If you are in an area in the spring, you can locate food plants that will be ready later in the year.
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Strawberries are hearty plants in the wild. They have to be. In the spring, leaves that were still green in the fall will perk up and start readying the plant for the new growth. Look in slightly rocky areas, sunny areas and in sandy soil for strawberries. You may also find plants like chives (green onions) growing in the same area.
When I found these leaves...
Wild strawberries are small, so look closely a month or so after you see the initial spring growth. If there aren't flowers, the soil may be bad, or it has been too dry. When the flowers start forming, it takes about 3 weeks for the first berries to be harvestable. Ants will start in before that, so take some mesh or a piece of pantyhose to wrap around any berries that form. This should protect them from the miniature marauders.
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When you do find Strawberries, pick them, wash them and eat them as soon as possible.
There are a few pretenders out there, so be careful.
Strawberries in the wild can hide with other plants.
Sometimes, the food you are looking for is hidden. Sometimes it is camouflaged.
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These chives look like they could just be thick grass leaves. Sometimes chives, both garlic and onion, will be called onion grass, especially if you are mowing and suddenly smell what you ran over.
Onions are thicker than garlic.
Most alums(the family that garlic is in) likes to have well drained soil, but also like to be well watered. If you are near a stream, hunt around and you may find a type of chive to harvest. The chive tops of onions and garlic will chase some insects away, such as aphids, so plant them near rose bushes to help keep the pests down.
Speaking of roses-
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When Roses are in bloom, you can use the flowers in salads or soups. They also make great scented water.
When rose flowers go to seed, they form rose hips. These red berry like clusters are hard and not easy to eat, but make great tea, and if you take out the hard seed bits, can be put into most cooking for a small sweetness and extra vitamin C. If they have been drying over the winter on the stem, it should be easy to pluck them off, but getting the seeds out will be a little time consuming. I suggest a spoon and plate, soak them and then 'smash' the hips to split them. You can also use seeded rose hips like raisons in cooking.
If you have a garden, after the fist snows, look for things that are perennial. Because they come up multiple years, they just might have some greenery ready for harvesting already. This is parsley poking it's head out of the leaves.
Everyone knows how Parsley can enhance food with the greens, but try the flowers or seeds, too.
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