#foraging books

[spaceysoupy]

Hello foraging friends! Don’t know how far this has gotten yet but there is a new and potentially DEADLY scam going on where AI generated foraging/botany/identification books are being sold on sites like Amazon, with mislabeled and misidentified species, including toxic fungi. Much of the content is utter nonsense, filled with grainy black and white photos, and authored by people who do not exist. Afaik the scam was first identified by a friend of mine on twt @heyMAKWA and info has only just started to spread.

Please check the sources of any foraging guide books you are considering purchasing and using! Never consume plants or fungi that you are not 100% sure are safe to eat!

Reddit posts about the issue

https://www.reddit.com/r/foraging/comments/15ur88d/please_please_be_careful/

https://www.reddit.com/r/foraging/comments/15p9b7t/ai_generated_foraging_books/

[eatfreeordie]

I'm browsing a bunch of foraging books on Libby, mostly for recipes and ideas of things to make or look out for, but thinking maybe I should share some thoughts?

So far, I am appreciating the Troubleshooting Flavor Fumbles section in The Skillful Forager by Leda Meredith. I feel like a lot of sources either deny that things are unpleasantly bitter (and then I wonder if it's just me or if it varies widely plant to plant if I'm finding it bitter) or just discount anything that can be tough or bitter entirely. It's nothing earth-shattering, but I think some good advice for strategies that can mitigate some of the unpleasant tastes that are common in wild food. I also like the approach of simple baseline techniques rather than specific recipes.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Hey, folks--running out the door for the day, but I wanted to share this bit of good news for those of you concerned about those AI-generated foraging books. In short, Amazon KDP is going to limit how many new books a given user can upload to their platform to three per day. Given how many titles even one person using AI can crank out in a day, this is a good move. It won't completely stop the flow of fake foraging books, but it's a step in the right direction.

More on this topic later, but for now I'm celebrating a small victory.

[wonky-mushroom]

My recommendations for foraging books

[chase-prairie]

Loving reminder from your land history auntie:

North American golf courses have had 50-100 years of arsenic and mercury based fungicide and herbicides applied to their soils.

Do not eat anything that has been grown on a golf course or downstream from a golf course. I know it sounds cool and radical, but you are too valuable to poison yourself with heavy metals.

Protect each other, turn your local golf course into a pollinator garden, not a sex forest or community garden.

[gloryfore]

ig: Foragedpages 🌿📖

[jojo-oliver]

Russula fungi Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany

[what-eats-owls]

Apparently there has been a new publishing debut drama dust devil, and every time one crops up, three things come to mind. (Apart from the desire to slam my hand in a car door before any more of it is explained to me.)

Being a debut is a lot like being slammed right back into your teenage years. Everything feels bigger, more important, more personal, like you have to break out or your (publishing) life will be over. This is particularly bad in YA, because of the pressure on YA authors to build and leverage social media platforms with little to no publisher guidance or support. Eventually you're gonna look back at the time spent on petty shit and realize how much of a waste it all was, and how bad it was for your mental health.

People are going to invent the version of you they want to engage with, for good and bad. It's not uncommon for bad faith pile-ons to spiral out of control because they give spectators a seemingly abstract outlet for day to day frustrations. It's also not uncommon for people to defend bad actions from someone they have a lot in common with. At the end of the day, all that can speak for you is your work. It's slower and harder than tiktoks and ukulele videos, but it also outlasts them by decades.

If you want to write books for a career, odds are that you are going to be asked to do events and panels and discussions with people from all over publishing. Including people you dislike, people you and/or your friends have been cruel to, people who have been cruel to you or your friends, people whose work you don't respect, and/or people who you simply find annoying. Publishing is, sometimes by design, a constantly moving target, and plenty of people inside and out are willing to treat it like a reality TV episode. But the one constant I've found is that people will never forget how you made them feel. This doesn't mean "be nice to racists," btw. It means you can never go wrong with acting like a professional instead of a Kardashian.

[garfieldstim]

@/deadboystims 300 follower event -> day 7: make a stimboard based on yourself

x x x / x x x / x x x

[vault81]

setting all my loot settings in project zomboid to insanely rare and wondering why im not finding anything

[thisblogdoesnotexisg]

nevermoor has some sort of parade during may or march, i will not take constructive criticism because it does not have to be associated with st. patrick’s! anyway it’s kinda like a foodie tech show(?) where they show the latest edible inventions as samples, you can also buy more or donate so they can open a stall in the bazaar and make more products!

