really old style living?

ceridwen

ginnyknit wrote: »

I think its our optimism that gets us up and doing stuff everyday - we have to be 'glass half full' people or we would cave in after a week and buy ready meals, ignore red letters and use the credit card with gay abandon. It is hard somedays but its the sight of other peoples signatures on their posts - 'Debt free' - that spurs me on. I am chuffed to bits when someone on O/S has a triumph and know how they feel on the days when it comes a bit unravelled.

Yep...that sounds like a good way to put it....if we didnt have optimism/hope then we wouldnt bother to try in fact. So - yep....thats got me thinking then for one...as I tend to regard myself as a pessimist....:rotfl:- but the fact that I try to "turn things round" in any bad situation would argue otherwise....so....you've definitely given me for one something to ponder about....:)

ceridwen

Winged_one wrote: »

Oops, I am probably on your nasty list so Ceridwen - I do get a few things locally, regularly. But I also raid both my mum's and MIL's local ditches (where I and DH grew up). Mum is only good for blackberries (and a crab apple tree if I get there), and wild strawberries (but we are NEVER there at the right time for those), and a few elderberries. MIL has blackberries, crab apples, damsons, sloes (loads of!!!), elderberries, and the orchard in the next door castle is full of apples (which the caretaker lets us take a few of). And we just realised she has a hazel tree in her garden too.

I don't go mad, I take some damsons, a good few balckberries (but leave lots too) and sloes (again there's loads for sharing). I don't have a use for elderberries yet (I could find things but I don't want to overburden myself when I don't have heaps of time and would end up wasting them). What I take, I use.

But I DO travel 160 miles to get them,,,is that very bold?! (Although, we live in the city, so can't get a lot near us, and we don't travel "just" to forage).

Well...speaking personally...I tend to regard my parents' "territory" as mine by extension (particularly as I lived there too - until I branched out as an adult) - so take the chance for a spot of foraging when I visit them. I think my parents appreciate the fact that I regard their "territory" as something that I "keep an eye on" too...:) and its being kept that bit tidier than it otherwise would be....

ceridwen

notjustlaura wrote: »

I think people aren't foraging (even though they're skint) because they don't know how (ie what's safe to eat, what's legal) or that they can. It would just never occur to most people these days which is a shame.

What I think is the shame is that localities generally arent taking a leaf out of Todmorden's book - as in "Incredible Edible Todmorden". Its quite a small town - but (some) of the inhabitants there are working wonders. It all started with two determined women planting food anywhere and everywhere they could - with the specific intention that those needing/wanting it would be able to pick some food for free.

It's certainly one of my plans when I'm not so short of time to just disperse the contents of all those spare (food) seed packets I have somewhere useful...

I think its SUCH a huge shame when most areas (including my own:() make a habit of thinking "Need to plant a tree (or whatever)" and just plant one that is purely "decorative" and I'm leaping up and down in fury thinking "Why the heck didnt you plant something thats both decorative and edible you idiots?:mad::(" Theres absolutely LOADS of trees/plants around in my area that COULD be edible - but arent - because some blithering idiot or know-nothing in the local Council chose to plant something purely "decorative" instead...:mad::(

NualaBuala

I've just been out for a lovely walk - it's blustery but not at all chilly so perfect weather for an evening stroll. This is part of my graded exercise that the consultant advised me to do for ME/fibro. So I thought I'd combine it with a wee forage. There are loads of rosehips, some not quite ripe. I also have some in the garden so I left them for folks who have none. If they're still there in a week or so then I might take some if I find a nice way to use them. But the brambles are still green and red. I will keep an eye on them and always bring a bag with me on my walks.

ceridwen

Hmmm........braincells working overtime again:D:think:

Wonders if its an idea we could "run with" here on MSE - as in "doing a Todmorden"? In all seriousness - howzabout all those of us with spare packets of (food!) seeds that we don't think we'll get round to planting in our own gardens just planting those seeds anywhere and everywhere we can find a patch of "empty" earth?

Some will take...some won't...so what? (assuming those packets are likely to end up in the bin anyway if we don't use them).

Look at it this way - there WILL be people who will walk past a patch of earth that would other wise be "empty" or covered with inedible weeds and think "Hang on in there a little minute - that looks like lettuce and that looks like rocket and there's a tomato plant over there....." etc etc and if we all did this then there would be enough for everyone who is out there specifically looking and some to spare - and so what if some never germinates...never gets used or whatever? SOME will be - and thats the point. Many people will always think "Can't be bothered" to collect what there is about - but some of us will be and there will be plenty for all if we all just plant up what we have in some spare bit of "municipal" earth. Nowt we can do about the edible trees/bushes - as there are various limits there. BUT - we could plant up crops like lettuce/tomatoes/rocket/spinach/kale and the like....:)

One thing I foresee happening some time soon (boo!!!!!) is us - ie The General Public - being told "Okay guys and gals - the Council has made some of the staff responsible for looking after your local parks redundant". Yah...boo...sucks....but the thing to do (if the Government has this in mind as part of their proposed cuts on 20 October - as I suspect they do.....) to turn this round into "Well - they won't be massacring anything else that pokes its head above the soil any more - so food plants won't be destroyed - as they would be now..." and plant some. I suspect some of them will survive - in current economic circumstances.

