Turn on the sound – these are the very common fruits of the hedgerow which can be collected and turned into food. Yep I did a lot of collecting of fruit from hedgerows in summer and autumn. The produce was free and the farmer’s wife spent many hours in the farm house kitchen turning the results into store cupboard staples for the autumn, winter and spring. There – showing my age.
Ian the Go Local Food grower is busy foraging the hedge rows at the moment. Last week he picked wild plums. This week he’s picking crab apples – the proper crab apples which are smaller apples rather than the ornamental ones which are no use for eating or preserving. He also has his eye on one or two local “wild” apple trees.
There’s a goodly crop of rowan berries this year which make a lovely jelly rather than jam.
Next week Ian says he will be picking damsons from his own orchard. And he maybe will be hunting blackberries from up in the hills.
Never turn down the offerings from hedge rows is good advice if you are prepared to do the preserving. There’s a whole channel on YouTube about foraging if you are interested. It shows there’s more than blackberries. Or there’s an excellent guide from the Woodland Trust here which tells you what you can forage in the UK. It doesn’t cover seashore but then it’s the Woodland Trust and woodlands are their knowledge area.
Go Local Food Ltd 