iowisota

Wildcrafted is a popular term these days, but what does it mean to you? What does it DO for you? To me it implies that something is “crafted” from components that came from nature. The internet-search definitions say that wildcrafted is basically wild-harvested. But let’s break it down a bit more. The term “crafted” brings different images to mind. Some people envision popsicle sticks, yarn, and glue-encrusted small sized scissors. Some people envision an ice-cold beer, crafted with the...

Today's fresh, wild salad pick. I wouldn’t put it pasta me to do a cormy play on words… but every time I step out my back door, it seems that the landscape has suddenly erupted into a green carpet of salad! All the pictures here were taken this week at Iowisota. So many of our early Spring plants double as salad greens, so let me introduce you to a few of my favorites! The young tender leaves of cutleaf coneflower/sochan ( Rudbeckia laciniata ) serve as a mild salad green. This plant from the...

We like our tasty mushrooms, but fungi need to eat too. Their food source is usually dead or living plant material. Many of our choice edible mushrooms decay wood to get their nutrition. Some also have mycorrhizal relationships with specific plants, in which the plants benefit from getting nutrients from the fungus and the fungus benefits by getting sugars/food from the plant. I simplified the explanation, but this relationship is one form mutualism or symbiosis. Sometimes the relationship...