Foraging Conifers is Permaculture if done right.
When most people think of Permaculture, they think of lush polycultures, chicken yards, tree guilds, or perhaps water catchment. One thing that most people don’t associate with Permaculture is foraging, but foraging, if it’s done ethically, is definitely an element of a Permaculture system. An important goal of Permaculture is the reduction of land use for monocrop agriculture, and when you forage food or medicine, you are doing exactly that.
Lush polyculture.
Permaculture garden bed full of flowers and food.
Permaculture bed filled with flowers, herbs, and food for humans and non-humans.
Most foraged foods are not foods that you’ll find on a grocery store shelf, and they’re not grown on big farms.They are often more nutritious, and sometimes way more delicious, than what you’d find in a store. Also, some foraged foods come from invasive plants (Blackberry, for example), so you can feel free to take a lot of those. By doing that, you may prevent the use of toxic herbicides: if you reduce the population of invasives, your neighbor or your city may not see any need to spray herbicide. Two things achieved by one action, that’s Permaculture.
You may be picturing big paper sacks full of wild mushrooms, bundles of stinging nettles, or buckets of blackberries, but have you considered conifers? Yes, you can consume the needles of many conifers, and you can use the bark. A word to the wise – don’t consume them if you’re pregnant, as some of them can be abortifacient.
Tashi the Cat under our dried out Douglas Fir Christmas tree. Douglas Fir is our State Tree.
Olive the Cat stands guard over some Douglas Fir branches I found.
Those of us who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s may remember Euell Gibbons appearing on television, enthusiastically asking the viewer, “Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible!” And that is true to an extent, though perhaps he should have said, “Many parts are useful”, as many pine parts have external uses, such as inner bark and sap.
Before we delve into recipes, I want to caution you, the reader, about two things: knowing what you’re harvesting, and knowing how to forage ethically. We all know that mushrooms can be toxic, but be aware that a few conifers are too. Beware the Yew (Taxus spp.)! Do your homework, look at tree identification guides, and make sure you know what you’re harvesting. I tend to stick with a few familiar trees, such as Douglas Fir (Oregon’s state tree), White Pine, Spruce, and Juniper.
And when you harvest your well researched plants, don’t overdo it. The kindest and most ethical way to forage is to restrict yourself to branches that have fallen off a tree. I like to forage after a big storm, when lots of broken branches have dropped. When it comes to harvesting spruce tips, you can’t wait for them to fall off, but don’t take too many, or you can damage the tree. You can harvest inner bark from larger branches that fall, so look out for those after a windstorm. When harvesting sap, which the tree exudes to cover up a wound, make sure you don’t uncover the actual wound.
In this article we’re focusing on species local to the Pacific Northwest. That is where I live, and those are the species I’m most familiar with. There are certainly some invasive conifers out there, such as the Wilding Pine, in New Zealand, but here we will discuss the uses for such pines as White Pine, Scots Pine, and Red Pine, as well as Douglas Fir and Juniper. I actually use mostly Douglas Fir, as it is so plentiful here, but you can substitute the pines and juniper.
Conifer needles make wonderful salts, salves, teas, spices, and elixirs. You can also add them to sugar scrubs and liqueurs.
Douglas Fir Salt
Let us start with a simple Douglas Fir salt. You only need two ingredients: Fir needles and salt. I use pink Himalayan salt, but you can also use other sea salts. After harvesting your fir needles, let them dry out in a dark place. They need to be dry before you grind them, but don’t leave them to dry so long that they lose their color and flavor.
To make the salt, grind some needles together with the salt in a coffee grinder. They need to be ground together because if you try to grind the needles alone, they just fly around the grinder in big pieces. I like them well ground up, so you don’t get big chunks of Fir needles in your food. You can put together any proportion you like, but I like a volume ratio of at least 5 parts salt to 1 part pine. This is a matter of taste.
Fir needle salt.
You can add a few other herbs. Make up a large batch of simple Fir salt, then divide it into a few smaller batches, and try adding other herbs to all but one jar full. Try Fir, garlic and salt. Or Fir, lavender, garlic, and rosemary with salt. You can make a Salt with Fir, cumin, oregano, and a pinch of hot pepper powder. The world is your oyster! Once you’ve made up your mixes, put them in jars, cover, label, and use. I use my simple salt with Fir on salads. Try a mix of salt, Fir, and garlic on a stir fry, or use it when roasting things. The salt with Fir, cumin, and oregano is a good one to use in chili.
