Walking Weekend

Just had a fantastic weekend with a couple of friends. We went on two brilliant walks. With my inspired "wild food" head, out looking for some good finds.

The first walk on Saturday was around a local reservoir. We found a few hawthorn trees on the main route around, but surprisingly the blossom did not smell or taste that nice. In fact it had a slightly burnt taste. Half way around the reservoir we decided to extend the walk by heading into the woods. We found a little apple tree that may need another visit in the future. An enjoyable day but only 1/10 on the wild food Richter scale.

Now our Sunday walk was a different story. We headed to the moors and came across lots of bilberry bushes. There are acres around but these are the nearest to my house I have found yet, a good find. As we headed away from the open moorland and down towards a reservoir we found a hawthorn tree. Now this hawthorn was very different - strong, rich almond fragrances. In fact I have never smelt such a nice blossom. We collected some and they have gone to some good use... I will talk about that later this week.

The next stage of our walk was an eye-opener. We found the most amazing forest. The whole floor was covered in bluebells. I found loads of wild garlic, which made me very happy. And the biggest beech trees I have ever seen. Over 4m in circumference! I want to try and harvest these come autumn. I also found Yellow Archangel, part of the dead nettle family, which can be put in salads or stir-fried. I must remember to get a photo next time.

Heading home we found an area that looked like it was once an orchard. Two surviving apple trees may yield some nice fruit one day. I also spotted a tree I could not identify. I now know it is a Wych Elm. Several healthy specimens, a wonderful sight to see. What a great weekend.

Wild Foods - Part I - Trees

Last weekend's wild food walk was an amazing experience. I have now been through the photos and done a little extra research. We found quite a bit on a short walk around Sheffield. Here are details of the trees...

Cherry

The cherry tree is found on many a street corner around these parts. At this time of year the blossom is a good indicator of what trees to keep your eye on. Too much blossom and it is probably an ornamental variety. A more modest blossom volume may be a fruiter. I have spied several trees near me which I will be trying to harvest before the birds. In town though, at lower altitudes, this tree had finished with the blossom and already started to make fruit.

Beech

Beech nuts are something to look forward to in the future. Beech leaves can be eaten too. Now they are too tough. You need to pick them when they are younger and a lighter colour. Maybe next year I need to try Beech Leaf Gin.

Wild Service

The wild service tree was once quite common, but today you will be very lucky to spot one indeed. They have hawthorn-like leaves which turn yellow-orange through to brown or red. This specimen has been planted in a local community garden. The berries are edible.

Whitebeam

Whitebeam leaves are much lighter on their underside. This tree produces berries, all varieties of which are edible.

Silver Birch

Silver Birch Trunk

The young leaves of the Silver Birch are edible. We tried a few and they were quite nice. The most interesting source of nutrients though is the sap. The time has been and gone to tap the tree, but is sometime I wish to try next year.

Lyme

The Lyme tree has always been "that tree with the big leaves". I never knew the leaves where really tasty. A great wild replacement for salad leaves.

Hawthorn

Here is the Hawthorn. Usually seen with white blossom, here is the red variety. Just pick and nibble the blossom for a tasty snack. Everything can be eaten or processed. With a good sized tree at the bottom of our garden I can't wait to make some jam.

Elder

Elderflower juice is just lovely. Elderberry too. What a great plant. Hopefully more information soon as I go foraging for this over the next few weeks.

Sycamore (Great Maple)

Near the end of our walk we came across this Sycamore tree, aka the Great Maple. The buds where sprouting and are covered in sticky sap. We decided to try them. It was delicious. They were also covered in stuck-on greenfly too, so became a perfect sweetened protein snack. I have since found a recipe for Maple Schnapps. Maybe I should head back to that tree and crop some?

Wild Food Forage

Today we went on a guided wild food forage around Sheffield thanks to maxsalad. It was a fantastic day and we found many different edible plants and herbs. I have made notes on all the information we were given and have taken photos, all of which I will post in the near future. Here is some wild garlic to get your tastebuds going. A bit late on in the season now for the leaves, but the lower part of the flower stems where tender and flavoursome.

We also managed to get the plants we bought on Saturday in the ground. I have put the garden mint plant in a pot, in the ground, to keep those roots in tow. Mint does love to take over a herb patch if you are not careful, so planting it in a pot makes it easier to manage. In fact to show how strong willed mint can be I was amazed to find growing, really well in an old pot that had been outside all winter, a lemon mint I bought two years ago. I completely forgot about it. The roots where jam-packed and there was plenty of dead stems pointing between the few leaves. I was brutal and ripped them off and took away some of the excess roots. We shall see if it can survive that.

