Foraging Log

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
ertyu
Posts: 2893
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 2:31 am

Re: Foraging Log

Post by ertyu »

these look great!

theanimal
Posts: 2627
Joined: Fri Jan 25, 2013 10:05 pm
Location: AK
Contact:

Re: Foraging Log

Post by theanimal »

Wow, nice haul @tdurtsch! The fireweed is a flower. Abundant up here and more or less the unofficial state flower. It has these pink flowers on it that grow up from the bottom starting mid June or so. After the flowers come out, the leaves get more bitter, not as pleasant to eat but still edible.

The Alaskan adage is that when it flowers all the way up to the top, summer is over. Still some summer left here!

Image

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Foraging Log

Post by guitarplayer »

@tdurtsch I'd love to try them once. The darker, the better!

@theanimal I didn't know fireweed is edible; in my mind it was primarily kindling for making fire. Great info, thanks!

----

Lindens are in bloom, great tea from the flowers. We also collected berries from a local variety of Elder. Apparently the seeds of those berries are not edible, and the berries have to be cooked. All this makes processing the berries a lot of work, but we collected some as a curiosity. Now cooked, tart and very strong flavour, I enjoy it.

Image

A comparison between wild raspberries and those from the garden. Guess which one's which.

Image

We also had first chanterelles of the season a while back!

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Foraging Log

Post by guitarplayer »

There is lots of bilberries / hackleberries around these days. Good for computer eye-strain, Fight cancer, taste great, look fabulous on your morning porridge. Good to be in the nature as well, forage time in solitude (when your foraging partners are at enough distance).

Image

Image

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Below is meadowsweet. It has painkilling properties thanks to compounds similar to aspirin. The smell is of sweet almonds, very pleasant. In the past people would use it in their houses on the floor instead of straw due to the pleasant smell. The taste of the tea is medicinal, and when I munched on some flowers they were slightly bitter. DW tells me that it is recommended to be eaten with raspberries. From the woodland trust website:
Meadowsweet was a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I, who used the plant instead of straw on her chamber floors.
Image

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Foraging Log

Post by guitarplayer »

This time we found a spot with bilberries almost the size of blueberries.

Image

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I have been eyeing some hazels and a few days ago noticed critters eating some of the bounty that did not look ripe yet. I investigated and found this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu6KGYyJZso

Hence, today we went to collect some of what was left and will let them ripen it at home. Curious to see the result!

Image

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The micro climate here is so that blackberries rarely ripen, but we found a spot with some ready for eating.

Image

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The first penny bun of the year is always a joy to find.

Image

Image

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

From top left along the curve:
- penny bun
- two birch boletes
- three larch boletes
- a bunch of suede boletes
- the last one is a peppery bolete that tastes like pepper

Tomorrow will be Ramen.

Image

ertyu
Posts: 2893
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 2:31 am

Re: Foraging Log

Post by ertyu »

I did not pick or eat those mushrooms because I couldn't identify them. Does anyone happen to have a guess? A friend guessed amanita abrupta, but according to wikipedia that has a bulbous bottom and a thicker stem. I will not eat these regardless, I am just curious.

Image

They were in a fairy ring around a tree.

Image

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Foraging Log

Post by guitarplayer »

ertyu wrote:
Thu Sep 01, 2022 5:36 am
amanita abrupta
Could well be. There is also a chance that it is an edible shaggy parasol, in which case

-it would open into a parasol as it matures
- the 'skirt' under the head would be detached from the stout and you could move it about as if it was a ring
- it would bruise orange

But yes, probably just leave and admire the looks if unsure.

ertyu
Posts: 2893
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 2:31 am

Re: Foraging Log

Post by ertyu »

ertyu wrote:
Thu Sep 01, 2022 5:36 am
These are the mushrooms. Greenish gills. According to wikipedia they won't kill you but they'll give you a solid vomit-and-diarrhea experience.

User avatar
Lemur
Posts: 1612
Joined: Sun Jun 12, 2016 1:40 am
Location: USA

Re: Foraging Log

Post by Lemur »

Paw Paw Time

Fun Fact why they're almost never found in stores - because the shelf life on these things is terrible. They taste great if you've never had one. Kind of a banana / mango mix.

Image

I have 10 or so seeds in a zip loc bag with potting soil and water (not too wet). Placed into the fridge. I'm going to attempt to germinate some of these over the next 3 months and try to get some trees started. I probably won't be living in my current location in 5+ years from now to see them grow but can't really predict the future.... And also, I've never tried growing a tree before so should be a fun experience.

Image

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Foraging Log

Post by guitarplayer »

Nice find @Lemur, well done! Never heard of this fruit, have to ask DW if she came across it in South America.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

We went for a festive walk recently and found heaps of Orange Birch Boletes. Reportedly tastier than the brown birch boletes, but it is advisible in some countries to cook them intensely for 20 min to rid of toxins.

Image

Plenty of Scarletina Boletes on my way to work these days. Here is a couple.

Image

davtheram12
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon May 28, 2018 6:02 pm

Re: Foraging Log

Post by davtheram12 »

Many of my neighbors have fruit bearing trees in their backyards that have many overhanging branches. Over time, they tend to drop a lot of fruit in the alleyway streets. Lemons, oranges, apples, pomegranates, figs, avocados, etc. During my daily walks, I regularly pick up whatever is salvageable. A light wash and they are perfect for any dish.

