Foraging?

[sarasvati]

Being in dire financial straits (I've been unemployed for 7 months now and my employment insurance gives me all of $36 a week), I've been looking at ways to further cut back on expenses, and aside from cruising for sales and buying second-hand, I've started to give thought to the matter of foraging for food.

I'm lucky to live in an area where my choices are pretty decent when it comes to wild food. I know where I can get fiddleheads, rhubarb, rose hips, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, crab apples, chestnuts, and blueberries when the season's right, and though that may not be much, it helps me stretch my grocery budget just a little bit further. And that's really just what I know of off the top of my head. If I start looking around, I might find even more!

Does anyone here have experience with foraging? Interested in it at all? Tips and tricks you'd like to share? I'm a little nervous about starting to forage, mostly because I haven't done it before, and any encouragement is appreciated.

Comments

[moizissimo]

Another good idea is to ask people who have trees in their yards, if you can pick the fruit. Many people don't make use of all their apples/whatever, and are glad to get rid of it, so they don't have to deal with it on their lawns. :)

[exhausted_pigeon]

That's true! I used to have an enormous lemon tree and I'd have done anything to get rid of the lemons before they started attracting fruit flies.

[delladea]

Yes this! There is a neighbor down the road from us that has a monstrous pear tree who doesn't come close to using all the fruit it provides.