Definitely a many day. We even goofed off a bit. Adam collected some wood for a tamo and he reminded me that I wanted to get some zenmai…so I poached some.
Yeah. It was raining so collecting it off the live plant was not easy so I picked the heads…and let the dehumidifier in the basment dry both the heads and the fibers.
I am not sure on how offensive it is as it falls in the category of destroying nature.
@todoroki34 Todoroki34. do you harvest your own, and if so, do you harvest from the plant and leave it be, or do you pick and process at home?
I would imagine a soft bristle tooth brush might be useful in havesting just the fibers…it was an idea but have yet to employ it. My fingers are far to clumsy to harvest without damaging the plant.
I’ve done both, with equal success. It also depends on how curled the plants are or how open. When they’re more tightly curled you can harvest more of the “zenmai”. However, when they’re open it comes off much easier; you just get less because some may have either fallen off or blown away in a breeze.
The other thing is that I also harvest them for eating. I don’t consider it destroying nature, I consider it foraging. Not to mention, they’re delicious.
If you harvest them for eating, the tighter the curl the better they are. I would also recommend soaking them in about one quart (~1L) of water (depending on how much you harvest, make sure they’re covered with water) in which you have dissolved about 1 teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and soak for about 1 hour before cooking them your preferred way.
I know my comment goes into the realm of fern hugging…hahahhaha.
If you are eating them I consider it fair game as they are being used.
I know they are just plants, but by concept what I did is no different than harvesting sharks only for their fins. I just felt a little guilt as those poor ferns thought they were doing good until this curious fly tier stumbled upon them…hahahaahaha.
There is a stock of “zenmai” protected for anglers
I do not harvest zenmai only by harvesting zenmai cotton
Remove garbage and wait for drying naturally
Then wait for color discoloration by exposing it to the sun
At first it is white but gradually turns brown
The remaining fiber is tough
Yes!
While exposing to the sun and drying
It rubs it by hand three times a day for a week
I will taste it as dry matter food all year round
One story i forgot to tell was one brookie that I suspect was large pulled a trick from the tarpon handbook.
There was a deep plunge dropped my fly into. It was a pocket the size and depth of a pair of old fashioned bath tubs…side by side The current moved across its narrow sides … half the pocket was foam.
So i cast my fly in…dead drift…pulse…nobody home. So then i let the fly swing to mid pool and after it rose to the surface…i skated it there. A big swirl flashed out from the deep and sucked the fly down. My whole rod doubled with the force of the fish as it bolted to the corner of the pool…then just dead weight.
That savage beast beat me with the oldest trick in the book. As i moved to the corner and reached down to follow my tippet…i found my hook nailed deep into a twisted mess of roots.
That fish knew what it was doing. The minute i set the hook…it beelined for its home in those roots before i could react.
It earned its freedom with that hoodini act…it also earned a chuckle from its audience…hahahaha. I love it!!!
Tororoki-san,
That was extremely generous of you to send Gressak that box of samples. You are an amazing person and I am proud to know you and honored that you are on this forum. Many thanks.
