What I foraged today!

[MrsCordial]

FG, we live in the depths of farming countryside but you still need to know where the little pockets are. The hedges along our lane were groaning with unripe blackberries a few weeks ago, then the b******s came along and cut the hedge Fortunately there are enough left on the other, uncut, hedge, and at the chapel at the end of the lane. Ironically, one of the best spots ever for blackberries and elderberries was in a car park in Hereford a couple of years ago - we were filling carrier bags-full! And this year I looked in vain for elderflower in all the usual places, and ended up getting tons in a neglected corner of Morrisons car park, which feels quite wrong somehow!

[mothhawk]

Thursday and Friday off work, yay! Out early this am and picked three pounds of blackberries, plus half a dozen unripe apples for the pectin. Blackberry jelly is one of my favourites, especially 'cos it's so cheap as the fruit is free

They are dripping through muslin as I type



Shall have to nip out for sugar now, not a commodity I keep in as I use very little.

[Dorothy rouse]

I made blackberry jelly yesterday, didn't use any apple though,seems to have set ok.


DottyR

[Creemteez]

Technically I didn't forage them myself, but Mr Teez came home from a visit from our daughter in law's parents farm with a carrier bag full of field mushrooms. Apparently he could have filled a sack! Cleaned them up, sliced, cooked in butter and stored in small tubs in the freezer. Steak and mushroom pie in the very near future!

[Farmer_Gyles]

8lbs of blackberries from the mother-in-laws garden .... plenty more to come ....
found a massive elderberry patch near her place .... if i can get a step ladder there, i can probably pick a couple of pounds of elderberries ....

[veggiechicken]

Good article on Foraging today British foragers expect bountiful harvest for 2013 | Environment | theguardian.com

[MrsCordial]

3lbs of blackberries from a car park in Hereford! It's our favourite spot now, esp as the bbs grow in a little corner where no-one actually parks. It's now become tradition to come back with shedloads of blackberries after getting the children's school shoes in August - sweetens the pill about * * this much.

[mothhawk]

I made blackberry jelly yesterday, didn't use any apple though,seems to have set ok.


DottyR

That's interesting. I thought blackberries needed extra pectin to make them set, either from lemon juice, apples, or commercial pectin (as in jam sugar). I've never tried it without.

[chris]

yep, here on the edge of suburbia, with well maintained parks, loads of managed common and farm fields within sight of my house, there is precious little wild food .... unless you like hawthorn and box hedge ..... even a trip into the countryside nearby is little better ....

I used to think like that, couldn't find ANYTHING. I stopped looking so impatiently and slowed my usual fast walking speed down a touch - I now seem to stumble across loads of things to forage i found some elderberries hanging over the side of a wall where a house sits high up above the road- the bush is neglected and I could easily reach a load of berries from the road, bit going to pop over and ask if its ok (and obviously scout out their front garden too )


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[daviddevantnhisspiritwife]

Went out for a stroll yesterday with the OH and little un' - came back with about 1kg of blackberries. So we now have about 2kg ready in waiting. Also spotted another elder and crab apple. Useful stuff.

I am aiming for enough for at least 1 gallon of wine and 6 small jars of bramble jelly as is the tradition round these ere parts.

[hamesy]

Another load of blackberries for jam. Although now my favourite hedge row as been destroyed by a farmer cutting it back, only a few blackberries at the top survived.

[MrsCordial]

Hamesy we had the same problem - absolutely loaded but unripe brambles were lining our lane, then the landowner got the hedges cut. Fortunately he doesn't own all the land along the lane so there are enough left, but it's such an awful waste to see the others go.

[Farmer_Gyles]

rounded up a couple of pounds of elderberries down the road from the mother in law's house today - will be over there again next weekend, will have more time, hopefully will get to pick several more pounds

[superfly78]

Have had a foraging bonanza this year as I discovered a wood that had cherry trees and apple trees in it so this year we have had or about to have:
yellow cherries
black cherries
rosehips
blackberries
three different varieties of apple
sloes
horseradish

[Farmer_Gyles]

another 4lbs blackberries today - got lucky, found a little-used path in the woods and a little clearing overgrown with brambles - everywhere outside the woods has been stripped of blackberries ....