A Beginner’s Guide to Foraging
Starting a homestead from scratch can be a complicated task. Many projects must be undertaken. One of these projects is finding a stable food supply. When you first start your homestead, you should have the understanding that you will need to purchase some of your food. That is fine. In time, you will be able to hunt and forage for your food. There will no longer be a need to rely on stores for sustenance. I, Matthew Davies, am going to share with you some starting basics when it comes to foraging for your food. Keep in mind, this is something that is just as important as getting a place to sleep at night and clean water supply. Don’t waste time doing anything else until you have satisfied those three things.
Starting a homestead from scratch can be a complicated task. Many projects must be undertaken. One of these projects is finding a stable food supply. When you first start your homestead, you will likely need to purchase some of your food. That is fine. In time, you will be able to hunt and forage for your food. There will no longer be a need to rely on stores for sustenance. I, Matthew Davies, am going to share with you some tips for foraging for your food. Keep in mind, finding food is just as important as establishing a place to sleep at night and locating a clean water supply. Don’t set your sights on any other task until you have satisfied these three basic needs.
Where to Pick
To have a reliable source of food, you need a dependable location. The best place to start is on your personal property, harvesting off your own plants. Your property is where you should start. There should be no reason that anyone is harvesting off your plants. Once you have taken a responsible amount from your land, it is time to venture out to other places.
Try talking to a friend or neighbor and request that they allow you to forage from their property. This often involves an understanding that you will supply them with a percentage of the take. This meant that once you have finished foraging for the day, you will go to the owner and present your bounty. At this point, you will let them take the food they want (up to the percentage that you agreed upon). If the landowner chooses the best of biggest of your haul, keep in mind that, because you are using their land, that is their right.
Whether you are foraging on your land or someone else’s land, make sure to keep your surroundings in mind. For example, when you are in the wild it can be easy to get distracted and end up lost. Be mindful of your foraging location in relation to your home. Additionally, it’s important when harvesting from streams or lakes, to test the quality of the water. Pollutants in the water will not be removed when you cook the food.
Finally, pay attention to the soil where you harvest your goods. Take a look at the local maps and take note of any locations that are surrounding factories or chemical plants. You will want to steer clear of these locations and any water source their land is connected to. While businesses are supposed to protect the surrounding property from things they produce, there’ no way to be certain they are following the law.
Sustainable and Progressive Harvesting
When it comes to the sustainability of the plants we are harvesting, we must guard against inadvertent over-picking, even when it seems the crops are in abundance. Just because there is an abundance of the crop where you are, there may not be an abundance in surrounding areas. Taking only what we need preserves the plants and ensures less waste.
The way I like to approach foraging is progressive. This involves replanting the seeds of the plants you have harvested. You may have noticed that many of the fruits and vegetables that buy in stores are now seedless. These hybrid plants have evolved over time as a result of consumers demand. When you are foraging in the wild, however, you will not find these seedless variants. Take the time to save some of the seed and spread or plant them the next time you are out foraging. If you wish to create a larger area in which to harvest, take them to different locations than where you first discovered them.
Beware of Toxic Lookalikes
In the wild, plants and animals alike, will disguise their true nature in order to survive. The most common lookalike plant is the mushroom. Foraging for mushrooms is mostly a safe endeavor, but there have been cases of poisoning from seemingly harmless plants. Perhaps in the future blog post, I will go into details about mushroom picking. At the end of the day, it is better to forgo eating any plant that you think maybe harmful to you or your family.
Things to Take
I am going to end this blog with a list of things that you should take with you when you go out foraging.
The first thing that you are going to want is something to protect you from potentially harmful insects. Take a bug hat or veil that will prevent black flies or mosquitos from reaching your face. The face is one of the areas on the body with the thinnest skin. That makes it much easier for any toxins to absorb into our skin.
The next thing I suggest is a digging tool. This will allow you to get to any root vegetables or mushrooms. Combine this with a couple of knives for cutting, and you will be set for harvesting.
If you plan on going into a section of the woods that has a lot of foliage, I would suggest taking a machete to cut your way through.
