The Forager's Calendar: A Seasonal Guide to Nature’s Wild Harvests

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Real wild strawberries usually grow in woodland areas. They have tan seeds in dimples in the berry’s skin. You might also find the “Indian strawberry,” which grows more often in fields, and has red seeds that stand out from the berry’s skin. These have no flavor but can be safely eaten. Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) Woodlands, forests and the countryside are a good place to start your foray into foraging, but you may also find wild foods in surprisingly urban places too, such as a local park or even your garden. How to use it: very versatile with a similar flavour to parsley that goes well with fish. Eat the young leaves and shoots raw or add to salads and sandwiches. You can cook the leaves in a similar way to spinach by steaming or softening in butter. Or add them to anything you're making like soups, stews, bubble and squeak and pasta dishes. Bilberries look like small blueberries, and they are closely related, but their taste is much more intense and sharp. You will need to work hard to find them. Extremely difficult to grow and therefore rarely cultivated, bilberries are a real treat for a forager.

There is so much inspiring information to give you ideas of how to help climate change by growing, eating, and living sustainably, you can: If you are passionate about helping climate change, please consider supporting Nafford Junction, you can:USDA bulletin #8: dandelion greens rank among the top 4 green vegetables in nutrition. beta-carotene, potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, B, micronutrients. Remember to wear protective clothes since these bushes have many thorns to keep berry hunters away from their treasure troves. The Cornish make a delicious cheese using them, the Nepalese make curries and some people even use them for clothing. Bilberry and Almond Streusel Cake

Our expert monthly foraging guide explains how to forage safely, the law and what's in season each month. What is foraging? Foraging is a great hobby and life skill that anyone can learn. It can be done with family, friends, or by yourself. Foraging is one of the best ways to reconnect with nature. While foraging is easy to learn it can be hard to master. Here’s a little cheat sheet for those just starting or those who just want to add to their list of what to keep an eye out for while adventuring. Ramps (Allium tricoccum)Not many people can resist tempting chocolate, but Charlotte Flower, the Loch Tay chocolatier, takes temptation up a notch! From her home at Acharn in Highland Perthshire, Charlotte explores the shores of the loch and nearby woodland in search of Scots pine, wild mint, wood sorrel and elderflower, which she uses to flavour her captivating confectionery. If you’re in the area, ring ahead and drop in to see her before exploring the lovely Acharn Falls nearby. Harris Gin

I created this UK foraging calendar (access here) on Google Sheets that is free for all to copy, use, and improve. UK Foraging Calendar Explaining the calendar Summer is now in full swing, and the countryside is brimming with edible plants. It’s now you can find an array of wild fruit, including cherries, raspberries and damsons. Cepsare highly prized in the culinary world and can be found growing in forests from late summer. Tart crab apples begin to ripen, and their high pectin content makes them ideal for preserves. The similarly bitter rowan berries are also brilliant for jellies and liqueurs; they grow in bright red clumps in their namesake tree. September With the brown, feathery appearance of its scaly cap, it’s a polypore, meaning that its underside is covered in pores rather than gills. As a next step you could progress to Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants of Britain and Ireland by Robin Harford. This book gives further detail of edible wild food and comes with a free online photo identification guide.They are found alongside Mayapples and Morels. Ramps have a flat green leaf with a hint of red color as you get towards the bright white bulb. It’s important once you find your ramp to crush it and make sure the ramp has a strong onion garlic-like smell. If it doesn’t have that smell, toss that plant because it’s a lily of the valley and it’s deadly. Elderflower (Sambucus nigra)

The Cornish make a delicious cheese using them, the Nepalese make curries and some people even use them for clothing. Nettle soup/Credit: Getty Images I have colour coded the months as a reminder of the seasons, although they should only be taken as a heads up because global warming does mess with seasonality. Also, when plants grow is hugely influenced by the location so there will be differences all over the UK. In this post you can find a link to a simple uk foraging calendar that gives typical dates that wild foods can be foraged for you to use in home cooking and brewing. This was produced by me, James Walters, as a personal project to help stop climate change by inspiring others to grow, eat, and live sustainably.

These tiny, delicious red berries will ripen first in sunny locations and the further North you live they will fruit closer to mid-June. Violets, both the leaves and flowers, contain high amounts of vitamin C and vitamin A. Wild Violets are used to make syrups, teas, and baked goods. Flowers can be added to salads and soups as garnish. Moderation is important, as this plant does contain a compound called saponin, so eating violet flowers and leaves in excess may cause digestive issues. Wild strawberries (Fragaria vesca) Over the last five years, Scottish gin has grown in both profile and popularity. Indeed over 70% of the UK’s gin is produced here. Many producers use locally foraged botanicals to make their spirit stand out from others. One of the most unusual we’ve discovered is sugar kelp, which is used, along with other botanicals, to flavour Harris Gin . This hand-dived seaweed, gives the spirit a distinct and delicious taste that’s the very essence of the island it comes from. Williams' Bros. Brewing Co It can be cooked and served like spinach. They are nice and tender earlier in the season when they’re young.