Foraging for food in your locality

foraging food is very easy, if you have interest on wild food and you can collect them from your own locality.

Do you have experience of foraging for food? It is very different than the usual shopping experience from grocery store. For normal people, foraging food is a strange idea. But it is process of fun, if there is some skill and a perfect plan. You can add the taste of wild foods for your regular diet. It is possible, even if you are living in a town.

I am a fan of grocery shopping in wild. For me, it is a trip with my family. Usually, I spend the whole day in a beautiful location while collecting foods. I can also do a quick grocery shopping in wild within an hour or two.

One who lives in a rural area or farm, can easily access varieties of wild foods, like within that locality. You can easily integrate harvesting with your day to day life. In my case, I am living in a town and I drive to other places for wild grocery shopping. I got a couple of invitations from farms in my locality. So I can go to those farms to get my full grocery list. I also prefer country parks for foraging food. Those country parks have meadow, marsh, forest, lakeshores, river banks etc. but only some country parks allow harvesting in them. You can choose parks which allow us to search wild food.

In town, I choose park edges, empty lots etc. such unexplored places are excellent to search wild food within your town. You may get surprised with the wild foods available in your town. There is a small park near to my house. Its hedgerow is filled with wild foods like black raspberries , black berries , mulberries, sumac , elderberries and many more. I am the only one who noticed these wild foods.

I find out that edible weeds are something which we can cultivate in our back yards. Normally, people ignore or remove weeds from their flower bed and vegetable garden. I know the use of edible weeds and they are growing them with other vegetables in my garden. Of course, one needs to know what is good and bad in weeds. Most of the weed species are edible and we can cultivate them in an easy manner. Some weeds grow in my garden are Purslane , Lambsquarter , Yellow Dock , Dandelion and Chickweed .

I am sure that if you know about the edible weeds, you will give a portion of your yard to them. I build a 4 foot swath in back yard to give a separate place for weeds and other plants. I never interfere in the growth of plants in that place. Various kinds of plants are growing naturally without any effort there. Without weeds, you can’t make a wild garden. For that, you must enjoy the beauty of weeds.

Mostly, foraging depends on the mood of the person. Personally, I always have an eye on plants where ever I go. It is just like a shopper exhibit bargaining skills. I notice a big stand sumac when I am hiking with my friends. Sometimes, I discover a berry patch when I am playing in the park, with my kids. In spring, I look at the apple blossoms in our area and in fall, I check the same place for apples. I am eager when I see a swimming hole filled with wild mint and a stand of cattails .

With the passage of time it has really become a schedule or a type of mini-migration with watercress spring during the March, black raspberry patch during July and following with oaks laden with acorns .

"The Shopping cart"

When harvesting, I only use baskets and bags and nothing else fancy to be practical and to add simplicity to the art of foraging. It is also one way to save the environment somehow. I also make sure that I have a handy shovel, a knife and a pair of pruners always available when needed stored in the back of the car. If you are new to foraging, a good field guide is always recommended so that you can practice your skill and to identify the plants that you might need.

How to Budget your groceries

Before purchasing any items, always check and weigh the importance of the item you would really need. There are those greens that might look plenty when fresh but when cooked it will just cook down to a cup or two. Always learn from previous experiences so to not waste anything: time, effort and money, that way you would know how much your family usually consume every day. You may be spending more time in the garden but not in the kitchen to prepare the plants that you have harvested. Wild harvests are commonly used and prepared by those who love soup and salads as well as zealous gardeners since they can apply their skills naturally.

Some tips on shopping

One must be able to identify on where you would want to spend most of your time, either in the kitchen or in the garden. My students would usually put all herbs and plants in one garden bag, which is not really recommended because it may take plenty of your time in sorting the different items that you have. What I usually recommend the students is to always separate each plant from the other by putting them on separate bags and baskets with labels to easily identify the plants.

Only harvest plants that are on their healthiest state and leave some that can still be grown more for you to come back and to harvest the next year. Others would harvest anything that may look healthy enough even if they can still be grown to its healthiest state, leaving nothing for the next year’s harvest.

Always be grateful that we have plenty of green blessings around us. In some cultures around the world, they would offer rituals and prayers before harvesting the plants to give Him thanks and recognition on the bountiful blessings He has given us.

Putting it all away

When I am foraging, I spend little time in the kitchen afterwards that way I can spend time in the kitchen to prepare meals all week long after the foraging experience has been done.

I don't usually wash my harvested greens always especially it has been raining but if it is a dusty time of harvest then I do wash the greens to remove unnecessary dusts and debris that are on the plants.

Raw herbs are used fresh in salads, dips, dressings and many more. Stems and yellow leaves are also removed before placing them in a plastic freezer bag or tupperware. Other herbs have to be cooked the same day they are harvested to preserve the nutrients on it.

The water used in cooking the herbs can still be recycled; this process is called "pot-liquor". The water is saved in jars or juice bottles to be used anytime.

Harvesting would usually take 4 to 5 hours daily and that includes the work in the kitchen. This harvesting time can already cater a week's healthy meal. It is overwhelming to see your fridge filled with the fresh wonders of your own bountiful garden.