Foraging - Natures Food

sharloid

I collected a carrier bag full of apples yesterday and about 10 blackberries from our garden. I haven't found anything else!

Horace

I need to start foraging - I know that my chum who lives near Wisbech has already been out picking wild damsons and has made pots of jam. I have made a mental note where the blackthorn bushes are if I remember will pick some sloes to make gin.

No reason why I can't take myself up the Lickey Hills onto the Bilberry Hill side and go foraging for bilberries. (Bilberry Hill has always had that name and it is covered with Bilberries).

morganlefay

the hedges round here have been full of cherry plums for some weeks now - they look like that picture - or like big cherries but range from yellow to darkish red. The yellow ones seem to taste nicer than the red. I spent about 1/2 hr in my doctor's car park picking them and have them in fridge to make jam. I've never seen so many though so I think this must be an amazinf year for them. Once I started to notice them I see them everywhere, but for years they were invisible to me !

M0neysav3r

We've had blackberries and mirabelles here - we're lucky that there are loads and loads on our doorstep. There are lots of other 'finds' to be had too, most I have no idea what they are though, I have identified the Mirabelles and sloes (I wouldnt know what to do with the sloes) but there are allsorts of wild growing berries and fruits. (not brave enough to try them all for fear of poisoning myself )

chompers

ive just returned from our walkies with a handful of plum-type fruits to identify - it seems i have found 2 cherry plum trees, yum! and a green bullace tree - not too sure what i would do with these but i have never seen so much fruit an a tree in my life! so it seems like no-one else has any idea either!

i shall busy myself looking for some recipes as there were literally hundreds on 1 tree!:j

lindseykim13

boultdj wrote: »

That is a damson, use any plum recipe.

Thanks very much! I thought they looked edible :T

ChocClare

I have picked and frozen pounds of mirabelle plums from our local common. There are also Victoria plums but they are still hard so I'll keep checking back.

Masses of rosehips around - rosehip jelly is absolutely THE best thing for a cough - really soothing.

Blackberries were really abundant but we had a massive storm on Thursday and it seems to have splatted them.

However, our common has trees groaning with pears, apples, crab-apples and elderberries so I'll be checking regularly to see what I can get.

I invested in a fruit picker a couple of years ago and it is BRILLIANT for reaching up to the decent fruit which other foragers can't reach!

I've also noticed that we have an abundance of apple trees by the roadside where people have obviously chucked apple cores over the years. Not sure how polluted they'd be though

However, the BEST apples are in our local cemetery - yellow apples by the gate and red-all-the-way-through apples all along the paths. It's a tiny place, and I'm not sure that apple trees were the best things to plant there, as if people didn't take them, they'd end up all over the graves...

jem132

Hiya
we live in west yorkshire and cant find anything I wish could as it would be great to make jam like last year .

MrsRogers

I have made lots of Plum Jam and Plum Jelly - a lovely freegle person offered up the plums

Blackberries I am struggling... we are new to the area and have no idea where they are hiding? Any ideas of best places to look. Use to be so easy where we lived before .. they were in the hedge less then 100 yds from front door !!

dogstarheaven

they tend to grow where there's a fair bit of warmth and sunshine. Down on my allotments, along paths there's loads to pick. Or you could go down towards (not in) your woods, you should find them scrambling into shrubs. They're ready now, so you'll find those juicy black gems soon!

ps. i've just posted an offer on my local freegle board for anyone wanting my free damsons (nott'm)