When I was teenager, we were very poor and each Spring one of my uncle was picking us to went to a spot where there was abundance of fiddleheads we were foraging to make reserve year long. My mother was freezing them. I ate so much of these I can no longer eat them anymore now they are a fancy side meal. The association to our poor condition is too strong. But they kept us healthy and alive at zero cost.
this post was submitted on 08 May 2025
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They are only able to be foraged a few days / a week a year. That must have been a lot of fiddleheads
Yes, we went there with my uncle, my two sisters and my mother. It was a piece of land bordered by two brooks. It was easy to fill many bags within an hour or two.
Aren't they a bit too far along to be edible?
You can eat from the stem up to the top of the Fiddlehead. Some are too far along to eat but there was enough to eat. I only ate 9 out of the total there. They aren't all shown but as long as they aren't all curled out they should be edible
Did you also try eating the rhizomes?
How did you grow the fern? Does it have any advantages compared to other stuff?
The rhizomes are not edible and will kill the plant if you dig them up. The tops (fiddleheads) are edible if you steam them. It shouldn't hurt the fern if you don't take all of the stems. They should grow back
The ferns were here when we moved in but you can obviously buy them. They are a common shade ornamental plant that you can get most place. I think it has similar uses as most ferns.