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  • Start Here
    • About Elle
    • Contact Me
  • Forage
  • Cook
  • Preserve

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Foraging

This is where it starts.

Before the recipes and before the jars on the shelf... it’s the ingredients. What’s in season, what’s growing, what you can find, gather, or bring into your kitchen.

You’ll find foraging, herbs, and simple ways to stay connected to where your food actually comes from, so you know what to use and when.

Gardening

  • image showcasing a variety of freshly harvested perennial vegetables arranged on a rustic wooden table. The selection includes leafy greens, asparagus, rhubarb, and leeks, accented with fresh herbs like chives or oregano. Soft, dramatic lighting highlights the textures and earthy tones, creating an inviting and natural gardening theme.
    20 Perennial Vegetables You Need In Your Garden
  • Basil seedlings sprouting in a peat pot
    What to Plant in February
  • Spinach growing in a garden covered with snow
    What to Plant in January
  • Best DIY Tomato Trellis to Support Tomatoes
See more Gardening →

Foraging + Wildcrafting

  • Freshly foraged ramps (wild leeks) on a dark surface, showing green leaves and white bulbs after a sustainable harvest
    How to Forage Ramps Without Destroying the Patch (A Real Beginner’s Guide)
  • Foraging for and Using Wild Grapes
  • Fruit growing on an American persimmon tree
    Foraging for American Persimmon
  • Close-up of vibrant green fiddlehead ferns emerging from dark soil in early spring.
    Foraging Fiddleheads: What They Are, Where to Find Them, and How to Prepare Them
See more Foraging + Wildcrafting →

Herbs + Natural Remedies

  • Homemade vapor rub in a small metal tin on a linen towel and wooden cutting board, styled simply with natural light.
    Homemade Vapor Rub: A Simple, From-Scratch Cold-Season Staple
  • A glass cup filled with golden lavender and lemon balm iced tea, with loose lavender buds scattered on a rustic wooden table in soft natural light.
    Lavender + Lemon Balm Iced Tea
  • A glass bottle of golden herbal-infused vinegar with floating dried chamomile, surrounded by fresh herbs and a linen cloth on a dark wooden surface — styled in a warm, rustic, earthy aesthetic.
    How to Make Herbal-Infused Vinegars
  • Flat lay of natural herbal ingredients on a dark wooden surface, including plantain leaves, dried calendula petals, lavender buds, a tin of salve, amber roller bottle, glass jars of witch hazel and aloe vera gel, and wooden spoons.
    Easy Herbal Remedies for Summer Bug Bites
See more Herbs + Natural Remedies →

Narrow your search:

