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my foraging diary

And following up from yesterday's tlc's-rabbits-are-idiots...

I picked lots of good stuff yesterday. Lots of variety - hogweed, dead nettle, plantain, cow parsley, bitterweed etc etc... Yuki, instead of eating the forage, is so excited by it... he keeps chinning it instead of eating. :roll:
 
Ted binkies at me when I get home & he hears me with the forage bag :lol:

Getting good hauls, everything is going well.

Loads of yarrow and dandelions and willow and long grass :thumb:
 
And following up from yesterday's tlc's-rabbits-are-idiots...

I picked lots of good stuff yesterday. Lots of variety - hogweed, dead nettle, plantain, cow parsley, bitterweed etc etc... Yuki, instead of eating the forage, is so excited by it... he keeps chinning it instead of eating. :roll:


Nooooo!! Don't say that - I believe the rabbits read the Forum.

And especially this thread :shock:
 
My lot are very enthusiastic when I bring them their hawthorn and brambles. Can they have the hawthorn flowers? I seem to remember that there was some doubt????
 
Another good haul today! [emoji4]

For their tea this evening my buns have feasted on:

Brambles
Plantain
Dandelion
Bindweed
Vetch
Hogweed
Herb Robert
Goose grass
Mallow
Jack in the hedge
White dead nettle
Red dead nettle

Also found green alkanet. I only gave them one leaf split between them as it's new for them. Don't think they're that keen as they left half.

They'll also be having hawthorn later on for their late night supper.


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Another good haul today! [emoji4]

For their tea this evening my buns have feasted on:

Brambles
Plantain
Dandelion
Bindweed
Vetch
Hogweed
Herb Robert
Goose grass
Mallow
Jack in the hedge
White dead nettle
Red dead nettle

Also found green alkanet. I only gave them one leaf split between them as it's new for them. Don't think they're that keen as they left half.

They'll also be having hawthorn later on for their late night supper.


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You're very good Scraps :)

At Twigs' last year you said you were the dunce of the class, but this year it would definitely be me!

I couldn't recognise half of what you've found. A fantastic haul indeed :D
 
Another good haul today! [emoji4]

For their tea this evening my buns have feasted on:

Brambles
Plantain
Dandelion
Bindweed
Vetch
Hogweed
Herb Robert
Goose grass
Mallow
Jack in the hedge
White dead nettle
Red dead nettle

Also found green alkanet. I only gave them one leaf split between them as it's new for them. Don't think they're that keen as they left half.

They'll also be having hawthorn later on for their late night supper.


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You do realise of course that this is what is to be expected every night for tea and supper from now on :lol: I've never found Green Alkanet.
 
Just plantain, hawthorn and dandelion on tonight's menu here! He's sooooooo excited every time I bring some forage in. :)
 
You're very good Scraps :)

At Twigs' last year you said you were the dunce of the class, but this year it would definitely be me!

I couldn't recognise half of what you've found. A fantastic haul indeed :D

Thank you MM [emoji4]

I must admit I am very pleased with how many different plants I've learned to recognise over the past year. Foraging is definitely an addictive hobby and it's lovely to be able to give the buns a lot of variation in their diet [emoji4]


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You do realise of course that this is what is to be expected every night for tea and supper from now on :lol: I've never found Green Alkanet.

Actually that won't be so hard to do! I'm very lucky as there's a huge expanse of natural open space (Walthamstow and Hackney marshes and Lee Valley park) about 15 mins walk from me, which is amazing for East London! It's an absolute gold mine for wild plants!


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Just plantain, hawthorn and dandelion on tonight's menu here! He's sooooooo excited every time I bring some forage in. :)

Ted goes crazy when he hears me & the forage bag :shock: starts going binky overload :lol:
 
Vetch seems to have gone into overdrive in the fen near me this past week. I was noticing it everywhere when I foraged today. The silverweed is coming on nicely. And I found my first few patches of pineapple mayweed for this year.

Got a decent variety today too - including the old favourites of hogweed, plantain, hawthorn and more besides - and 5 bags worth in total so I might be able to dry some if Yuki Doodle will let me put it in the airing cupboard!
 
my rabbits have requested I return to old foraging haunt as they have had no apple leaves, herb robert, willow & only tiny bit of vetch here. I am considering their request but think its maybe a bit extreme.

I've lost all my tree confidence though - they are only having hawthorn & rowan. I've identified blackthorn but forget when to collect it. I knew loads of trees in the old place but I think thats cos I watched them through the seasons & could remember where they were located
 
Vetch seems to have gone into overdrive in the fen near me this past week. I was noticing it everywhere when I foraged today. The silverweed is coming on nicely. And I found my first few patches of pineapple mayweed for this year.

Got a decent variety today too - including the old favourites of hogweed, plantain, hawthorn and more besides - and 5 bags worth in total so I might be able to dry some if Yuki Doodle will let me put it in the airing cupboard!

I've never found much Vetch of any sort very close to me. So this year I have grown some Common Vetch and some Tufted Vetch from seed. Vetch is described online as being invasive and I can understand that as, whilst the seedlings appear to be quite delicate they are already branching out quite wildly. I need to get them planted out.

I don't see much Pineapple Mayweed.

Is Yuki Doodle a fan of forage?

It must be stunning to live close to a fen :love: You must see loads of Dragonflies :love:
 
my rabbits have requested I return to old foraging haunt as they have had no apple leaves, herb robert, willow & only tiny bit of vetch here. I am considering their request but think its maybe a bit extreme.

I've lost all my tree confidence though - they are only having hawthorn & rowan. I've identified blackthorn but forget when to collect it. I knew loads of trees in the old place but I think thats cos I watched them through the seasons & could remember where they were located

My rabbits are trained to eat seasonally :lol: They don't get apple leaves until the Autumn when they are of no further use to the trees.

Yes, I agree, identification of trees becomes easier when you know where they are located :) I don't feed very much Blackthorn. I'm always a bit nervous as it's from the plum family, although I also think that we become too wary about toxicity (I'm cheered by the FHB article). I think Thumps used to say to feed it after the sloes have appeared :? However, I can usually find other leaves to feed instead. Hazel and Ash are usually easy to identify. My rabbits are indicating that Hawthorn is particularly tasty at the moment :D
 
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