Let's go foraging

[sojourner]

4kg blackberries picked this morning - first 5 gallons of wine will be started tomorrow

I got 3, but only because I foolishly took 1 big tub and no more. Duh. Will go back tomorrow. They've ripened faster than usual thanks to the epic rains we've had.

I've made some bramble jelly with them, and will make more tomorrow.

Also got a ton of green hazelnuts, cos Woodland Trust reckon you can ripen them at home if you keep them in a warm dark place. We'll see!

The cherry plums are falling off the trees, loads rotted already but managed to get a tub of them too. Just gonna eat them as they are.

 

[seeformiles]

I got 3, but only because I foolishly took 1 big tub and no more. Duh. Will go back tomorrow. They've ripened faster than usual thanks to the epic rains we've had.

I've made some bramble jelly with them, and will make more tomorrow.

Also got a ton of green hazelnuts, cos Woodland Trust reckon you can ripen them at home if you keep them in a warm dark place. We'll see!

The cherry plums are falling off the trees, loads rotted already but managed to get a tub of them too. Just gonna eat them as they are.

I’ve tried ripening hazelnuts before but they just went mouldy and smelled awful. Hope you have better luck

 

[Johnny Vodka]

I'm starting to get the occasional decent sized windfall apple in my garden. They're probably not good for munching on yet, but I wonder if not-quite-ripe apples would still be okay for making chutney?

 

[seeformiles]

I'm starting to get the occasional decent sized windfall apple in my garden. They're probably not good for munching on yet, but I wonder if not-quite-ripe apples would still be okay for making chutney?

I reckon they’ll be fine

 

[sojourner]

I’ve tried ripening hazelnuts before but they just went mouldy and smelled awful. Hope you have better luck

Must admit, that's what I'm thinking may happen, but I'll keep me eye on them.

 

[seeformiles]

Must admit, that's what I'm thinking may happen, but I'll keep me eye on them.

I was told to keep them in a biscuit tin - so don’t do that

 

[nogojones]

Well the wet weather is good for the mushrooms at least. Loads of field mushrooms, more oysters than I could fit in my bag and a few jelly ears.

I also optimistically brought back a few unripe hazelnuts, but they weren't really ready in any way when I got them home.

 

[sojourner]

I was told to keep them in a biscuit tin - so don’t do that

I've got them in single layers on trays from my dehydrator, in the warmest room in the house, covered by cardboard boxes with holes punched in the side. Will check every few days and cross my fingers.

 

[seeformiles]

I've got them in single layers on trays from my dehydrator, in the warmest room in the house, covered by cardboard boxes with holes punched in the side. Will check every few days and cross my fingers.

That sounds more like it.

 

[marty21]

First tentative blackberries so preparing for a long summer of wine making:

View attachment 383756

they seem early this year - I heard there are loads nearby on the Walthamstow Marshes - so I'll try and get out there at the weekend.

 

[gentlegreen]

Blackberries now doing very well in Bristol - I saw someone with an enormous bag yesterday and I munched a few really nice ones out on my bike ride.

The first thing I noticed here was cycling over hazelnuts on the railway path and more recently small plums.
I have never encountered that before - not in 36 years ...

 

[gentlegreen]

I was almost tempted ... it was comfortably above dog level ...
But I'm not ready yet to eat wild fungi ...
The marasmius and parasols were very much in the wrong place ...

 

[seeformiles]

About to go out picking now. Rain has stopped play for the last 3 days so have to make up for lost time. First barrel of blackberry wine is bubbling away and is the colour of radioactive cough mixture. All good.

ETA: 3.6 kg of fat rascals picked plus noticed first tentative ripening of elderberries.

 

[Johnny Vodka]

Vaguely related to foraging, but has anyone taken cuttings from wild dog roses for propagation in their garden? (Not sure if it's even legal, but...)

 

[iona]

Vaguely related to foraging, but has anyone taken cuttings from wild dog roses for propagation in their garden? (Not sure if it's even legal, but...)

Only uprooting the whole plant is illegal usually, unless the area has extra protections like an SSSI or something. Dog roses should be easy, wait till autumn though.

 

[seeformiles]

5 gallons of blackberry juice just before the yeast goes in. Massive haul of berries this morning so what else to do?

 

[gentlegreen]

Crazy amount of fruit out there this year - these plum trees are a bit too far from home for people to take ladders or whatever ...
I can see myself making or sourcing fruit-picking devices in the future...

 

[cesare]

Crazy amount of fruit out there this year - these plum trees are a bit too far from home for people to take ladders or whatever ...
I can see myself making or sourcing fruit-picking devices in the future...


View attachment 387197

Yes, around here too. The brambles and elder berries are absolutely loaded. Quite a contrast to last year's blackberries drying up on the stems.

 

[heinous seamus]

I was almost tempted ... it was comfortably above dog level ...
But I'm not ready yet to eat wild fungi ...
The marasmius and parasols were very much in the wrong place ...

View attachment 385459

You should have got the chicken of the woods down you!

 

[existentialist]

First tentative blackberries so preparing for a long summer of wine making:

View attachment 383756

Oh good, that means they'll be ripe round here in about a month.

 

[seeformiles]

Oh good, that means they'll be rope round here in about a month.

I was reading up on UK blackberries and it turns out there’s hundreds of varieties with very different sizes, characteristics and ripening times so you may have plenty on your doorstep already and not know it. I’ve identified at least a dozen varieties locally myself and some are in full flush while others remain resolutely green,

 

[existentialist]

I was almost tempted ... it was comfortably above dog level ...
But I'm not ready yet to eat wild fungi ...
The marasmius and parasols were very much in the wrong place ...

View attachment 385459

Wrong place? Dog piss?

 

[seeformiles]

Just took a trip to see a friend in Pudsey who wanted to get rid of several huge bags of rhubarb. Currently chopping it up for wine and leaving a wee bit left over for a crumble.

 

[seeformiles]

A plethora of Whitecurrants - like a bowl full of eyes

 

[Johnny Vodka]

A plethora of Whitecurrants - like a bowl full of eyes

View attachment 387916

Are white currants any good? I started a small plant in my garden... Should probably get some fruit next year.

 

[seeformiles]

Are white currants any good? I started a small plant in my garden... Should probably get some fruit next year.

My friend has a huge bush (no sniggering at the back…) and for the past 6 years or so we’ve made wine from the fruit (she only makes jam). The wine is really nice if you get it right. Last year’s batch had a strange frogspawn-like consistency and a weird taste so might go the jam route this year.

 

[Epona]

(no sniggering at the back…)

No worries, I'll sit in the front row and snigger from there

 

[seeformiles]

No worries, I'll sit in the front row and snigger from there

It is a really huge bush. It took me, her husband and Mrs SFM nearly an hour to retrieve all the berries. Mrs SFM got a bad cut from a rogue bramble but she said that was inevitable since it’s open to nature best part of the time.

 

[Epona]

(I hope Mrs SFM is OK! Brambles can be nasty)

 

[seeformiles]

(I hope Mrs SFM is OK! Brambles can be nasty)

It’s OK - she carefully withdrew her hand from the bush and my friend’s husband applied some soothing cream