Washington Seasonal Foraging Chart
Foraged items lend an exotic, personal touch to a chef’s menu and speaks volumes when it comes to saying, “We keep our menu current and source local products.” But knowing what foraged produce is in season can be a bit of a challenge since many of Mother Nature’s most special treasures never appear at your local market.
I’ve put together a seasonal foraging chart for the Washington State area which should be pretty similar for the Pacific Northwest region in general. Of course, Mother Nature dictates the actual seasons for wild foods but this will get you in the ball park when you are planning a menu.
Finding a Forager
Of course, knowing when a particular foraged item is available doesn’t put it in your kitchen…you still need to find someone to harvest these gems. Talking with people at farmers markets may turn up some leads on professional foragers. Alternately, Charlies Produce and Hendrickson’s Produce both receive produce from local foragers. If you know of other foragers in the Washington area please leave their contact info in a comment at the bottom of the page.
| Foraged Produce Seasonality | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Blackberries, Wild | ||||||||||||
| Blackcap Raspberry | ||||||||||||
| Cattail Shoots | ||||||||||||
| Chickweed | ||||||||||||
| Dandelion Greens | ||||||||||||
| Devil’s Club Shoots | ||||||||||||
| Dewberry | ||||||||||||
| Elderberries | ||||||||||||
| Elderflower | ||||||||||||
| Fiddlehead Ferns | ||||||||||||
| Goosetongue | ||||||||||||
| Huckleberries, Blue | ||||||||||||
| Huckleberries, Red | ||||||||||||
| Juniper Berries | ||||||||||||
| Lavender | ||||||||||||
| Licorice Fern | ||||||||||||
| Lingonberries | ||||||||||||
| Madrona Bark | ||||||||||||
| Maple Blossoms | ||||||||||||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Miners Lettuce | ||||||||||||
| Mushrooms (see chart) | ||||||||||||
| Nettles | ||||||||||||
| Oregon Grapes | ||||||||||||
| Peppercress | ||||||||||||
| Purslane | ||||||||||||
| Raspberries, Black Cap | ||||||||||||
| Rosehips | ||||||||||||
| Salal Berries | ||||||||||||
| Salmon Berries | ||||||||||||
| Saskatoon Berry | ||||||||||||
| Sea Beans | ||||||||||||
| Sorrel, Sheep Sorrel | ||||||||||||
| Sorrel, Wood Sorrel | ||||||||||||
| Spring Beauty | ||||||||||||
| Spruce Tips | ||||||||||||
| Squash Blossoms | ||||||||||||
| Thimbleberries | ||||||||||||
| Wood Violet Greens | ||||||||||||
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FORAGER: PNW AREA – BELFAIR, PENINSULA, MT RAINIER, TACOMA, SEATTLE AREAS.
My name is Charles Walker and I am an honest, loyal and picky forager. Mushrooms are my favorite. Heading out today for fresh morels near rmt. Rainer. Looking for buyers daily for all this week daily. Call/text 360265-9651
Your easiest bet is to contact Charlies Produce in Seattle. They distribute throughout western Washington to chefs who are seeking any kind of foraged items including all types of mushrooms.
If you forage for Salal Berries I’d be very interested in purchasing some when they come into season.
THE REAL DEAL FORAGER Life long Pacific Northwest girl. I know every nook, cranny, and crag of the Olympic National Park and the Buckhorn Wilderness. Along with all the gems they hide. Like my father before me I can walk out into these woods with nothing more then a knife and my side arm and not be seen by human eyes for months. I can be just as happy as a clam out there without a single damn complaint. I know everything to eat on sight and my own dautgher now 9 years old has been proficient at edilble wild… Read more »
Jennifer,
Please recommend foraging books for survival food, and medicinal herbs. PNW
Field guides
teach me!!!