Category: Foraging – Food for Free

Acorns contain chemicals called tannins which have a bitter taste and can be toxic to humans. But by leaching acorns to remove the tannins, they can be made safe to eat. Method Leaching acorns is a simple process; Remove the acorn from the shell. Soak the shelled acorns in hot […]

Meadowsweet grows in wet woodland, grassland, moorland and heathland; in damp areas where water levels rise and fall. Meadowsweet is a herbaceous shrub, an upright perennial plant which grows to a height of around a metre. The plants bloom between June and September, in small, creamy-yellow/white clusters or flower heads. […]

Fat Hen is a common and nutritious plant, also known as wild spinach. Fat hen is a common garden “weed”, which often colonises newly weeded patches of bare soil. It prefers rich soils, a good reason why it is so often found in well managed, fertile gardens. But, as if […]

Oxeye daisies are often found growing in clumps along a roadside, hedgerow or field margin. The large, white, daisy-like flowers are easy to identify. The flowers appear from July to September and appear to ‘glow’ in the evening, which is why they are sometimes called ‘moon daisy’ and ‘moonpenny’. The […]

Chickweed is a familiar garden weed recognisable by its tiny white flowers. The seeds were once fed to birds, chickens love it, which is how the plant earned its common name. Its latin name, Stellaria Media, comes from the star-like flowers. Chickweed is a highly nutritious plant that grows nearly […]

Primroses are an early sign of spring and an important nectar source for butterflies. Primrose is a small, perennial woodland plant that grows no more than 10cm high. Blooming in March and April, they are one of the first woodland plants to come into flower. The flowers are a deep […]

Gorse is great for foragers as it flowers all year round Common gorse (Ulex europeaus) is a hardy evergreen shrub which grows to around 1.5 metres high by 1.5 metres wide. It is a member of the Legume family, a nitrogen fixing plant which is commonly known as whin here […]

Roses are a traditional country garden favourite but the flowers and hips are edible. Roses grow best in fertile, well-drained soils in a sunny position. They do best with regular mulching and feeding. Roses do well in waterlogged soil and few flowers are produced if the plant is grown in […]

Ne’er cast a clout ’til May is out. So goes the old addage but it isn’t referring to the month of May as many think, it refers to the blossom of the May Tree – better known in the UK as Hawthorn. The hawthorn’s May blossom marks the end of […]

Lemon balm is a vigorous plant which likes to spread itself about and can grow up to two feet high, so you do have to keep your eye on it, but the bees love it. Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis), is a member of the mint family, and like mint, the […]