Foraging - Natures Food

rachbc

Pazu please don't go - I'm not suprised butplease don't let it put you off- some posters are in a minority of 1 but are just very opinionated and vocal about those opinions.

tiredwithtwins

we were at twycross zoo yesterday, and the blackthorn bushes had millions of sloes on them, ripe looking too! so we asked one of the car park attendants if it was ok to pick a couple of handfuls - small tupperware box of sloes now sitting in the fridge waiting for me to get a bottle of gin from mr t's tomorrow to make sloe gin!

:beer:

anyone going to twycross, park in the bottom field car park on the left ... there is about 200ft+ of blackthorn bushes there.

our old house had a huge blackberry bush at the bottom, and last year i made tons of blackberry jam - only just finished the last jar! dont have any such luxury in our new house so off for a walk near the kids school next week to see if any on the road side are ready yet.

HariboJunkie

Pazu wrote: »

Hi
Laptop went AWOL yesterday so didn't look in. There is a similar thread on the green fingered board. Ceridwen has used what I had said, which was meant kindly, to fuel her arguement so I will not be posting here again. Just wanted to say thankyou to all.

Pazu

Please don't stop posting Pazu . I have really enjoyed your contribution to this thread. :A

Frustratingly I have been unwell and haven't been foraging. We are usually quite far behind up here though and the garden blackberries are nowhere near ripe so I doubt if the sloes are yet either.

splodger_seedswapper

if anybody is in and about the romsey area (hampshire) and would like to collect sweet chestnuts in the autumn - give me a shout and i will try and arrange a day where you can come to our woods to forage

rachbc

splodger_seedswapper wrote: »

if anybody is in and about the romsey area (hampshire) and would like to collect sweet chestnuts in the autumn - give me a shout and i will try and arrange a day where you can come to our woods to forage

what a very kind and generous offer :j - wish i was closer as I love chestnuts!

Happy and I would love to buy some woodland one day

SoniaJM

I'm just starting out with this foraging lark. I've always picked blackberries, but I've never really got into anything else. My real problem is as a complete ignoramus when it comes to plants and what they are - where do I start? I have a little book that someone gave me (Food for free - a little collins book), but when I'm actually out and about I really don't know whether what I'm seeing matches the picture or not. I saw some chestnut type things yesterday - but have no idea whether they are sweet chestnuts or another type.

Can anyone recommend a good way to start the foraging thing, so I stand a chance of a)getting something, and b) not poisoning myself!

splodger_seedswapper

SoniaJM wrote: »

I'm just starting out with this foraging lark. I've always picked blackberries, but I've never really got into anything else. My real problem is as a complete ignoramus when it comes to plants and what they are - where do I start? I have a little book that someone gave me (Food for free - a little collins book), but when I'm actually out and about I really don't know whether what I'm seeing matches the picture or not. I saw some chestnut type things yesterday - but have no idea whether they are sweet chestnuts or another type.

Can anyone recommend a good way to start the foraging thing, so I stand a chance of a)getting something, and b) not poisoning myself!

i would recommend you go out walking with somebody that knows a bit about foraging - it is not a good idea to pick and eat things that you are unsure of

tiff

splodger_seedswapper wrote: »

i would recommend you go out walking with somebody that knows a bit about foraging - it is not a good idea to pick and eat things that you are unsure of

I dont think thats necessary, I didnt know anything when I got started and gradually over the years picked things up. Certainly dont eat anything you are unsure of but if you pick the berry and leaf and then look for identification on the internet you will be fine. Plums are pretty easy to identify, apples, blackberries, elderberries too. I had to find out what hawthorn was before I went out looking for it, dont bother with that one now though.

Mushrooms are something you may need an expert for, the only one I can identify at the moment is a puffball, because nothing else looks like it. Never found one though lol

Jolaaled

The Elderberries are really ripen up fast where I live.

Yesterday, I collected 2 'Jugits' of elderberries, which made just over 1 litre of Elderberry cordial.


I found it really easy to make using THIS recipe and it looks great. I bottled it in a recycled swing top Farcioni Olive oil bottle, but the rest went in a jam jar!

I just hope the taste also makes the 'grade'. I will try to remember to feedback on this around xmas time.

splodger_seedswapper

tiff wrote: »

I dont think thats necessary, I didnt know anything when I got started and gradually over the years picked things up. Certainly dont eat anything you are unsure of but if you pick the berry and leaf and then look for identification on the internet you will be fine. Plums are pretty easy to identify, apples, blackberries, elderberries too. I had to find out what hawthorn was before I went out looking for it, dont bother with that one now though.

Mushrooms are something you may need an expert for, the only one I can identify at the moment is a puffball, because nothing else looks like it. Never found one though lol

i agree that most things are easy enough to identify - but i would not want anybody to pick dwarf elderberry (danewort) by mistake