Second Rule of Foraging

‘Don’t pick lower than a dog’s cocked leg’

This was the mantra that went round and round in my head whilst blackberry picking last autumn. I was even starting to turn it into a song – foraging is great fun, but your mind can start to wander a little bit!

Rule number two – remembering that these are just ones I have put together and aren’t some sort of foraging bible - is really about being aware of the environment that the food you are collecting comes from. For example, if you pick blackberries from beside the road then they are going to have a rather nasty coating of exhaust fumes and roadside waste, which means they won’t taste nice or be very good for you.

Other potential hazards include farmers spraying their crops (and the hedgerows) with fertilizer and pesticides; contaminated ground water; human waste and factory pollution.

It is just about being observant: 

• If you are foraging by water and it is smelly, then you may be near a sewage outlet or industrial pollutant and should move to another area.

• Gardens and allotments are potentially excellent sites for foraging (taking vegetables from somebody’s beloved plot is undeniably stealing, not ‘foraging’) so it should definitely be yours or one belonging to a friend. However, many allotmenteers use herbicides and insecticides and you do not want to be eating food that has been sprayed. The signs to look for are a whitish deposit on the leaves, if the leaves are wilting, or someone walking around with a spray labelled herbicide or insecticide. 

• If there is a lot of evidence of dogs, then my rule is especially relevant. Of course some plants, such as nettles, aren’t higher than a cocked leg. But use your common sense and pick from behind the front row, as it is a brave dog that will go in amongst the nettles…

One of the joys of foraging is being out and about in our beautiful countryside, which means that you are likely to be away from many contaminates. However, I would advise taking time to study your foraging environment, as this is all part of the joy of reconnecting with and getting to know nature and its wildlife.

Don’t forget to always wash your foraged plants, berries, leaves etc