Foraging in Urban areas

[Hibrion]

I was watching an episode of River Cottage the other day and John Wright was foraging in a local car park. I think he was collecting cherry plums. I have heard it said before that you should avoid picking berries and such in areas near roads, but John clearly knows his stuff so is this advice misleading?

I now live in an Urban area having moved recently, and looking outside at the Rowan berries weighing the branches down in the estate, it got me wondering whether or not I should bag a few and make up some jelly?

What is everyone's opinion on foraging in Urban areas like this? Yes or no?

 

[Mesquite]

I pick my damsons and cherry plums from trees dotted along a road in my local estate and no one says a word

 

[Kerne]

I made this year's batch of sloe gin from bushes I came across in a large housing estate on the edges of an industrial estate. Went down a treat and no discernible after effects (apart from the obvious...!)

 

[Hibrion]

Haha, that sounds promising so, Kerne. It seems a shame to leave so many berries unused. There are monster blackberries dotted along the road just on the outskirts of the town too. They are along the hedgerows of fields with cattle in, but nobody seems to be collecting them?

I'm not so worried about people saying stuff to me, Mesquite, rather the whole pollution claim. It is great to know you forage in this way with no worries too I would be glad of someone to spark up a conversation about foraging, to be honest. It might get some new people interested

 

[dewi]

Do you have a local Waitrose?

Just after 9pm, go around the rear of the store and you'll find hundreds of edible foods in giant plastic containers. They're all sealed up and easy enough to transport because more often than not, the giant plastic containers have plastic carrier bags in them as well!

Be sure to dispose of all the plastic packaging responsibly, but if you want joints of meat, fillets of fish, vegetables and a variety of diary products... rear of Waitrose.

Urban foraging... every little helps!

 

[Robbi]

We picked loads of mushrooms from under bushes on the raised landscaped areas of our local carpark, beautiful big fresh mushrooms and made good thick mushroom soup that tasted of nothing but diesel ! Bloody awful !

 

[hiho]

doesn't the warning of picking from the roadside stem from us using leaded petrol? I'm only wary on one patch near me due to the industrial painting they do

 

[Hibrion]

I didn't know that was the origin of that warning, Hiho.

Dewi, that is a bit to Urban for me I'm afraid!

Are you serious, Robbi?

 

[Robbi]

Yes, very.

The mushrooms looked superb but my goodness the taste of diesel was shockingly strong.

 

[Hibrion]

Maybe it isn't worth my while foraging anything around here so? I don't imagine diesel would complement rowan jelly! :O

 

[Robbi]

Try it once, see what it turns out like, if it's good then happy days, if not, what have you lost ?

 

[Stew]

Try it once, see what it turns out like, if it's good then happy days, if not, what have you lost ?

I always had the impression that it would be 'hidden' poisons - you wouldn't notice the taste but be accumulating nasties in your system.

Those mushrooms sound rough though!!

 

[badoosh]

Were I used to walk my dog there's cherry plums,blackberries,raspberries,hazel,wild garlic,nettles,dandelions,elderberries.apple. know of a couple of apple trees on motorway embankments,and scores of hazel on my commute into work. My kids get fed up with me when I point what's edible and what's not.

 

[Hibrion]

It's amazing how people don't bother with wild foods now. Quite sad really. I've always thought things like that should be taught in schools.

As you say, Stew, it is the 'hidden' stuff that worries me. But as you say, Robbi, it might be worth a try just to see how it goes. If I suddenly stop posting, or slowly start posting more incoherently, you'll know why

 

[Goatboy]

It's amazing how people don't bother with wild foods now. Quite sad really. I've always thought things like that should be taught in schools.

As you say, Stew, it is the 'hidden' stuff that worries me. But as you say, Robbi, it might be worth a try just to see how it goes. If I suddenly stop posting, or slowly start posting more incoherently, you'll know why

I'm with you on that thought but after speaking to the parents and teachers at the local school I was amazed to hear that though they run some woodland teaching they are told to avoid any wild foods. All the wild raspberries, brambles, apples, plums and cherries that are easily identfiable just go beging. (So along with the less identifiable stuff and the fungi I feel safe with I do pretty well).
The kiddies are missing out on some great wild treats though which is a shame.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[mick91]

When you're actively breathing the same contaminants on a daily basis I wouldn't worry all that much, I certainly don't hesitate to pick next to factories, roads whatever.

http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar...=0CAkQgAMoADAAahUKEwibkbOpifXHAhXBthoKHRrxCrI

Interesting PDF there showing heavy metals and suchlike can be carried into edible parts of veggies, that would equate to the same thing. But the concentrations there are MUCH higher than we would find roadside in Britain. Theory is the same though

 

[nic a char]

Waitrose + Coop + Sainsbury + Tesco etc etc "Just after 9pm, go around the rear of the store and you'll find hundreds of edible foods" = Oyess!
Discretion required - some staff/stores DO NOT LIKE IT...
Xmas/New Year especially good - eg 27 nut-topped large Xmas cakes + 2 unopened bottles of Irish Cream = free treats...
"Urban foraging... every little helps!"

Watch out for exhaust/weedkiller-polluted road edges though...

 

[shaggystu]

Some of the best foraging spots that I know are in urban areas, I believe that a lack of predators has a lot to do with it, you often get hazel trees in towns, but you don't often get squirrels.
Industrial estates are great areas for foraging too, they're often built on undeveloped fallow land (which is where you find interesting things) and then populated by vehicles rather than people once they're finished (which tend to leave the plants alone). First ever wild strawberries I found were in the carpark of an industrial coldstore during a midnight lunch break at a temporary job I used to have, they were divine. Added bonus was that after watching me forage my pudding everyone else working there thought I was a bit odd, so left me alone, which was nice

My opinion is that most fruits form quite quickly on the plant, therefore don't have that much time to absorb toxins from the air around them. I may be entirely wrong though.

Cheers,

Stuart.

 

[Hibrion]

Seems plenty of people are having positive experiences of urban foraging then. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled fpr hazels. When I lived rurally the squirrels always had them first.
I'll try a bit of rowab jelly today as an easy start and let you guys know how it turns out.

 

[Wiseman]

I'm lucky enough to live close enough (2 miles, on the nose) to commute to work on foot. The area I live, work and pass through is very much urban/inner city along pretty main roads and this time of year is great due to the abundance of blackberries on route. Even though most of them are right next to bus stops and have loads of passers by, including loads of school kids, I'm pretty sure I have them entirely to myself. My own kids (3 & 5) didn't need any encouragement to start eating them and now actively seek them out everywhere we go which I think is great.

I'm not really worried about pollutants despite currently studying for a degree in chemistry - as has been said above the lungs are a much more direct route. My view is that you'd have to live in quite a remote place, grow all your own food and use only natural products to really limit your exposure, and even then you couldn't do so 100%. Like it or loath it, this is the world we live in.

As far as I can remember I've always eaten things I've found, must have started as a kid I guess. Starting to get more interested in this area so may try rowan jelly as well. Food For Free is going to be my next purchase.

Good thread, thanks.