Finally, I would recommend several bags to store your harvest in. Be sure to use a separate container for each different crop to avoid cross-contamination.
Conclusion Foraging for your food can be a rather enjoyable activity. I, Matthew Davies, think it is one of the best sources of food there is. I wish you all the luck in the world in starting your homestead and finding a great place to forage for food.
Where to Pick
To have a reliable source of food, you need a dependable location to get this food. The best place to get the supplies you need is from private property. Your property is where you should start. There should be no reason that anyone is harvesting off your plants. Once you have taken a responsible amount from your land, it is time to strike out to other places.
Try talking to a friend or neighbor that lives close by. Many times, they will let you forage from their property with the understanding that you will supply them with a percentage of the take. Meaning, once you have completed your day, you will go to the owner and present your bounty. At this point, you will let them take the food they want (up to the percentage that you agreed upon). Don’t get into disputes over the fact that they are taking the best or biggest of your haul. Remember, you are on their land, and they are doing you a favor by letting you seek food.
Whether it be on your land or someone else’s land, make sure to keep your surroundings in mind. Number one, you are in the wild. It is easy to get distracted and not remember where you are. It would be a shame to get lost and have to spend the night out trying to get home. Additionally, you need to pay attention to the area for streams and lakes. When you are harvesting from streams or lakes, make sure that you test the quality of the water. Pollutants in the water will not come out when you cook the food.
Paying attention to the soil is the last thing I am going to mention regarding where to harvest your goods. Take a look at the local maps. Be sure to note any locations that are surrounding factories or chemical plants. You will want to steer clear of these locations and any water source their land is connected to. While businesses are supposed to protect the surrounding property from things they produce, you cannot be sure they are following the law.
Sustainable and Progressive Harvesting
Sustainability is often a buzzword that gets thrown around every time harvesting comes into the conversation. However, no one talks about who or what sustainability is directed towards. Are we talking about what is sustainable to the plants or surrounding wildlife or the people picking the plants? In either case, it is not that important when it comes to crops that are in abundance. The issue arises when the plant you are picking is scarce. Regardless, we must guard against inadvertent over-picking. Remember, just because there may be an abundance of the crop where you are, this does not mean it is in abundance in the surrounding area.
A better way to approach foraging is progressive. This essentially means that you are going to replant seeds of plants that you have taken from. You will notice that many of the fruits and vegetables that we get from stores are now seedless. This has been done over time as the consumers requested it. Alternately, when you are foraging in the wild, you will not find these seedless variants. Take the time to save some of the seed and spread or plant them the next time you return to foraging. If you want to grow the area you can harvest, take them to different locations than where you first discovered them. Just because you were unable to find them in multiple areas, does not mean they will not grow there. The lack of them in the surrounding area could be a product of other over-picking and not replacing.
Beware of Toxic Lookalikes
In the wild, plants, and animals alike, will disguise their true nature as a way to survive. The most common among these is the mushroom. Foraging for mushrooms is mostly a safe endeavor, but there have been cases of poisoning from seemingly harmless plants. I will not go into details in this blog about mushroom picking, but perhaps I will in the future. At the end of the day, it is better to skip any plan that you think maybe harmful to you or your family.
Things to Take
I am going to end this blog with a list of things that you should take with you when you go out foraging.
The first thing that you are going to want is something to protect you from bugs that wish to harm you. Take a bug hat or veil that will prevent black flies or mosquitos from getting to your face. The face is one of the thinnest skin areas on our body. That makes it much easier for any toxins to absorb into our skin.
The next thing I suggest is a digging tool. This will allow you to get to any root vegetables or mushrooms. Combine this with a couple of knives for cutting, and you will be set for harvesting.
If you plan on going into a section of the woods that has a lot of foliage, I would suggest taking a machete to cut your way through.
Finally, I would recommend several bags to store your harvest in. Be sure to use a separate container for each different crop to avoid cross-contamination.
Conclusion
Foraging for your food can be a rather enjoyable activity. I, Matthew Davies, think it is one of the best sources of food there is. I wish you all the luck in the world in starting your homestead and finding a great place to forage for food.