cab
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What foraging articles do we want?The title says it all...
Thus far we've got foraging articles on the top mushrooms for a beginner, on foraging in winter and in the months of February and March (soon to be followed, surprisingly, by April). And we've got an article with recipes for the common weed ground elder.
Obviously, as time goes on I'll draft out more monthly articles, articles on wild fruit, more articles covering how to use specific wild plants (next on the to do list is nettles), but what else do you want to see in the foraging section?
What specific areas of foraging should we cover with the articles? What is it that is going to get you itching to sprint out into the woods, to the park or even into the garden to hunt down edible flora? What particular articles do you want to see?
Let me know your thoughts on this (and it you're VERY lucky I'll un-sticky this discussion if the response is good),
Cheers,
Cab.
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leebu
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Well since you're asking Cab...
I'd quite like to see something explaining a bit more about the different umbrals- cow parsley, hogsweed and the like, as I'm still not confident I could tell it from hemlock or fools parsley. Detailed pictures would be very useful.
Also, I'm interested in finding some horse radish this year, but again not confident about identifying it. Maybe not fully worthy of articles in their own right but very useful nonetheless.
And I don't know what that sticky-thing means, so unstickying fills me with little excitement. Sorry.
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nettie
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leebu, you're dead right. The cow parsley thing has been perplexing me too. 
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moggins
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Me too and I'd also like to see an article on what to look for near waterways. We have a lot of canal and riverside walks here and I often wonder what can be found there.
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cab
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| leebu wrote: | Well since you're asking Cab...
I'd quite like to see something explaining a bit more about the different umbrals- cow parsley, hogsweed and the like, as I'm still not confident I could tell it from hemlock or fools parsley. Detailed pictures would be very useful.
Also, I'm interested in finding some horse radish this year, but again not confident about identifying it. Maybe not fully worthy of articles in their own right but very useful nonetheless.
And I don't know what that sticky-thing means, so unstickying fills me with little excitement. Sorry. |
A 'sticky' article stays at the top of the forum 
Umbelliferae... Yeah, that'd work. How to distinguish cow parsley from hemlock from rough chervil, what a water dropwort looks like, what hogweed and giant hogweed look like... Bloody good idea.
And horseradish... Yeah, also a good one, and as a wild edible it'll make the 'top ten' list later in the year.
Thanks.
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cab
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| moggins wrote: | | Me too and I'd also like to see an article on what to look for near waterways. We have a lot of canal and riverside walks here and I often wonder what can be found there. |
Noted. Good wild plants by lakes, canals, rivers, etc.
All of these I can do...
Don't suppose anyone else feels like doing one of these (or anything else for foraging...?)
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moggins
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HOrse radish!! That reminds me I must go out late one night with a spade in the boot
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Mat S
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I'd be more interested in a "Cab shows you how" day; we turn up somewhere in central (ish) england and go for a walk, identifying as many edible plants as possible. Books / articles are all well and good but (personally) I'm much better at remembering (and subsequently identifying) things I've already seen in the flesh, so to speak. Cab - I'm sure we could have a whip round and shout dinner / beers for the evening!
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tahir
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| Mat S wrote: | | I'd be more interested in a "Cab shows you how" day |
This has been suggested before, go on Cab, you know it makes sense 
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cab
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| Mat S wrote: | | I'd be more interested in a "Cab shows you how" day; we turn up somewhere in central (ish) england and go for a walk, identifying as many edible plants as possible. Books / articles are all well and good but (personally) I'm much better at remembering (and subsequently identifying) things I've already seen in the flesh, so to speak. Cab - I'm sure we could have a whip round and shout dinner / beers for the evening! |
Gosh, I am flattered!
Truth be known there are probably thousands of people who would be better at that than me.
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jema
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Could be the first downsizer course!
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cab
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Now I'm feeling the pressure
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twoscoops
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[quote="cabTruth be known there are probably thousands of people who would be better at that than me.[/quote]
Yeah, Cab, but we don't know who they are. I'd be up for attending, definitely.
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tahir
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| Twoscoops wrote: | | I'd be up for attending, definitely. |
Me too
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twoscoops
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That's settled then. As long as we don't ask him to shareany of his usual haunts with us he'll gladly take us out one day. Where shall we go, then? Potton Wood and a cook-up at my place?
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tahir
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Sounds good to me.
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Northern_Lad
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| nettie wrote: | | The cow parsley ... |
I thought Parsley was the lion? 
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cab
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Do I get a say in any of this?
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tahir
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| cab wrote: | | Do I get a say in any of this? |
No
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nettie
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I'd like to sign up too please.....
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leebu
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Ooh I'd be up for that. Go on. I promise to stand at the back and won't say a word unless spoken to.... I'll even carry the shovel
I think it's a bloody good idea- think of it Cab, your own foraging disciples, ready to walk the Earth and spread the good word. What egomaniac could ask for more?
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moggins
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Please, please. pretty please?
I'll be good too!!
It's okay seeing these things in books but sometimes you really need to have seen a plant up close and personal before you feel safe about picking it.
Central england especially good for me too
I can even provide a patch of woodland to wander through if one is required
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tinyclanger
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Pictures of what horseradish looks like would be great plus where to find watercress and if it's ok to eat it, wasn't there something in RC about liverfluke and watercress?
We have a river out back and I would love to try growing some but not sure how to get started or if it's a siutable location.
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cab
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Tinyclanger, you have to be careful with liver flukes on watercress in any watercourse that has any livestock on or near it. Basically, that means cook any wild watercress you find.
Or, get a bucket and three pots of compost, and buy watercress seeds from Nickys Nursery (find her in the links section). Grow the watercress till it's, say, got well developed seed leaves in wet compost, and put the pots in the bucket. Stand them in water till the plants are looking a bit bigger, then weigh the pots down with pebbles and fill the bucket with water till it's about four inches above the level of the watercress. It'll crop all summer, into autumn, prociding you change the water every few days.
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cab
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Oh, and horseradish. Big, dock like leaves, but glossier and paler green than dock. Pick a leaf and scrunch it up and smell it, the horseradish smell is unmistakeable.
Or I could get this smegging scanner working...
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Bugs
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| cab wrote: | | watercress seeds.. |
I second this...we grew ours in seed trays inside gravel trays last year, but I think they might benefit from the extra soils in Cab's version. Can't wait to plant some more (it's survived all winter in our pond too, but I don't think we'll be eating that even though the only livestock upstream of it are tadpoles, sticklebacks and the odd rogue chickens  )
We got our seed from Marshalls if that's any help.
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McLay455
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HorseradishYou can buy horseradish root at Tesco often.
I planted it, and in two years have a big plant.I will photo it when I get a minute.but the leave lkook like a big docken and are over 12" long
Good luck and be safe!
Ivan
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boff
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| tahir wrote: | | cab wrote: | | Do I get a say in any of this? |
No |
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