Permaculture Principles in Practice: Catching and Storing Energy in Spring Ephemerals

Spring is making its slow way back to the Pacific Northwestern US right now. Its been a relatively cold, wet winter, and many plants, animals, birds, and insects are appearing a bit later than usual. The first flowers are opening, including Tall Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium), Trillium (Trillium ovatum), and Yellow Wood Violet (Viola glabella). Soon the Camas (Camassia quamash and C. leitchlinii) will fill the valleys as the Calypso orchids (Calypso bulbosa) sprinkle the forests with their purple-pink petals.

Amidst all of these bold floral displays grow many herbaceous annuals and perennials that fill the understory of forests, savannas, and riparian corridors with succulent vegetation.

Starry False Solomon’s Seal

Stinging nettles (Urtica dioca) abound in shady moist floodplains, surrounded by waterleaf (Hydrophyllum tenuipes). Miner’s Lettuce (Claytonia lanceolata) and Spring Beauty (Cardamine nuttallii) proliferate in the moist, warming soil. The bold green of Starry False Solomon’s Seal (Smilacina stellata) and Wild Ginger (Asarum caudatum) spring forward to cover the ground.

This is also the time of year that many foragers and wildcrafters emerge from their winter repose to harvest and make use of this spring bounty.

Harvesting Stinging Nettles

Many of these plants are edible or medicinal, and are known to be rich in nutrients and minerals. Stinging nettles are an excellent source of calcium and iron. They are often used to treat the inflammatory symptoms associated with seasonal allergies like itchy eyes and runny noses. Nettles are great in quiches, stir fries, made into pesto, or steamed with a bit of butter (or even plain). I like to harvest several grocery bags full of nettles each year and dry them for use in tea or soups and stews for the rest of the year. While I’m out, I love to snack on Miner’s Lettuce, Yellow Wood Violets, and Western Spring Beauty.

Rosy Checker Mallow (Sidalcea virgata)

In harvesting some of this seasonal bounty for myself, my family, and community, I like to reflect on what these plants are doing for the ecosystem, and its interesting that their role in nature is reflected in the ways that we and other creatures of the land use them. In temperate climates, these pulses of lush spring growth act as nutrient reservoirs that catch and store nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorous. Plants like Stinging Nettles and Miner’s Lettuce grow rapidly and store these valuable elements in their tissues, where they are held until other creatures harvest and disperse them or until the plants themselves decompose and create a slow release of these critical nutrients back into the surrounding ecosystem. They also grow rapidly before the trees and shrubs above them begin to leaf out, making use of spring sunlight for photosynthesis

Ecologists R.N. Muller and F.H. Borman proposed that these spring ephemerals act as “vernal dams” that capture nutrients that may otherwise leave the system during the season of heavy spring rains or melting snow. Tests on this hypothesis have been carried out in numerous temperate ecosystems, and have found that these relatively short-lived plants play a critical role in stabilizing nutrient flows.

These nutrient-rich plants also grow right at the time when animals who live at higher latitudes (like people who live in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere above 30 degrees latitude or so) are in need of some supplemental nutrition after a winter with relatively little fresh vegetation to eat. Judicious harvest of this seasonal bounty provides an important boost of vitamins and minerals, and they just taste so good!

Finding a good spot to harvest these plants is important. I’ve been going to “my” patch of nettles for over 10 years, and this long-term relationship has given me the opportunity to observe the population over time – to notice whether the patch is growing or shrinking, if the plants are healthy, etc. I think this element of conscientious stewardship is key to ethical wildcrafting – we shouldn’t just be harvesting plants for the fun of it, but in order to create long-lasting relationships with a place that may even show us that harvesting is no longer a good idea. We have to learn when not to harvest as well.

Back at home, we can take this important observation of natural cycles and apply it to our own gardens and landscapes. Permaculture design principles are based on integrating natural patterns in our home and community environments. Harvesting spring ephemerals and understanding the vernal dam hypothesis is a great example of the principle of “Catch and Store Energy,” which can be applied to many contexts from pond building to home heating. In this case, we’re looking at how forest ecosystems catch and store energy in the form of nutrients in ephemeral plant tissues. Mimicking this in our home gardens might mean planting similar species in our forest garden areas. In my garden, I’ve planted Alexanders (Smyrnium olustratum), Rhubarb (Rheum rhabarbarum), and Perennial Elephant Garlic (Allium ampeloprasum var. babingtonii) to fill this niche. I also encourage the growth of Dead Nettle (Lamium purpureum), Cleavers (Galium aparine), and Chickweed (Stellaria media) throughout my forest garden areas for making a delicious spring pesto…recipe below!

Dead Nettle and Cleavers harvesting nutrients and sunlight.

Eat Your Weeds Spring Pesto

* Several handfuls cleavers, chickweed, dead nettle, dandelion leaves, or other mild-flavored spring edibles to yield approximately 4 cups tightly packed greens. You can also use nettles, but they should be blanched first, and yield approximately 2 cups blanched greens to start.

* 1 cup olive oil

* 1/2 cup almonds, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, or other locally available organic nuts/seeds.

* 6 cloves garlic

* Juice from one lemon. I also add leaves from Lemon Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) when lemons aren’t available.

* Sea salt to taste.

Blend all ingredients in blender or food processor until smooth. Enjoy with pasta, or on crackers or vegetable sticks. I also mix mine with homemade fromage blanc cheese or other cultured cream cheese.