Wildfood week

[falling rain]

I finished watching my 'A cook on the wildside' DVD the other day whilst sitting at home on my day off in the sweltering heat with a bad stomach I'm better now.
Anyway, I had an idea and wondered if any other folks would be interested in a little experiment of spending a week eating only wild food. No need to camp out, you can do it from home and carry on your daily routine. It'll just mean you have to spend some time collecting your meals after or before work and when you're off if you have a job that is. My idea is that you can't buy any food for a whole week. If you have any food in your larder/fridge you can't use it. You have to live on only what you can forage. So wild teas/tisanes and water to drink, and only fish or meat that you can catch (legally and with permission where necessary) wild greens/leaves and roots as vegetables etc........you get the picture. Of course safety is paramount and everyone's level of knowledge is different so only join in if you're sure you can ID some of the stuff you'll be eating. We can update each other on what we've eaten/collected that day. Of course not everyone will be interested in trying this but hopefully some may and it could be of interest to others even if they don't wish to take part.
I'd stress again the safety side of this. I've eaten a few wild plants, roots but there are also a few I know to be edible and can positively ID, but have never tried (probably because of laziness) this would sort of force you to be more adventurous in what you try.
I think autumn would be a good time for the fairly obvious reasons that a lot of the wild harvest - Nuts - berries - funghi. Folks on the coast will of course have shellfish and sea fish they can catch and people in land can try some minnows or Eels etc. Any you get the picture. Any thoughts or problems I havn't forseen would be appreciated. People would maybe need to check tolerence in the weeks before to make sure there are no mishaps. Any other ideas ?

 

[Snufkin]

I've toyed with the idea before but I think you may have trouble fitting in all your hunting and foraging with full time work. May be a wild weekend would be a possibility for me.

 

[janiepopps]

Definately up for a wild weekend (been a while since i had one of those! )

I think i would rather be out camping for it tho, too much temptation at home, let me know if a date is going to be set

j

 

[Toddy]

Excellent idea!
Doing it from home would be nightmare for me, I gather all year around but I store stuff I gather and prepare. The pantry & freezer are rapidly filling up on the summer bounty.
Now a weekend away is a different matter I'd be up for that.

atb,
Toddy

 

[JonnyP]

I agree with the others Nick.........A week would be too much for me with my work etc, but a weekend, esp away, I would be up for that.............

 

[falling rain]

I've done a few wildfood weekends on courses but never a whole week. I suppose it would mean less time in front of the TV in the evening and some early mornings before going to work, because you have to get out there and feed yourself, but that can only be a good thing I try and get out as much as I can but have to admit I'm a bit lazy sometimes if I've been busy. The worst that can happen is I'd lose a bit of weight which I need to anyhow off MY waistline. It would be interesting to see what dishes people can muster up. Snails with burdock root washed down with some yarrow tea. Rabbit stuffed with hedge garlic and silverweed roots. Elderberry and crab apple pudding. Ground ivy tea.
Nettle porridge with perch. limpets, mussels seaweed etc, etc

 

[falling rain]

Excellent idea!
Doing it from home would be nightmare for me, I gather all year around but I store stuff I gather and prepare. The pantry & freezer are rapidly filling up on the summer bounty.
Now a weekend away is a different matter I'd be up for that.

atb,
Toddy

You're one of the very knowledgable people I'd be asking for advice Toddy
I'd be up for a weekend too, I was just thinking in terms of not having a meetup as such and with all the people living in different areas of the country like estuary, moors, general countryside etc it would be of interest to see what people can get from their areas and post their daily menus. A weekend is fairly easy to do, but a week is a different challenge. Maybe we could have a meet-up for a weekend to get the ball rolling and those who wish too can continue at home for the rest of the week. We could share knowledge over the weekend and take it away with us. Just a thought

 

[janiepopps]

Why dont we have an annual 'BCUK Wild Weekend'??

Excellent idea!
The pantry & freezer are rapidly filling up on the summer bounty.
Now a weekend away is a different matter I'd be up for that.

atb,
Toddy

Toddy, I know what you mean! We're still munching through last years raspberrys/strawberries/tomatoes and this years are here already!

Falling rain - please dont invite me round to yours if you're planning the snails with burdock root. I dont think I'll be that hungry!

