• yarrow
    Rail Trail

    Yarrow: What It Is, How We Use It

    October 11, 2018 - By 

    You can find it in the grocery store and on the shelves of your local healthfood store too. But did you know you can probably find it in your backyard as well? Yarrow is a “weed” that grows well across the entire northern hemisphere! In the Okanagan, it is common to see its white or pale yellow flower heads in the late Spring/early Summer, but it’s feathery leaves can be harvested almost year-round depending on growing conditions. Those leaves are classified as ever-green, so even if it snows and you know where to look, you can harvest them even in…

  • Pine Needles
    Rail Trail - Stamina Potion Lite - Tea - Valley Hills

    Pine Needles: What They Are, How We Use Them

    September 21, 2018 - By 

    Pine needles, and conifers in general, have a very mixed review of their safety versus toxicity online. When we first began foraging, we brought with us various misconceptions about what was and wasn’t edible. For example, I grew up being told that Mountain Ash was poisonous, but information is coming out saying otherwise and that its great for use in cooking meat! I haven’t tried it yet because I plan to do more research before harvesting that berry. But when you spend so much of your life being told one thing and then another pops up, you have to be…

  • Washed Nettle
    Rail Trail - Stamina Potion Lite - Sun Drop - Tea

    Nettle: What it is, How We Use It

    September 13, 2018 - By 

    Nettle, otherwise known as “Stinging Nettle”, grows all over the Okanagan Valley! This wide-ranging plant, best known for how it makes your skin feel if you accidentally brush past it, has an amazing array of beneficial uses in human daily life. It is best harvested while wearing long-sleeves and long pants or jeans, fully-enclosed footwear and gloves. Garden sheers can help trim only the parts of the plant you want. If you are in a zone where someone absolutely wants the plant gone, taking the entire plant roots and all will help both you and the property owner. Side note:…

  • Pot of chokecherry
    Rail Trail - Tea - Valley Hills - Warm Hug

    Chokecherry: What it is, How we use it

    August 18, 2018 - By 

    The very name of this berry is enough to make anyone stand back three feet and go, “you’re not eating THAT are you???” Yet anyone who has tried the fruit after proper preparation generally enjoys it. So why the scary name?! Chokecherry gets it’s name because of the very tart flavour it has. This tartness is caused by a compound known as hydrocyanic acid. This hydro-cyanide compound is also known as anthocyanin and occurs not just in chokecherries, but in the pits of domestic cherries as well as almonds. In fact, crushing dried chokecherry adds an almond flavour to sauces,…

  • Ashtree Wildcrafting Rail Trail Tea
    Rail Trail - shop

    Tea: Rail Trail

    July 26, 2018 - By 

    Description: A hint of fruit with a mellow zing A little rest this tea can bring Why the Name? Most of the ingredients found in this tea were found along the old Okanagan Railway which is now the Okanagan Rail Trail connecting Kelowna to Coldstream. Net Weight:  20+g Price: $12 + shipping Tea: Rail Trail $12.00 Buy now