Ohhh, Im still a kid well a teen but I love climbing trees
Was it on a busy road? Did alot of people see you climbing the gate? :lol:
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Im drying loads of herbs for winter! 2010 Forageing Thread
- Thread starter chelle
- Start date
Ohhh, Im still a kid well a teen but I love climbing trees
Was it on a busy road? Did alot of people see you climbing the gate? :lol:Ohhh, Im still a kid well a teen but I love climbing trees
No the gate's round the back. I might have been arrested if the wrong people had seen me.
We have to be very understanding to go to allotments. The plot holders work incredibly hard to grow veg & have to carry every bucket of water from a trough to keep the veg alive in drought. Then they get them stolen. Hence the locked gate. You can't just walk in there & start weeding. You're best to stick to the fields. I get most of my stuff fom the grassy tracks & fields round here.
hurricanhoney
Wise Old Thumper
2 more bags of plantain today at the graveyard At least I didn't fall in a grave again this time
At least I didn't fall in a grave again this time 2 more bags of plantain today at the graveyard
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: Thank you so much for that hurricanehoney. Priceless!
Definitely not too late for foraging, I'm still getting hazel, birch, plantains vetches, hawkbit, dandelion, chamomile, mallow, trefoils, trifolium, blackberry and yarrow.
I can also confirm that contorted hazel is definitely ok. I have two of them in my garden along with two purple hazels and the buns 'love em'!
Like Thumps I have a bun who has to be on a pure hedgerow diet and I am very thankful that she continues to thrive. It's true, that buns ( like a lot of animals) will instinctively home in on plants that they know will provide them with what their body needs. I like to give Petal fresh for as long as possible so do move some of my calendula and other flowering plants into the greenhouse to extend the flowering season and did manage to keep her on fresh for almost 10 months before resorting to the dried supplies last year. Am hoping I'll be doing the same this year too.
I'm still getting hazel, birch, plantains vetches, hawkbit, dandelion, chamomile, mallow, trefoils, trifolium, blackberry and yarrow.I can also confirm that contorted hazel is definitely ok. I have two of them in my garden along with two purple hazels and the buns 'love em'!
Like Thumps I have a bun who has to be on a pure hedgerow diet and I am very thankful that she continues to thrive. It's true, that buns ( like a lot of animals) will instinctively home in on plants that they know will provide them with what their body needs. I like to give Petal fresh for as long as possible so do move some of my calendula and other flowering plants into the greenhouse to extend the flowering season and did manage to keep her on fresh for almost 10 months before resorting to the dried supplies last year. Am hoping I'll be doing the same this year too.
prettylupin
Wise Old Thumper
Definitely not too late for foraging,
I can also confirm that contorted hazel is definitely ok. I have two of them in my garden along with two purple hazels and the buns 'love em'!
Like Thumps I have a bun who has to be on a pure hedgerow diet and I am very thankful that she continues to thrive. It's true, that buns ( like a lot of animals) will instinctively home in on plants that they know will provide them with what their body needs. I like to give Petal fresh for as long as possible so do move some of my calendula and other flowering plants into the greenhouse to extend the flowering season and did manage to keep her on fresh for almost 10 months before resorting to the dried supplies last year. Am hoping I'll be doing the same this year too.
I see you are literally just up the road from me :wave: Where do you do your foraging may I ask? Here in the city centre we're restricted to the city cemetery beside Southampton Common, or finding the odd hazel tree in the new forest. Other than that the best places are beside the river up at Brambridge but that is quite a drive and we really only ever do that in summer. Our allotment has only recently been accquired and rotavated so nothing there either now.
Would be grateful for any recommended local good foraging sites between Soton/Romsey/Winchester. The New Forest is pretty bare for bunny goodies.
BTW don't you mean contorted willow not hazel? :? I've always called it Corkscrew willow - we too have fed this after my dad's was felled in a storm.
Hi Thumps To be honest the obvious 'leafy green veg' is what immediately springs to mind, Spinnach being top of the list. The wild food iron content is likely to vary and be influenced by the soil mineral content in the localised area; just as it is with the potency levels in all plants. In addition the levels are likely to fluctuate with the life stages so it might be great in Spring, but not in the Autumn. It would be very difficult to predict accurately without laboratory analysis, but you could hazard a guess maybe by what is growing in the immediate area. Anything with chlorosis is an obvious candidate for deficiency, so I think a good rule of thumb is the dark green leaf. Things like malva sylvestris, which is a nice plant in early summer ( but does have a tendency to get rust ) is still around now so that might be worth a try. Measuring mineral content is definitely a bit of a tricky one.:lol:
To be honest the obvious 'leafy green veg' is what immediately springs to mind, Spinnach being top of the list. The wild food iron content is likely to vary and be influenced by the soil mineral content in the localised area; just as it is with the potency levels in all plants. In addition the levels are likely to fluctuate with the life stages so it might be great in Spring, but not in the Autumn. It would be very difficult to predict accurately without laboratory analysis, but you could hazard a guess maybe by what is growing in the immediate area. Anything with chlorosis is an obvious candidate for deficiency, so I think a good rule of thumb is the dark green leaf. Things like malva sylvestris, which is a nice plant in early summer ( but does have a tendency to get rust ) is still around now so that might be worth a try. Measuring mineral content is definitely a bit of a tricky one.:lol:
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I see you are literally just up the road from me :wave: Where do you do your foraging may I ask? Here in the city centre we're restricted to the city cemetery beside Southampton Common, or finding the odd hazel tree in the new forest. Other than that the best places are beside the river up at Brambridge but that is quite a drive and we really only ever do that in summer. Our allotment has only recently been accquired and rotavated so nothing there either now.
