What did you forage today?

[Toddy]

Oh those are early

We're still gorging on strawberries, and the rowans are ripe, so it's jelly making time

Not so much foraging, but a neighbour brought round another bag of beetroot and one of onions

Foraging though, I had some of the seeds of the wood millet (like sesame seeds sort of) and used some of the self seeded poppy seeds on bread too.....and Robbi sent me some of the onion tasting nigella and those have self seeded from last year too, and they were rather nice too...nowhere near as strong as the ones grown in the heat elsewhere that can be used to clear sinusitis. The Sycamore over the burn path is dropping seeds...those are like peas inside

 

[Woody girl]

Yes that particular bush is way ahead of others around here. South facing and against a wall totaly exposed to the sun all day into the evening. No other shrubbery around it.
The berries are huge! Bigger than grapes and very soft sweet and juicy. Not those hard little ones that are the average berry.
I'm just off to get some more, and forage a few apples

crumble tonight. Yum!

 

[Kepis]

Blackcurrants, the last of the Loganberries, first of the Greengages, Bullace & Damson from the garden, fruit salad for pudding this evening.

 

[Toddy]

Strawberries, wild and tamed more reedmace pollen, rhubarb and tea from Self heal.

 

[crosslandkelly]

Blackberries and Mirabelles yesterday.

 

[Toddy]

I could happily never have another biscuit, cake or sweetie, but I'd miss fruit so much if I were told I couldn't have it. Right now we're sort of awash with strawberries and cherries round here, and the apple and pear trees are bending under the weight of fruit.

We used to say that was the sign of a cold Winter to come....I rather think global warming has mucked up things though.

 

[William_Montgomery]

I could happily never have another biscuit, cake or sweetie, but I'd miss fruit so much if I were told I couldn't have it.

Likewise. Fresh fruit straight off the plant... hard to beat.

 

[Toddy]

Brambles, like those ones @Woody girl found, warm from the Sun ....those are superb

 

[grainweevil]

The joy of a garden run amok - blackberries gathered about 8ft from the front door. Not so joyful - I need native bearers to hack a path to some of the other likely spots!

 

[Toddy]

We're still awash with wild strawberries....and the first Autumn fruiting rasps are ready too. It's been an early and hot Summer.

I'm eating a lot of wild greens, from cress to nettles (keep them cut down, they'll constantly send up fresh edible shoots) and lots of teas; melissa, heartsease, meadowsweet, rose, red clover, etc.,

I picked a load of mugwort too. Not for tea, but for tinder, for smudging, and to mix with the melissa and the bog myrtle to make an anti-midge lotion.

 

[Chris]

First mushrooms of the year, some Bay Boletes. Left 10x as many as I picked as there were a lot of small ones.

 

[demented dale]

We're still awash with wild strawberries....and the first Autumn fruiting rasps are ready too. It's been an early and hot Summer.

I'm eating a lot of wild greens, from cress to nettles (keep them cut down, they'll constantly send up fresh edible shoots) and lots of teas; melissa, heartsease, meadowsweet, rose, red clover, etc.,

I picked a load of mugwort too. Not for tea, but for tinder, for smudging, and to mix with the melissa and the bog myrtle to make an anti-midge lotion.

Mugwort for tinder Toddy?. Please tell me more. Thanx in advance DD x

 

[Toddy]

Mugwort is superb stuff. It gives off a billowing white smoke as it's blown into flame in a tinder bundle but it catches well, and it's pretty easy to find too, Artemesia vulgaris and afaik it's native.

It's an old 'hearth herb'. It's name means that it was used against insects, and is one where the smoke was used to kill them. Get it billowing up under your tarp, and you get peace

If mixed with melissa and bog myrtle, the sweet gale, (make it up like a strong tea) it can be used as an insect discouraging wash/wipe. Quite pleasant to use on the skin too....and that's from me, one who has overly sensitve and all too easily inflamed skin.

It's easy to gather, indeed right now is about perfect timing for that, but even old dried withered leaves left in Winter work, and since they're on the stem in the air, they're usually pretty dry.

In a tinder bundle, like the little packets I make up using birch bark, it is excellent.
I'll find a link to those and add it in here.

Mugwort is the moxa in moxibustion...if you google moxibustion and mugwort you'll pull up masses of information about that.

 

[demented dale]

Mugwort is superb stuff. It gives off a billowing white smoke as it's blown into flame in a tinder bundle but it catches well, and it's pretty easy to find too, Artemesia vulgaris and afaik it's native.

It's an old 'hearth herb'. It's name means that it was used against insects, and is one where the smoke was used to kill them. Get it billowing up under your tarp, and you get peace

If mixed with melissa and bog myrtle, the sweet gale, (make it up like a strong tea) it can be used as an insect discouraging wash/wipe. Quite pleasant to use on the skin too....and that's from me, one who has overly sensitve and all too easily inflamed skin.

It's easy to gather, indeed right now is about perfect timing for that, but even old dried withered leaves left in Winter work, and since they're on the stem in the air, they're usually pretty dry.

In a tinder bundle, like the little packets I make up using birch bark, it is excellent.
I'll find a link to those and add it in here.

Mugwort is the moxa in moxibustion...if you google moxibustion and mugwort you'll pull up masses of information about that.

I know Mugwort , we dont find it here often. I didnt know it could be used as a tinder. yes please post what you know. I have a list of all the tinders, natural and manmade , that I know. The stuff that a ferro rod will ignite is endless and yes anything you can add to a tinder bundle for frictio fire is always useful x

 

[William_Montgomery]

Lots more cherry plums.

 

[Nice65]

I was taking some pics of the Canada geese while standing under a Chestnut tree this evening. Grabbed this lot in just a few minutes, the biggest I've seen as most of them so far have been flat and small.

 

[Nice65]

Got a few more. Took a Hazel staff and some gloves. We had a sudden wind storm come out of nowhere in W. Sussex yesterday and the tree was raining prickly nuts. Put my hood up after getting hit by one!

 

[Nice65]

Doubler

 

[Woody girl]

A measly two walnuts. Still, that's better than non.

Also a few conkers, which I'll grind up and dry to make washing powder.
Never done it before, and ivy is plentiful so I often make liquid soap from that, but its good to try other methods.

 

[Chris]