• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

my foraging diary

Yes, Cow Parsley is sort of 'u' shape stems. They have a groove. Looks like a smaller version of celery. Have a look at the link I posted on this thread about a week or so ago which gives the details.

Thanks Omi, I will go and find the link
 
Awww Tui :love: it'll be interesting to see if this extends to other plants

I am beyond impatient to do decent foraging. Has anybun got Hawthorn in leaf yet?
One of our early risers has almost full leaves in one spot :)

No bun in their right mind likes Buddleia
I think that keletkezes said hers will eat it at certain times of the year :)
I rest my case. It is well documented that Lopsy is a sandwich short of a picnic
Yep, and Chibbs. Aboleth always shunned it. Chibbs is so daft she'll try anything, even kept going backwards and forwards between the lilac we left out, to see if it had suddenly become tasty :lol: I reckon we could feed them buddleia now while 'times are hard' so we might try this week while we're gardening.

Long walk today. Intentionally visited the hawthorn thats always ahead of the game - its just starting to leaf. I found what I think was Cow Parsley because I think I also found Hemlock & the stems were very different. So small amounts of hawthorn twigs, hazel twigs, grass, herb robert, dandelions, dock & geranium.

I offered mouse a hazel twig (which she rudely ragged out of my hand) while i sorted her a 'small amount of everything' to give her at the same time. I like seeing their current favourites! Well the hazel was dropped instantly so she could get the CP & then the hawthorn twig came next
I remember one year getting hawthorn in Burnley really early in the season, there's a particularly early specimen at the top of Healey Heights.

Just to Mouse so far (J&B's initial handful didn't contain CP as Bob fed it to them & I want to waych Joey's reaction- in fact I'll do that now) but it was her clear favourite - even over dandelions. I forgot to add I picked some Buddleia - just because. When I went upstairs I could see where J&B had been fed as it was marked by 4 abandonned buddleia pieces. Clever bunnies - it must be nasty
CP goes down best here, although Lopsy will sometimes favour grass (there's a particular grass he likes). Our 'leaver of choice' at the moment is hogweed, but it gets eaten eventually :)

I'm pleased you persevered with it. It's always been sniffed out first in any mix I've fed here with different bunnies. Also it's available most of the year in one form or other and I haven't noticed any decrease in enthusiasm with plants at different stages. So that you can harvest it early and late in the year I suggest you keep a mental not of where the plants are. I'm not sure how well it would dry. Possibly would do OK with mature stems with flowers.
Ours go off CP as soon as it sends up a decent flower stalk, but the 'second coming' is alright. I found it dries pretty well :)

First yarrow today :D
 
I went for a forage this afternoon and hemlock is definitely up and about around here. It's quite useful to examine it "in the field" as you can properly examine the stems and see how it differs from CP.

When does willow start to come through? I only ID'd it for the first time last Summer. It was a big hit with my two and I'm sure they're eager to get their choppers around it again!
 
When does willow start to come through? I only ID'd it for the first time last Summer. It was a big hit with my two and I'm sure they're eager to get their choppers around it again!
We've got budding here, and even the felled willow (about 1mth ago) has started budding :) We're lots of different types and pussy and goat willow are emerging ahead of weeping and white :) Especially pussy, so much floof :love: (oo-er)
 
We've got budding here, and even the felled willow (about 1mth ago) has started budding :) We're lots of different types and pussy and goat willow are emerging ahead of weeping and white :) Especially pussy, so much floof :love: (oo-er)

We've only got Weeping and that doesn't appear to want to wake up yet.
 
I'm so pleased I've finally accepted Cow Parsley on to my bunnies fresh allowed list
I was just googling about it & found this on the Woodland Trust website

Another vernacular name,' Mother die' or 'Mummy die', was used to frighten children into thinking that if they picked cow parsley, their mother would die. This was intended to deter children from potentially picking deadly hemlock.
 
I'm so pleased I've finally accepted Cow Parsley on to my bunnies fresh allowed list
I was just googling about it & found this on the Woodland Trust website

Another vernacular name,' Mother die' or 'Mummy die', was used to frighten children into thinking that if they picked cow parsley, their mother would die. This was intended to deter children from potentially picking deadly hemlock.

Yes, I find many of the alternative names for plants interesting, together with the reasons.

Cow Parsley is I think one of the most useful forage plants for bunnies. And of course they like it as well :love:
 
The hawthorn is really starting to come out in some places now. Last night I managed to get fresh grass, goose grass, cow parsley, hawthorn, hogweed and dandelions. Not bad for early Spring, if I do say so myself.

There's a fairly recent yoghurt advert where a cat gives its owner a balloon that says "You're adequate" I really think I deserve one of those balloons!
 
I really enjoyed todays forage. I'm out daily now as Mouse is doing SO much better on a diet of fresh forage & hay, she won't each much hay. It was freezing with a mix of hail & rain but managed to get in the zone. Really nice the cow parsley is past micro stage & I got some hogweed !
This photo actually makes it look less than it is
xjKHOKDl.jpg
 
Yep, Odin is doing better now we can get a reasonable amount of reasonable fresh food too - we've got plenty of cow parsley, grass, sticky weed is getting big enough to pick, and ground elder now in amounts by the handful rather than by the leaf!! Oh, and dandelions have really come on in the past week.
Ponies are still somewhat miffed, they do get a bit of cow parsley but it's not really out in the quantities they ask for yet so they don't get much,and the sticky weed is barely a sniff for them, their time will come!
 
I've got Cow Parsley paranoia. Suddently it all has a really stong smell. What would you say it smells like? Is it strong? This isn't a rotten smell, kinda reminds me of Herb Robert but not . It is grooved. Worried :(
 
I've got Cow Parsley paranoia. Suddently it all has a really stong smell. What would you say it smells like? Is it strong? This isn't a rotten smell, kinda reminds me of Herb Robert but not . It is grooved. Worried :(

Have just been outside to check :) Ours does have a strong smell, much more when crushed and more robust leaves are stronger. I don't think it smells like Herb Robert. which I always think has quite an unpleasant smell. To me it smells more similar to ordinary Parsley.
 
Thanks for checking Omi. I'm pleased yours has a strong smell too. This was picked from familiar territory so although I've not foraged that I know it doesn't grow that high. Mousey is all grumpy & obv thinks its Kosher (she can smell it but I'm scared to feed). I didn't mean like herb robert more as distinctive as herb robert. I'll ram it up Bob#s nostrils for a third time :lol:
 
Thanks for checking Omi. I'm pleased yours has a strong smell too. This was picked from familiar territory so although I've not foraged that I know it doesn't grow that high. Mousey is all grumpy & obv thinks its Kosher (she can smell it but I'm scared to feed). I didn't mean like herb robert more as distinctive as herb robert. I'll ram it up Bob#s nostrils for a third time :lol:

If you're unsure, I'd put it in a flower vase and then get some from a safe source tomorrow and compare the smell.
 
Mystery solved :lol: the stink is caused by a tiny few leaves I thought was geranium :oops: Bob says it "smells like the herb you have in your white sauce that goes on fish" (like who has eaten that in past half a century :lol:).
 
This morning I got Bob to drop me where I used to live as I had insatiable urge to check how things are developing on MY distant foraging territory. Started 9am, got home 12:45. I am pooped. Everything is coming along really nicely now. New to this season (for my bunnies) raspberry, baby brambles & weeping willow
 
Back
Top