Urban foraging

The park a few blocks from me has 3 massive old chestnut trees in it. I collect like 5 to 10lbs of chestnuts a year from them. I'll see people filling 5gal buckets. I just take a plastic freezer bag lol.

Back in my day, this was called dumpster diving.

You're about 6 years behind the times...

Foler said:

Has anyone gotten into it? Seen some chatter online about it. Kinda intriguing. Seems like a good way to snack.

Pretty cool way to find edibles near you.

Falling Fruit

A massive, collaborative map of the urban harvest uniting the efforts of foragers, freegans, and foresters around the world. Explore and share information about the sources of free food in your neighborhood.

fallingfruit.org

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Squirrels taste like chicken.

I end up running 'hippies' off of my land every few years, trying to look for ginseng in my woodlands.

Had people who would try and harvest my apples and/or lilacs when they were in season... despite private property signs. Now I have fences everywhere, sucks.

I found an original Leatherman Super Tool while we were trespassing to get a geocache once. Does that count?

This sounds like hippy shit.

I let the neighbors pick blueberries if they want. Don't care. Most years there are way more than I can pick. I generally grab 1-2 bushels to freeze and that's not even half of them. Makes good cobbler.

The birds eat well.

You might not own land, but I do. Plenty of it.

I went to a job interview 5 years ago in Ancortes, WA. We drove out to a raied hill that had a view of the water coming in and were just talking. They had blackberries. I picked a few and started eating them. I didn't need to wash them. Guy had a shit fit OMG eating something growing out in the world that didn't come from a store.

I didn't take the job. Pretty sure I wouldn't fit in.

I've eaten a lot of blackberries and muscadines I've picked up here and there. Pecans I had pecan trees at the house so I used those. I let others pick up the pecans and I get a share. They win and I win, not having to pick up all the pecans. I had tons of them.

Have blueberries now but I'm not a big fan. Dad picks and eats them all. Not that urban.

iannis said:

This sounds like hippy shit.

I let the neighbors pick blueberries if they want. Don't care. Most years there are way more than I can pick. I generally grab 1-2 bushels to freeze and that's not even half of them. Makes good cobbler.

The birds eat well.

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I keep meaning to put up a sign for that.

I have been swapping my gardens over to all either "edible" and/or native plants. Have 7 blueberry, 2 kinds of rhubarb, about 300ft of strawberries, and ton of raspberry. 4 kinds of mint. grape. 2 large apple trees were on the property when I bought it. pretty sure one is cortland, one is mcintosh, but im not certain. I planted a honeycrisp a year ago. and a barlett pear. that pear produced AMAZING fruit last year. Have a couple Hickory trees as well.
Pumpkins, decogourds, and sunflower are generally pretty consistent at re-seeding themselves yearly.

I also do tomatos, cucs, greenbeans, peppers, basil yearly. Watermelon from when I buy store watermelon, and throw out the rinds/seeds. haha.

I don't even eat the tomatos. I just give them away. (along with the overkill on everything else) Past years, I would put out a sign and "free". This last year, I put out the sign, "free, donations welcome" with a jar.
I made 75$ (i mean, not including cost, which time, fert, water, and seedlings cost more then that really)

Strawberrys/blueberrys/raspberry best left on the plant though. I need a sign saying, come get some.

Hickory is neat, cuase you can't really buy it. its a unique flavored nut. but getting at the meat is a pita, so no one really does it commercially. need your own, and a pair of pliers or a hammer.


All the state forests of CT, RI, MA are just littered with wild blueberry.