my foraging diary
- Thread starter willow and squiggles
- Start date
joey&boo
Wise Old Thumper
You lucky thing ! I go via Warrington to visit folks who live in Runcorn. We could do coffee or have a foragey walk some time if you're in that neck of the woods !
joey&boo
Wise Old Thumper
My local bus services has reduced its service to hourly & I'm too impatient to hang round so doing a long foraging walk home. Its wonderful atm. Getting more than I need so drying will commence early, just hoping it will dry. Today got geranium, hawthorn, dandelion, first lot of ribwort plantain, hogweed, rose, cow parsley & hazel.
For breakfast I had forage. Tempura hogweed served with a pesto style dip made from foraged sorrel, hawthorn & (I think) wild garlic
If anyone needs pics of things I forage to help them with ID just say . I've said it before but any would be foragers out there - you couldn't pick a better time to start
For breakfast I had forage. Tempura hogweed served with a pesto style dip made from foraged sorrel, hawthorn & (I think) wild garlic
If anyone needs pics of things I forage to help them with ID just say . I've said it before but any would be foragers out there - you couldn't pick a better time to start
I think it's all the rain we've had recently, but forage at the moment is really lush. Probably the best I've ever seen it here. I really hate the rain, so it's really good to be able to find at least one benefit from it.
You actually make me feel quite lazy as I can get all of those plants you got today here in the garden atm
Plus we have super Red Campion (not yet in flower) and lots of Red Deadnettle and Chickweed. Both bunnies also this year are eating Cleavers, which is a first. Perhaps they are more juicy with more moisture. I'm jealous of your breakfast though. Firstly I don't think I've ever seen Sorrel growing in the wild. Also my dream is to cultivate Wild Garlic at the bottom of the garden, but I don't know anywhere near here where it grows. If it gets to the end of the season and you could find some seedheads, please, please could you post some to me
Just to add, foraging for humans and not for bunnies, there are some wonderful specimens of St Georges Mushrooms around here currently. I had some for lunch. Most years they are not so juicy and are ravaged sometimes by little grubs, but this year they are large, delicious and perfectly clean
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joey&boo
Wise Old Thumper
I think it's all the rain we've had recently, but forage at the moment is really lush. Probably the best I've ever seen it here. I really hate the rain, so it's really good to be able to find at least one benefit from it.
You actually make me feel quite lazy as I can get all of those plants you got today here in the garden atm
I'm jealous of your breakfast though. Firstly I don't think I've ever seen Sorrel growing in the wild. Also my dream is to cultivate Wild Garlic at the bottom of the garden, but I don't know anywhere near here where it grows. If it gets to the end of the season and you could find some seedheads, please, please could you post some to me
Just to add, foraging for humans and not for bunnies, there are some wonderful specimens of St Georges Mushrooms around here currently. I had some for lunch. Most years they are not so juicy and are ravaged sometimes by little grubs, but this year they are large, delicious and perfectly clean
No problem Omi, I'll uproot some wild garlic for you :lol: I mean seeds. I didnt actually have anything to do with the hogweed other than eating it. One of the chefs is into people foraging & as it was quiet he got a bit experimental & we enjoyed (staff not restaurant snacks). He may well have got the Sorrel from his garden
Thank you
Sorrel does grow wild, but I've never found it. I'm also feeding Lemon Balm at the moment.
Never had it growing in the garden, so have never fed it. But according to Twig's Way's foraging book, it's OK to feed.
joey&boo
Wise Old Thumper
Yay! Are you enjoying it? No doubt the bunnies are
Zigzag
Alpha Buck
Yes it’s not too bad. The Apple phone helps you identify plants, but it can often be wrong so I always triple check. Much cheaper than buying herbs! They love dandelion. Discovered that some plant growing over our fence is rabbit sage which is good.
I’m seeing my mum more and she has lots of stuff in her garden including lemon balm.
I’m seeing my mum more and she has lots of stuff in her garden including lemon balm.
joey&boo
Wise Old Thumper
Lemon balm is a fave here. You could maybe take a cutting from your mums plant I took cuttings from mine so I could have more. Its fab cos it goes quite late into the season
Strawberries will grow under some bushes - although they may not fruit. I use them as ground cover under gooseberries, etc on the allotment. Leaves are good for rabbits. Flowers look pretty. You can get pink and red flowered versions, as well as the usual white flowers.
Mint is tolerant of most conditions. There are lots of different ones. They can spread a lot, although I've not had issues with it getting unmanageable if it's regularly kept in check. It doesn't root very deeply, so it's fairly easy to pull up. Bees love the flowers.
keletkezes
Wise Old Thumper
Violets. Everywhere. The rabbits keep them down on the lawn but maaan they're everywhere, it's great! I bought two tiny pots over from our previous house, literally just dug them out of the garden, then planted them right at the base of the oak tree and now they've spread to the front XD We moved in in early 2012. As bunny-safe ground cover they are hard to beat! Also dead easy to pull up.
Zigzag
Alpha Buck
Thanks Shimmer and Keletkezes these are helpful tips- I had no idea rabbits could eat violets! So based on your advice I bought the following at B and Q! Our very small front garden is paved but has sunlight, so we would put the things below in pots.
Our backyard is paved, which I don't particularly like, but some of it gets some sun, and is East facing. Again we would need to put the things below in pots
Do I put these plants in enormous pots? Is there anything else I need to do? I have no idea what I am doing.
- Lemon balm
- Broccoli plant
- Sage
- Raspberry plant (this one is large)
- Mint (I am thinking large pot based on what you have said Shimmer)
- Violets (thanks keletkezes)
Thanks
Our backyard is paved, which I don't particularly like, but some of it gets some sun, and is East facing. Again we would need to put the things below in pots
Do I put these plants in enormous pots? Is there anything else I need to do? I have no idea what I am doing.
- Lemon balm
- Broccoli plant
- Sage
- Raspberry plant (this one is large)
- Mint (I am thinking large pot based on what you have said Shimmer)
- Violets (thanks keletkezes)
Thanks
Thanks Shimmer and Keletkezes these are helpful tips- I had no idea rabbits could eat violets! So based on your advice I bought the following at B and Q! Our very small front garden is paved but has sunlight, so we would put the things below in pots.
Our backyard is paved, which I don't particularly like, but some of it gets some sun, and is East facing. Again we would need to put the things below in pots
Do I put these plants in enormous pots? Is there anything else I need to do? I have no idea what I am doing.
- Lemon balm
- Broccoli plant
- Sage
- Raspberry plant (this one is large)
- Mint (I am thinking large pot based on what you have said Shimmer)
- Violets (thanks keletkezes)
Thanks
I would put the large raspberry plant in your largest pot. I'm not sure how much success you will get from putting Broccoli in a pot, but again the pot would need to be quite large. Also watch out for Large and Small White Butterflies on the Broccoli. They will lay eggs, which will hatch into caterpillars, which will eat the leaves. A piece of netting over the top would do the trick. Lemon Balm will spread outwards and is also quite tall, so a medium size pot for this. Next size down would be for the Mint, which will also spread outwards, and the Sage. The Violets will spread outwards, but won't grow much taller than 5-6 in in height, so a smaller pot would be OK.
Yea prepare for war against the cabbage whites! [emoji38] Make sure your netting is fairly small too, and held away from the leaves.. Because they will lay their eggs through the netting if there's a leaf close enough [emoji58]
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