Wild Garlic ramsons forage forager foraging free food in the wild uk sustainability thrifty

Foraging in April – Free food in the wild – UK

Free

Foraging for food in the wild is a fantastic way to bulk out your meals for free.

Wild Garlic ramsons forage forager foraging free food in the wild uk sustainability thrifty

Wild Garlic leaves (Ramsons) – identify by breaking a leaf for a distinctive garlicy smell

It’s also great exercise, great for connecting with nature and great for boosting your self-esteem as you start to discover the wealth of free food that’s just poking out of the ground, or dangling off a tree in your local area… if you only know what to look for!

Below is a short list of the kinds of foods that are ready to find and pick in April in the UK. As the weather gets warmer, there is plenty to be found for the eager forager.

Each item in the list is a link that will show you a description on Wikipedia, so that you may identify the food correctly before you pick and eat it.

If you haven’t tried foraging before, why not just go for a walk around your local park or woodland, see if you recognise any of the plants or fungi that appear on this blog.

Take a tub or bag with you, and make sure that you wash your foraged finds before you eat them.

Get Foraging in April!

Bistort    Carragheen    Cleavers   Cow Parsley    Dandelion Flowers & Root    Fairy-ring Champignon    Gorse Flowers    Hawthorne leaves   Hop Shoots    Laver   Mallow leaves    Morel    Nettle    Primrose     Prunella   Rosemary   Sea Beet    St George’s Mushroom   Sweet Violet    Tansy leaves   Wild Garlic   Yarrow

Be safe when foraging, make sure that you are picking something edible and not something poisonous! It is a good idea to use a guide book or to research online before you go foraging. For example, try looking up each of the above on Wikipedia to find an accurate image and description.

 

I recommend the following books about foraging for free food – they help you to identify, harvest, prepare and preserve your findings:

My favourite is ‘Food for Free‘, because it is a pocket-sized guide that you can take out foraging.

 
A few self-sufficient, thrifty or off-the-grid selections, including Solar Panel Chargers. Toys and tools that I’m saving up for!

 
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