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my foraging diary

Today we went for a misty forage walk. I have some leafs off a hogweed. It was around 40cm tall and in flower. My hands haven't been stung so i quess i was right.

My understanding is giant hogweed has pointy feathery leafs and its super tall. Common only grows up to 2 meters. This was the hogweed I collected the leafs from.

I also got hazel, hawthorn and brambles
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It's not that easy to see the leaf shape from your pics, but it looks right. Certainly if you haven't got the dreaded skin reaction, it must be right :)
 
Do Maple & dennis have a fresh selection & then some goes to drying. I bet you can't wait for Spring.

Mine are having fresh 5 days a week, less than usual & I've started introducing dry to get them used to the changeover - definitely not cos I'm too lazy to go out daily. Their poo is awesome at the moment, golden & getting bigger by the day.

So this morning I've been chopping & blending forage - its all in 5 inch or smaller pieces & mixed so they should get a good variety daily. It smells gorgeous. Probably cos most of my forages ended with raiding the mint from our community garden . This lot now takes up two thirds of a timothy hay sack. I wonder how long it will last
 
Do Maple & dennis have a fresh selection & then some goes to drying. I bet you can't wait for Spring.

Mine are having fresh 5 days a week, less than usual & I've started introducing dry to get them used to the changeover - definitely not cos I'm too lazy to go out daily. Their poo is awesome at the moment, golden & getting bigger by the day.

So this morning I've been chopping & blending forage - its all in 5 inch or smaller pieces & mixed so they should get a good variety daily. It smells gorgeous. Probably cos most of my forages ended with raiding the mint from our community garden . This lot now takes up two thirds of a timothy hay sack. I wonder how long it will last
I'm actually down to a large salad bowl of forage, all the leafs are dying now so forage is getting tight. I actually had my finger on the trigger last night to do a galens garden forage order but went out to see what I could find today. It's soul destroying when they loved there forage noms so much. They get a few fresh bits but we are back on the fresh supermarket herbs :(

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I'm still finding enough for them atm. Perhaps that's the benefit of having unweeded patches of the garden. The main concern is that they are not getting a huge variety (thinking Uncle John's comments here) and it is mostly (still quite large) Dandelion and Red dead-nettle with a small amount of Common Hogweed, Chickweed, Sow-thistle, Cow Parsley, Common Mallow, Lemon Balm and Bristly Ox-tongue (young leaves). We are supplementing also with some Kale from the garden.
 
I'm managing to get most forage still from my garden, though there's quite a few goodies still around nearby.
Enhanced by the recent rain storms!

Now I'm thinking of pruning geraniums, buddleia, nasturtiums, silverweed, rowan, rose etc there'll be even more :)
 
I'm WAAAY too scared to try foraging, but if I bought my boys a potted edible, for example a marigold, from a shop, would it be ok for them to eat?
I personally wouldn't because I don't know what chemicals such as pesticides might be on a marigold plant. I grew my own pot marigolds this year and I still have a ton now! I am only really happy to buy herbs and strawberry plants from shops that will be eaten by us. I would be interested in everyone's opinions.

What worries you about foraging?

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I don;t feel confident enough in identifying stuff, I know the basics but also don;t know what rabbits can and can;t eat! I live next to a national forest, and we have things like raspberry/blackberry, dandelions etc which I know, but when it comes to leaves...... Like I know what oak, sycamore, poplar etc are, but can rabbits eat them? There's an apple tree on the edge of the forest currently dropping like no-one's business, but can they eat this?
 
I don;t feel confident enough in identifying stuff, I know the basics but also don;t know what rabbits can and can;t eat! I live next to a national forest, and we have things like raspberry/blackberry, dandelions etc which I know, but when it comes to leaves...... Like I know what oak, sycamore, poplar etc are, but can rabbits eat them? There's an apple tree on the edge of the forest currently dropping like no-one's business, but can they eat this?
The apple tree definitely yes! And very nommy too. I collect leafs and branches and they are a favourite.

I stick to easy forage such as:
Hazel, Willow, Hawthorn, Yarrow and Plantain.

You could always grab a load of stuff, upload it here and everyone can help you.

I am a massive worrier but once you know a plant it's really fun and addictive. Especially when the buns go MAD for it ☺



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I don;t feel confident enough in identifying stuff, I know the basics but also don;t know what rabbits can and can;t eat! I live next to a national forest, and we have things like raspberry/blackberry, dandelions etc which I know, but when it comes to leaves...... Like I know what oak, sycamore, poplar etc are, but can rabbits eat them? There's an apple tree on the edge of the forest currently dropping like no-one's business, but can they eat this?


Can you buddy up with someone and have a go together?

Brambles are great :)

They can also eat apple leaves and twigs - they usually eat the whole branch, bark and all!

I do agree though, you need a fair bit of confidence.
I use Twigs' Book "Foraging for Rabbits" then double check my collection with photos from the Internet.
 
Gorgeous day so thought I'd see whats out there. Got quite a lot today: geranium, raspberry, plantain, hogweed, bindweed, vetch, willow, dandelion. Also sow thistle which took some finding. I dreamt I found loads of sow thistle so felt I had to get some in case it was a sign :lol:
Its weird how many trees (rowan, hawthorn, ash) just have seeds or fruits dangling & no leaves at all.
 
Has anyone got (or can get) photos of ash and rowan for comparison please? :wave:

I am not sure I know the difference between them ....
 
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