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my foraging diary

I was out for 3 hours today. Now I#ve got to dry most of it. Lots of baby lambs too. I was watching one dig in the earth & then fold her legs down in to her cool spot :love: just like my bunnies do. And a calf & his mum :love:came to nosey at me over the wall (maybe could smell my foragey goodies)

I got a fair amount of raspberry but the leaves are still small, loads of just flowering hawthorn, some really juicy new bramble clusters, so many dandelions ...in lesser quantities cow parsley & reed grass (only for fresh feeding), hogweed, hazel, meadowsweet (just leaves), dock, sow thistle, sticky bud, herb robert & mini ribwort

I thought today was supposed to be cold, its been gorgeous here (bit peopley but I guess you can't have it all :lol:)

Goodness me the spring where you are is far ahead of ours :lol: The leaves on Hawthorn is only just starting to come through. Tiny farting things :roll: And no raspberry at all.

It was a lovely day here too though, I actually got a bit sunburnt on my face! And yep very peopley. Glad you enjoyed your forage!
 
Lol... I still haven't spotted meadowsweet yet. It seems everything has had a growth spurt found here. Except raspberry leaves, they are farty here too jessbun :lol:

Lol I'm glad it's not just here in brutally rubbish weather Scotland that the raspberry leaves are farty, makes me feel less alone :D

I must admit, they're spectacularly un-farty when they do eventually get going though. We made enough rasberry jam to give to friends too. I am conscious of not taking too much though, to leave plenty for others. I end up collecting the raspberry leaves for the stick insects as an extra option for them rather than their usual bramble (and they do love rasberry) but found my stick insect enclosures starting growing raspberrys :lol:
 
the Southern foragers always get stuff before I find it so I guess that makes sense. The raspberry patch (I can't think of a better word) is huge, probably 20% starting to leaf. The blackcurrant in my garden has the biggest leaves
 
the Southern foragers always get stuff before I find it so I guess that makes sense. The raspberry patch (I can't think of a better word) is huge, probably 20% starting to leaf. The blackcurrant in my garden has the biggest leaves

Funny how different the climate can be just within 'Little Britain' isn't it? I know down south in Cornwall and around those areas is lovely and warm though.

Funny you mention the blackcurrant. I bought one last year (end of season) and I'm embarrassed to admit when I had a bad bout of M.E I neglected it (animals always come before plants of course if there has to be a choice, although my partner will help too which is wonderful) and I thought it had died. OH kept pressuring me to throw it away and I refused 'just incase'.

Quite early on this year it started to produce fresh new little leaves! They are definitely keen it seems. But they're still a bit 'farty' really too here. I'm really chuffed it came back, non wild growing around here, and I've not grown any before either, so this will be a new one for this year. :D
 
Lol.. I get blackcurrant from a neighbour. My buns will eat them but they are not their favourite. I cannot wait for ash, hazel, maple and Rowan come out fully.
It's where/how to store my dried forage this year.
 
All of the 4 Rexes were very greedy rabbits, but none of them would ever eat Buddleia, Rosemary, Cleavers or Garlic Mustard. When it was just Tethra remaining and then with Tui, both of them would avoid just these 4 plants. Now that it's just Tui, a few weeks ago she started to accept Rosemary, then more recently Cleavers and today she ate Garlic Mustard :) I'm particularly pleased about the Garlic Mustard as we have loads of it in the garden and in previous years I've always thought what a waste.

Today she has had Herb Robert, Red Campion, Ground Elder, Cow Parsley, Red Dead-nettle, Dock, Dandelion, Grass and Garlic Mustard . Plus a few Kale trimmings and some Apple prunings. All from the garden :D You'd think she'd be full to bursting, but she's still begging for food every time she sees me :lol:
 
Hi Omi, can I check is it safe for me to forage whilst pregnant. I just picked some fresh Hawthorne and then remembered it’s a blood thinner isn’t it
 
Hi Omi, can I check is it safe for me to forage whilst pregnant. I just picked some fresh Hawthorne and then remembered it’s a blood thinner isn’t it

I can see absolutely no issue with foraging while pregnant. Are you thinking there would be a problem in touching it? I really wouldn't worry. If anything, getting out in the fresh air and having a bit of exercise will be good for you.

As far as Hawthorn goes, as far as I'm aware the medicinal qualities are in the berries anyway.

How are you?
 
