Despite Edmonton’s short summer season, plenty of wild, edible plants grow in the city’s river valley — and not just berries and mushrooms.
Foragers have found wild asparagus, onions and horseradish growing in the city. Wild food expert Kevin Kossowan says all it takes is a walk through the river valley and some cursory knowledge of what to look for to find it.
“It really is about going for a walk and finding your own spots, which sounds impossibly difficult to begin with,” Kossowan told CBC’s Radio Active. “But the more you do it, the more it really is a nice walk through the river valley.”
Kossowan said wild asparagus grows much taller in the wild than what we’re used to seeing in the grocery store. It also might be much thicker than store-bought asparagus because the plants may have been around for generations.
Wild onions grow in the river valley as well — the stalks look like green onions or small leeks but taste different, Kossowan said.
Horseradish grows aggressively in the city, sadi Kossowan. The plant has a distinctive leaf shape that is recognizable once you find it for the first time.
Research and adventure
Kossowan said foraging in the city is a popular concept, but many people don’t take the time to walk and find spots where the wild food grows.
“It’s also culturally not baked into what we do,” he said. “We’re used to getting food from a box store and so reaching out into the ecosystems around is is just not something we’re used to.”
Kossowan says doing your homework will help you identify the food. (CBC)
He said it’s not quite as easy as just asking other foragers to give them all their secrets, either.
“If word were to get out a particular patch of asparagus, I think you’d have a herd of people on top of it,” he said.
For new foragers, Kossowan recommended going on a few forays with the Alberta Mycological Society, which is what he did. Coupled with some homework on how to recognize certain plants, Kossowan would venture into the river valley to look for edible food.
He felt confident he knew what he was looking for in the river valley.
The research will also help you determine what you can take from the plant without jeopardizing its livelihood.
“Take what the ecosystem is capable of offering,” Kossowan said. “It means tread lightly.”