Cultivating edible wild plants...

Interesting topic, and I hope for some answers. I haven't, but sampled some green stuff on a plant and weed tour. What have you tried - both eating and growing?

I haven't had the chance to cultivate any but where I live now there are all sorts of wild and naturalized edbiles. I have sampled St. John's Wort, Sheep Sorrell, Dandelion, Chickory, Amaranth, Wild Grapes, Gooseberries, Currants, Figs, Wild Ginger, Wild Rose Hips, Red Clover, and Pine Needles for tea. The man I live with and work for has done a little taming of his own though with the Currants, Grapes, Gooseberries, and Chokecherries with some success. Everything likes a little tender loving care I suppose.

Oh. I've tried sheep sorrel. Not bad. Tastes a lot like geranium flowers, actually. Amaranth, or at least some other variety of pigweed is fairly common down here, but I haven't tried it. I'm sure we've got chokecherry too, but I wouldn't recognize it if I saw it.

Planning to take the tour again.

The cultivation of "wild" foodstuffs was the foundation of the Art and Science of Agriculture.

Wild blueberries, tiny, tart yet sweet, can still be found... but few (except for bears and such) have the time or energy to collect and harvest them.
That's why cultivars have been developed, tall bushes with huge berries... easy to harvest and transport.
(But vastly inferior in flavor!)

On a similar note, try buying "wild" salmon and "farmed" salmon; prepare both the same way, then sample...
you'll get the point.

just, PLEASE, check what you're looking at BEFORE eating. in the wild, there are many plants, not even counting mushrooms, which look similar but can be quite poisonous! like chokecherry---the bark, flowers, and fruit look very similar to dogbane...but the dogbane is totally poisonous.

also, if/when you find plants which you fancy, PLEASE do not strip the area; one must be very careful about wildcrafting. it'd be much better to find a large patch and take a small part and replant it to your garden.

there are so many wild plants which can be wiped out with one careless move, like bottle gentian, and blue-bead lily; with plants like trillium which is in the cahortus family...this means the plant originates from a bulb or berm and the actual bulb is usually about 12 feet below the surface....so firmly grabbing the stem at ground level won't do anything but strip the plant of its leaves and flower.

i hope you'll be careful.