I've a lovely fuchsia out front from cuttings off an overgrown hedge round the estate, a green heuchera (or three) pulled off someone's front border where it was disappearing in the periwinkle, a senicio (Brachyglottis (Dunedin Group) 'Sunshine' from a village cutting ...
Any of these count as foraging?
Nicky cigreen
Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 9976 Location: Devon, uk
Posted: Sun Jul 13, 25 7:55 pm Post subject:
it's the old saying:
when is the best time to take cuttings?
answer: when no one is looking
i got a small green caterpillar a couple of days ago, delicious
the correct umbellifers are good at most times of year, wrong uns the date does not matter, you will only try them once
they are a specialist subject with assorted dangers, ID mistakes are quite easy (see only once)
the rewards of learning the bad uns and some of the nice ones is as good as learning mushroom ID for both availability and taste
angelica is a favorite of mine, anise is another, alexanders are ace for a short season and probably best avoided by the inexperienced as most of the the ones with damp or wet feet are dangeroos delux (and allegedly rather tasty, once)
my last emergency medical forage after the revenge of the bait spiked me with toxic gurnard spines, pain and profuse long lasting bleeding was mended in minutes once i found broadleaf plantain, chewed it and popped it on the holes
very paleo or perhaps well before that going by chimp medicine
Nicky cigreen
Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 9976 Location: Devon, uk
Posted: Mon Jul 14, 25 7:27 pm Post subject:
blackberries are ripening around here now. It gets earlier every year
I have been picking blackberries in the garden for a couple of weeks now, but went out in the woods yesterday for the first picking. Of course the best ones were out of reach, as we have a number of quite large area of bramble, but managed to get a few from a relatively small area. There are some lovely ones by the gate we use to go into the woods, so may get husband to stop there while I do some picking sometime.
The bramble thickets in the woods are useful for birds and dormice to nest in, as cover for small mammal and bird movement and food for insects, birds and mammals at various times of the year. The small mammals will be eating as much as they can at the moment, particularly the dormice to fatten up for hibernation.
the last 3 weeks have been ace picking, i can only get the low ones and using a hooked stick the flexible ones
as mentioned bramble is a staple food for many critters and ace cover for even more
gz
Joined: 23 Jan 2009 Posts: 9293 Location: Ayrshire, Scotland
Posted: Tue Aug 05, 25 12:47 pm Post subject:
Brambles beginning to ripen in my garden..good thing I didn't clear them from the bottom of the garden
Nicky cigreen
Joined: 25 Jun 2007 Posts: 9976 Location: Devon, uk
Posted: Tue Aug 05, 25 3:41 pm Post subject:
I have stopped picking blackberries as now have more than enough. Here it is another bumper year for blackberries, I only pick the ones I can reach without getting scratched or stung, this leaves plenty for all the other critters.
Hedgehogs seem to like living in the bramble patch.
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