FAQ
Are products available in the winter? Yes, but a different variety. For example, mushrooms such as turkey tail and mature birch polypores are available in the winter, and occasionally dried versions of the more typical mushrooms. I can occasionally get unique plants such as rose hips of the baby rose plant, evening primrose taproots, microgreen-sized vegetables (chickweed, which tastes like a green flavored with cornsilk, which is rather fascinating), and hairy cress. In fact, if anything, I feel my niche is in very unusual, but edible, wild foods of the winter. Please see this page for more information.
I'm not local and would like you to ship me wild hen of the woods, OK? I focus on the local market with the typical wild mushrooms, such as hens, however if you are in need of a substantial order, I can work with local foragers through my network to get you what you need. But, note that the cost may be substantially higher than my standard price list. Of course, if I don't have enough local demand (sometimes local demand far exceeds what I can supply, and at other times I can't find a buyer w/in a reasonable period of time for something perishable) and have collected the hen myself, I can ship it at my standard rate + a $25 flat-rate + actual shipping cost.
You list quite a few products on your site, are they all available this week? I deal with both year-round and seasonal products. The year-round products are more often found here. Check for dried products listed there, local sea salt, some of the mushrooms, and more. The general price list shows examples of what I carry seasonally. However, note that I sell some very hard to buy mushrooms and plants, some of which have a season as short as a few days each year that is hard to predict when those few days would be. If you have specific fresh foods you want as they become available, please let me know what they are. Otherwise, you can always inquire at any time as to what is available. Today (5/28/12), for example, I have one of the most amazing pesto bases available (garlic mustard) that certain James Beard (nominated/style/awarded) restaurants purchase from foragers, some chickweed, fresh wood ears (local species/varieties), and a few others. But, another way to learn what I am finding is to sign up for my blog's posts. This way you'll see updates on what I find, as well as how to best use them. You can even, as the blog gets old enough, view prior year(s) to see what was available at what time of year (then just add or subtract time based on if we had a mild/dry/rainy year so far).
Are the prices that are listed a price for retail or wholesale? My prices are my wholesale prices. The only exception is if an individual wanted to buy something from me for less than the minimum quantity (when listed), at which time I'd mark the price up.
Do you have limits on quantities? Some foods, like my prized garlic mustard greens, have quantity limitations during the coldest months of the year. Other foods like [local species/varieties] of fresh wood ears are in very limited quantity. I can spend many hours to find a few ounces of such delicacies, so the only limitation is on how much I could find.
How does your product compare to cultivated versions of the same thing, and also other foods that are different? The answer is three-part.
A. Freshness: If you've ever compared a freshly grown tomato out of a garden to that of a grocery store, you may have found a pretty dramatic difference. This is the same for numerous varieties of wild foods. For example, a truly fresh oyster mushroom smells and tastes of anise overtones! Truly fresh portabella stems are naturally sweet! I could go on and on, though at the same time some foods store very well and do not taste perceptibly different to people in controlled taste tests.
B. Environment: If you've ever grown a vegetable in a garden in poor soil, you've probably seen that many plants are smaller and more fragile than those over-sized ones growing in a rich fertilizer. Some research suggests that poor soil with only the specific nutrients found in some fertilizers will not produce as nutritious of a crop (many trace minerals can be lacking). Either extreme may not be the best balance for our bodies, but nutrition aside, seeing the vast difference in how the plants look may clue us into the potential taste differences. This is not only a strong consideration for plants, but can be extensive for mushrooms. I've seen the very pale hen of the woods that don't come from the woods and then feasted on the dark complex ones from the woods, and believe me the difference can be rather profound.
C. Uniqueness: There are flavors in the wild that have defied cultivation, and are currently reserved for the knowledgeable foragers & respective restaurants. For instance, autumn olive berries contain a sweet-tart & highly complex flavor I have impressed some of the most elitist of food-lovers to the most random of food eaters. Another example are with my winter mushrooms, such as birch polypores. Using these to make a broth, a unique bitter mushroomy flavor is created, which is then added to sweet and/or acidic sauces to saute meat with flavors of extreme rarity. Other examples include mushrooms with a natural citrus (most similar to lemon) flavor, and with a garlic flavor.