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

Daylight is fading fast, and temperatures are dipping as we enter the “Big Dark” with its persistent cloud cover and rain. Fallen leaves are piling up on the pavement, and much of summer’s bounty has shriveled on the vine. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to eat — this transitional season sees the return of the same edible greens you can find in spring and the arrival of forageables you’ll find through winter. Plus, this season has its own treasures, fruits that are all the sweeter once the colder weather hits. So, bundle up and look to the fall foliage to find these late-season fruits.

Foraging involves gleaning from the plants you encounter outdoors — even some thought of as “weeds” — for snacking, cooking, or crafting. And when done ethically and safely, foraging 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.

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.

Fall Plant Profiles

The plants listed here provide welcome color and nutrition during the transition to winter. They’re widely available throughout the city and aren’t at risk of overharvest. Forage them for a fruity rainy-day boost or to craft autumnal sauces and drinks for your holiday table. Be sure to identify them correctly and, if necessary, ask for permission to pick.

These fruits — small apples that measure less than 2 inches and are more tart than their larger counterparts — ripen in fall. Crab apple trees are common along city streets and have been bred for their floral finery over their flavor (their beautiful flowers will emerge in spring), but the fruits get softer and sweeter after a freeze or two. 

Identify: Crab apples’ closest look-alikes, apples, haws, rose hips, and whitebeam — all in the Rosaceae family — are also edible, so you can accept a small margin of error while picking. Look for clusters of yellow, orange, or red fruits that resemble cherries or apples, smaller than 2 inches, growing on shrubs or small trees. The oval leaves have barely-there serration on their edges and generally smooth undersides, and they grow alternately on thornless twigs. If you’re not confident you’ve got a crab apple, cut it open crosswise to reveal five seeds in a star pattern, as in a standard apple.

Harvest: Crab apples come in a wide variety of flavors, so sample as you go to be sure you’re picking palatable fruits.

Use: If you harvest before the fruits have endured a freeze, put them in your freezer for a couple of weeks to soften them up. In Backyard Foraging, Ellen Zachos says some crab apples will have good taste and texture right off the tree and can be eaten raw or pickled, while mealier fruits can become jelly or wine. Cook and mash the fruits and strain out the skins and seeds, or run them through a food mill, to create applesauce, apple butter, chutney, cider, preserves, or syrup.

These bright orange or red berries, or “haws,” hang in bunches from trees with scaly gray trunks. 

Identify: You may notice a resemblance between haws and crab apples in their coloring and clustering, so to distinguish between them, take a close look at the leaves and twigs; haws grow on thorny branches among oak-like leaves with deep toothy lobes (though some species may display leaves with fewer lobes). The bases of developed haws display a five-pointed star.

Harvest: As with crab apples, sample as you pick; haws can be highly variable in taste. Wear gloves and beware the long thorns as you harvest. 

Use: Hawthorn is traditionally associated with the heart, with some studies suggesting its ability to improve circulation and lower blood pressure. (For this reason, if you’re on any heart-related medications, be especially cautious and consult with your doctor before consuming.) If you find flavorful haws, you can eat them raw — just skip the seeds. Dry them in a basket or dehydrator to yield berries you can steep in tea or tinctures. Remove the haws’ stalks and then cook and strain them for a juice you can use in jelly and a ketchup-like sauce.

Juniper produces small spherical cones that mature into “berries” known for flavoring gin — but there are plenty of ways to use them beyond the bottle.

Identify: The low-growing shrubs or trees grow in a range of green hues, and their leaves look like needles or scales, depending on species and age. Female trees produce berries that will ripen to blue, purple, or black. You’ll see berries at different degrees of ripeness on one tree. They thrive in a variety of environments, from mountain slopes to lowland fields, and you’ll find them throughout the urban landscape, where they’re often grown for decoration or soil rehabilitation.

Harvest: You can harvest the berries all year, but they’re abundant in fall. Some varieties contain a toxic resin (when consumed in substantial quantities), so before harvesting, taste just one — if it’s too bitter, spit it out and leave the berries on the tree. Berries that are edible will taste piney and peppery. (Just don’t rely on this trick for unfamiliar berries, as taste isn’t always the best indicator of toxicity!)  

Use: Juniper berries are often used in brines, dry rubs, and ferments for their distinct flavor, best in moderation. It may take only a few to flavor a dish, so dry the rest for storage or stick them in your freezer. Herbalists have traditionally turned to juniper for many purposes, including to aid digestion and to treat UTIs through its antimicrobial and diuretic properties. Drink the berries in tea, or brew juniper syrup to add a zing of robust flavor to seasonal dishes and drinks. Also, mature berries are dusted in a whitish wild yeast you can use to make a sourdough starter if you’re feeling ambitious.

These unusual fruits are more rare than the others listed here, but they do grow sporadically throughout the city, and they’ll be hanging from trees long after many other fruits have faded and fallen. 

Identify: Medlar trees have textured bark and twisting branches, golden fall foliage made up of elliptical leaves, and fruits that look like enormous golden-brown rosehips, spherical with a cavernous calyx at one end.

Harvest: The fruits must advance through a softening process called “bletting” until they’re overripe and appear rotten — only then are they the right flavor and texture for eating. At this stage, biting into the fruit will release a sweet, creamy pulp, akin to applesauce. (Just be sure to spit out the seeds.) If you pick them before they’re ready, ripen them indoors in a cool area with plenty of circulation.

Use: Simmer, smash, and strain this unique delicacy to make jam, pudding, and syrup, or a jelly to complement cheese or meat. You can also try medlars in fruit butters, pies, and tarts.

Yet another fruit that favors freezing temperatures for ripening, these orange globes dangle from tall trees throughout the South End.

Identify: The tree’s bark is especially distinct, with deep fissures that create craggy, blocky patterns. Persimmons grow beside smooth, dark-green alternate leaves.  

Harvest: Cut the fruits from a tree with pruners or a knife when they’re soft and wrinkly; this is the stage when they’re sweeter. They bruise easily, so don’t pile them up as you’re picking. If they’re not fully ripe but you want to beat the birds, pick them while they’re still a little firm and ripen them at home in a paper bag set in a cool, dry area. 

Use: If they’re ripe (and you can reach them), eat persimmons right off the tree, or puree them for use in breads, cookies, and puddings (persimmon puree makes a suitable substitute for mashed banana). Recently, a friend of mine chopped up some persimmons and put them on a homemade pizza with kalamata olives, figs, feta, mozzarella, and arugula — and it was a big hit at pizza night.

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 has developed 1.5 acres “for community building, educational programming, and growing our farm co-op.”

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

• The South End Guide to Foraging Your Food: Spring 2024 Edition

• The South End Guide to Foraging Your Food: Summer 2024 Edition