Well one day I came across fruit that looked particularly odd. They almost looked like the facehugger egg sacks from the 1979 Alien movie. They fell off a tree that slightly resembled an olive tree. I picked up whatever was undamaged and brought them home. A little research and I found out they were pineapple guavas. And boy are they delicious! I've been throwing them in smoothies, along with some other items, and it's really adds to the overall flavor. I currently have a large bag of them in my freezer.

Image

Image

M
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2010 7:34 pm

Re: Foraging Log

Post by M »

Not sure if this qualifies.

Last year we had a small garden of tomato plants.

This year decided not to have a garden - too many other things going on. Two tomato plants grew where the garden was. I never watered them but did spend 30 seconds putting down the stakes from the previous year.

Did not do anything else. Have been enjoying grape tomatoes for the past couple months now for no cost and minimal effort. This is the kind of gardening I can get behind. :lol:

davtheram12
Posts: 230
Joined: Mon May 28, 2018 6:02 pm

Re: Foraging Log

Post by davtheram12 »

M wrote:
Mon Sep 26, 2022 5:04 pm
Not sure if this qualifies.
Did not do anything else. Have been enjoying grape tomatoes for the past couple months now for no cost and minimal effort.
I'd say it does! Nature finds a way. Good stuff :D

SouthernAlchemy
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2021 8:11 pm

Re: Foraging Log

Post by SouthernAlchemy »

It's a little early for persimmons in my area, but these little beauties were just lying on the sidewalk so I was obliged to pick them up. Already sweet as sugar, so that's a good sign for the ones still in the tree!

Image

Image

SouthernAlchemy
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2021 8:11 pm

Re: Foraging Log

Post by SouthernAlchemy »

I'm going to attempt to germinate some of these over the next 3 months and try to get some trees started
@Lemur - These take a long time to germinate. I did this one year, same as you, collected in fall and kept in the fridge for the winter. I planted out in the spring and IIRC it was late the next fall before anything happened. And there aren't any seed leaves, the sprout just looks like a stick in the ground at first. I had 6 or 8 seeds. 2 sprouted. One got yanked out of the ground but some vicious animal (nasty squirrels!) and one has hung on for 4 years and 2 transplants, not sure it is so happy right now and I hope it gets thru the winter. I did get a ton of flowers this spring but no fruit :(

Good luck with yours!

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Foraging Log

Post by guitarplayer »

@davtheram12, I'd love to try those pineapple guavas, DW tells me she knows them from South America. They look great. Generally an excellent tactic to get those fallen fruit on daily walks.

@M, I think a lot of conventional gardening/farming is wasted effort. Permaculture gets closer to your experience of collecting tomatoes this season, as it basically is manufacturing an edible landscape situation. One way of thinking of permaculture is essentially a gardening/foraging crossover.

@SA, I remember having my first kaki from a supermarket at 19yo, it then became my favourite fruit at the time. Seeing what you all forage there in the US makes me think of making my way through to live there for some time. I mean, that climate must be just so different from Scotland! I had a look at the map of North America superimposed on the map of Europe. A big bulk of the NA continent is where the Mediterranean Sea is in terms of latitude.

SouthernAlchemy
Posts: 47
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2021 8:11 pm

Re: Foraging Log

Post by SouthernAlchemy »

Picked up a bunch of pecans today. Still more in the tree and a few more spots I need to check, so I should be able build a good supply. These are kind of small but really, really tasty. The big box store pecans in the pantry don't even come close-

Image

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Foraging Log

Post by guitarplayer »

I'd love to try a fresh pecan nut @SouthernAlchemy, nice one.

Now I moved to one of the biggest cities in the UK but I continue practicing foraging in a form of structured dumpster diving via an app called Olio. I have a bunch of photos of things harvested but since it is all just basically packaged fruit and vegetables and does not look particularly pretty, I will post photos perhaps only occasionally.

I encourage everyone to do dumpster diving as a little contribution to keeping money in one's wallet and spiraling back the waste spiral.

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Foraging Log

Post by guitarplayer »

City Foraging: free blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, some melon, pineapple and I think papaya is there as well; garnish with basil. This is just the more interesting stuff, I did not bother to upload photos of a boring aubergines, carrots and a stir fry mix. Oh, and we didn't ask for that hummus and two packs of wholemeal tortilla wraps, thanks!

Image

guitarplayer
Posts: 1300
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 6:43 pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Foraging Log

Post by guitarplayer »

Today features guests from:
- Ireland (peeled baby carrots)
- Egypt (green beans)
- Spain (Iceberg lettuce, Little Gem Lettuce)
- Morocco (tangerines)
- UK (salad mix and this small box of 80g chopped apple that would have costed $1.70 (?!) )

Image

Estimated street value of $17. By the way of collecting this free food, I also foraged
- one hour of fresh air
- one hour of aerobic exercise
- one afternoon of gratitude for having a dry place with a roof after coming back from running in the rain
- one chat with a local who cares about the neighbourhood about the best way to eat baby carrots
- a few smiles from the local

Post Reply