Two Winter Opportunities To Learn Valuable Nature Skills

Greetings,

In anticipation of the winter season, I am excited to let you know that the Learn Your Land online courses are currently open for enrollment.

Additionally, both courses are on sale this week ($100 off each course).

If you are interested in learning how to forage mushrooms, consider enrolling in Foraging Wild Mushrooms. This 4-season online course is designed to help you safely and successfully harvest wild mushrooms from the forest, from the field, and even from your backyard.

To improve your knowledge of trees, consider enrolling in Trees In All Seasons. This online course teaches you how to identify over 100 trees in every season. If you want to develop the confidence to be able to look at a tree and say, “That’s black spruce,” or “That’s sourwood,” or “That’s mockernut hickory,” consider enrolling today.

These courses are self-paced and presented entirely online. Once enrolled, you can start, stop, and resume at any time.

Please note that both courses are on sale ($100 off each online course) for one week only — from today until Monday, December 18.

You can register and learn more about the courses here.

If you have any questions, please reply to this email and a response will be given shortly.

Remember, this sale expires on December 18th. Enroll today and let your winter season be filled with learning, adventure, and connection!

Thank you!

—Adam Haritan

Finding A Decent-Sized American Chestnut Tree

It’s always a good day when I find an American chestnut tree. It’s an even better day when I find an American chestnut tree of a decent size.

Admittedly, I mostly feel this way because American chestnut isn’t an incredibly common species where I live.

A fungal disease known as chestnut blight kills most American chestnuts. The fungus cuts off the flow of water and nutrients within trees. Starved of nutrients, the trunks of American chestnuts die.

But the roots remain alive. They give rise to sprouts which eventually become new trunks. Sometimes these trunks live for many years, and sometimes I find them in the woods.

Such was the case a few days ago when I encountered a living American chestnut by chance. More than just a stump sprout, this particular American chestnut was a decent-sized tree.

Needless to say, I was excited. I promptly decided to capture the experience on film to show you what an American chestnut looks like in the autumn season.

You can watch the very short video here.

Speaking of decent-sized organisms, I recently found a large enoki mushroom. In fact, it was the largest enoki mushroom I’ve ever seen. To view a short video on that experience, check out the Learn Your Land Instagram and Facebook pages.

Thanks for reading and watching, and thanks for your continued support!

— Adam Haritan

Samhain Treats: Rowan Berry Honey Caramels

Samhain Treats: Rowan Berry Honey Caramels

Identifying Trees Without Looking Up

Conventional ways of doing things aren’t always the most effective ways of doing things.

Take tree identification, for instance.

We might think that we have to strain our necks in order to identify trees. If we don’t look up into the canopy, how else are we supposed to learn?

We can look down instead.

When we look down at the forest floor, we discover clues. After analyzing these clues, we can easily determine which trees are growing nearby — without even looking up.

During a recent walk, I attempted to identify trees based on what I observed beneath my feet. I brought my camera along to show you just how effective (and fun!) such an exercise can be.

If you want to learn how to identify trees without looking up, check out the new video!

I also recently posted a new video in which I discuss an edible mushroom known as hen-of-the-woods. To view that video, check out the Learn Your Land Instagram and Facebook pages.

Thanks for reading and watching, and thanks for your continued support!

— Adam Haritan

A RUSSIAN CELEBRATION W/ ROWAN BERRY JELLY

A Russian Celebration w/ Rowan Berry Jelly

Sassafras: Beauty and Utility

Sassafras: Beauty and Utility

How To Find Mushrooms In Dry Weather

Any forager will tell you that mushrooms are abundant when rainfall is plentiful.

The reason for this correlation is simple: fungi love water.

Nearly every stage in the life cycle of a fungus requires water — from spore germination, to nutrient uptake, to reproduction, to spore dispersal.

But water isn’t always plentiful. Sometimes it’s scarce. During prolonged absences of rain, many foragers have difficulty finding mushrooms.

I count myself as someone who finds fewer fungi during dry spells, but I’ve also learned how to improve my chances of finding at least a few prized mushrooms when rain is scarce.

