I have in past years. It's always fun to go out into the spring woods/swamps and find those.

I'm surprised they are up that early in western Mass -- I would have thought your climate was pretty comparable to ours here in SE Michigan -- I know Boston/Cape Cod can be a bit ahead, due to being on the coast, but I thought the western part of the state was more mountainous, a little colder, and a little later.

Generally here, fiddleheads would pop sometime in early May.

Do you ever find anything else good to eat in the woods? Morels, ramps?

Good luck, happy hunting, and ejoy.

We should have fiddleheads some time this month - mid to late April.

We really enjoy this short seasoned spring delight.

Last year, I got some in Sterling April 17th, gonna try again the same time this year, can't wait!

I have to admit... it's one of my favorite veggies. Saute in bacon fat is the most popular here, but steamed isn't so bad either. I lived in the U.P. for 2 years, when stationed there, but never looked to see if there were any, unfortunately. I also hunt for dandelions and plan on trying mushrooms (with some colored books) this year. I know by my own faults that fiddle heads especially, is a very short season and have missed it before 'cause "last year was later." Maybe i'll come back out to MI if i need a late batch or miss my season. Good luck and happy hunting... Dan

So this is probably a pretty stupid question but I have a lot of fern in my garden in Virginia. They were planted by the previous owner so I have no idea what they are. How can I determine if the fiddleheads are edible? The fiddleheads generally appear in April and the ferns look like the generic ferns with pretty dark green leaves.