Bogzla
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picking fruit from roadsidesWell, on my work to work I cycle past some cherry plum trees with a massive amount of fruit - but they are right next to pretty busy roads (Barnwell rd & Long rd for those that know Cambridge)
So I've got to wandering - is it safe to pick fruit from roadsides, provided they are given a good wash before eating?
I know years ago the argument was against due to lead from car fumes - this is all but non-existent now, but I'm not sure what other harmful additives / by-products might end up being spewed out.
I've seen arguments for both sides (perfectly safe, done it for years! vs. don't do it, you'll die!) but never with much convincing data to back it up..
so I was wandering if anyone on here could point me towards useful info on how safe or dangerous it might really be, since it's getting pretty painful cycling past so much fresh, juicy fruit...
cheers,
Bogzla
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gil
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Know what you mean about fruit beside busy roads going to waste. The A75 bypass round Dumfries is lined with forage of all kinds. But I can't bring myself to pick it - the road is so busy, I wouldn't even want to walk beside it.
I wouldn't, but others might think differently.Might be OK if it were hard-skinned fruit, and could be well-scrubbed before use.
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judith
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Another question is exactly what constitutes a 'busy' road? The road coming into my village has tons of really big blackberries along it that I never pick as they are on the 'main road'. This road probably has much less traffic than side roads in more built-up areas, yet I simply can't get over the fact that you don't pick blackberries on the main road!
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marigold
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Don't think I'd fancy anything picked from the side of Long Road myself - rightly or wrongly I'd imagine them covered in a thin layer of greasy diesel exhaust. Why not scoot down some of the more residential roads in the area to see if you can find anything to tempt you?
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vegplot
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Now that lead is banned the main pollutants are particulates, hydrocarbons and other gaseous wastes. It is possible hydrocarbons are deposited on fruits, which being especially thin skinned could absorb these pollutant. However, I'm not sure whether they would be harmful or a carcinogenic but the main poison, lead, should be absent.
Of course you can never tell if a hedgerow has been sprayed and is contaminated with agricultural chemicals either.
I tend to avoid road side fruits but make a judgment as to how busy that road is.
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cab
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Re: picking fruit from roadsides | Bogzla wrote: | | Well, on my work to work I cycle past some cherry plum trees with a massive amount of fruit - but they are right next to pretty busy roads (Barnwell rd & Long rd for those that know Cambridge) |
I know Cambridge, I know the roads, and I know the trees of which you speak 
I don't pick from there because its the wrong end of town for me, but I would certainly have the fruit from there, so long as it seems clean. Ain't like our motorways aren't lined with farms full of food crops... However, Marigold makes an excellent point...
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cab
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| marigold wrote: | | Why not scoot down some of the more residential roads in the area to see if you can find anything to tempt you? |
...and this is the excellent point Marigold has made. Ain't like we're short of cherry plum trees in and around Cambridge, and they're having a bumper year. The reason why I'm picking so few is that people keep giving them to me this year 
You'll find more cherry plums in other locations. Its not like the ones down on long road are going to be dangerous (at least I wouldn't have thought so), but the discomfort you'll feel over eating them is every bit as bad and as real as an upset stomach you might get from ingesting them if they're not good.
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Bogzla
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| cab wrote: |
You'll find more cherry plums in other locations. |
Any hints? I've found a few closer to home (Fen Ditton) but they're not nearly so laden with fruit...
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cab
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| Bogzla wrote: | | cab wrote: |
You'll find more cherry plums in other locations. |
Any hints? I've found a few closer to home (Fen Ditton) but they're not nearly so laden with fruit... |
You live in Fen Ditton? You have my commiserations 
Errm... Cherry plum trees up near Fen Ditton... What about the trees down by the Cam, that nice leafy patch you go across before you get on to the fields by the river, are there any up there?
If it wasn't raining I'd be tempted to cycle out there at lunchtime and have a look.
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Bogzla
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Not entirely sure which bit you mean - near baits bite lock or the other end of FD?
The few I've found are in a hedgerow in the fields at the end of Green End, not a huge amount there though (even fewer now anyway )
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PeteS
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I know that in Seville they take all the oranges (and there are a lot of them) off the trees at the end of the season to be made into marmalade. The vast majority of these trees line very busy city roads. And as Cab says there are an awful lot of comercial crops by the sides of motorways. If you forage at least you have the choice and know exactly where your food comes from.
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dpack
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taste test ?
lead is a long term challenge ,common sense makes sense
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Bogzla
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| PeteS wrote: | | And as Cab says there are an awful lot of comercial crops by the sides of motorways. . |
Yeah I'm inclined to look at it that way..
I also feel that, ultimately, if the fumes were going to do me harm then my cycling 18 miles a day along such roads would probably be much worse for my health..
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