through diligence and hard work, they'd managed to gather a substantial quantity of roots for winter. burdock, Jerusalem artichoke, Queen Anne's lace, evening primrose, and goat's beard, among others. Seeds were easier to find than roots, but harder to collect since each variety had to be kept separate from the others. Clover seeds were the most plentiful; but a half-bushel of dried blossoms only made two loaves of bread, barely enough for a meal. Goosefoot, dock, and pigweed, sometimes called amaranth, the pesky plants she'd spent years plucking out of her flowerbeds, now became desirable for
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The biggest challenge is knowing which plant is which and how to process the foodstuffs each provides. For example, knowing how to leech the tanin out of acorns to make them edible for humans is no longer common knowledge and is even less practiced.
