Foraging and Delayed Gratification

One of the frustrating things about foraging: most foraged plants are seasonal. Granted, this means that you can find some edible plants at any time of the year to harvest, but it also means that the edible plants you want to eat may not be ready for a while.

I have seen several lush fig trees with small green figs blooming on street corners throughout uptown - but they are ripening slowly. Today I spotted some furry green pecans growing in the university area... these won't be ready until fall.

I've also seen canna growing all over the city (mostly in private yards, but in some public spaces too). The beautiful red canna flowers may be blooming now, but foragers typically harvest the young rhizomes (horizontal roots), not the flowers - and these shouldn't really be harvested until the fall.

Canna growing along the street in the Riverbend area

Finally, to my surprise, I saw a ginkgo tree - according to the USDA site, these don't even grow here! In the fall, when the fruits fall to the ground, you can remove the seeds from the squishy fruit (with gloves), wash them, bake them, shell them, and fry or boil the nuts. Very healthy and delicious.

But for now, I have to wait.

Ginkgo in the Black Pearl

The Eat the Weeds blog has some helpful information for harvesting and enjoying ginkgo, if you're so inclined.

New Orleans' volatile weather adds another challenge to a by-the-book forager: many things ripen before or after they're supposed to according to nature guides or other informational sources.

I've noticed that some trees are already sprouting bunches of large bananas, while some are just beginning to flower. Kumquats are supposed to ripen in colder weather, but I've seen them growing all over uptown.

My personal strategy is just to track the things I want. You can find maps online of different cities and the location of various edible plants - for example, this one from Atlanta shows where you can find different fruits on a map of the city, and it wisely cautions foragers not to trespass. As you locate accessible wild edible plants, you can track them in this manner - and you won't forget where you saw a plant you're hoping to harvest.

Happy foraging!