The South End Guide to Foraging Your Food: Winter 2024 Edition

by Amanda Sorell

Winter is well underway in Seattle. Cloudy days outnumber sunny ones, and deciduous branches are bare in their dormancy. Still, the city glows green against the gray, with spongy moss shrouding outdoor surfaces and evergreen foliage filling the skyline. And while winter might not be a time we imagine gathering food outside, our heads bent against the rain as we walk past sleeping gardens and withered vines, you can still find plenty to forage.

Foraging involves gleaning from the plants you encounter outdoors — even some thought of as "weeds" — for snacking, cooking, or crafting. Winter's offerings are subtle. You won't be able to make much of a dent in your grocery budget or gather your entire diet from the sidewalk. But foraging, when done ethically and safely, is a way of paying attention to seasonal cycles, building interdependent connections with plants, and resourcefully procuring food, one root, fruit, seed, or weed at a time.

Ethical Harvesting

To forage responsibly, consider the health of the plant, the health of the ecosystem, and the cultural implications of harvesting specific plants.

Don't pull from plants that can't support a harvest, and leave them in good enough shape to propagate. If a plant seems stressed from bitter cold or a drawn-out drought, leave it be. In Braiding Sweetgrass, in her chapter "The Honorable Harvest," Potawatomi scientist Robin Wall Kimmerer lays out a list of harvesting considerations, including: "Never take the first. Never take the last. Take only what you need. Never take more than half. Leave some for others. Never waste what you have taken. Share. Give thanks for what you have been given." Kimmerer emphasizes how true gratitude involves reciprocity: giving in addition to receiving. This reciprocity could involve picking up trash in the plant's vicinity or otherwise stewarding the land on which the plant grows.

Many different kinds of people can claim a cultural heritage of foraging. But in the context of colonization, foraging may carry additional significance for some. Indigenous people who were forcibly separated from their foodways may see foraging as a reclamation of traditional knowledge and sovereignty. People of Color who face food insecurity or whose ancestors were actively banned from gathering may see foraging as a revolutionary way to find fresh foods. When certain plants, such as white sage, trend and are then overharvested, this can deepen existing discrepancies. Before you forage, check which plants are at risk and research the sacred sites and plants of the land's original inhabitants. In their resource "Best Practices for Foraging and Harvesting Indigenous and Wild Plants," Linda Black Elk (Korean/Mongolian/Catawba) and Lisa Iron Cloud (Oglala Lakota) recommend following local Indigenous protocols, which "were put into place over thousands of years of lived experience with the landscape on which we all reside. These protocols exist for important reasons. … So, talk to local indigenous peoples to find out what protocols best serve sustainability and overall plant and human health."

Urban Foraging

While I've heard foragers say "anything hanging over the fence is fair game," if the plant you want to pick is on private property, knock on the owner's door and ask whether you can have some. They may be happy to see the surplus go to use, or accept an exchange of whatever you make with it. Either way, it's an opportunity to meet your neighbors and locate a consistent source of forageable food.

Harvesting from city parks is technically illegal. The municipal code reads, "Please leave plants, artifacts, flowers, and features for everyone to enjoy!" That doesn't necessarily stop urban foragers from proceeding at their own risk. In summer, you'll see people feasting on invasive blackberries all across Seattle, parks included.

And some parks have spaces dedicated to the practice. Visiting the Beacon Food Forest in Beacon Hill's Jefferson Park is one way to forage in a place where it's not just legal but accessible and encouraged.

Part of the 7-acre forest includes the BIPOC Garden, created in 2022 to focus on food farming (in addition to the forest's abundant edible perennials) and to create "an affinity space for People of Color, a place for people to come together and have that third space and that commons," Community Relations Director Priya Marita Diaz said in an interview with the Emerald. In this way, the forest can provide both a respite from and a response to the South End's food deserts. When MacPherson's Fruit & Produce Stand closed, for example, Diaz says she felt "more of a responsibility, even just in that little zone, as a food access point."

In late December, the forest was brimming with food: A walk-through guided by Site and Programs Director Khalil Griffith revealed arugula, bay leaf, bok choy, calendula, Chinese celery, collards, kale, lovage, medlar, mint, mizspoona, persimmon, red mustard, rosemary, sage, spinach, and more.

