We have been teased by the first few hints of spring the last couple weeks. To be completely honest, we are in the throes of it up north – it’s both muddy and icy outside (making the penguin waddle a necessity), freezing at night but warm enough for t-shirts in the afternoon (that’s if the chilly afternoon winds stay away) and we’ll be staying off the lakes until the ice goes out as conditions have deteriorated to the point that ice fishing won’t be happening ‘til next winter.
Depending on the elevation I’m foraging in, the season for gathering many of my favourites can extend from mid-April through to the end of May. Willows (Salix species) can be found just about anywhere – the inner bark can be used for teas and tinctures. For my fellow gardeners, make a batch of willow water (young willow shoots soaked in water for several weeks) for a homemade rooting hormone for your seedlings and plants.
I’ve already collected a small jar of cottonwood (Populus balsamifera) buds to make an infused oil that’ll be later turned into balm of Gilead, but it’ll still be another couple weeks before the buds become plentiful. Ideally, the buds will be harvested before they open, so keep your eyes open for the window of opportunity to open, as it can go by quickly once the temperatures start to warm up in later spring.
The sap from birch (Betula papyrifera) is a fleeting spring treat that I have come to anticipate gathering each spring. The perfect window for collecting the sap is when daytime temperatures are starting to be quite warm, but nighttime lows are just above or around freezing. If you’re wanting to try your hand at making birch syrup, be aware that you generally need about 25 gallons of sap to make one quart of syrup (maple syrup, on the other hand, takes roughly 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.)
Within the next couple of weeks, the foraging opportunities will soon feel endless. Now is the time to brush up on your plant identification skills and do some scouting for areas you can sustainably harvest the first plants of spring!
