There is a lot of talk about foraging isn’t there?!  It can feel like the new black!

And foraging is free but it can come with a whole lot of complications.

I keep away from anything that:

1. I can’t easily identify. If I have doubts I leave it.

2. Is in a park, pathway, paddock that dogs frequent, especially male dogs!

3. Is on someone else’s land or hanging over their fence. It is theirs!

4. It has bird droppings on it.

5. Could have been sprayed with pesticides by either land owners or the council.

Tips:

1. Wash your hands well after handling any plants you forage, especially if you are taking parts of a plant/flowers  home to identify. eg. any flowers from the daisy family give me a splitting headache, the day I accidentally rubbed my eyes after handling daisies my eyes swelled up, I couldn’t see properly for days, my face was very puffy and my skin burned, it was awful.

2.Learn how to prune a fruit tree!

If you are wanting to take cuttings from fruit trees (that are growing on the side of a road) for props  & instagram photos you can actually do more damage hacking away at a tree and it won’t be there next year when you want to go back for more. There are plenty of books & online tutorials that explain how to prune.

3. If someone offers you free fruit or gives you permission to forage for fruit on their land treat that as a valuable exchange. Do something in return for that exchange. Whether it is returning with some preserves made from the fruit, or offering to do something for the land owner that they might not be able to do. This is how respectful friendships form.

We planted our own small food hedges along  two fence boundaries. They are mulched with thick layers of hay to suppress weeds around the base of each plant or tree and need little maintenance but give a bountiful harvest.

Jude x