In a brand new video, I share 5 tips that will help you find mushrooms in dry weather.

You can watch the brand new video here.

Even when rainfall is plentiful, you probably won’t find many mushrooms in alvars. Instead, you’ll see rare plants that grow nowhere else. To learn about a federally endangered plant that thrives in alvars, check out this recent Instagram post.

Thanks for reading and watching!

— Adam Haritan

Is This Edible Mushroom Toxic On Certain Trees?

Greetings,

Before I share a brand new video, I’d like to remind you that Trees In All Seasons is currently open for enrollment until Monday, May 22.

This online course teaches you how to confidently identify over 100 trees in every season — spring, summer, fall, and winter. When you enroll, you gain immediate and unlimited access to over 75 exclusive videos that lay the groundwork for successful tree identification.

You can register and learn more about the course here.

Tree identification is an excellent skill to learn if you are interested in foraging mushrooms. Many edible mushrooms grow in association with trees. When you learn the basics of tree identification, your understanding of fungal ecology improves.

One popular mushroom that grows in association with trees is chicken of the woods. Despite its popularity, chicken of the woods sometimes has a questionable reputation. When this mushroom grows on certain trees (e.g., angiosperms), foragers praise it and consider it undeniably edible. When this mushroom grows on other trees (e.g., conifers), some foragers vilify it and consider it suspect.

I recently spent some time in a conifer-rich woodland and decided to film a video in which I share my thoughts on this controversy.

Is there any truth to the claim that conifer-derived chicken mushrooms are potentially toxic?

You can watch the new video here.

Thanks for reading and watching. If you’d like to improve your foraging skills by learning how to identify trees, consider enrolling in Trees In All Seasons by Monday, May 22.

—Adam Haritan

Foraging The Most Inconspicuous Edible Wildflower

A typical walk in nature can be slow. From an outsider’s perspective, it can be painfully slow. A 1-mile walk might take a naturalist 4 hours to complete — a pace 12 times slower than the average walking speed.

While it’s true that a turtle could probably outpace a botanist walking through a flowering floodplain, the point of any nature excursion isn’t momentum.

It’s observation, education, and integration.

On several walks this year, I’ve halted my pace in order to observe a particular wildflower. Known as false mermaidweed, this plant grows in floodplain forests along rivers and streams.

False mermaidweed is unlike other plants for a few reasons, one of which is the size of its flower. Only a few millimeters wide, this flower is among the smallest of any wildflower in nature. It’s rarely seen by people walking through the woods, which is why even a slow pace isn’t recommended for proper observation.

Rather, complete stillness is.

Despite its small size, false mermaidweed offers immense value. Its stems, leaves, and flowers are edible and can be harvested during the spring season.

To learn more about this inconspicuous edible plant, check out the brand new video!

Speaking of edible plants, Sam Thayer is releasing his 4th book on edible plants of North America. Sam is a renowned author, forager, and teacher who travels the continent in search of wild food. His brand new field guide features over 650 edible species and 1,700 color photos, as well as an innovative system for identifying plants during their edible stages. Anything that Sam publishes is brilliant, and this book will be no different. You can pre-order your copy here.

Thanks for reading and watching, and thanks for your continued support!

-Adam Haritan

Roses for Beauty, Flavor, and Fragrance

The Herb Society of America Blog

By Beth Schreibman Gehring

Harvest Day of Roses at the Western Reserve Herb Society Gardens From as early as I can remember, I have been completely smitten by the beauty and versatility of roses. As I have mentioned before, my father was a passionate gardener who loved heirloom roses. Being a trained biologist, he knew the value of gardening organically, and he promoted the benefits of mycorrhizal fungi in the late 70s to strengthen the roots of his garden plants. Instead of using fungicides and pesticides, he planted fragrant herbs among the roses, knowing that many common rose pests would be deterred by the essential oils that they released. He would always tell me, “Remember Beth Ann, feed the roots first and forget about the flowers, because if you feed the roots, the flowers will always be healthy and beautiful.” This is a piece of advice I have followed to this day with real success.