Plant Weekend

Today we headed out to the local village of Bolsterstone for our yearly visit to their village hall "plant weekend". The fundraising event is a great way of getting our hands on some cheap plants. The idea was to buy some nice vegetables ready for planting into our many weed filled pots, which we did.

We got there early enough this year to have a wider choice and the herb and vegetable selection was really quite good. We started off by picking some herbs. I want to make my own mint sauce one day so I chose some "garden" mint. Laura then saw some "country cream" oregano and "compact" marjoram. We also decided on two young rhubarb plants, two well grown broad bean plants, two "hot" pepper plants and two "sweet" pepper plants. Don't forget the tray of marigolds. Pretty good for £11. Tomorrow the plan is to pot them up!

Did you know that all marjorams are oreganos, since the genus name for both is origanum, but not all oreganos are marjorams?

Outdoor Living

So, everyone knows that food tastes better outdoors - from fish and chips on the end of the pier, to a humbug on a long walk, to posh picnics with Pimms - so why do we so routinely sit in dull dining rooms?

We had a lovely lunch today with friends in the garden - with three baby led weaning (BLW) babies aged just 7 months, eating outside is not only lovely, but also practical. BLW is messy. L was having a bad day teething so stuck sensibly to cool slices of cucmber. F discovered quiche was quite scoffable. And Tomas nommed his current favorite - sweet potato wedges and whatever he could steal from nearby plates. Tomas just loves being outdoors - there is always something new to look at.

Dinner was just me and James - sitting on the steps, candles & cider and discussing plans for the weekend. We hope to go to a local plant sale, sort out all our window boxes, go to SolDay in the lovely Mayfield Valley and join some others on a food foraging guided tour of some select parks in Sheffield.

Here's to lots more meals outdoors...

Barmy for Berries

We have just come through a very cold winter for the UK. And I think this has made nature think twice about its efforts this year. Are we looking at an abundance of berries?

As part of a plan to map my local wild food resources I thought I would drive the scenic route back home through the moors. In previous years we have enjoyed the fresh bilberry pickings near by. Unfortunately last year we were too busy with our new baby to get involved. This year though I am determined to make the most of these most delicious wild berries on our doorstep.

It is obviously months before the crop is due, and there are many other foods to pick before then, but I had to stop the car and check out how the plants had fared through the weeks of thick snow. There was no doubt they would be fine but I was really happy to find the thousands of plants covered in lots and lots of new red flowers ready to make my favourite fruit.

The same goes for the hawthorn at the back of our garden. This has now fully recovered from the major pruning operation of two years ago and is riddled head to toe with buds ready to flower. As a plant known for its May blossom I wonder if it has been delayed by that cold weather or will we see it in its full glory very soon?

Grand Plans

Today I woke up again dreaming of grand plans - we are getting some quotes for raised beds in the garden this week - blowing the holiday fund on something more long term.

But meanwhile the sun is out - and the garden is teaming with life. The wild strawberries (from Otterburn) are spreading around the pond and starting to flower.

Every time we walk by the pond, frogs dip back under the surface. It is so true that a pond is a major help for wildlife in the garden. We ordered pond snails from eBay last year, and they have multiplied and are doing a grand job of clearing some of the green. I didn't know you could send snails in the post, but they arrived safely.

...and the 'proper' strawberries in pots are also looking good


The beginnings of a lovely salad (planted just a fortnight ago)...


These tomatoes are coming on well on the kitchen windowsill - growing purple (Black Cherry), yellow (Balconi Yellow) and red (100's and 1000's) so that Tomas learns about the variety of life!

And finally - a shot of the inside of our compost bin - we are proud to turn veg peelings, tea bags, apple cores and toilet roll tubes into lovely, sweet earth. I can't believe it works! It's a little miracle!

Oh, and we are no longer 8th on the waiting list for an allotment. We are now 7th. The allotment officer sounded interested in the fact that there were 2 plots being uncultivated and that there is scope for extending the site.

Hello World

Today we decided to make the most of what we have got.

We like to have grand plans about having the most immaculate, productive garden with a kitchen overflowing with homecooked, freshly foraged food.

In reality we have a busy life, a little boy, a cat, plenty of dandilions in the garden, ready meals in the freezer and are still 8th on the allotment list after 4 years of waiting.

But we love gardening, growing what we can to eat, finding out where we can forage food for free, keeping the bees happy with native plants in the garden and cooking things fresh where and when we can. And we want our little boy to grow up with a love for the natural world.

So this blog will chart our journey

We live on a hill - which is why it is called secrets on a slope.