proper identification of the plant), the plant has to be at the right stage of growth, and it has to be prepared properly. If you can't do those three things you shouldn't be sticking the plant in your mouth. Now on to the individual books. Wild Edible Plants By John Kallas: 6 stars because it deserves more than 5 Instead of having hundreds of plants with one picture and one paragraph of information Kallas gives you less plants in far more detail and unmatched photography. If I could give this book to everyone in the United States I would as it is the best book I have found on the market. His descriptions of the plants are spot on and easy to read, his multiple full color pictures of each plant covered are the best I've seen in wild food literature, and he covers each plant from seedling to the dinner plate in stunning detail. If I could only own one book on wild edible foods this would be the one. No book can give you everything you need as a forager. That being said John does a superb job of plant selection in that most people in north america will be able to find all these plants within a mile of their home. For a guy taking care of two children under 3 years of age this book allowed me to forage while staying close to home. Consider this a must own. John also runs wild food adventures in Portland Oregon which offers wild food instruction in that area. Nature's Garden By Samuel Thayer: 5.2 stars the second must own, and it too deserves more than 5 stars. If I could only own two wild food books this would be the second one on my shelf next to John Kallas book. The section on Oaks and acorns are worth the price of the book by it self let alone the numerous other plants in it. Mr. Thayer uses color photographs at various stages of growth just like Kallas does. After you own Kallas book you will be hooked and Nature's Garden is the next logical progression in your journey. Other reviewers have covered Sam's brilliant rebutal to Jon Krakauer's propagandist poison plant fable of how Chris McCandless died. Chris died of starvation not a poisonous plant. Sam actually has this section of the book posted on his website for viewing (go to foragersharvest dot com), and is worth reading even if you don't buy the book. I really benefited from Sam's sections on the different wild lettuces, elderberries, thistles, and many others. On top of that Sam has the most engaging writing style of all the wild food authors I've encountered. Not only are his pictures only second to those of Kallas, his descriptions are spot on, and reading his books are like reading one of your favorite novels. Foragers Harvest By Samuel Thayer 5 stars I prefer Thayer's Nature's Garden over this book for my area. That being said I can't really say anything bad about this book. Good descriptions, excellent pictures at various stages of growth, good selection of plants, and done with accuracy. This book was to my knowledge the first of it's kind back when it was released back in the mid 2000's. To my knowledge it was the best book on the market then, and has only been surpassed by his follow up book Nature's Garden and Kallas Wild Edible Plants. Being the first book in this motif it (unjustly I might add) received numerous attacks by a few disgruntled souls on amazons book review section. One must remember Thayer was revolutionary in this field when he released this book, and people had a hard time adjusting. As my friend Stephen T. McCarthy once posted, "All truth passes through three stages: First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. Well anyone who has used Sams books should understand the advantage of covering less plants in more detail than covering many plants with little to no detail like the over-hyped gimmick books that litter the wild food market do. I few things I really liked about this book include (but are not limited to): descriptions and photographs on cat tail, wapato, service berry, stinging and wood nettle. The canning section is solid for the beginning forager like I am. This in my opinion still fits the must own catagory. Euell Gibbons, Stalking the Wild Asparagus 4.5 stars Line drawings that are OK. Descriptions of the plants are excellent. Recipes are added by the author, plus his enthusiasm and good nature jump out at you through the page. I mostly use this book in conjunction with other books, and I never use it for it's photographs or line drawings. Not that their bad. Just not enough for a total novice in my opinion. Now his descriptions are excellent and should not be ignored. Nancy J. Turner, "Food Plants Of Coastal First Peoples" and "Food Plants of Interior First Peoples" I'll give it 5 stars for ethnobotany and 4 stars as a foraging book. If you live in the pacific northwest these books are MUST HAVES. A thorough grouping of the plants used by native americans for food in the pacific northwest. Why I only give it 4 stars is that it is essentially put in a field guide format which is very limiting when trying to use a plant for food. Plus while Turner is the queen of plants and uses in the pacific northwest, you'll only get a tenth of what she knows on any given plant. Kallas and Thayer go into much more detail, have numerous pictures, and lead their readers toward success. With Turner you'll get one good picture in one stage of growth. Through experience I've found that just isn't good enough. She does have more plants in her books than Kallas and Thayer but when you cover them in less detail that is to be expected. To be fair to Nancy I don't get the impression that these were designed specifically for foragers. All this being said I own them and wouldn't give them back if you paid me double what I paid for them. Linda Runyan, The Essential Wild Food Survival Guide 3.8 stars, a good book. Well first I do have some issues with this book: I'm not fond of the line drawings or black and white photos, she does edibility tests on wild foods and discovered many of them that way (which I'm not a fan of), and some of her descriptions are lacking in my opinion. All that being said she cans her wild foods, dries them for winter use, and lives off of wild edibles all year long successfully. She shares a lot of this knowledge with the reader in this book, and being a nurse myself I'm also able to relate to her thinking in a lot of ways. Plus her stories of using cat tail fluff as stuffing for a couch only to find out that it was infested with insect eggs was hilarious. She tells you all the mistakes she made so you don't have to repeat them. She will tell you to use two other good field guides along with hers. I would plan on not using hers at all for the pictures. I have issues with her lack of oversight on the pictures. I'm sure some will disagree but when Linda tells you in her video (by the same name) that her chickweed picture isn't very good it does bring to mind credibility questions. Edible Wild Plants a North American Field Guide, by Elias and Dykemann. 3.5 stars At one point in my very early stages I thought this book was the bomb. However, I would identify a plant, find it at times accidentally for the most part, and go "now what?" And that is the weakness of the field guide format in wild food literature (Thayer and Kallas do so much more for you). This book is almost the opposite of Linda Runyans in some ways. She doesn't give you good pictures but gives you some good details on what to do with the plant after you find it. This book gives you some good pitures, a brief description, and then says "your on your own kid." In Samuel Thayers "Foragers Harvest" he gives great descriptions between wood nettle and stinging nettle (both are edible when properly prepared). Thayer also happened to point out that this book actually has a picture of wood nettle and call it stinging nettle. I checked up on this, and lo and behold he was right. They have two pictures and one is wood nettle and one is stinging nettle. They are both listed as stinging nettle in the book. This tells me that the authors might not know all the plants as well as they should. Don't get me wrong I still like the book. But it does prove that wild food authors don't always use or know the plants their writing about. Honorable mention goes to "Abundantly Wild" By Teresa Marrone. It is a wild food cook book. The pictures in the book are not great (though oddly beat many of the photos in supposed field guides) but I have read a few of the recipes and they look promising. I'll write a review about a year from now once I've put the book to the test. Until then I'll let you read the reviews on this book and make up your own mind.

