Here's my list of what I collect and eat from around here Jamie.
#1 on my list of sweets is going to be ripe very soon and that's mullberry. I love those mullberries and I can stand under the trees and just gorge myself until I can't reach any higher, then I start shaking the tree for more! Problem is that the squirrels know how good they are too and between them and birds they pick the trees clean fairly quick.
#2 Wild asparagus that grows here and there all around the pasture here on our farm. I haven't found but just a couple of patches away from our place, but I know it's there just hard to find. It grows from late April till just about right now late May early June and we let it go to seed. If you over harvest it you will end up with stunted shoots the next year. Gotta leave it some energy to make seed.
We all love wild asparagus and the cooking is so simple a 5 yr. old could make it. Put asparagus in a pot with just enough water in the bottom for steam and so it won't burn. Then heat on med. high until it's tender then drain and melt butter all over the top of it. mmmmmm gooood!
Warning..........it will make your pee stink the next day.
#3 is as most of you know and they don't hang around for very long is morel mushrooms. I found nearly 400 of them this spring and ate on them until I was afraid the remaining ones were going to go bad, so I shared some with friends and family. They were sure happy to get them!
#4 is Paw Paws. Most people don't know about nor ever heard of Paw Paw fruits, but they are very common in Missouri especially near the river where I live. They have a green skin, shaped like a small pear or a potatoe and taste like a banana except stronger. I try to pick up a couple quarts every fall when they ripen and freeze some for my Paw Paw cheescake recipe. I've made it for the past few years as desert after Thanksgiving dinner. It's delicious!
#5 persimmons are tasty at the right time of year, but you need a good frost first before attempting to eat any. While they aren't a favorite of mine, I always eat a handful every year during bow season just to celebrate my connection with Mother Nature and my thanks for just being alive and out there doing what I love to do. It just wouldn't seem like fall if I didn't eat a few ripe persimmons.
#6 wild onions are great table fare and grow nearly everywhere around here. Mostly a spring time crop, but can be found until it starts to get hot and then the greens get tough, but I have picked them during turkey season just to freshen my breath a little bit.
That's about it for the wild things around here for me. I'd like to find out more of what's edible in my home state and start sampling the local greens to see what I like and what I don't like. I just don't want to get ahold of anything poisonous.
We have 2 gardens this year full of our own vegetables. 1 has tomatoes as usual, they are always favorites and we can as many quarts as possible and eat them all winter long. Everybody loves home canned tomatoes!
Green beans are a staple and a bit favorite of ours that we also can if there's enough left over that we don't eat. Can't beat a big pot of green beans and new potatoes with a big ham hock thrown in.
Beets, which we also can.
Zuchinni that I like to slice up and fry or put some on the grill brushed with butter and garlic powder. My mom is the zuchinni bread maker and there ain't much better than a slice of zuchinni bread with butter on it when it's still hot from the oven and big glass of milk. MMmmmmmm!
Lettuce and spinach that's just seasonal.
The other garden is full of sweet corn and cucumbers. Can't wait for sweet corn! Dang I'm making myself hungry, I love sweet corn!!
There's also a big patch of tame asparagus on the outside edge of this garden that we eat off of all spring along with the wild asparagus that grows in patches around our farm.