The bounty of the forest encompasses more than food. Diaz says the forest is "about the relationships that we develop together and the healing that goes on through our reconnection with the land and each other, and the plants who are our allies."

Foraging Safety

Common foraging wisdom advises harvesting at least 30 — or even 50 to 100 — feet away from busy roads. This might stump someone attempting to forage in a city, which can feel like one giant roadside. But in general, the closer a plant is to a vehicular thoroughfare, the more contaminated it might be, so harvest as far back from highways as you can. Runoff tends to flow downhill, so harvest uphill from busy roads. Quieter neighborhood streets and alleyways may be your best bet.

Bring scissors or shears for harvesting and gloves for handling thorny plants. If you're foraging low to the ground, remember that a pet might've been there first. But pet contamination is less of a concern than soil laced with heavy metals or pesticides. Eating foraged food — as with eating any food — comes with some risk. To minimize risk, steer clear of Superfund Sites, railroad tracks, and golf courses. As for pesticides, the City of Seattle claims to use chemical controls "as a last resort, and least-toxic chemicals are preferred." And a 2019 study on wild edible greens done by academics at the University of California, Berkeley, found that after rinsing in water, none of the foraged plants tested "had detectable levels of pesticides or PCBs, and their level of heavy metals per serving were below EPA reference doses, even though they were harvested from high-traffic and mixed-use areas." The researchers conclude, "This does not mean that all edible greens growing in contaminated soil are safe to eat. … But it does suggest that wild greens could contribute to nutrition, food security, and sustainability in urban ecosystems."

Finally, never eat anything you can't 100% identify. When in doubt, ask for help from an expert forager or refer to a field guide. The following plant profiles are not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice. If you're pregnant or take medications that might have contraindications, consult with your physician before adding foraged foods or herbs to your diet. And no matter your health, add any new food to your diet slowly to monitor your body's reaction.

Winter Plant Profiles

The plants listed here are widely available throughout the city and aren't at risk of overharvest. Many of them seem to anticipate what we might need in winter — a boost of vitamin C from conifers and rose hips, or a soothing balm for dry skin from calendula. Be sure to identify them correctly and, if necessary, ask for permission to pick.

Calendula (Calendula officinalis)

At the Beacon Food Forest in January, calendula provided surprising bursts of bright color in an otherwise earth-toned landscape. This flower can continue to grow and self-sow through mild winters like the one we've had this year, though you're more likely to find it in cultivated plots than growing wild, so it's a bit of a misfit on this list.

Identify: Look for bright orange or yellow flowers with both ray florets and disc florets — a fan of long, straight petals around a central cluster. Calendula is commonly known as "pot marigold" and can be confused for marigold itself, so study the differences between the two before using.

Harvest: Pluck full flowers from their stems and dry them in a well-ventilated area.

Use: Brew the petals in hot water for a colorful tea, or sprinkle them over a salad for a pretty and slightly bitter addition. Khalil Griffith says a lot of people gathering calendula from the Beacon Food Forest plan to use the foraged florals in crafts. The bright petals of calendula can be used as a natural dye. Calendula is also a traditional skin-care ingredient in lotions, oils, salves, scrubs, and soaks.

Dandelion Root (Taraxacum officinale)

While every part of this cheery weed is edible, its roots can be foraged after its flowers have faded away. Perennial plants store nutrients in their roots, so foraging in colder months might mean doing some digging.

Identify: When the familiar yellow flowers are missing, look instead for a rosette of large serrated leaves growing from the base of a hollow stem.

Harvest: Use a digging tool to loosen the soil around the root before pulling it out of the ground.

Use: Rinse the roots and peel them for cooking or dry them sliced or whole for preserving. Brew dried and roasted dandelion roots into a strong tea that can be used as a caffeine-free coffee substitute thanks to its bitter, earthy flavor. Or, soak the roots in grain alcohol to make a tincture, or in glycerine to make a glycerite, which has traditionally been taken to support digestion and liver function.

Evergreen Needles

As their name suggests, the city's evergreens maintain an array of needles through winter, from redwood's long, flat branches to blue spruce's spiky spines.

