Welcome to the DEMO BUILD of the Foraging Calendar & Wild Food Database.
The full version, which has a dozen species and more added every month, is one of the exclusive benefits available to my Patreon supporters at the Currant and Bolete tiers. I’m able to create educational products like this because of their support, and I would be truly grateful to have yours as well! Thank you. 🙏
This introductory page will guide you through the rest of the calendar and database. Below this is a Tutorial for the calendar and database (Video Version Coming Soon!). The calendar is more digestible using a desktop browser, but it also works great on mobile! These videos will show you how to navigate through the pages and use the calendar and database.
Finally, there is a Roadmap for the product where you will find planned updates and improvements that are coming to the calendar and database! This project is a much larger undertaking than my previous Foraging Calendar, so it takes a lot more of my time, but that means it will be a better resource for your foraging journey!
Regionality
The calendar is being made using my experience and knowledge from Colorado and the Southern Rockies, so it will be most relevant to that region. Expanding from there, the next most relevant regions will be the Mountain West and Great Plains. Similarly, the habitats, seasons, and dates listed for each species will be as inclusive as possible, but your experience may differ from what is recorded. Elevation can especially cause some variations in seasons. For instance, cow parsnip leaves may only be available for a short window in the plains states, but in the mountain states, they can be foraged from April to September because it grows through the entire elevation range. I will try to include notes about these variations when I can.
Eating Wild Foods
This is meant to be a guide to help you on your journey with wild food, but it is not the final word on edibility. I’ve done my best to provide accurate and detailed information, and, in turn, you should do your best to research, ask questions, and learn more until you become 100% confident in an identification and comfortable with the idea of eating a new wild food. Additionally, there are individual sensitivities and allergies. You may not be able to eat every species that someone else can eat. When trying a new species for the first time, start small, cook it well, and do not mix it with other new foods.
Navigating the Calendar
At the top and bottom of all pages, you will find menus for the Home Page (this one), the Foraging Calendar, and Wild Food Database. Use those links to navigate to the desired pages. At the top of those pages, you will find information about how to use the page, but I have also provided that here for your reference.