seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Met this wee fella while out blackberrying this morning (please excuse the bloodied hand - I had to murder someone picking on my patch 
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Let's go foraging
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seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Elderberries are starting to ripen round here - just picked a couple of lbs this morning but itāll be at least week before they do so en masse. Will have to remember to take my berry hook (I.e. old umbrella handle) and secateurs while out and about. I have been known to carry around a small stepladder to get at those hard-to-reach bunches of berries if the occasion demands it.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
I think weāre at the apex of the blackberry season round here. Just picked 4kg of enormous fat rascals the size of your thumb. Ran out of bag room so will go back tomorrow. These will make amazing wine 
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
Today made an Indian apple chutney with fruit from my garden. Used a Carolina Reaper chilli rather than chilli flakes. Oops. 
Also strained last year's rosehip vodka.
Also strained last year's rosehip vodka.
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
The rosehip vodka is an interesting thing, almost liqueur-ish and strong. One is enough ... I tried it straight & from the freezer. 
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
I'm going to miss the blackberries when they finally give up for the year - I've been grazing them every day for about a month on my bike ride before tea and have recently been bringing home just enough for two days' dessert enhancement...
Having just given away a load of preserving jars I never used in anger, I can see that it's something I will want to get serious about when I finally settle in the countryside in a year or two.
I've already found myself checking out the hedgerows of my target destination on Street View - and I'm also hoping for sea buckthorn and samphire ...
Having just given away a load of preserving jars I never used in anger, I can see that it's something I will want to get serious about when I finally settle in the countryside in a year or two.
I've already found myself checking out the hedgerows of my target destination on Street View - and I'm also hoping for sea buckthorn and samphire ...
two sheds
Least noticed poster 2007
Mushroom pickers urged to avoid foraging books on Amazon that appear to be written by AI
Sample of books scored 100% on AI detection test as experts warn they contain dangerous advice
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
Elderberries are out! Just collected about 5kg of plumptious berries from a couple of bushes we spotted while out yesterday. Theyāre on a busy road so much easier to pick at 7am on a quiet Sunday. Taking a break from āforkingā them off the stalks - but they really are lovely specimens.
Pic of them at the bottom of a brew bin:
Pic of them at the bottom of a brew bin:
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seeformiles
Lost in the wood
The second wave of plump blackberries is going hand in hand with the elderberries. Canāt wait to try the resulting wine. Production is running at 45 gallons (and counting) and weāre not even into the apple season yet. A bumper year for sure.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
We thought we knew our the best picking spots in our local area pretty well so, it was with some surprise, that this morning we came across an amazing clump of elder trees arranged in a circle with a little clearing in the middle that had been under our noses all the time. In 10 mins flat we collected nearly 5kg of elderberries from that elderberry roundabout and will be heading back this afternoon after work with a stepladder to pluck more from its upper branches. Damn, I love this time of year. You go for a walk and never come home empty handed. 
heinous seamus
Perfect in an empty room
Rosehip syrup on the go. I'm hoping that when I'm feeling low in the depths of winter, a wee teaspoon of this will revitalise me
Johnny Vodka
The Abominable Scotsman
Making another super hot apple chutney.
Also wondering if I should jam raspberries & redcurrants as a combo or separately?
Also wondering if I should jam raspberries & redcurrants as a combo or separately?
heinous seamus
Perfect in an empty room
400g of sea buckthorn collected. I read a good tip online for collecting them - cut off a few berry-laden branches, remove the leaves, rinse and put in the freezer. Once frozen, you can remove the berries without having them explode everywhere.
Loads of ripe hips now on the rugosa roses that are everywhere here. I don't remember ever trying them raw before but they're lush - really intense, sweet flavour that's like apple/haw and tomatoey and slightly floral all at the same time. Just been given a big bottle of syrup too.
I've ordered some amelanchier, a few of the better hawthorns for eating and a load of sea buckthorn to plant this winter.
I've ordered some amelanchier, a few of the better hawthorns for eating and a load of sea buckthorn to plant this winter.
seeformiles
Lost in the wood
About half a Cwt of apples from Otley (v.posh pommes) - bound for scrumpy
Kevbad the Bad
Amiable Bowel Syndrome
Went out today mushrooming and found absolutely stack all. About three indeterminate mushrooms, or 'Fred's' as we call them, and a clump of dried out macrosporous. Nothing else at all. I'm hoping that after this very dry period (down here) a bit of rain next week will generate some fungal activity.
story
Changing the facts
I used rugosa to make my syrup. I wait for them to blet a bit before harvest, which makes a gorgeous figgy sweetness. Theyāre easier to harvest too: less thorny.
heinous seamus
Perfect in an empty room
I found loads of penny buns today. Most were half-eaten, but I got a couple of good ones.
There was also loads of porcelain fungus and puffballs about.
There was also loads of porcelain fungus and puffballs about.
Callie
Pivoting
I didn't pick them! Wouldn't unless I was confident on an ID
story
Changing the facts
Why not?
genuine question
The thing is, if you want to learn how to ID mushrooms then you have to pick them. Sometimes the distinguishing characteristics arenāt obvious so you have to look at the gills, the stipe, the volva etc. Sometimes the useful characteristic is the smell (or even the taste: you can take a bite AND NOT SWALLOW even quite dangerous mushrooms).
Sometimes itās the way they stain where theyāre bruised, which can only happen if you pick them. (Yellow strainers look just like field mushrooms and horse mushrooms. Lots of people have gotten sick because they didnāt know to check for the staining).
As with wavy caps and funeral bells. They look different if you know the difference, but the inexperienced eye might get them mixed up. The easiest way to be sure is the ring around the stipe but unless you lay your head down beside them and look closely youāll not see itm so itās best to pick it.
All the mushroom courses and books recommend picking them and taking them home to learn how to identify and key them out.
I'll try to have another look though just out of curiosity!
Funky_monks
Neo-Rustic
Thats cool....Ready for the dehydrator.
Plenty of blueing
(the dark patches are where the spores were drifting from some onto others
I got a chunk of the mycelium too.ā¦
View attachment 394804View attachment 394805
This is my second batch of the year. Already have a freezer bag full of dried caps from earlier in the year.
Not seen any at my usual spots yet, but now I feel I need to keep checking
story
Changing the facts
My local patch of puffballs is alongside the road where I live. I get off the bus, walk by the patch and get my supper on the way home. My Piopino patch is also along my commute route. I also harvest fairy ring champignons here in Brixton, and once I found St George mushrooms at the foot of a tower block, although Iāve not seen them again. St George mushrooms seem to like the patches of grass nearby buildings like schools, housing estates etc. Iāve often found parasols near roads and building too.
You can find wildish places in the city for sure.
