Fiddle heads

[delvalhunter]

I’ve got a huge patch of ostrich fern in my side yard that I always pick a few out of each spring. Should I charge admission and do a “pick your own” for members here?!

[ERS]

9 hours ago, Foggy Mountain said:

The only precaution is make sure it’s the right fern. They have a groove like celery stalk. No hairs and if you look in a fiddlehead patch you’ll see what looks like brown feathers. Pretty easy to identify if you know what to look for

I missed Greybeard's video.  If you have more to add, per my earlier inquiry, all info is appreciated.

[Eyesofthewoods]

10 hours ago, Foggy Mountain said:

Ramps are one of my favorite too. Pheasantback and morels roughly samish timeframe. Spring is good. How bout burdock stalks? Trout lillies?

Never did trout lillies.  I’ll have to be on the watch. 

[ERS]

5 minutes ago, Foggy Mountain said:

The pic posted is good. So is the video. Remember anywhere near a trout stream you fish at. Think of the ferny spots. I bet there are fiddleheads there. Remember what he said. Look for the groove, the brown wax paper looking stuff covering young ones, you could see the “feathers” in his video. When fiddle heads first start emerging they form sorta bumps it looks like in the earth. You’d probably never notice them until someone showed you. In Maine for instance they look in ditches not near streams. Gotta be wettish. What part of NJ are you from? 

Thanks for the info.  I'm from Northern NJ, Morris County, and I spend a lot of time hunting and fishing in Sussex and Warren counties.

[MRMCR]

I have a lot of them growing in the shady part of my flower beds.........never tried them......

[toxo]

Good Luck guys,read the book "Into The Wild" I'll buy my stuff at the Market ! lol

[Billy Z]

On 2/5/2021 at 2:11 PM, Bucksnbows said:

I collect them every spring.  We love them in salads, on pizzas with shrooms, or pan fried as a side veggie.   

how big is the window to find them? 1 month?

[Bucksnbows]

10 hours ago, Billy Z said:

how big is the window to find them? 1 month?

Maybe less. I’m not the type of person that looks at a calendar to decide when I will pick them. Instead, it’s usually when I’m fly fishing or doing river restoration that I notice them and start picking them that day. But pretty quickly they grow into fern leaves.  The window could be much less.