So Early

It is March and the ground is caked with half a foot of snow topped with an inch or two of ice. But a week ago the snowdrops and crocus were up, maple was budding, and I found my first plate of spring forage: dames rocket, chickweed and amber jelly ( Excidia recisa.)
The dames rocket will get coarse and bitter, although still edible, as the season develops, but for now it is tender with a delicious bite.  The chickweed has been accessible even through Northern winter, taking advantage of each growable.moment to offer its mild corn flavored nibble. The edible fungus, taken off a fallen twig, has also been available all winter, one of the winter foraging stalwarts.

This is the season for root gathering too, and as soon as the most recent storm's leavings unlock, I will be checking around last year's spent second year stalks from edible biennials... burdock, evening primrose, wild carrot and parsnips.... for tender rosettes and edible roots of the next generation, mellowed by a winter under ground. This is the best time to harvest them. Mud season makes for easy digging, winter has sweetened them, and while they are still dormant they have not yet started their woody second year growth. Many perennials, such as the rocket, also have old stalks that will lead you to their tenderest green shoots while the earth is mostly still asleep.

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