Would be grateful for any recommended local good foraging sites between Soton/Romsey/Winchester. The New Forest is pretty bare for bunny goodies.
BTW don't you mean contorted willow not hazel? :? I've always called it Corkscrew willow - we too have fed this after my dad's was felled in a storm.
Hiya :wave:
I tend to stay very local so forage here in Chandlers Ford and Romsey.
There are some pathways and hedgerow plus I am near to woodland and a lovely bit of empty field that has been left to meadow, which is where I tend to get most of my vetch and the trefoils.I did mean contorted hazel Corylus Avellana Contorta ( also known as the corkscrew hazel) but you are right there is a contorted willow, which can get huge! Salix matsudana 'Tortuosa'
PS/ I would add that we are lucky in that the local planting is lots of hazel, some birch and plenty of nettles and bramble, when the local authority aren't butchering it! :roll::lol::lol: I would have thought the Forest would be a haven for it?
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Yes, the area around here is amazingly complex geologically. The immediate locality is Jurassic red clay at the surface & which is very rich in iron.
My rabbit has shown me something about blackthorn leaves. He's starting to get better. The trouble is, that I suspect but do not know that they may be high in tannins & bind protein & iron, which is no prob short term, but he'll need the blackthorn long term. However he does eat much more dark green ribwort plantain when he's in a blackthorn eating phase.
Unfortunately he won't touch any human veg now.
Thank you for that, I'll get more ribwort nearer home.
My rabbit has shown me something about blackthorn leaves. He's starting to get better. The trouble is, that I suspect but do not know that they may be high in tannins & bind protein & iron, which is no prob short term, but he'll need the blackthorn long term. However he does eat much more dark green ribwort plantain when he's in a blackthorn eating phase.
Unfortunately he won't touch any human veg now.
Thank you for that, I'll get more ribwort nearer home.
prettylupin
Wise Old Thumper
Hiya :wave:
I tend to stay very local so forage here in Chandlers Ford and Romsey.
I did mean contorted hazel Corylus Avellana Contorta ( also known as the corkscrew hazel) but you are right there is a contorted willow, which can get huge! Salix matsudana 'Tortuosa'
PS/ I would add that we are lucky in that the local planting is lots of hazel, some birch and plenty of nettles and bramble, when the local authority aren't butchering it! :roll::lol::lol: I would have thought the Forest would be a haven for it?
I am ashamed I did not know that a contorted hazel existed! :shock: I've only ever seen it as a standard tree and coppiced. That must be a beautiful looking tree
I love Hazel. Yes my dad's contorted willow was rather large on a very unstable bank. The buns loved the branches, but I am wary as the older the growth the higher the salicin levels. My Willow farmer up in Wales always recommends the newer growth as a feed.
It sounds like you have some lovely foraging spots local to you, I am quite jealous. Hubby cycles to Brockenhurst to work daily through the forest from Soton Centre and uses lots of different hidden track but still nothing - the Ponies eat it all! The sandy soil is no good for most bunny weeds
prettylupin
Wise Old Thumper
I think nettle is meant to be high in iron :? I drink nettle tea (and eat the resulting nettle mush) for that reason when I'm feeling a little anaemic.
None to my buns will eat fresh nettle but they have eaten it dry in the past
Lilbun! :shock:
:mrgreen::mrgreen:
I'm anaemic at the moment but I won't be eating mushed nettles any time soon! :lol:
lilbun
Warren Veteran
prettylupin
Wise Old Thumper
What? It's nice! :lol: Makes a good soup too
:? Maybe I should give it a go then?!
Yes I too have heard that nettles are high in iron. Mine only eat them dried but love them.
lilbun
Warren Veteran
:? Maybe I should give it a go then?!
Yes I too have heard that nettles are high in iron. Mine only eat them dried but love them.
Yep- eat your nettles! You could always try a little chopped up in mashed potato or bubble and squeak- just be careful where you pick them from :shock:
Blackberry & Co
Wise Old Thumper
That must be a beautiful looking tree
We have a small contorted/twisted hazel in our garden - it's lovely (and I have been banned from letting the rabbits eat it as it's still so small
)
prettylupin
Wise Old Thumper
Okey dokey - will find some untainted nettles, wash them and give it a go!
Blackberry &Co. that hazel is
I want one! Has it fruited yet?
Blackberry & Co
Wise Old Thumper
Okey dokey - will find some untainted nettles, wash them and give it a go!
Blackberry &Co. that hazel is
It's still small, and has a couple of nuts each year, but no great harvests :lol:
