lilbun
Warren Veteran
Yep, stingers. They don't sting when dried apparently, and they don't sting us hoomins when cooked either.
PL: I should add a disclaimer: I also think seaweed and sauerkraut are 'nice'
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Im drying loads of herbs for winter! 2010 Forageing Thread
- Thread starter chelle
- Start date
Yep, stingers. They don't sting when dried apparently, and they don't sting us hoomins when cooked either.
PL: I should add a disclaimer: I also think seaweed and sauerkraut are 'nice'
Blackberry & Co
Wise Old Thumper
Our dog cocks his leg up in clumps of stinging nettles and doesn't bat an eyelid....
Yep, stingers. They don't sting when dried apparently, and they don't sting us hoomins when cooked either.
PL: I should add a disclaimer: I also think seaweed and sauerkraut are 'nice'
I'd agree with you Lilbun.
We used to eat all sorts of things from the hedgerows years ago. But there were very few cars then, so pollution was less of an issue.
The sea was cleaner too. We'd put very young hawthorn leaves in cheese sandwiches like lettuce too. Some how I don't think your Mum would want to "cook wild" abi2047.
With stingers, there's a knack to picking them. Don't try to learn until spring, on the baby stingers. There's lots of little hairs under the leaves. If you touch them lightly they'll sting you. If you grip hard you crush the hairs before they can sting you. It needs a lot of practice! Also I've never found dock much use for nettle stings, but greater plantain leaves rubbed on, seem much better.
I'd agree with you Lilbun.
We used to eat all sorts of things from the hedgerows years ago. But there were very few cars then, so pollution was less of an issue.
We'd put very young hawthorn leaves in cheese sandwiches like lettuce too. Some how I don't think your Mum would want to "cook wild" abi2047.
With stingers, there's a knack to picking them. Don't try to learn until spring, on the baby stingers. There's lots of little hairs under the leaves. If you touch them lightly they'll sting you. If you grip hard you crush the hairs before they can sting you. It needs a lot of practice! Also I've never found dock much use for nettle stings, but greater plantain leaves rubbed on, seem much better.
Yep I agree, greater plantain does seem to work better.
I tend to pick young nettles with gloves, cos I'm a wuss :lol: but the buns dont seem to have an issue with them fresh or dried.
If I can go off topic please. I had a lovely but also sad afternoon thinking about "wild" plants. Here we're feeding them to our buns, hoping we can keep them healthier. I thought about how all animal life ultimately depends on plants. No green algae in my pond = no food for microscopic "animals" = no tadpoles, frogs newts, or dragon flies.
One of my interests is in how people have lived throughout history. The stone age folk used birch pitch to bind the flint arrowheads to the arrow shaft, tree bark was used to make ropes. No trees = no shelter apart from caves, no hunting = no survival. They were used as food & medicines for man & domestic animals.
I believe that nettle stems steeped in wee were used to make a poor man's linen, but flax was used for high grade linen. They were used for dying cloth. Oak bark was used to make leather - shoes.
The properties of different types of wood were common knowledge & used to make tools, the framework of houses, & even as vibration absorbers to stop stone houses from falling down! Fern/bracken was used to help make soap as was soapwort for washing fine lace. That doesn't even scratch the surface.
As little as 10 years ago I could walk on the lanes up to the downs & they were ablaze with colour like a garden of wild plants. Most are used as cycle tracks now so the council mows the verges regularly. There's no colour, just a uniform, souless "lawn" green. The fields are bare from herbicide use. I feel as if I have lost my friends; the plants, butterflies, animals, but at least I was priviledged to see their former glory. abi2047 will never see it.
And so few protest at an unecessary impoverishment of our lives, and loss of so many species. Many were there because people from bygone years used them. Should we want that beauty, or need them again, we can't bring them back. The Council think they've done a wonderful job tidying the place up, so cyclists can ride in the country. Little do they know they've almost completely destroyed the countryside, round here. It took 4,000 years to be created, & 10 years to destroy.
One of my interests is in how people have lived throughout history. The stone age folk used birch pitch to bind the flint arrowheads to the arrow shaft, tree bark was used to make ropes. No trees = no shelter apart from caves, no hunting = no survival. They were used as food & medicines for man & domestic animals.
I believe that nettle stems steeped in wee were used to make a poor man's linen, but flax was used for high grade linen. They were used for dying cloth. Oak bark was used to make leather - shoes.
The properties of different types of wood were common knowledge & used to make tools, the framework of houses, & even as vibration absorbers to stop stone houses from falling down! Fern/bracken was used to help make soap as was soapwort for washing fine lace. That doesn't even scratch the surface.
As little as 10 years ago I could walk on the lanes up to the downs & they were ablaze with colour like a garden of wild plants. Most are used as cycle tracks now so the council mows the verges regularly. There's no colour, just a uniform, souless "lawn" green. The fields are bare from herbicide use. I feel as if I have lost my friends; the plants, butterflies, animals, but at least I was priviledged to see their former glory. abi2047 will never see it.
And so few protest at an unecessary impoverishment of our lives, and loss of so many species. Many were there because people from bygone years used them. Should we want that beauty, or need them again, we can't bring them back. The Council think they've done a wonderful job tidying the place up, so cyclists can ride in the country. Little do they know they've almost completely destroyed the countryside, round here. It took 4,000 years to be created, & 10 years to destroy.
I agree Thumps, I have been in horticulture for years, studied the ecological relationships between plants and animals, and have now moved into ethnobotany. The reality being that these fields are not independent, they are all connected in a huge way.
There is a fine balance which needs to be respected and conserved and I would like to think anyone who has expressed an interest in this thread, would also recognise that and do nothing to damage an area, or risk the existence of the life forms dependent on it.
