Weedy Wisdom for the Curious Forager: Common Wild Plants to Nourish Your Body & Soul

by Rebecca Gilbert

Find delicious and healthful plants hiding in plain sight with the guidance of Rebecca Randall Gilbert, the Weed Witch of Jabberwocky. This beginner-friendly book shows you how to incorporate foraging into your life with eight essential lessons based off classes Rebecca taught at Camp Jabberwocky, the oldest summer camp in the US for people with disabilities. You'll enjoy a wide range of topics, including edible flowers, plants for first aid, using leaves as a foundational food, and more. Weedy Wisdom for the Curious Forager features dozens of recipes, hands-on activities, and thought-provoking social themes. You'll learn how to work with invasive plants, preserve your harvest with fermentation, and find flavor correspondences. From roots, seeds, and sprouts to mint, sassafras, and beyond, this practical book deepens your understanding of plants and reveals important life lessons.

• ISBN13: 9780738772073
• Publish Date: 8 June 2022
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Llewellyn Publications,U.S.
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 240
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Weedy Wisdom for the Curious Forager is a nicely put together guide to wild foraging written and curated by Rebecca Randall Gilbert. Due out 8th May 2022 from Llewellyn Worldwide, it's 264 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

The author has a very down to earth (sorry, pun intentional) accessible and friendly style of writing and this book is set up like an activity workshop, with guided introductions to different plants, their uses, and allied information on how to utilize them to best effect. There are some recipes and tutorials, but mostly the focus is on the plants and how to find and understand them to a safe degree without harming the ecosystem or readers themselves.

Although the entire book has an alternative/holistic feel, this book in particular is presented in a competent and friendly way and doesn't drown the reader with overwhelming amounts of "woo woo" or pseudo-science (although there a mention of magic and interconnectedness the book is safety conscious and sound).

There are no photographs but the book is beautifully illustrated with pen and ink chapter frames and full page plant portraits. There's a table of contents, recipe lists, and a general index for finding information quickly.

Five stars. Illuminating, useful and worthwhile. This would be a superlative selection for public library acquisition, gardeners, foragers, smallholders, community gardens, and the like.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.