Get Foraging...

IT IS SPRING....SO GO GET SOME FREE FOOD IN THE SUN...

Wood Sorrel

·         Woods and shady places

·         Best in the Spring

·         Lemony grape-skin flavour, use in salads and sauces

Black Mustard Leaves

·         Seaside cliff edges, waste ground, river banks

·         Cross between horseradish and green salad

·         Very hot mustard taste

Broom

·         Heath, roadsides, open-woods. Often on sand

·         Buds from April to June

·         The buds taste of peas and can be used in spring salads/stir-frys

Bulrush

·         Swampy areas, ditches, garden ponds

·         Early Spring for the young shoots

·         To be chopped and stir-fried 

Sweet Cicely

·         Hedgerows, wood margins, often near water

·         Leaves from March to October

·         Sprinkle on Strawberries or use in salads

Common Chickweed

·         Gardens, dung heaps, field margins. Prefers damp areas

·         Found all year round

·         Use young stems in salads and the rest for soups and stir-frys

Common Sorrel

·         Rough pasture, hedgerows, woods

·         Best in the Spring

·         Added to salad, shredded into yoghurt as a sauce and served with fish

Crow Garlic

·         Grassy banks, field edges, cultivated land

·         Bulbs late Spring and early Summer

·         Tastes halfway between Garlic and Onion and can be used in place of either

Fennel

·         Near habitation, waste ground, coastal

·         Spring till summer for the leaves

·         Use as an accompaniment to fish

Ground Elder

·         Gardens, woods, hedgerow. Most often near habitation

·         March to October

·         Use like Parsley or cooked like spinach

Hogweed

·         Roadsides, field edges, waste ground

·         March to June

·         Cooked shoots taste similar to Asparagus, best steamed

Hop

·         Hedgerow

·         Shoots in April and May

·         Use in soup, stir-frys and Pakoras 

Spear-leaved Orache

·         Waste ground, cultivated ground, compost heaps, upper beaches

·         May to October

·         A good spinach substitute

Perennial Wall Rocket

·         Mostly coastal or urban

·         March to July

·         Use the same as bought rocket 

Redcurrant Flowers

·         Hedgerows, Shady woods, overhanging river banks

·         Flowers April-May

·         Use to make Redcurrant leaf tea

Watercress

·         Shallow streams, ditches

·         March to November

·         Peppery taste 

Watermint

·         Stream sides, boggy places, damp meadows

·         April to November

·         Use to make Mint Tea or Watermint Sorbet 

Wild Garlic

·         Shady hedgerows, woodland

·         Leaves Feb-June, Flowers and seed heads April-June. Root bulbs all year round

·         Use in salads and sandwiches, or make Wild Garlic Pesto 

Garlic Mustard

·         Shady hedgerows, woodland edges

·         March to May

·         To be used in salads

Common Mallow

·         Roadside, waste ground, field edge. Frequently coastal

·         Spring for the leaves

·         Mild and pleasant, slightly slimy textured vegetable

Stinging Nettle

·         Woods, waste ground, hedgerows, near habitation

·         Spring before the flowers form

·         Make some Nettle Soup

Pignut

·         Hedgerow banks, woods, old pasture. Prefers dry soil

·         All year round

·         Must find the plants then dig up the ‘nuts’ to be used raw in salads or cooked in stews

...HAPPY FORAGING!