- Do you need it? Harvest with a purpose or plan in mind, not just for the fun of it.
- Harvest only as much as you will use and use it as soon as possible (don’t waste it).
- 1 in 20 rule. It is ok to harvest a plant if there are 20 others available to maintain the population.
- Leave Grandmother. Allow the biggest and best plants to remain so they can continue to propagate the healthiest population.
- Leave damaged plants and consider the wildlife. Select quality material for your food and medicine. If a creature makes its home there, choose another. If harvesting flowers, leave at least 2/3 for pollinators. Remember that squirrels and birds need nuts, too, and honour that…
- Harvest with a caretaker attitude so the plant or tree or patch or forest can continue to survive and thrive.
- Avoid polluted areas.
- Make sure you have permission from the land owner(s) and abide by the law.
- Offer appreciation and bring positive energy to your harvest.
- Never put anything in your mouth unless you are 100% sure it is safe to ingest.
- Even though you might have identified a plant with 150% certainty, until you eat a small sample of it, you do not know how your body will react. This isn’t scare mongering. It’s just a fact that some people have very negative reactions to certain food stuffs due to an allergy or some such. You won’t know if you have an allergy to a plant until you try it. Even if you have no history of food allergies or sensitivities. This is why you must not start out consuming large amounts of a specific plant until you know how your body reacts.
- SOME PLANTS YOU SHOULD NEVER EAT RAW. DO YOUR RESEARCH! e.g. Hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium), Lesser celandine (Ficaria verna) etc.