I can see absolutely no issue with foraging while pregnant. Are you thinking there would be a problem in touching it? I really wouldn't worry. If anything, getting out in the fresh air and having a bit of exercise will be good for you.

As far as Hawthorn goes, as far as I'm aware the medicinal qualities are in the berries anyway.

How are you?

Thanks Omi, we did a huge walk yesterday and I stumbled across the most juiciest hawthorn ever. I didn’t have any gloves on and then picked the berries off and thought oh no is this ok?

Bodmin really enjoyed his first hawthorn leafs. Can’t wait to get some more!

I’m doing ok, I’m going on maternity on Wednesday so I’ll have lots of time for forage walks. Can’t believe our son will be here next month
 
All of the 4 Rexes were very greedy rabbits, but none of them would ever eat Buddleia, Rosemary, Cleavers or Garlic Mustard. When it was just Tethra remaining and then with Tui, both of them would avoid just these 4 plants. Now that it's just Tui, a few weeks ago she started to accept Rosemary, then more recently Cleavers and today she ate Garlic Mustard :) I'm particularly pleased about the Garlic Mustard as we have loads of it in the garden and in previous years I've always thought what a waste.

Today she has had Herb Robert, Red Campion, Ground Elder, Cow Parsley, Red Dead-nettle, Dock, Dandelion, Grass and Garlic Mustard . Plus a few Kale trimmings and some Apple prunings. All from the garden :D You'd think she'd be full to bursting, but she's still begging for food every time she sees me :lol:
That's so lovely! Sounds like she's becoming more adventurous when it comes to food! What a wonderful variety of things she had yesterday. :D I've started to think bunnies can never feel full with how much they always beg for food. :lol:
 
Awww omi it's great when they decide to eat new things and broaden their horizon. Mine love cleavers until very late in the season when flowering. They don't like garlic mustard at all. A lot of the forage they like best with young shoots
 
None of mine have turned their noses up at garlic mustard or cleavers until it flowers :D Rosemary tends to go by the wayside once we're into full forage season (i.e. mid-late Feb). I can fool all of mine with Buddleia in the middle of winter or very early in the growing season (end of Jan) but sometimes they'll still leave most of it XD Mine also go off cowparsley once it flowers until the second growth, and are less fussed by hawthorn once the flowers are over. At that point it's a fight for willow or fruit trees!
 
I've bought some seeds for my rabbit meadow area. I've tried to get the same as what I already pick for them. I've started some off in pots. I've also took some cuttings from the wild geranium they love. I hope they take because it's their favourite forage.
 
I've noticed that too. Last year I chose some patches of cow parsley and ground elder and chopped everything off them. I noticed that new leaves just kept growing. I'm going to try it again this year, we have them everywhere I forage.
Mine love ash, HAZEL and WILLOW once the trees start up.
 
I've bought some seeds for my rabbit meadow area. I've tried to get the same as what I already pick for them. I've started some off in pots. I've also took some cuttings from the wild geranium they love. I hope they take because it's their favourite forage.

Ooooh what did you get? I'll be interested to know if the Geranium cuttings take. Do you know which Geranium it is? I've got a couple of wild ones, which I've grown from seed. From memory I think they are G. pratense and G. sanguinium. If your cuttings don't take, I'm happy to collect some seed after they've flowered and send some to you. They took absolutely forever to germinate. I almost gave up on them.
 
It is wood geranium I think pratense. I've bought, knapweed, meadowsweet, cow parsley, Echinacea, musk mallow, catnip (for pots), wild carrot, meadow cranesbill, ribwort, chamomile, thyme, lemon balm, half A geranium and grasses e.g. Blue grass, Yorkshire fog, panic grass and pendulous sedge.
I've planted some in pots until the are germanated.
 
It is wood geranium I think pratense. I've bought, knapweed, meadowsweet, cow parsley, Echinacea, musk mallow, catnip (for pots), wild carrot, meadow cranesbill, ribwort, chamomile, thyme, lemon balm, half A geranium and grasses e.g. Blue grass, Yorkshire fog, panic grass and pendulous sedge.
I've planted some in pots until the are germanated.

wow, thats a really good mix, I'll be interested to see what grows
 
I've not offered wild garlic for about 5 years - I'm pretty sure they all rejected it back then.

Really surprised when I tried it on them today, both Boo & Mouse seemed to enjoy it. The look Joey gave me though. I told him he needs to eat it too now or he'll be putting up with Boo's stinky breath for the next few days....his look got darker.
 
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