Just following my personal motto of "Turn adversity on its head - into opportunity".

RAS

seasalt wrote: »

ETA. Sorry, missed last few posts - CAT (Centre for Alternative Technology) have small photovoltaic panels in their catalogue I think.

Yep, but when I was there last summer we worked out that the obne whichg was listed as being powerful enough to power a lap-top, was not, it was the next grade down.

Do you know this site http://www.judyofthewoods.net/

Judy runs off solar in the summer and microhydro in the winter in a far from perfect site.

There are some interesting links at the very bottom of the page.

I use a solar phone charger and a solar/wind-up radio with good effect and a wind-up torch.

RAS

ceridwen wrote: »

Hmmm........braincells working overtime again:D:think:

howzabout all those of us with spare packets of (food!) seeds that we don't think we'll get round to planting in our own gardens just planting those seeds anywhere and everywhere we can find a patch of "empty" earth?

Just following my personal motto of "Turn adversity on its head - into opportunity".

Guerilla gardening here http://www.guerrillagardening.org/

Even before we get to planting, harvesting what is there?

http://www.leedsurbanharvest.org.uk/

katholicos

ceridwen wrote: »

Hmmm........braincells working overtime again:D:think:

Wonders if its an idea we could "run with" here on MSE - as in "doing a Todmorden"? In all seriousness - howzabout all those of us with spare packets of (food!) seeds that we don't think we'll get round to planting in our own gardens just planting those seeds anywhere and everywhere we can find a patch of "empty" earth?

Some will take...some won't...so what? (assuming those packets are likely to end up in the bin anyway if we don't use them).

Look at it this way - there WILL be people who will walk past a patch of earth that would other wise be "empty" or covered with inedible weeds and think "Hang on in there a little minute - that looks like lettuce and that looks like rocket and there's a tomato plant over there....." etc etc and if we all did this then there would be enough for everyone who is out there specifically looking and some to spare - and so what if some never germinates...never gets used or whatever? SOME will be - and thats the point. Many people will always think "Can't be bothered" to collect what there is about - but some of us will be and there will be plenty for all if we all just plant up what we have in some spare bit of "municipal" earth. Nowt we can do about the edible trees/bushes - as there are various limits there. BUT - we could plant up crops like lettuce/tomatoes/rocket/spinach/kale and the like....:)

One thing I foresee happening some time soon (boo!!!!!) is us - ie The General Public - being told "Okay guys and gals - the Council has made some of the staff responsible for looking after your local parks redundant". Yah...boo...sucks....but the thing to do (if the Government has this in mind as part of their proposed cuts on 20 October - as I suspect they do.....) to turn this round into "Well - they won't be massacring anything else that pokes its head above the soil any more - so food plants won't be destroyed - as they would be now..." and plant some. I suspect some of them will survive - in current economic circumstances.

Just following my personal motto of "Turn adversity on its head - into opportunity".

Guerrilla gardening has been going on for decades (probably centurie in one form or another) and it's great fun

seasalt_2

Very interesting read - had no idea before OS that there was such an interest in/formal code of foraging - just something we always did when I was a child - brambles, sweet chestnuts, nettles, rosehips and mushrooms mostly. Although my mum always made sure not to strip a place and it did tend to be the same people you met each time at a particular spot.

There is a similar unwritten code here about driftwood and things you find on the beach - if you haul it up above the tide line it's yours until you can collect it - but fewer people abide by it now. Shortage of trees to forage or chop here mardatha, would cutting up old fence stobs and driftwood with a bowsaw count? OH gave me a chainsaw for my birthday a couple of years ago but I prefer the handsaw.

On the other hand we have fish and shellfish, seaweeds, mushrooms, brambles, thyme, mint and watercress, altho am wary of last two because of possible liver fluke, think it's safer to grow them myself.

Agree about planting useful edible trees instead of double flowered ornamentals that aren't even any good for pollination but also have to be mindful of natural habitats and careful what we introduce?

ginnyknit

Our local huge park is full of fancy flower beds and the plants just go in a skip when they are past their best which I find very wasteful. However they planted a garden of fruit tree's and bushes which locals can pick when they want. In another 10 years there may be a few apples and such as they palnted tiny plants and tree's - maybe they should have spent less on fancy flowers and more on substantial tree's. i live in hope of finding fruit there though and go every so often and check!