https://gardenandgossip.org/ Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:32:52 +0000 MyBB https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=2110 Mon, 12 Feb 2024 14:13:16 +0000 Vinny]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=2110

https://youtu.be/oP3qxFl_SXs]]>

https://youtu.be/oP3qxFl_SXs]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1998 Thu, 10 Aug 2023 16:59:41 +0000 Small chilli]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1998 My first time trying ceps tonight for tea. 
Chanterelle risotto for tomorrow.]]> My first time trying ceps tonight for tea. 
Chanterelle risotto for tomorrow.]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1642 Wed, 03 Aug 2022 19:55:00 +0000 Veggie]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1642 Keep your eyes peeled. there's lots of free food around.]]> Keep your eyes peeled. there's lots of free food around.]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1424 Wed, 26 Jan 2022 21:45:49 +0000 Veggie]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1424 Think again before you weed it out. Its actually an edible plant - one that's worth tasting too. 
There's a good article about identification and use at https://www.wildfooduk.com/edible-wild-p...ttercress/

Next time you see some, have a little nibble. ]]> Think again before you weed it out. Its actually an edible plant - one that's worth tasting too. 
There's a good article about identification and use at https://www.wildfooduk.com/edible-wild-p...ttercress/

Next time you see some, have a little nibble. ]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1423 Wed, 26 Jan 2022 19:30:24 +0000 Veggie]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1423
Do families still go out to forage or are we frightened to by internet scare stories?
Do we have sufficient money that there is no need to find food for free? 
Or, don't we have the time or the inclination? 

When I was a nipper, it would be a family day out. My parents knew the best places to find mushrooms (only field mushrooms - they wouldn't risk eating any other fungi).
There was a clean stream where we'd stop to pick watercress.
We'd pick blackberries every weekend for a couple of weeks so Mum could make jam.
Elderflower for cordial 
Dewberries in the sand dunes and whinberries on the hillside.
A couple of wild trees for damsons and apples.
We'd also gather winkles (yuk) when we went to the seaside.

Whilst we only picked a few, easily identifiable items, we also learnt the ones to avoid - the strange coloured fungi, the dirty streams, fruit on twining plants in hedges.]]>
Do families still go out to forage or are we frightened to by internet scare stories?
Do we have sufficient money that there is no need to find food for free? 
Or, don't we have the time or the inclination? 

When I was a nipper, it would be a family day out. My parents knew the best places to find mushrooms (only field mushrooms - they wouldn't risk eating any other fungi).
There was a clean stream where we'd stop to pick watercress.
We'd pick blackberries every weekend for a couple of weeks so Mum could make jam.
Elderflower for cordial 
Dewberries in the sand dunes and whinberries on the hillside.
A couple of wild trees for damsons and apples.
We'd also gather winkles (yuk) when we went to the seaside.

Whilst we only picked a few, easily identifiable items, we also learnt the ones to avoid - the strange coloured fungi, the dirty streams, fruit on twining plants in hedges.]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=458 Sun, 09 Aug 2020 09:40:20 +0000 Veggie]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=458 Worth looking out for on your travels and earmarking for a later visit when they'll be ripe.]]> Worth looking out for on your travels and earmarking for a later visit when they'll be ripe.]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=457 Sun, 09 Aug 2020 06:33:55 +0000 Mikey]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=457
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  IMG_20200808_095903.jpg (Size: 394.3 KB / Downloads: 20) Plenty of blackberries around at the moment - picking some every day for breakfast.
These are in the wild hedge in the garden so I don't have to fend off any other pickers.
For most of the year I call these brambles and curse them because they're so scratchy - now I call them blackberries and welcome them. ]]>
  IMG_20200808_095903.jpg (Size: 394.3 KB / Downloads: 20) Plenty of blackberries around at the moment - picking some every day for breakfast.
These are in the wild hedge in the garden so I don't have to fend off any other pickers.
For most of the year I call these brambles and curse them because they're so scratchy - now I call them blackberries and welcome them. ]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=439 Mon, 03 Aug 2020 12:52:11 +0000 Mamzie]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=439
Anyone else out picking?]]>
Anyone else out picking?]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=365 Thu, 16 Jul 2020 06:05:14 +0000 Mikey]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=365
I like to freeze mine for a few days minimum to improve the sweetness, this also softens the fruit giving you more juice. You can freeze for longer with little deterioration. The fruit contains a stone so will make a better seived jelly, and a really tasty leather.

