Foraging in Missoula / Western Montana

Good morning all!  I'm new to the forum and am so excited to have found it.    

We moved to Missoula last year and absolutely love it here - so much so that we're looking for a bit of land to build our little house on. The only downside to moving to a new place is not knowing anyone or having any resources when you're new to town.  I'm a bit of a forager and am looking for places in or near Missoula that are suitable for foraging & harvesting - be it wild places or someone's back yard.  I've been lucky in finding nettle, cleavers, dandelion (of course) and a few other things but thought I would put some feelers out into the universe.    I'm looking for fruits & wild edibles as well as medicinal herbs and things of that nature.  If you know of somewhere / someone or if you have foods & plants you're not using, I would love & appreciate you getting in touch with me.

Now, I'm off to spend a bit more time in the forums....

in Edmonton, AB., where I was living previous to living to NW MT. I joined a local group the gleaned fruit from peoples unwanted trees in their yards.  They met up occasionally over a wonderful pot luck and to can and process some of the fruit to sell for the group.  (They each had routes they signed on for to collect the unwanted fruit then cleaned it up and donated it in person to the local homeless shelters and retirement homes.  They were allowed to keep up to 25% of the fruit the gleaned.). It was an amazing, fun and positive cooperative to be a part of.  Just a suggestion in case your interested in starting up something like this.  It sounds like it could be up your alley.  Also, there was an organic grocery store who had the cleanest bagged produce dumpsters that took no issue with people gleaning from it as well.  Consider food banks too.  They helped me out many a times.  Cheers

Angela, great to meet you!

We recently bought a property outside of Missoula after living here for about 7 years. We're just starting to learn foraging and have many plants on our property that are yet to be identified. I would love to have you out to teach us both what we have and how to use it.

Thanks so much for the suggestion, Jon - that sounds like a great idea

Anthony Cooley wrote:Angela, great to meet you!

We recently bought a property outside of Missoula after living here for about 7 years. We're just starting to learn foraging and have many plants on our property that are yet to be identified. I would love to have you out to teach us both what we have and how to use it.

Anthony - congratulations on your new property!  That's so exciting.  There's MUCH to be foraged on these gorgeous lands around us.  Some of it, I'm still learning as well; being new to an area opens up more opportunities to learn about more plants.  It's been an amazing ride, seeing the differences in the plants that I'm used to finding in the south and PNW, plus finding plants in the wild that I've previously only been able to get online.  I'd be happy to come out to your property and see what all is on there and teach you about what you've got and how you can use it....and which ones to stay around (there's a lot of poison hemlock around here).  Yesterday, I was able to collect some pine resin, arrowleaf balsamroot (which I imagine is on your property somewhere), arnica, cleavers, a little bit of yarrow and lupine for flower essences (which I also imagine is on your property).  And of course, the season is really just starting so there are many more things to come.  There's a lot of elder out this way too, which is great medicine in the winter months.  I'll shoot you a quick message and we'll get together.

Angela,

We have six acres in Huson, MT, about 25 minutes west of Missoula, MT.  We're on our third summer out here with fruit trees planted.  We have lots of yarrow, ducks, arrowleaf balsamroot, pine, dandelions, chokecherries, sage, thyme, parsley and much more.  We also have chickens, ducks, goats, alpaca.  My wife and I would love to have you out and meet you.  Send me a PM and come visit!

Jesse