Identify: Start with a single conifer you'd like to try and study its branch and needle patterns. I began with blue spruce (Picea pungens) and located a tree with its tell-tale short, sharp, silvery needles, each needle growing alone from the branch. Not all conifers are edible, so you must positively identify nontoxic needles, such as those from blue spruce, Douglas fir, and white pine, and avoid toxic look-alikes, such as yew.

Harvest: Shear some needles from the tree. Try new, bright-green growth from the tips of the branches, which will taste less resinous than older needles, but be aware that picking tips is pruning the tree, so don't pull multiple tips from a single branch. You can also frequently find fallen limbs full of needles, especially after strong wind or rain.

Use: Trim away the woody ends, rinse the needles in water, and steep in hot water for 10 minutes to make a tea that contains vitamin C. Turn the tea into a syrup by stirring in sugar or honey. Infuse vinegar to use for cooking or cleaning, or weave the needles into wreaths and other seasonal decorations. I recently found numerous fallen pine tree branches flush with growth and bound the needles together into a small hand broom.

Rose Hips (Rosa canina L.)

Rose hips grow from spent roses left behind on the bush. According to Ellen Zachos in her book Backyard Foraging, rose hips are sweeter after a frost, so winter is the ideal time to pick them.

Identify: Look for plump, orange to red fruits ballooning at the ends of stems covered in the telltale thorns of the rosebush.

Harvest: Snip the hips off their stems before they begin to wrinkle.

Use: Before eating raw rose hips, rinse the hips and scrape out the seeds to avoid the itchy hairs that surround the seed. Rose hips are rich in vitamin C and can be used in myriad recipes. In her book, Zachos recommends removing the seeds if you plan to use the pulp in jam, sauce, or soup, but if you just want the juice for jelly or syrup, simply simmer and strain whole rose hips. Rose hip oil is also used for moisturizing skin — and it costs a pretty penny in stores, so making it yourself from foraged fruits could be your skin's best-kept secret.

Rosemary (Salvia rosmarinus)

Lining seemingly every sidewalk in the city are rosemary bushes that easily overwinter in our region, though the leaves may not contain as much flavor nor grow back as fast as they do in summer.

Identify: Look for a woody shrub with dark-green, needle-like leaves — if you pinch off a leaf, your nose will likely know it by its fragrance.

Harvest: Clip a couple of inches off the top of a sprig. Leave green growth on the rest of the stem to encourage regrowth.

Use: Season your food — from scones to soup — with the fresh leaves, or dry the leaves for later use. Steep dried leaves in hot water to make tea. I like to bundle rosemary sprigs and hang them in the shower or boil them on the stove to release aromatic steam that eases congestion. Infuse oil or vinegar with rosemary for use in the kitchen or cosmetically — rosemary oil is often touted for supporting scalp and hair health.

Foraging Resources

The following organizations and resources support the growing and harvesting of fresh foods throughout the city.

• Alleycat Acres is a program that "reconnects people, place, and produce by transforming underutilized urban spaces into neighborhood-run farms."
• Beacon Food Forest in Beacon Hill works to "cultivate a community dedicated to building equitable food systems for all people, and stewarding our environment for the benefit of all species."
• City Fruit gleans thousands of pounds of fruit from city trees and redistributes the harvest "through food banks, meal programs, and farmer's markets."
• The Danny Woo Community Garden in the Chinatown-International District is "an essential place for the surrounding community to engage with nature, access safe and healthy food, and build cohesion with neighbors."
• Falling Fruit is a "​​massive, collaborative map of the urban harvest" that's searchable by ZIP code.
• Yes Farm in Yesler Terrace is developing 1.5 acres "for community building, educational programming, and growing our farm co-op."

While we don't expect you to share your top-secret foraging spots with us, you can email us at Community@SeattleEmerald.org with other foraging resources and tips or recipes for foraged foods. Stay tuned for an upcoming article about Beacon Food Forest, and we'll be back in spring with a fresh foraging guide as bitter greens and early buds begin to emerge.

Amanda Sorell is a storyteller who lives in Seattle. She's an editor for the Emerald. Read her newsletter at eClips.Substack.com.

📸 Featured Image: The Beacon Food Forest in winter. (Photo: Julie Haack, courtesy of Beacon Food Forest)