[asdesperationtakeshold]

Me when I read: that's what life is all about I will do only this!

Me when I draw: that's what life is all about I will do only this!

Me when I watch a movie: that's what life is all about I will do only this!

Me when I go out in nature: that's what life is all about I will do only this!

Me when I go to a museum: that's what life is all about I will do only this!

Me when I make homemade food: that's what life is all about I will do only this!

Me when I write: that's what life is all about I will do only this!

Me when I listen to music: that's what life is all about I will do only this!

[nerdby]

Heads up, AI just turned deadly.

[rebeccathenaturalist]

I have THE biggest, BEST news EVER--

I GOT A BOOK CONTRACT!!!!!!!!

I am exceptionally pleased to announce that I have just signed a contract with Ten Speed Press (a division of Penguin Random House) to publish...

The Everyday Naturalist: How to Identify Animals, Plants, and Fungi Wherever You Go!

It is slated for publication in early Summer 2025, and will be written for anyone who wants to be able to identify the living beings around them regardless of educational level or experience. A HUGE thank you to my literary agent Jane Dystel of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret LLC, and my editor at Ten Speed Press, Julie Bennett!

This isn't just another field guide--it's a how-to book on nature identification that helps you go from "I have no idea what this animal/plant/fungus is and I don't know where to start" to "Aha! I know how to figure out what species I'm looking at/hearing!" Those familiar with my nature ID classes know that I emphasize skills and tools accessible to everyday people. Whether you're birdwatching, foraging, or just enjoying the nature around you, my goal is to help you be more confident in figuring out what living beings you encounter wherever you go--and not just in the Pacific Northwest. 

The Everyday Naturalist will not only explain what traits you need to pay attention to like color, size, shape, location, etc. and how to use them to differentiate among similar species, but will also detail how and when to use tools like apps, field guides, and more. (And given the current kerfuffle about A I generated foraging books, I will of course include information on how to determine the veracity of a given book or other resource.) And my editor and I have already been discussing some great additions to the book that will make it even more user-friendly!

Are you excited about this? I certainly am! I wanted to wait until the pixels were dry on the contract before going public with this (though my newsletter subscribers got to hear about it last month, lucky them!) It still doesn't feel real, but I'm already working on the manuscript so it'll sink in soon enough.

I will, of course, keep you all apprised of my progress because this project is going to be a big part of my life over the next several months as I write and edit and write and edit and wash, rinse, repeat. So keep your eyes on this space for updates (and feel free to add yourself to my monthly email newsletter here, too!)

[coven-of-genesis]

Common herbs you can forage for

These herbs can be grown naturally in a garden without much maintenance, and can provide a range of benefits from natural remedies to culinary uses.

Wild garlic: A perennial herb that grows wild in many parts of the world, with a strong garlic flavor and scent.

Yarrow: A hardy perennial herb with feathery leaves and clusters of small white or pink flowers that is often used as a natural remedy for various ailments.

Comfrey: A perennial herb with large, hairy leaves and small clusters of purple or white flowers that is often used as a natural remedy for bruises, sprains, and other injuries.

Lemon balm: A fast-growing perennial herb with lemon-scented leaves that is often used in teas, cocktails, and as a natural insect repellent.

Calendula: A hardy annual or perennial herb with bright orange or yellow flowers that is often used in skin care products and as a natural remedy for inflammation and digestive issues.

Nettle: A perennial herb with stinging hairs on the leaves that can cause skin irritation, but is also rich in vitamins and minerals and is often used in teas and as a natural remedy for allergies and inflammation.

Plantain: A hardy perennial herb with broad, flat leaves that is often used as a natural remedy for insect bites, burns, and other skin irritations.

[tenth-sentence]

Ecologists feel that the preagricultural food supply – obtainable by hunting, fishing, collecting wild fruits and nuts, and so on – could not support a world population of more than twenty million; and in all likelihood the actual population during the Stone Age was never more than a third of this at most.

"The Stars in their Courses" - Isaac Asimov