Foraging Challenge

kerrypn

wilmberries yum! I saw these at the market today and they were charging £3.99 a punnet :eek:
Will go and take a picture of my "watercress" later in the week and post up to see if anyone recognises it

HariboJunkie

I agree that the plant in the second picture looks like self heal. Does it smell or taste like mint? I use self heal to make a mild, minty tea. Google will give you other recipes for it's use.

Well done on the raspberries. :T

ScarletRaven

jumblejack wrote: »

I am over the moon :j

You are a star!!:A

I have googled images and am pretty certain that it is indeed Self Heal!!!

Whoop whoop :T

Happy to help You lucky thing! I'd love to stumble on some self heal - I thought I did a week or two ago - saw a patch from afar, only to get up close and find it was just red clover, haha. Still useful, but not quite as much lol, ah well.

jumblejack

ScarletRaven wrote: »

Happy to help You lucky thing! I'd love to stumble on some self heal - I thought I did a week or two ago - saw a patch from afar, only to get up close and find it was just red clover, haha. Still useful, but not quite as much lol, ah well.

I'm thrilled:T

Haribojunkie, there wasn't a scent at all when I rubbed the leaves. I didn't taste it as wasn't sure if it was edible. Apparently, there is no scent to self heal. I checked just in case. A herb tea is a good idea though if the mint flavour is present:j

HariboJunkie

jumblejack wrote: »

I'm thrilled:T

Haribojunkie, there wasn't a scent at all when I rubbed the leaves. I didn't taste it as wasn't sure if it was edible. Apparently, there is no scent to self heal. I checked just in case. A herb tea is a good idea though if the mint flavour is present:j

My mistake. I'm confusing it with a wild mint that is abundant around here.

Self heal is part of the mint family but isn't minty iyswim.

MrsCD

I love reading about all the foraging expeditions:)

When I was little, I remember sitting on a clover patch with my cousin, and we would pull the single 'petals' out of the clover flowers and suck the nectar from them.
Heavenly Thanks for reminding me :T

[Deleted User]

Hi all, the only foraging we have done lately has been for the guinea pig and has been dandelions and sow thistles. However, on the collecting walks I have found lots of hazelnuts,wild plums, crab apples, sloes, elderberries even some wild hops. I know nothing is ready to harvest yet, but come the autumn I shall know just where to go for the goodies. The blackberries look to have masses of berries set this year too so it doesn't look as bleak as I thought it would earlier on in the year.

jumblejack

HariboJunkie wrote: »

My mistake. I'm confusing it with a wild mint that is abundant around here.

Self heal is part of the mint family but isn't minty iyswim.

You were right about the tea:T

A tea made from self heal is used as a folk remedy to treat anxiety, depression and mood swings. Additionally it has been used as a treatment of problems associated with the liver, kidneys and gall bladder. No scientific studies are available at the moment to confirm the effectiveness of this herb for those ailments.

The list of applications is endless. What a fab little plant:j

DebtFree2012

Well I have elder flower champers which shall be ready on Sunday - keep having to let the gas out the bottle - it sure would have gone bang by now if I hadn't.

xx

Possession

Some good foraging recipes here:
http://austerityhousekeeping.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/foraging-and-free-food/