Learning from Failure, Foraging a new skill.

@canadianrenegade has been doing a contest series called prepper cook-off challenge.

This is my entry to the third in the series which can be found here: https://steemit.com/preppercookoff/@canadianrenegade/prepper-cook-off-challenge-3-over-50-steem-in-prizes

I have been looking forward to one where foraging was involved. Wish it would have been the first one as it was more in spring and my yard had a good selection of edible weeds. Now with landscaping complete and it being dog days of summer my yard does not have the same wild plants it used to.

To prepare for the foraging I have been researching and even bought this book.

Websites I referenced were:
http://www.wildutahedibles.com/
https://www.ediblewildfood.com/

I first saw this contest just after I returned from a minivacation in where this challenge would have been more satisfying. It was in the FishLake Wildlife Area in Utah which is in the high central mountains (8000-11000 ft) I would have been able to find cleaner wild edibles to forage.

Procrastination was my biggest downfall. I left it to the last minute so had to obtain my forage from an area where the only reason I did was to fulfill my commitment in making sure I have an entry. I gathered cattail, wild sunflower, and an unknown plant that may or may not be fit for human consumption that grows similar to cattail but has a different flower.

Being the procrastinator I am, my entries usually lack a good continuation of the story. so here is a little bit.

I would be able to gather these plants quite easily as the are along the roadside. They grow in abundance and I could easily hide in and behind them in case of marauders.

My bounty. Should have gathered more cattails and looked for younger chutes.
The unknown plant. It has lots of seeds but not sure if they are good for humans.

Wild sunflower. The leaves and root can be used to make tea, later in the season seeds can also be eaten though they are much much smaller than the commercial variety

I also came across this berry type bush. Could not identify it so did not pick any.

Fuzzy picture of the cattails. I found these in a ditch between an industrial park and the dump....the ditch is a kind of a canal that leads to Utah Lake and is known to have carp in it as well. Pretty sure I heard the splash of some sort of water rodent while grabbing one of the cattails. Unfortunately most the root did not come with the rest of the plant. For good eating cattails are best harvested in the spring while the base stalk is tender.

The cattail I got was not tender, even after boiling, the stalk did not soften. Not that i would of ate it anyways beacuse of the area I harvested it from.

The cattail had some nice leaves and my daughter is going to try to weave them into something.

I am still learning and will take my lessons and only get better. The UT desert does have many edible plants.. that I would be able to use to sustain my family once our supplies and ammunition make it so I can't protect my home from the marauders.

Thank you @canadianrengade for these challenges. The other 3 entries I saw are awesome.