Foraging Fun

Can we get a round of applause for free food? Hooray!! Who would say no to filling your plate for nothing...

Food waste is all over the media at the moment. You know what we're talking about: People throwing away their hard earned cash by not making the most of leftovers and the scraps at the back of the fridge. Supermarkets turning away fruit and vegetables because it's not quite perfect. Produce being left to rot in farmers fields because it's too expensive and time-consuming to harvest everything.

Well, we would like to add wild grown food to that list. Why are we over-spending on produce that we may not even eat, when there is so much sitting in nature's larder just waiting to be utilised. It's free and it's rewarding. Just think about a leisurely ramble in the great outdoors, then coming home and cooking up a fresh, hot apple and blackberry crumble... Yum! You might not even have to go that far, you'll be amazed how much you can find just outside your doorstep. Are you into gardening? Then you'll be familiar with that evil villain the dandelion... Get revenge by tossing it in your lunch time salad...

Come on folks, grab your friends, grab your family and let's get foraging!!!

Do's:

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• Treat yourself. Find a forager's guide book and take it with you. It will be your best friend along the way, reminding you of what to pick and more importantly, what to avoid.
• Find an expert. Join a local foraging walk, the guide will be able to teach you the best tips and tricks of the trade.
• Start slow. Learn as much as you can about a few things you would like to forage, rather than learning a little about a lot. Have fun with the basics, blackberries, elderberries etc, where they are, when they're in season and what to do with them. You can always add to your repertoire later.
• Be mindful of others. We're just not talking about other people... When you find a good patch leave behind plenty for the animals we share our world with. After all, they're the ones that are helping to spread the seeds for next year. Harvesting up to 20% of the produce is an easy rule to remember and follow.
• Spread out. Take a few handfuls and move along, over picking in one area can prevent regrowth for next year.
• Stick to what you know. This one's simple. If you're not 100% sure you know what something is, stay safe and leave it alone!

Dont's:

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• Pick on private land. Keep yourself out of trouble and only harvest on public land, unless you've stumbled across a great stash in your own garden of course. 
• Pick close to the ground. Do yourself a favour, and whilst you're out imagine you've got a nice friendly big dog keeping you company... Nature calls and your four legged friend needs the loo... See where this is going? Work out a danger zone and only pick above it!
• Pick near busy roads or industrial estates. Think of all the lovely fumes and chemicals puffing out and straight onto your future lunch. Not very tasty. This means avoiding polluted water sources to as it could affect the plants growing nearby. When you're foraging make sure you're confident what you've picked is clean and wash it for good measure when you get home.
• Pick anything that looks a little off colour. Another easy rule to remember, if it looks unwell, it might make you unwell.

So that's it, you're ready to go!
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And now we need your help! We are aiming to produce a local map to help others like yourself join the forager's lifestyle. Once you've been out exploring and found an abundance of edible treats, tell us so we can spread the word.

Happy foraging everyone!

References:
Wild Nature
The Tree Council
Learning and Yearning