Another lovely use for conifers is in a tisane. Strip your needles off the branches and rinse in cold water. Use a scissors or sharp knife to snip the needles into smaller bits, and if you’re using pine, snip off the brown part that binds the needles to the branches. Boil some water and add the needles. Let them steep for about 5 minutes. You can actually boil them for a few minutes, but this can reduce the vitamin C content of your tea. Pour through a strainer into a mug and enjoy. You can add honey if you like, though I like the pure taste of the needles. Important note: some species of pine can cause abortion in pregnant animals, including humans. Don’t ingest pine needles if you are pregnant!
You can infuse alcoholic beverages with conifer needles, for example, a fir infused vodka. To make it, rinse your needles, and shake off excess water. Snip them up a little and stuff them into a quart jar and pour vodka over them, covering well. Let this mixture sit in a dark place for up to two months, then strain and store at room temperature. Some people drink this straight in a sugar rimmed glass, but that’s a bit much for me! I would make a cocktail with it, or blend it with soda water or tonic water. There is a lot of juniper in Central Oregon, and you can infuse vodka with it, creating a sort of gin.
Fir needle chai is a delicious drink. For that you need 1 cup fresh or dry fir needles, 1 T dried orange peel (just cut up your spare peels when eating organic oranges and dry them in the oven on very low or in a food dryer), 1 T cinnamon chips, 1 T green cardamoms lightly crushed in a mortar, 1 T star anise lightly crushed, 1 T dried ginger pieces, ½ tsp black peppercorns (bruised). Raw honey to taste (optional).
Mix all these ingredients and store in a jar. If using fresh needles, store with the jar open and use within a few weeks. To make the tea, steep one heaping T of your spice mix for about 5-7 minutes (or longer) in 8-10 oz near boiling water. Strain into a mug, add whatever milk you like, and raw honey if desired.
I’d like to offer a few recipes using conifers that you don’t ingest, my possible favorite being a foot soak, which is made up of Epsom salts, borax, and white clay. Epsom salts are great for sore feet. They contain magnesium, and they may alleviate some pain as they exfoliate your feet. They may also help fight fungal infections. Borax softens up hardened calloused feet, and it helps to clean them. White clay gently cleanses and exfoliates.
Try making fire starters with dried evergreen needles, spices, and beeswax! Just put your spiced in a cupcake paper and pour the wax over them.
To make the foot soak, combine 2 cups epsom salt, ½ cup borax, and ⅛ cup white cosmetic clay in a big non-reactive bowl. Whisk this mixture well, add some ground up Douglas Fir needles if you like, and sprinkle in some essential oils (please use ethical brands – Mountain Rose Herbs has a good selection). I like to use Fir, Cedar, or Rosemary oils, or a combination of those. Mix well and cover with a kitchen towel. Let this sit on a counter for a couple of hours, whisk again and store in jars with tight lids. Use a few spoonfuls in a foot soaking tub with hot water (or cold water if it’s really hot out). Soak your feet and enjoy! You can also use this as a bath soak.
Another favorite of mine is Fir or Pine needle vinegar for cleaning. Usually I start this one in January, right after I take down my dried out Christmas tree. I never use Christmas tree needles for anything I consume or use on my body, just in case the tree has been sprayed, but I do use them in this cleaner. This is super easy to make. I just grab a few handfuls of the needles and stuff them into a jar. It’s fine to crush or break them up a bit. Citrus peels are a nice addition. Fill the jar with white distilled vinegar and let it sit on your counter.
After a few weeks, strain some out into a spray bottle and mix with an equal part of water. Sometimes I also add just a squirt of Dr. Bronner’s soap. Shake well to mix, and use this spray on countertops and cabinets. As my jar gets close to empty, I just top up with more vinegar. (Save as many needles from your Christmas tree as you can, and see if you can make it all the way to next Christmas!).You can do this about four times, until the needles lose their aroma. Then start with a new batch of needles. I use this as a countertop cleaner and spray down cabinets or spots on the floor where the cat has thrown up (after wiping away the solids!).
I hope these recipes are helpful to you.
There are so many foods and medicines out there, things we never think of, and many of them contain important nutrients. They also smell divine. I suggest you try one or two of these recipes and start wandering through the internet in search of more. We have many allies in nature; we just have to treat them kindly and leave some for other creatures. Harvest what falls, and consider that a gift to you. If you do that, the plants will reward you for years to come.
Pacific Hemlock.
Douglas Firs in the Coastal Range.
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