Crop Database

Season: Late spring / early summer

Staple bulb food of the Pacific NW. Slow-roasted in earth ovens for 24-48 hours, yielding sweet, calorie-dense cakes. Cultivated through fire management of prairies. The 'breadbasket' of Coast Salish, Nisqually, and Puyallup peoples.

Season: Autumn through early winter

Aquatic tuber harvested from wetlands. Women waded into cold water, loosening tubers with their feet. Called 'Indian potato' — a staple starch that could be dried and stored. Puyallup River wetlands were prime habitat.

Season: Mid to late summer

The most important fruit of coastal peoples. Dark purple berries pressed into dried cakes for winter storage — essentially Indigenous fruit leather. Grows abundantly in PNW forest understory. Also used medicinally as appetite suppressant.

Season: Late summer (mountain) / mid-summer (lowland)

Mountain and lowland varieties. Families traveled to high-elevation berry fields every summer — gathering grounds managed through controlled burning. Cannot be commercially farmed; they require the forest. Symbol of wild food sovereignty.

Season: Early to mid-summer

One of the first berries to ripen each year. Eaten fresh — too delicate to dry. Pink-orange berries with a tart, salmon-roe-like flavor. Young shoots eaten like asparagus in spring. Indicator plant: when salmonberries ripen, salmon are running.

Season: Mid to late summer

Large, soft red berries that cannot be transported (too fragile). Eaten fresh at the gathering site or dried into cakes. The large maple-shaped leaves were used as containers, wrapping material, and toilet paper. A trail-side food.

Season: Young shoots: spring / Fiber: autumn stalks

Triple-use powerhouse. Spring greens higher in iron than spinach. Bast fiber in stems stronger than cotton. Medicinal tea for joint pain and allergies. One of the first spring foods — a signal that winter is over.

Season: Early spring

Young coiled fronds of sword ferns and lady ferns. Rich in omega-3 fatty acids. Traditional first food signaling the start of gathering season. Found in moist forests surrounding Tacoma. Brief harvest window.

Season: Berries: late summer / Root: year-round

Tart blue berries used in pemmican and preserves. Bright yellow root bark is a powerful antimicrobial medicine (contains berberine). State flower of Oregon. Inner bark yields yellow dye. Grows in forest understory across the PNW.

Season: Late summer / early autumn

Blue elderberry (S. cerulea) berries eaten cooked or dried — raw berries are mildly toxic. Red elderberry (S. racemosa) berries only eaten after steaming/drying. Flowers used for tea. Branches are naturally hollow — used for pipes, flutes, and blowguns.

Season: Spring through early summer

Nodding onion found in meadows and rocky slopes. Used as flavoring and vegetable. Bulbs eaten raw, cooked, or dried for winter storage. Often found growing alongside camas in managed prairies.

Season: Berries: autumn / Leaves: year-round

Low-growing evergreen groundcover. Mealy red berries eaten fresh or cooked with grease. Leaves dried and smoked (traditional tobacco blend component). Medicinal tea for urinary tract. The name means 'smoking mixture' in Algonquian languages.

Season: Late spring / early summer (bark harvest)

The 'tree of life.' Inner bark processed into fiber for rain capes, hats, skirts, rope, mats, baskets, baby cradles. Outer bark used for roofing. Naturally water-resistant and antimicrobial. Trees survive bark harvest — culturally modified trees stand for centuries.

Season: Summer through autumn

Wetland plants providing mats for walls, floors, and rain coverings. Cattail fluff for insulation, wound dressing, and diapers. Tule woven into mats for portable shelters. Cattail roots and pollen edible. Grows abundantly in Puyallup River delta.

Season: Spring (shedding season)

Wool gathered from bushes and rocks where mountain goats shed, or from hunted animals. Spun and woven into the famous Salish blankets — used as currency, ceremonial regalia, and insulation. Mixed with fireweed fluff and dog wool.

Season: Late summer (fiber/seeds) / Spring (shoots)

Cotton-like seed fluff mixed with mountain goat wool for weaving bulk. Young shoots eaten as spring greens. Leaves dried for tea. First plant to recolonize burned areas — hence the name. A symbol of resilience and regeneration.

Season: Year-round (timber harvest)

The primary structural material of PNW architecture. Longhouse posts and planks, canoes, totem poles, bent-wood boxes. Naturally rot-resistant due to thujaplicin. Splits cleanly along the grain — can be worked without metal tools. Lives 1,000+ years.

Season: Year-round (timber harvest)

The structural powerhouse of PNW forests. Highest strength-to-weight ratio of commercial timber species. Used for ridge poles, structural beams, fish traps. Today: #1 framing lumber in North America, glulam beams, CLT panels. Grows to 250+ ft, lives 500-1,000 years.

Season: Year-round (wood) / Spring (sap, flowers)

Dense hardwood used for paddles, tools, bowls, and carved items. Sap tapped for syrup (less sweet than sugar maple). Flowers edible. Moss-draped trees are iconic PNW canopy. Inner bark dried and ground for emergency flour.

Season: Year-round

Fast-growing nitrogen-fixing tree. Wood used for smoking fish (gives salmon its distinctive flavor), carving, and fuel. Bark yields red dye and is a traditional medicine. First colonizer of disturbed ground — the 'healer' tree of the forest. Improves soil for other species.

Season: Species-dependent

A social enterprise blend of locally grown medicinal herbs: chamomile, lemon balm, peppermint, lavender, echinacea, and others. Part of the 100-to-400 STEAM pipeline — $100 in seeds becomes $400 in product. Cooperative economics rooted in plant medicine.

Season: Spring (shoots) / Autumn (bark)

Powerful medicinal plant covered in spines. Inner bark used for diabetes management, respiratory illness, and spiritual protection. Related to ginseng. Considered sacred — harvesting requires protocol and prayer. Found in old-growth forest understory.

Season: Summer (flowers and leaves)

Universal wound herb — stops bleeding, prevents infection. Tea for colds, fevers, and digestive issues. Poultice for bruises and sprains. Grows wild in meadows and roadsides. Named for Achilles, who is said to have used it to treat soldiers' wounds.

Season: Year-round (root harvest)

Bright yellow root bark is one of the most powerful antimicrobial medicines in the PNW pharmacopoeia. Contains berberine — effective against bacterial and fungal infections. Used as eyewash, wound wash, and internal medicine. Also yields a brilliant yellow dye.