Possible food shortages?

[Ajax]

Hello friends.

2020 saw significant disruption to global supply chain. The start of 2022 does not look too promising as of today. Food security might (might - depending on time scale of current conflict) become a further issue.

I am sure you wonderful folks already know all this stuff and are probably more proficient than myself but ... it may be time to brush up on your foraging skills, in case it gets really bad out there.

There are many edible wild plants and some even have medicinal and health benefits. Perhaps look up lists of wild edibles that grow in your areas?

Many people who live near me will consider the humble acorn to be a nasty, toxic thing, for example. I make nice flour from acorn and have not died yet - please know that many of my neighbours are gutted about this newsflash. A lot of what WE do is about preparation of wild plants, the processing and cooking.

I hope we do not have to go this route but in case we do ... maybe keep a booklet or paper list of all the stuff you can safely eat and take a regular long walk every month to see what plants are growing in your local safe areas. Perhaps even pop a seed or two in the wild for later on.
It goes without saying but I will put a disclaimer just in case: never eat a plant unless you are 100% sure it is not toxic. Please remember the best practice is to cook any roots that you might dig up.

Peace and best wishes to all.

[Pete Grey]

A good book to buy is “Food for free” by Richard Mabey. Infact I would say a prepper book shelf essential.

[Straight Shooter]

Yes Pete excellent pocket size book .......a must have for any prepper .

[Ajax]

(6 March 2022, 18:44)Pete Grey Wrote: A good book to buy is “Food for free” by Richard Mabey. Infact I would say a prepper book shelf essential.

I agree. All books that can help are good books to hold onto. Sir, may I ask with respect, do you find that books are heavy to carry should one have to move out in the future? I am female and carrying a lot of things could be a problem. I walk and try to familiarise myself with the 'weeds' that grow near by. I'm trying to 'cram' anything I thin may be useful in the future.

Do you like books? Do you buy many books?
I have picked up few a second hand books recently: A lovely first edition from the fifties about organic chemistry, which is proving very useful for fermentation and vinegars. One from 1966 which is about physical chemistry for metallurgists. Many chapters cover the equations for the laws of thermodynamics, which I am already familiar with but there is stuff in there which was not pertinent to my old job. I am finding it very interesting, however, and I am learning a lot. I also got one about blacksmithing.

May I wish you happy reading, sir.

[MaryN]

There's nothing like a walk along a hedgerow for a bit of a forage. So much can be eaten - nettles; certain tree leaves; mushrooms (if you know what you are looking at) and a myriad of berries in season. Young dandelion leaves are nice in a salad and are mildly diuretic. I occasionally browse through Culpepper to see what I can try out.

[Straight Shooter]

Pine needle tea , and acorn coffee......bloody yummy ! Berries bloody love them ! There are loads of things to eat ...years ago you would see family’s out picking blackberries , wimberries and nuts , last summer we saw just two old couples when we went out and one of them was picking some of my crab apples ....cheeky bugger ! I said yes we like and make crab apple jelly too .......from that very tree ! ....I gazed over to wild child I gave the command ..Zoltan Kill .....Kill .

[MaryN]

Ooh crab apple and clove jelly with pork. Yum!

[bigpaul]

most people dont have a clue where there food comes from, foraging? nah!, if it dosent come in a nice little plastic packet they dont eat it.
when we first came here nearly 13 years ago a few people used to pick blackberries and stuff, now nobody does except us.

[MaryN]

BP, I think the problem is that the youngsters are just not interested in foraging. Stuck on a diet of McDos and fries, they have probably never even checked out the local areas for edibles. We pick anything that we can use. Luckily we have hedges along our paddocks and they produce an abundance of blackberries, sloes, hawthorn berries and rose hips. All edible. Puffball mushrooms appear on occasion. You could feast on foraging.

[bigpaul]

even 18 year olds dont know apples come off trees, have personal knowledge of this.
when I was a kid used to go picking Sloes with my parents.
we have blackberries, crab apples-although I think they may be some kind of hybrid garden escapees, and all the leaves and roots you can think of.
I tend to stay away from Mushrooms dont know enough about them, although when we lived in Somerset we used to pick huge field mushrooms I think most locals called them Horse Mushrooms-we used to give them to the local homeless drop in centre.