the good life: edible landscape

nothing wrong with these apples !

out and about the countryside at the moment it is a veritable feast

if you haven't quite spotted the lush blackberries

plump from a good season of rain

you will probably be spotting over burdened wild apple trees

and the odd plum that the rosellas haven't ransacked

wild apple and blackberry stewed fruit

you don't have to done khaki pants and a moth eaten jumper to forage in the hedgerows

nor have in-depth botanical skills to pick wild food

if you only stick with food you know

and that's very easy in Tasmania where we have a lot of European escapees

of course it's a bit more difficult with wild herbs, bush tucker and mushrooms

those things that we are not familiar with on a daily basis

blackberries are certainly unmistakable

as are apples, plums and sloughs

always look for general plant health as an indicator of good food

if the berry bush is looking yellowish or dying in places - don't pick fruit from there

NOTE: blackberries this year are plagued with rust - a natural bio-control agent

you can see it on the leaves below - like mini burn marks

fruit from these bushes will be okay to eat

plump fresh blackberries - no global miles here !

  look around where the apple tree is growing

if there are no signs of someone dumping rubbish or changing their motor oil

or recent roadworks (leaching from fresh bitumen's is not really a desirable fertiliser)

then apples and plums should be good to go

be sensible when picking on roadsides - traffic is a life threatening hazard

as is your car to other drivers if it is not adequately parked off the carriage ways

fennel seeds forming

odd seeds from herbs like fennel seed for Indian cooking and pickling

should be harvested with care

fennel can be mistaken for a number of nasties including hemlock which is very poisonous

so only pick wild herbs when you are 100% in the know about your plants