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I like to freeze mine for a few days minimum to improve the sweetness, this also softens the fruit giving you more juice. You can freeze for longer with little deterioration. The fruit contains a stone so will make a better seived jelly, and a really tasty leather.

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I photographed some yesterday for identification. I need to do a little research but, I think they could be ground into a flour once dried. Once the seeds go black they become hard and more than a little unpleasant to chew on.

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I photographed some yesterday for identification. I need to do a little research but, I think they could be ground into a flour once dried. Once the seeds go black they become hard and more than a little unpleasant to chew on.

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  850095A4-D089-4338-B183-DC51F0347C95.jpeg (Size: 268.65 KB / Downloads: 20) ]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=351 Mon, 13 Jul 2020 07:56:07 +0000 PyreneesPlot]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=351
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And as an added bonus I have a great lump on the top of my head from where he lost control of the telescopic pruner and it swung back over his head and landed on mine. Ouch!!

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Beyond sloe gin, is there any anything else you do with sloes? Just how much sugar wuld you need to add to make a bearable jelly?!]]>
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And as an added bonus I have a great lump on the top of my head from where he lost control of the telescopic pruner and it swung back over his head and landed on mine. Ouch!!

  sloe2.JPG (Size: 92.78 KB / Downloads: 19)
Beyond sloe gin, is there any anything else you do with sloes? Just how much sugar wuld you need to add to make a bearable jelly?!]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=229 Sat, 13 Jun 2020 00:09:47 +0000 Mikey]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=229
With the rains coming we will start to see field mushrooms popping up all over. Best picked from fields that don’t have spray pesticides used, have been just grass for a number of years and generally not ploughed but, grazed. The mushrooms will be located near lush green areas within the field, there is a symbiotic relationship between them as the mushrooms breakdown nutrients in the soil that the grass can then use. Other than the field mushroom there is also the Horse mushroom and the yellow stainer mushroom which can be mistaken as a field mushroom. The horse and yellow stainer will discolour yellow when bruised, but only the yellow stainer is yellow if you cut the stem through the base. The field and horse mushroom taste lovely just like super fresh shop bought button mushrooms. 

The field mushroom will look like a button mushroom when small and a portobello when large the gills are pink when picked and will darken to a similar colour to shop mushrooms when cooked or left a day or two. 

Don’t pick immediately after rain as mushrooms absorb a lot of water and will be slimy, it’s much better to pick later in the day when they have dried in the sunlight. I will post some pictures of these on my next forage. These are probably the easiest mushroom we can identify as it is visually identical to the shop options. They will grow and open completely flat giving you a mushroom upto 12 inches in diameter.

This is out there now and for about another 2-3 months, they come in flushes following rain and sunshine cycles. You could find 8-10 pounds in a single field and a couple of weeks later find nothing only for them to return again in another month.

