From the Hedgerow

Foraging exploits of a relative novice, largely self-taught and taking it slowly.

Wild foods can be a useful addition to the diet so I’ll also include a bit of why I’d choose to include something and look at how I might do so. Wild foods can also be used as part of a naturopathic herbalist approach to health, healing and wellbeing. Often what we need in herbal terms can be found in our immediate environment.

Wild Garlic aka Ransoms – Allium ursinum

Like many I grew up picking Blackberries with my mum every Autumn. I grew up in the Channel Islands at a time when we were allowed to pick up chats from the fields after the main harvest of Royals and I enjoyed Puffball Mushrooms my father found on the golf course in the days when there were teams of greenskeepers rather than huge quantities of toxic sprays to keep the golf course in good shape.

We placed trots on the beach and were taught to fish, mainly bottom fishing for the odd bit of plaice or pollock and mackerel. We hunted cockles, picked winkles and tried to catch razor fish. We even managed some shrimping, although to be honest there was more excitement than food in that.

When we lived in Southampton there were limited opportunities, although the Common could be quite interesting and provide many opportunities to learn tree identification and other useful skills alongside a then budding zoologist or environmentalist when she was being home-educated. Habitat is a useful thing to know about when studying animals, we agreed.

So, for me it’s part of life and always has been. I am aware it has become trendy. Well there’s a turn up for the books for my lifestyle choices.

I now live in rural North Devon and in my spare time trundle around in the woods and on the seashore seeing what I can find and generally enjoying being part of nature and the blessings these opportunities to commune bring.