I know the idea of harvesting and eating wild edibles makes some people nervous, but I hope that won't stop you from exploring the wonderful world of foraging.

In this short course I'll introduce you to five safe, easy-to-recognize, wild edible plants, that you can find almost anywhere, and that have no poisonous look-alikes! I'll walk you through identification, harvesting, and cooking with each of these flavorful plants. 

You'll learn:

  • my recommendations for five beginner plants that are easy to find and safe to harvest
  • how to extract flavors by infusion
  • how to enjoy nutrient rich food AND pump up the flavor
  • how harvesting can sometimes help the environment
  • a foraging technique for leaching out bitter flavors

You'll have unlimited access to the video course. You'll also get three, downloadable, illustrated PDFs: 

- a complete recipe pack that includes cocktails, soups, cookies, and more, so you can make the most of your wild harvest 

- an illustrated, step-by-step guide for making acorn flour; you'll learn how to turn bitter acorns into flavorful, free flour 

- an identification reference chart with a handy photo of each plant.

After completing this course, you'll be able to enjoy five, nutrient rich, wild edible plants with zero fear. Let me teach you how to forage safely. I'm confident I can inspire you with these five unbuyable flavors.


Fresh, free food is all around you! Learn how to forage safely and confidently, and enjoy the delicious, unbuyable flavors Mother Nature has to offer

Sign Up Now

What Students are Saying about this Course

Jeremy Chavez

5 star rating

“Its a mini course packed with a lot of information, Very well put together. ”

“Its a mini course packed with a lot of information, Very well put together. ”

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John Keane

5 star rating

“Exceeded my expectations. An intoxicating educational experience.”

“Exceeded my expectations. An intoxicating educational experience.”

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leslie cohen

5 star rating

“Very interesting subject for these very interesting times. Being able to forage and provide unusual tastes from my backyard is a wonderful way to use this time to connect with nature. I find the connection to interesting ingredients for cocktails ...”

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“Very interesting subject for these very interesting times. Being able to forage and provide unusual tastes from my backyard is a wonderful way to use this time to connect with nature. I find the connection to interesting ingredients for cocktails especially intriguing! Looking forward to taking more in depth courses with Ellen in the future!”

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Marie Iannotti

5 star rating

“I’ve never thought of myself as a forager. My grandmother’s dandelion salads were about as wild as I got. But I was intrigued that most of the plants Ellen talks about in this video are already growing in my backyard… especially garlic mustard, I...”

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“I’ve never thought of myself as a forager. My grandmother’s dandelion salads were about as wild as I got. But I was intrigued that most of the plants Ellen talks about in this video are already growing in my backyard… especially garlic mustard, I’m sorry to say. As reviled as it is as a weed, Ellen makes a great case for eating it. And turning it into a martini, well, cheers to that. (Sorry.) Ellen has managed to pack in a lot of information without making me feel overwhelmed. Her tips for safely identifying edible wild plants bolstered my confidence and made me wish I could go hiking with her to learn more. I really appreciated the recipes. It’s one thing to know something is edible and quite another to know what to do with it. This was a fun introduction to foraging and I’m looking forward to the sequel. ”

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Karen Chapman

5 star rating

“The closest I've come to foraging in the past is blackberry picking, so I felt really unsure about my ability to safely identify wild foods or know what to do with them once I got them home! Ellen's course has changed all that. Her clear and enthu...”

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“The closest I've come to foraging in the past is blackberry picking, so I felt really unsure about my ability to safely identify wild foods or know what to do with them once I got them home! Ellen's course has changed all that. Her clear and enthusiastic instruction together with excellent photographs have left me ready to head outside and see what I can find. In fact, I already have two of her five plants growing in my garden - and I had no idea I could eat them! I highly recommend this mini course to wannabe foragers - and 'not sure if I wannabe a wannabe's' like me - you'll be hooked. Karen, WA”

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What's Included

here's what you get

  • Identification Reference Chart: a handy chart with a photo of each wild edible

  • Video Lesson: Five Unbuyable Flavors for the Beginning Forager

  • A Complete Recipe Pack: including cocktails, soups, cookies, and more!

  • Step by Step Guide for Making Acorn Flour: learn how to turn bitter acorns into flavorful, free flour

For only $9.00 you can begin your foraging journey.

Buy Now

Ellen Zachos

Instructor Bio:

I moved to NYC sometime in the last century to be an actor. I know, I know, it’s an age old story, small town girl moves to NYC, lands a role on Broadway, decides she’d rather be a horticulturist, and starts her own garden design, installation, and maintenance business. You’ve heard it many times before.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
But seriously, after leaving the cast of Les Miz on Broadway, I went back to school at the New York Botanical Garden and earned certificates in both ornamental horticulture and ethnobotany. For many years I taught at the NYBG on a wide range of subjects (basic gardening techniques, perennials, annuals, orchids, container gardening, house plants) and ran my roof top gardening business.

PLANTS FEED BODY AND SOUL
As I learned more about plants I noticed that many traditional ornamental plants had edible and medicinal histories. I wondered why we didn’t eat hostas any more, and why people planted hopniss for its flowers rather than its delicious, potato-like tubers. Gradually, my interest shifted from plants that were merely ornamental to plants that fed both body and soul, the eyes and the stomach.

I started out foraging in the garden, because I knew the plants there were safe from potentially dangerous insecticides and herbicides. Soon I ventured out into the wilds of Central Park, the woods of Pennsylvania, the deserts of New Mexico, the islands of Scotland, and the gorges of Greece. In other words, I’m always looking for delicious, free food!

CREDENTIALS
I’m a Harvard graduate and the author of eight books including Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat, The Wildcrafted Cocktail, and The Forager's Pantry. I work with RemyUSA, teaching foraging mixology workshops across the US, and I lecture at botanic gardens, flower shows, and for garden clubs around the world.

Ellen Zachos

The Backyard Forager

Testimonials

what other students say

“Your course was well done and added so much value to what I have learned so far. Great mini-course. The identification pdf is very useful.”

student

Kasha W.

“Please offer more mini courses. They are great.”