These are a reasonable first time mushroom as we so easily recognise it, avoid the yellow stainer as this will give some people a serious stomach upset for upto 24 hours. Some however get no negative response from it, if you are completely new to picking mushrooms pick one, take it home and check it against images online, taste a small bit and if you feel fine collect some more. It’s perfectly normal to have a jittery response to wild mushrooms that you have picked yourself as we are taught that so many are poisonous, if you follow best practise you will be fine. A good book to get if you are thinking of doing more is Roger Phillips ‘Mushrooms’ it’s a bible to many budding mushroom hunter.]]>
With the rains coming we will start to see field mushrooms popping up all over. Best picked from fields that don’t have spray pesticides used, have been just grass for a number of years and generally not ploughed but, grazed. The mushrooms will be located near lush green areas within the field, there is a symbiotic relationship between them as the mushrooms breakdown nutrients in the soil that the grass can then use. Other than the field mushroom there is also the Horse mushroom and the yellow stainer mushroom which can be mistaken as a field mushroom. The horse and yellow stainer will discolour yellow when bruised, but only the yellow stainer is yellow if you cut the stem through the base. The field and horse mushroom taste lovely just like super fresh shop bought button mushrooms. 

The field mushroom will look like a button mushroom when small and a portobello when large the gills are pink when picked and will darken to a similar colour to shop mushrooms when cooked or left a day or two. 

Don’t pick immediately after rain as mushrooms absorb a lot of water and will be slimy, it’s much better to pick later in the day when they have dried in the sunlight. I will post some pictures of these on my next forage. These are probably the easiest mushroom we can identify as it is visually identical to the shop options. They will grow and open completely flat giving you a mushroom upto 12 inches in diameter.

This is out there now and for about another 2-3 months, they come in flushes following rain and sunshine cycles. You could find 8-10 pounds in a single field and a couple of weeks later find nothing only for them to return again in another month.

These are a reasonable first time mushroom as we so easily recognise it, avoid the yellow stainer as this will give some people a serious stomach upset for upto 24 hours. Some however get no negative response from it, if you are completely new to picking mushrooms pick one, take it home and check it against images online, taste a small bit and if you feel fine collect some more. It’s perfectly normal to have a jittery response to wild mushrooms that you have picked yourself as we are taught that so many are poisonous, if you follow best practise you will be fine. A good book to get if you are thinking of doing more is Roger Phillips ‘Mushrooms’ it’s a bible to many budding mushroom hunter.]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=210 Mon, 08 Jun 2020 13:41:54 +0000 Mark_Riga]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=210
Recipie suggested adding citric acid which I don't have. Not sure if this is really needed. So just had sugar, flowers and lemons.

I'll see what it tastes like this time tomorrow.]]>
Recipie suggested adding citric acid which I don't have. Not sure if this is really needed. So just had sugar, flowers and lemons.

I'll see what it tastes like this time tomorrow.]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=136 Tue, 26 May 2020 22:13:52 +0000 Mikey]]> https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=136
I’ve converted a number of the street to home brewing and 5 of us will be making this delightful little number, over the next few weeks. I’ve dished out some of the tasks, deheading, sugar and lemon shopping. So I can concentrate on the bits I enjoy, the gathering and the brewing. The burping and the refrigerating will be shared. We are limited only by the number of bottles I have, 39 x 2 litres, as the others are Complete novices but 78 litres between 5 is still a reasonable number. 

Hopefully it will be the first of many, I did hear that back in the 70’s there was a unused cesspit that was dug out and converted into a brewing chamber in our cul de sac so we are essentially reviving an old tradition.

By the way V, what was the name of the wine made with the grape trimmings? I’ve been racking my brain all day and it’s defeated me. Ignore me, I’ve just remembered, Folly.]]>
I’ve converted a number of the street to home brewing and 5 of us will be making this delightful little number, over the next few weeks. I’ve dished out some of the tasks, deheading, sugar and lemon shopping. So I can concentrate on the bits I enjoy, the gathering and the brewing. The burping and the refrigerating will be shared. We are limited only by the number of bottles I have, 39 x 2 litres, as the others are Complete novices but 78 litres between 5 is still a reasonable number. 

Hopefully it will be the first of many, I did hear that back in the 70’s there was a unused cesspit that was dug out and converted into a brewing chamber in our cul de sac so we are essentially reviving an old tradition.

By the way V, what was the name of the wine made with the grape trimmings? I’ve been racking my brain all day and it’s defeated me. Ignore me, I’ve just remembered, Folly.]]>