 

[Ed]

I think its a great idea, but i fully understand that some people have problems due to work and time. Also it helps if you have land you can hunt/trap on.... or live by the coast .... then it shouldn't really be too much of a problem. Are there any limits on what we can use to collect food? I only ask as the last time I attempted this I set a long net for the night and caught over 30 rabbits and 4 pheasants in the same night.... it wasn't a case of enough food... just preserving it so it didn't go off!!! ..... I ended up feeding most of the family and friends for the week.... and we still had loads to spare.

Ed

 

[Abbe Osram]

I finished watching my 'A cook on the wildside' DVD the other day whilst sitting at home on my day off in the sweltering heat with a bad stomach I'm better now.
Anyway, I had an idea and wondered if any other folks would be interested in a little experiment of spending a week eating only wild food. No need to camp out, you can do it from home and carry on your daily routine. It'll just mean you have to spend some time collecting your meals after or before work and when you're off if you have a job that is. My idea is that you can't buy any food for a whole week. If you have any food in your larder/fridge you can't use it. You have to live on only what you can forage. So wild teas/tisanes and water to drink, and only fish or meat that you can catch (legally and with permission where necessary) wild greens/leaves and roots as vegetables etc........you get the picture. Of course safety is paramount and everyone's level of knowledge is different so only join in if you're sure you can ID some of the stuff you'll be eating. We can update each other on what we've eaten/collected that day. Of course not everyone will be interested in trying this but hopefully some may and it could be of interest to others even if they don't wish to take part.
I'd stress again the safety side of this. I've eaten a few wild plants, roots but there are also a few I know to be edible and can positively ID, but have never tried (probably because of laziness) this would sort of force you to be more adventurous in what you try.
I think autumn would be a good time for the fairly obvious reasons that a lot of the wild harvest - Nuts - berries - funghi. Folks on the coast will of course have shellfish and sea fish they can catch and people in land can try some minnows or Eels etc. Any you get the picture. Any thoughts or problems I havn't forseen would be appreciated. People would maybe need to check tolerence in the weeks before to make sure there are no mishaps. Any other ideas ?

I think its a cool idea mate! It could be made in a way that people start with it, write in the Thread what they found and what they eat, we all start marching with the first day and each one can drop out if he wish. So there is not the pressure of having to make it the entire week, if someone has holidays and manage one and a half thats fine too. Would be cool to see what people are eating acctually.

cheers
Abbe

 

[Abbe Osram]

I think its a great idea, but i fully understand that some people have problems due to work and time. Also it helps if you have land you can hunt/trap on.... or live by the coast .... then it shouldn't really be too much of a problem. Are there any limits on what we can use to collect food? I only ask as the last time I attempted this I set a long net for the night and caught over 30 rabbits and 4 pheasants in the same night.... it wasn't a case of enough food... just preserving it so it didn't go off!!! ..... I ended up feeding most of the family and friends for the week.... and we still had loads to spare.

Ed

Hey Ed,
how do you set up a net to catch rabbits?
Maybe we go on about this in the fair game forum or pm me. I would like to know more about the technic and how you kill the bunnies when you have them all in the net.

thanks
Abbe

 

[Ed]

how do you set up a net to catch rabbits?

Do you have long nets out there? They are commonly used by poachers in the UK though some of us have licenses to use them on certain land as rabbits are vermin in the UK.....

For those that don't know, a long net is around 2-3ft high and around 100 yrds long.... staked out every 3-6ft or so... the holes in the net being about 2 inches... perfect for entangling rabbits. You stake them out around the rabbits feed/play area and will catch them all as they come out to feed (normally around dawn and dusk)..... when a rabbit is caught, its a case of running over and dispatching it by hand with a quick twist of the neck. Its probably the most efficient method i know of catching rabbits. In a high population area you will catch a few while you are still setting the net up!!! .... it has been known for people to get over 100 in a night.

Feel free to pm me about this.... or start a new thread in fair game

Ed

 

[falling rain]

Good points from Ed and Abbe.
I suppose everyone can use what they've got available as regards to land, environment, knowledge, resources and I suppose variety and a good balance of diet as regards to protein, vitamins, carbohydrates etc. So maybe not catch 30 rabbits (make the net smaller or leave it up less time. Sorry if I'm being ignorant here Ed) to last the whole week but try and vary the diet with some vegetation/fruit/berries/nuts/fish/shellfish. People can do the whole week or just one meal. As mentioned before everyone's knowledge and available resources are different. For me anyway a whole week would definately be a challenge. Shall we decide a date and possible venue and get the plan in motion then?

