A week in my house eating just foraged food

[BOD]

Thanks for doing all that and letting us live it vicariously.

Are you going to do a thread on couch grass?

[yarrow]

Great thread. The one thing that really comes across to me when I have done this kind of thing (usually out of necessity when the food ran out on canoe trips) is how easy it is to become complacent about food. To me bushcraft is really about one thing - FOOD. It really brings it home to me how up a heavily polluted creek we would all be if anything untoward happened to the food production and distribution system.

It is also why I think that the making and skilful use of a decent selfbow is one of the greatest of all bushcraft skills. And I’m not advocating bow hunting, just knowing you can make a bow and hit your mark is enough. Or if you live near the sea net making and canoe building! Interesting how much of your food came from the sea. What sort of calorie ration was it do you think % wise?

I’m guessing you would be hunting pretty quickly if you had to do this for any length of time?

Thanks for putting this up.

[Al21]

Thanks for the info on couch grass. I've certainly got a surplus so might look into this further too.

Al

[JonnyP]

Some good info on Couch grass on Plants for a Future.. http://www.pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?...ytrigia+repens

Very interesting that its the grass preferred by dogs n cats to eat as medicine..
I didn't know you can also make a coffee substitute from roasting the roots, like you do with Dandelions. Gonna have to try that one..

[Xylaria]

I always think it is funny how dogs and cats know it is medicine. It is pesty weed to us, I never find the time to experiment with it. most good edible plants are quite good at making pests of themselves. I can get bulrushes because I asked the local park keeper and he said "it saves us a job", bulrushes are easy to get permission for.

I depended on shellfish because I am quite crap at getting other stuff. In the midlands i managed to find 2 kilos of garden snails on my allotment, i couldn't find a single one my huge garden here. The squirrel I trapped was shot by my partner. I could of killed it myself, but taking a animals life is not something to botch up on. I couldnt even get woodlice this time around.

Despite what some say mussels were enough calories, I did eat quite a few. Also I did add fat to the diet though. If I was hunter gatherer I wouldnt of gone to llanelli to get winkles i would of smacked a snow goose on the bonce and got enough fat to live on for two months. If I was in survival situation I would smack a sheep on the bonce and got fat that way. Legal sources of fat I knew werent available, unless I found a hell of lot of worms. Long term back up against the wall I would hunt, poach, or eat pets. It was a bit wierd cycling past hundreds of sheep.

Next time and there will be a next time, my partner is coming aboard and he should put some meat on the table.

[JP]

Brilliant thread Fi! sertainly food for thought, and lots of good info! I find the go and do learning so interesting thanks so much for sharing your experiences

[udamiano]

Originally Posted by Xylaria

In the midlands i managed to find 2 kilos of garden snails on my allotment, i couldn't find a single one my huge garden here.
i would of smacked a snow goose on the bonce and got enough fat to live on for two months. If I was in survival situation I would smack a sheep on the bonce and got fat that way.

They still come in droves in the Mildands,my allotment is full of the buggers, The problem with bashing anything on the head in the Midlands is it's likely to bash you back then steal your wallet and cards, and then go on a spending spree in Birmingham

[Xylaria]

Originally Posted by udamiano

They still come in droves in the Mildands,my allotment is full of the buggers, The problem with bashing anything on the head in the Midlands is it's likely to bash you back then steal your wallet and cards, and then go on a spending spree in Birmingham

If you creep up on snails when they are alseep and have they "door" closed they alledgely dont need purging, as they have a **** before going to bed. However snails have their own branch of science of really gross parasites that use them as part of their life cycle, think liver fluke and strongyliodes. Zombie snail brain parasites.

[Kernowek Scouser]

Bit of a necro post, but I'm not as active here as here as I am on other forums (a situation I will endeavour to rectify) and the link that led me here was over there.

A fascinating read, a great achievement, a very useful source of information for meal ideas and a good spur to inspire a none forager like me, to attempt to gather together enough wild food for my first fully foraged meal.

Good Work Fiona

[Paulie L]

Lovin this idea, especially at this time of the year. Loads of Wild Fruits starting to show, already had my share of Wild Strawberries earlier in the year, looking forward to getting into the hedgerows and picking the first of the Blackberries!!