would you find enough to eat

[bloodline]

I know a few wild things to eat and can shoot and fish gather and farm . This time of year in England there is plenty of fruit about and nuts are round the corner but if you had to what would you eat to provide enough calories to get you through the winter?

 

[jdlenton]

I'd have to say as much fatty meat as I could trap . I'd try and store up some foraged herbs, veg, fruit and nuts for the taste but I recon the meat is what would get me through

 

[den]

Personally i don't think we'd stand a chance through the winter without a lot of prep beforehand ,collecting wood ,winterization of your shelter All big calorie burners which you don't need in the winter.

If i knew i had to go through a winter id start getting ready for it in spring. I'd try and have my fingers in every pie possible trapping on land and sea. preserving food whenever possible.

 

[Bushpig]

We currently have blackberries about to come into full season ( already had enough to make a crumble from ), These are soooo abundan that you can make as many pies as your freeer may hold lol ! mmmmmm

Also hazelnuts are now visible and once they are ready they can provide a very good harvest, as for lasting it through the winter monthes im sure you can but I guess it takes some experience and knowledge so you can harvest a diverse range of foods and be able to store them and prepare them in a variety of ways

Also we should not forget the sea and freshwater for rich food sources

Boooshpig

 

[leon-1]

Take a leaf out of Napoleon's book, when he was having trouble with supply lines for his forces he had a lot of people working on conserving foods for consumption long after fresh rations would have deteriorated.

The original versions of canning (in those days more like items in jars) were the solutions that were used, dried and salted goods were also used to great effect, but as stated it would take a large effort whilst there were an abundance of foods.

 

[match]

Nuts are one of the best foods you can eat - and hazelnuts were known to be one of the earliest 'managed' crops used by early man - coppicing exisited long before farming as we think of it.

Meat is obviously a good source of energy, as are many wild tubers - pignuts, burdock, silverleaf and others have all been used as winter staples in the past.

Seafood is also less affected by season and so can be a good source of energy.

 

[torjusg]

Badgers are easy to trap, tasty (so they say) and very fatty. If I had to survive on wild foods, badgers would be a major source of calories in the lowlands.

Torjus Gaaren

 

[bloodline]

Badgers are easy to trap, tasty (so they say) and very fatty. If I had to survive on wild foods, badgers would be a major source of calories in the lowlands.

Torjus Gaaren

Ive never thought of badgers as food Im a terrier owner so avoid setts or any large burrows like the plague as Ive heard of dogs being seriously mutilated going after badgers. If it meant the difference between stravation and a full belly I wouldnt hesitate though. Thanks for that one its made me think of all sorts of hypothetical food supplies.

 

[Moonraker]

talking of hypothetical food sources........

When members of the Donner party set out across the Sierras and were hopelessly trapped for months by unprecedented snow, they began by eating their oxen, their pets, soup made from boiling hides, and even fur rugs toasted over the fire, only resorting to eating the flesh of their dead comrades when faced with starvation. When rescuers arrived in February of 1847, they found the survivors boiling parts of their comrades into soup. 48 of 89 in the original party survived.

source: Soup, Glorious Soup!

Anyone fancy toasted fur rug?. Bet it tastes better than toasted goretex

 

[ilovemybed]

talking of hypothetical food sources.
When members of the Donner party set out across .... .....rescuers arrived in February of 1847, they found the survivors boiling parts of their comrades into soup. 48 of 89 in the original party survived.

So THAT explains what's in a Donner kebab....

 

[bloodline]

I was only looking for a free meal now Dixie dog has hidden upstairs and the goldfish is looking nervous

 

[Borneo Wildman]

I totally agree with what Den said (post 3) that we need to begin preparing long in advance. I am doing a lot of learning about wild edibles at the moment - trying to get up to speed for a long(ish) duration stay on Dartmoor later in the Autumn. I will be working my way to eating totally from what I can find. At the mo I am still taking cous cous and beans with me!

My conclusion so far is that there is loads of greens to eat, a few roots worth digging, a lot of fruit on its way and nuts. But lets be honest, just finding enough firewood for the next day and making fire by friction is enough to warrant a nice pie and a piece of cake. I guess it is as much about conditioning ourselves to not need too much and to learn to do everything very efficiently. Oh, and in winter to sleep alot.

My 2 pence worth

 

[bardsandwarriors]

I'd stock right up on flour, as a simple hard bread is very easy to bake, tasty and very nutritious.

Find one or two wild apple trees right now, collect about 80 apples, and if you also have sugar, flour, milk/butter, etc, you can have apple crumble or apple pie twice a week.

Find out where the squirrels and rabbits are holing up; there are always a few grey squirrels out and about.

You can catch birds aswell.

 

[Scruffy dog]

The local overfed Labradors would see me and my terrier through the winter, fatty, easy to catch and less agressive than a badger, and then theres the owners to consider......of course this is all in the name of hypothetical humor...

 

[anthonyyy]

If I had to live "wild" I'd butcher the odd cow.

 

[Abbe Osram]

I know a few wild things to eat and can shoot and fish gather and farm . This time of year in England there is plenty of fruit about and nuts are round the corner but if you had to what would you eat to provide enough calories to get you through the winter?

Funny you ask that question. I just came back from my very first hunting trip.
After getting a rifle I thought; “…well lets go out and get some meat!”.

I was calling the birds I was after and even got contact. For a while the bird and I where whistling to each other but nothing came out of it .I could not see them only hear them. Twice I scarred some of them up but they where way to fast for me. I could only see them disappear in the distance of the forest.

Walking through the forest with the rifle over my shoulder I was thinking exactly the same question you are asking. Thinking if I ever could get enough food to survive let alone to hunt enough for a family, I felt very small and got a big respect for our ancestors.

But I still have hope about my hunting future, as it was my very first time and hopefully I get a good hunting dog next year, my answer to your question is. …..I hope that I manage in the future!
Cheers
Abbe


cheers
Abbe

 

[spamel]

An interesting thread, funny that blacberries and hazel nuts were mentioned as I've just been out with the tribe and we collected blacberries and found a few hazel shrubs for foraging in the next few months!!

I would really like to get to know some of the plants that have edible roots and how to process them, I find them difficult to identify before the summer!!!

This would of course be easier if I had lived in the area for a few years as I would learn where everything is, but I've only been in Hohne for 10 months and I've been away during that time, so I haven't seen a lot of the area. I need to get out more!!!