 

[Toddy]

I would love to do a week and not in my own area. I listen to the rest of you an you all know so many other things than I do; I know my own area, the seasons and how much I can take but the reality of *having* to live on what we forage is daunting. Being hungry doesn't bother me, thirsty does. The weight loss would be a good thing I've never been so heavy in my life. To re-adjust my senses of taste and smell, to reconnect properly with the native land around and not through gorging on the crops we force from it, sounds very appealing.

I think this excellent idea and the thread ought to run but I'm going to start another one in Lovely Grub that I think I'll label, "Today I ate...."
We keep trying lists of plants and foodstuffs and they're a lot of work to organise and more work to keep up. Let's keep this one simple so we just need to hit the unread posts button to keep up to date.

Janie, I soooo know what you mean the next bushcraft barter table I'm taking along blackcurrant syrups and jams.....I got 12lbs off the bush today, I did the rasps last week and the grossets and rhubarb are ready too. Thankfully the apple tree is slow
Cheers,
Toddy

 

[Ed]

Shall we decide a date and possible venue and get the plan in motion then?

Yep....I'd be up for it as long as i can get there..... I must admit like the coastal foraged food... so that would be a bonus if it could be arranged there.

As for greens, I've never had a problem foraging plants/nuts/berries ..... it was always meat that was lacking until i learned to trap/snare and net.

Sounds like a good learning curve

Ed

 

[JonnyP]

I've done a few wildfood weekends on courses but never a whole week. I suppose it would mean less time in front of the TV in the evening and some early mornings before going to work, because you have to get out there and feed yourself, but that can only be a good thing I try and get out as much as I can but have to admit I'm a bit lazy sometimes if I've been busy. The worst that can happen is I'd lose a bit of weight which I need to anyhow off MY waistline. It would be interesting to see what dishes people can muster up. Snails with burdock root washed down with some yarrow tea. Rabbit stuffed with hedge garlic and silverweed roots. Elderberry and crab apple pudding. Ground ivy tea.
Nettle porridge with perch. limpets, mussels seaweed etc, etc

You make it sound good, and it probably would be, I am so used to lifes little comforts like tesco's and the fridge and the thought of my belly rumbling scares me. I am sure if I got up earlier to forage I could find things, but they would all be herbal, cos snaring is illegal and I do not have a gun to get rabbits etc. Maybe if some recipies were made up of things to get and cook, I could do it, but I am so uninspired and unimaginative when it comes to cooking and ingredients.........

 

[Ed]

(make the net smaller or leave it up less time. Sorry if I'm being ignorant here Ed)

Not at all mate... I was employed to clear the land of vermin... I couldn't let that food go to waste to it got passed around ..... and it lasted us quite a time

Ed

 

[Toddy]

Good points from Ed and Abbe.
I suppose everyone can use what they've got available as regards to land, environment, knowledge, resources and I suppose variety and a good balance of diet as regards to protein, vitamins, carbohydrates etc. So maybe not catch 30 rabbits (make the net smaller or leave it up less time. Sorry if I'm being ignorant here Ed) to last the whole week but try and vary the diet with some vegetation/fruit/berries/nuts/fish/shellfish. People can do the whole week or just one meal. As mentioned before everyone's knowledge and available resources are different. For me anyway a whole week would definately be a challenge. Shall we decide a date and possible venue and get the plan in motion then?

Yes, Go on then, set a date and we'll all try to fit in with it. The first one might turn out to be bit of a muddle but if you repeat it again I think it'll grow, besides the seasons will catch us out too.

Cheers,
Toddy

p.s. those who can get to the moot could really have a good go at it.

 

[Ed]

cos snaring is illegal

Is it? I know they were trying to make it illegal, but game keepers suppliers are still selling rabbit snares and as far as i know the law hasn't changed yet..... though i could be wrong.

Ed

 

[JonnyP]

Is it? I know they were trying to make it illegal, but game keepers suppliers are still selling rabbit snares and as far as i know the law hasn't changed yet..... though i could be wrong.

Ed

Sorry, perhaps I mean traps.............