Foraging + Wildcrafting
Gardening
Herbs + Natural Remedies
  • foraging for morels in spring forest floor wild morel mushroom growing among leaves
    Foraging for Morels (without walking right past them)
  • close-up of hand holding a wild violet flower while foraging in the woods
    The “Weeds” in Your Yard Are Food (Here’s Where to Start)
  • A jar of fermented honey garlic with golden honey and fresh garlic cloves, set against a dark rustic background with warm tones. A honey dipper and scattered garlic add depth and texture to the scene.
    Fermented Honey Garlic
  • A blend of medicinal herbs and vegetables infusing in apple cider vinegar to make fire cider.
    Traditional Homemade Fire Cider Recipe
  • A jar of homemade goat milk lotion in an amber glass container, surrounded by lavender, dried herbs, and a wooden spoon with lotion on a dark rustic surface.
    Homemade Goat Milk Lotion Recipe
  • A handcrafted beeswax candle in a brass holder beside a smoldering amber jar candle, with golden wax pellets scattered on a dark wooden surface. A soft linen cloth adds a rustic touch, evoking warmth, tradition, and seasonal candle-making.
    How to Make Beeswax Candles (Clean, Natural & Long-Burning)
  • Seed sprouting above the surface
    10 Reasons for Seeds Not Germinating & How to Fix It
  • a close-up shot of hands planting a young vegetable seedling into rich, dark soil, with sunlight filtering through the background
    How to Start an Organic Vegetable Garden: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners
  • Hybrid vs. GMO Plants: Key Differences and Insights
  • Fall garden showcasing autumn light, changing leaves, and fall garden vegetables
    15 Garden Vegetables for your Fall Garden
  • Vermicomposting 101: How to Start a Worm Bin for Eco-Friendly Composting
  • How to Test Seed Germination: Simple Methods for Ensuring Seed Viability
  • Basket of the easy to grow vegetables radish and carrot.
    10 Easy-to-Grow Vegetables for Beginner Gardeners: A Simple Guide to Starting Your Garden
  • 15 Creative and Free Seed Starting Containers You Already Have at Home
  • 15 Vegetable and Flower Seeds to Start Indoors
  • How to Prepare a Garden Bed for Optimal Growth: Tips and Tricks for Success
  • Holding healthy garden soil in hands
    How to Improve Your Garden Soil: Easy Tips for Lush, Healthy Plants
  • Top Spring Garden Vegetables: A Guide to Cold-Hardy Crops for a Thriving Spring Harvest
  • Cabbage head with damage from cabbage worms
    11 Effective Ways to Get Rid of Cabbage Worms
  • Squash bug on a leaf
    How to Get rid of Squash Bugs
  • Tomatoes growing in the garden
    How to Grow Tomatoes: A Complete Guide
  • when to transplant tomatoes into the garden like the tomato plant being planted pictured here
    How to Transplant Tomatoes
  • Herbs for cooking like those pictured here are easy to grow
    10 Herbs for Cooking You Need to Grow In Your Garden
  • Garden planner template laid out on a table with gardening gloves and a hand rake
    Free Garden Planner Printable
  • weeding the garden
    6 Effective Ways to Weed Your Garden
  • Tomato hornworm on a tomato branch with a half-eaten tomato
    How to Identify and Get Rid of Tomato Hornworms, Naturally
  • 9 Tips on How to Get Rid of Japanese Beetles Naturally
  • How to Grow Garlic: A Guide for Planting, Growing and Harvesting Garlic
  • How to Save Seeds: A Simple Guide
  • Cover Crops & Their Benefits
  • 7 Herbs You Can Grow Indoors for Flavor All Year Long
  • Planning A Raised Bed Garden
  • 11 Reasons to Grow Your Own Food
  • Ultimate Guide to Planting Trees in The Fall
  • How to Improve Clay Soil
  • Fresh produce from a self sufficient garden
    10 Essential Crops for a Self Sufficient Garden
  • Determining How Much to Plant Per Person
  • Growing Grapes In Your Backyard: An Easy How to Grow Guide
  • Learning how to grow broccoli can increase food self sufficiency.
    How to Grow Broccoli from Seed to Harvest
  • Growing tomatillos like the ones pictured here is easy.
    Growing Tomatillos: A Complete Guide

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About

Elle, creator of The Rustic Elk, standing in a forest wearing a black top and moon necklace, looking off to the side.

Hey, I’m Elle.

I’m a mom, a night-shift healthcare worker, and the voice behind The Rustic Elk, with zero interest in performative lifestyle nonsense.

This is about real food, seasonal living, and finding your way back to something that actually feels like life.

Not perfect. Not aesthetic. Real.
Learn more about Elle

Seasonal Starts...

  • Jars of pickled carrots sitting on a counter surrounded by pickling spice.
    Easy Honey Pickled Carrots
  • Jars of pickled brussels sprouts on a counter.
    Pickled Brussels Sprouts (Frog Balls)
  • Venison burger on a brioche bun topped with condiments, tomato, lettuce, and onion.
    The Best Venison Burger Recipe | Juicy Deer Burgers
  • Brown snake curled on a stacked woodpile, highlighting common hiding places for snakes around the home and homestead.
    10 Natural Snake Repellents That Actually Work (And a Few That Don’t)

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