If you're reading this and haven't yet bought this book, go buy it now. Seriously. Stop reading. Go buy this book and then read the rest of the review. Both this book and his second foraging book (Nature's Garden) are absolutely phenomenal books in every way a book could be enjoyable. They're not only informative, thorough and, educational, they're also funny, well written, and all around enjoyable to read. They read almost like a leisure book - they're informative without being tedious. Both of his foraging books choose to cover only a few species (< 50) in order to spend the time describing and explaining each in enough detail to truly educate the reader about them. After reading both of his books I found that I could go for a walk and not only identify many different wild edible plants, but remember some of the tips and tricks he detailed about them. For example, I had no idea the 'weeds' that so often popped up in my side yard were actually wild carrot and a sweet form of wild lettuce. When I drive to work I notice staghorn sumac with ripe berries all ready for someone to pick and make 'sumac-ade' with. Not to wax poetic here, but being able to identify wild, edible plants from a distance really does make you feel much more connected with the nature that pops up all around you. Fair warning though, friends who see you collecting wild plants can and will call you a 'weed eater' along with other "hilarious" terms that even my husband is guilty of. Though I don't mind - having a better more in depth view of the natural world provides a joy that's well worth the ridicule. And I find that the more I educate others the more they, themselves, see how interesting and rewarding it can be. In my opinion, the payoff of such an interaction is when these same people then describe wild foods that they ate as children and then realize how wild foods still affect people even in this 'modern' society. If you're in any way interested in wild foods and foraging, buy Samuel Thayer's books. He takes what spark you have for wild foods and feeds it until you can hardly wait to get out there and find it for yourself. Buy these books, you'll 'eat them up.'

This is the down to earth guide that you can actually use! Descriptions & pics are what I was looking for and had to go through a couple books to find a truly helpful one! So much info!! Plants that can be growing right in you're yard, neighborhood, park! ID, when & how to pick, for what uses, and how to prepare. Book worth the cost.

Great book with helpful information

This is a detailed description for some of the most well known and palatable wild PLANTS (not fungi), for eastern states...mainly. The author lives in Wisconsin, so the majority of species covered are dominant to surrounding region. Intricate and accurate, with high quality pictures and well informed discussions and preparation methods for each of the edibles covered. Though I suggest that this book is not to be used as a main tool for consumption, unless cross referenced with other books and well researched. Some of the plants are depicted as food stuffs only, when in fact are mainly medicinal. Could lead to allergic reactions and drug interactions, while the uninformed forager might assume he or she is poisoned. This could lead to confusion in an already dangerous situation. Also a few of the flora mentioned have high levles of latex (even after boiling). I wouldn't eat a steady diet of condoms, so apply common sense. Good enough to identify the specific plants covered, but absorb more information on chemical components. Anyone wanting to make foraging a hobby or way of life...please read multiple authors and research every plant part to be eaten...thoroughly. Keep in mind that nobody knows everything, so don't rely on one source for anything that jeopardises your saftey and well being.

This book has really helped my foraging experience. The pictures are clear and the descriptions are thorough. The introduction gives valuable information and guidelines for foraging. A definite 2 thumbs up!

This book is thoughtfully put together and it's evident that he/those involved have spent lots of their time outdoors collecting these wild edibles. There is plenty of information to help identify and prepare the foods, and the pictures are large and accurate. There are short stories about the author that are funny as well as heart warming. This is an amazing book that will thrill anyone who spends time out in the woods. 5/5 stars and deservingly so.

I was very disapointed with this book when it eventually arrived. Perfect book if you are in America or Canada but not a lot of use for us in the U.K. As I purchased it as a present it was even more of a disapointment as it sits in the book shelve unused. A total waste of money

Great book purchase, author seems to know his topic very well. Good to read and have alongside other illustrated botany guides. He points out misinformation and errors by the less experienced, which is extremely helpful as well as potentially life-saving. Would have liked a bundle deal of his books on Amazon, but nevertheless; happy to have bought and read this. A recommended buy.

It's honestly a treasure, and my mother keeps trying to steal it from me. I'll likely end up buying a couple more copies. If you're after a "strictly scientific" book, this is not it. But if you're looking for a book that recounts personal links to the plants in it, as well as the author's experiences with them in an entertaining and story driven way, this is by far the best.