I have been in horticulture for years, studied the ecological relationships between plants and animals, and have now moved into ethnobotany. The reality being that these fields are not independent, they are all connected in a huge way.There is a fine balance which needs to be respected and conserved and I would like to think anyone who has expressed an interest in this thread, would also recognise that and do nothing to damage an area, or risk the existence of the life forms dependent on it.
Shellypops
Wise Old Thumper
I was a bit late collecting stuff this year, but definitley will be doing a bit more this next year coming
:shock::no: What!? Thats shocking!
:lol::lol::lol::lol:c'mo now get those wellies on & those gloves & go foraging - ya knowz ya want to!.....in the rain!:lol::lol::lol:
sunnibunny
Alpha Buck
as requested by thumps a while ago to add the tip of how to store fresh leaves both forage and any vegetable leaf type.
The tip to keep leaves fresh (also works on spinach as its a highly water content leaf and thus easily gets gooey!), is that you put the pile of forage in ONE layer of newspaper and loosely wrapped in a package. Then put this newspaper package in a plastic bag from any supermarket store and tie off loosely and put in a cool place (greenhouse/shed/windowsill etc). this keeps the forage moist enough to be fresh due to the condensation build from the cold temperature, but not so moist to become "gunky" as the newspaper absorbs the moisture. It actually keeps the forage leaves fresh for over a week!!
note: dont put huge amounts of forage into the newspaper to crush the leaves or it to be heavy as the pressure will make the leaves after a while gunky.always good to keep checking on the state of the leaves and turn the leaves round, so gets movement and air. there will be a point that the newspaper will become fully wet, this is when to change the newspaper for a nice dry one.
hope this helps!
The tip to keep leaves fresh (also works on spinach as its a highly water content leaf and thus easily gets gooey!), is that you put the pile of forage in ONE layer of newspaper and loosely wrapped in a package. Then put this newspaper package in a plastic bag from any supermarket store and tie off loosely and put in a cool place (greenhouse/shed/windowsill etc). this keeps the forage moist enough to be fresh due to the condensation build from the cold temperature, but not so moist to become "gunky" as the newspaper absorbs the moisture. It actually keeps the forage leaves fresh for over a week!!
note: dont put huge amounts of forage into the newspaper to crush the leaves or it to be heavy as the pressure will make the leaves after a while gunky.always good to keep checking on the state of the leaves and turn the leaves round, so gets movement and air. there will be a point that the newspaper will become fully wet, this is when to change the newspaper for a nice dry one.
hope this helps!
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Pablo2013
Warren Scout
Oooooh what brilliant thread!!!! :wave:
After a really ****, scary, stressful day (found out have to have thyroid out long story) ... I decided to unwind by going foraging (In the rain) for pablo!!! I loved every min of it and was really adventurouse cos not only did I pick grass and dandilion I also picked Brambles I got excited about my find sure hubby thinks its my brain thats the prob not tyroid :lol: n Pablo LOVED them ... then thanked me profusley by chewing through my enthernet cable (my fault) lol so now I know how to dry and store it my week in the lakes sunday will be all about foraging! (Got to yet explain why in packing boxes and paper bags) :shock: and it means bunny can get all his natural goodness through winter :thumb: great thread!!!!!
After a really ****, scary, stressful day (found out have to have thyroid out long story) ... I decided to unwind by going foraging (In the rain) for pablo!!! I loved every min of it and was really adventurouse cos not only did I pick grass and dandilion I also picked Brambles I got excited about my find sure hubby thinks its my brain thats the prob not tyroid :lol: n Pablo LOVED them ... then thanked me profusley by chewing through my enthernet cable (my fault) lol so now I know how to dry and store it my week in the lakes sunday will be all about foraging! (Got to yet explain why in packing boxes and paper bags) :shock: and it means bunny can get all his natural goodness through winter :thumb: great thread!!!!!
willow and squiggles
Mama Doe
not long since joined the forum, hello everyone. cant believe there has been a thread here with all this amazing info available and FREE too. thankyou so much to everyone who has inputted. i started reading this thread at 9.30 tonight and its now 11.30 and have just reached the end but i have enjoyed every minute of it. i wont sleep tonight thinking about going foraging tomorrow lol.. ive always been to nervous about poisoning my buns. but with googling and taking pic on my camera of the plant images i feel ready to have a go. just wishing id started reading it this morning so i could have gone tday lol... again a big thankyou x
You know I logged onto the forum to check something & saw this thread and was like OH WOW!!! That was a thread I started years ago - no way! lol
I wondered where it was and its super long...but like you say really helpful.
Not sure if it was mentioned but there is a great book you can buy for the grand ol price of £4 thats brilliant. Twigs is part of RU too so how great is that!
I've just started gathering Ash Tree leaves & branches from a tree in my garden I did no realise they could eat either as I'm not too familiar with tree types so a learning curve for me..but its so exciting every time you discover a new plant to add to your bounty. Enjoy foraging And I agree thank you for every persons contribution and knowledge that made this thread just so encouraging and fun for everyone....and educational.
here is the link
http://shop.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/product/foraging-for-rabbits-by-twigs-way/
I wondered where it was and its super long...but like you say really helpful.
Not sure if it was mentioned but there is a great book you can buy for the grand ol price of £4 thats brilliant. Twigs is part of RU too so how great is that!
I've just started gathering Ash Tree leaves & branches from a tree in my garden I did no realise they could eat either as I'm not too familiar with tree types so a learning curve for me..but its so exciting every time you discover a new plant to add to your bounty. Enjoy foraging
And I agree thank you for every persons contribution and knowledge that made this thread just so encouraging and fun for everyone....and educational.here is the link
http://shop.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/product/foraging-for-rabbits-by-twigs-way/
