Foraging - Natures Food

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There is quite a good foraging spot near to where I live and not that many people go to it, which means I can pretty much guarantee getting a pile of free food and still leave loads. I've picked blackberries, apples, sloes and elderberries and I am sure there's hawthorn berries as well, but not sure enough to risk being poisoned. I also spotted what looked like wild rhubarb, but as it was mostly green I left it.
I would like to pick nettles, but am never sure how to tell what is a young nettle or an old one and I know the young ones are the ones to use.

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rachbc wrote: »

been meaning to ask - seen a few trees recently with small green 'fruit' they look like tiny tiny apples about 1.5 cm across but hanging in bunches like elderberries so don't think they are a type of crab apple - the leaves are similar to beech. Any ideas what they might be - hope its something edible as there are loads!

Umm, are they definitely not unripe elderberries?

Edited to say scrap that, they sound too big.

annie123

D&#8517 wrote: »

On the subject of nuts...I was walking doglet yesterday and came upon a little old lady she must have been around 80 who was harvesting all the hazelnuts and I mean ALL she had her own bodyweight contained in two large sacks next to her..I checked them the other day and they looked nowhere near ready is there something you can do with under ripe cobnuts I'm not aware of??
Not that there is one single one left this year there anyway now :rotfl:

The one walnut tree has also been stripped already and to top it all off we found 4 new apple trees but have had the travellers arrive again and set up home right next to them..

Churchie glad they liked the idea

I cant believe she's stripped the hazelnut trees, they weren't ready last weekend or even close, and no walnuts either this year :eek: and the apples have visitors!
That ends my trip plans this Sunday morning, will have to make do with more crab apples from a near by industrial unit....if I can reach them.:cool:

Angelina-M

I have been reading about people saying how good the blackberries are this year but where I am they are pathetic, the worst they've been in years! I've only made two jars of jam up to now. I went today and collected about forty decent berries and I was out there for an hour!

I didn't do too well on cherries either, only got a few jars of jam out of them. I love cherry jam so i've almost run out already.

I never make a haul of rosehips but I do eat the skin (not the innards of course) whilst i'm out walking the dogs.

I guess the most unusual thing I ever found whilst out foraging was a pig!

Churchmouse

Angelina-M wrote: »

I guess the most unusual thing I ever found whilst out foraging was a pig!

Think that guarantees you first prize Angelina :rotfl::D

D&DD

Annie they are on the middle field only at present so the field where the pears and the little copse are for apples are ok so far..on your left if you park P**rley Way side or Plough Lane entrance.

There are tons of Elderberries ready,the rosehips look ripe too and the sloes are massive along the top field so not all is lost

I've been bottling the pears and they've come out beautifully :j
The four new trees are right next to the industrial estate on a bit of a climb but my OH dangles well :rotfl:

Angelina-M

Churchmouse wrote: »

Think that guarantees you first prize Angelina :rotfl::D

I didn't know what it was at first, my dogs both ran off and were barking and going mad at something white flapping about. I assumed it was a bird. One of my dogs was really alarmed by it and kept rearing up and thumping the ground nearby.

I ran up to see what the commotion was and there was a teeny little pig! I didn't know what to do, its not everyday you find a pig. Anyway I certainly wasn't going to leave it in the forest so I brought it home.

I wrapped it in blankets and gave it some baby milk formula.... its all I had! It soon perked up and was running round the lounge! I phoned my friend who is a farmer and she rang round the other farmers and we soon found out who it belonged to. I drove over to the farm and it turns out that the pig was 11 days (or 14 days I forget now) and was the runt. It had been poorly so they gave it antibiotics but it had gone off on its own and the farmer assumed it had died in the hedges. It had obviously felt better and kept walking.

I got some lovely photos of it. The farmer gave me some sausages as a thank you. The kids hated me for taking it back..... and for taking the sausages in case it was our pigs brother.

annie123

D&#8517 wrote: »

Annie they are on the middle field only at present so the field where the pears and the little copse are for apples are ok so far..on your left if you park P**rley Way side or Plough Lane entrance.

There are tons of Elderberries ready,the rosehips look ripe too and the sloes are massive along the top field so not all is lost

I've been bottling the pears and they've come out beautifully :j
The four new trees are right next to the industrial estate on a bit of a climb but my OH dangles well :rotfl:

Thanks for that trip back on for sunday;)

D&DD

Angelina what a lovely story thanks for sharing it

Annie I found a rucksack was helpful for spreading the weight a bit it's surprising how heavy a carrier bag feels after a field or two.There's still plenty of blackberries everywhere as well.

Rach they sound like some sort of crab apple to me we have some on the street here which sound the same but haven't tried usung them yet..

I've had to buy more jars and lids :eek: as the garden's going mad too!!

Dustykitten

I'd love to forage for nuts this year (I really do think I once was a squirrel).

Cobnuts - I hear people eat them green from trees in late August/September. I want to find somewhere to collect a few ripe ones from - how do I know when they are ready (assuming I can find a tree).

Do you collect them from the floor/tree - is this allowed?

Blackberries here are great this year in some spots.

We have planted an almond tree in our garden and it does have some nuts - very excited about this. I wanted to plant a pecan but they get huge.