[MAK]

What is the best free food you have come across ?
Or
Novel ways to collect free food.

Most of us swap or even barter on a regular basis and I am up for a bit of foraging too.

Today I saw simply the best attempt to grab some free food.

Our lake is being drained and we passed a young couple with their child picking freshwater mussels from the exposed lake bed . Most of the lake is frozen and they were tossing the mussels across the ice - so not eating the mussels !
We wondered why they had a shrimping net ( we are probably a couple of hundred miles from the sea)  AND a domestic broom.
As we circled the lake in warm sun we approached the side of the lake  not frozen and found the most enormous half eaten carp on the shore line. Other fish were in the shallows. A few hours after we saw the young couple with broom and shrimp net in the shallow water after a carp !! I hope that their planning and patience payed off and that they got their carp ( or freezer full) .

[Mel Rice]

Towards the end of November the ponds/lakes that lace the village are routinely emptied one by one. If the pond was stocked the fish are caught and transferred to holding tanks (large plastic boxes/plastic dustbins). Then as soon as possible to small winter stock ponds with a good flush of fresh water. This cleans the fish so that they do not taste so muddy when they are killed. Carp is a favourite but there are some other fish in there too....I'm not an angler so could not tell you what. The fish are put back into the lakes when all chance of freezing is passed and before they are ready to start feeding in the warmer weather.

[Sandy]

We get given a fair  bit of trout and thats wonderful, usualy when on our walks around the local dam, there is some in the freezer now but that was a gift from a work friend also fished in Scotland.....The other day we had some pancakes made from the frozen eggs and blueberries that we picked in the forest earlier last year although we did not collect that many...I shall look forward to filling a big  bag of wild garlic etc and then of course all the berries...I do not collect mushrooms as I dare not but we see loads of them around... love food for free and we now have loads of wood for free!!!! Free =good.......I shall have to see where you are to get such a nice walk and fish!!!

[Bangbang]

Last year the field next to ours had about 60 acres of  potato,s. growing. After the harvest my wife a I
went out with the wheel - barrow to pick up the some of the lef-tovers . I think we aquired about 120kg.

We felt really good about our free food as the field was ploughed the folling day for a winter crop.

I worked out we only eat 1.5kg a week between us. Many of the spuds were over 1lb in wieght.
Were giving some away now as food parcels to visitors.

Anyone for chips? 

[MAK]

Sandy
"free food = good"
how true ! we even collect horsechestnuts and acorns for the pigs ( we have lots of time) and today I gathered several dry branches that I found caught up in the trees ( for next year).

Mushrooms ? Umm no - we spent a day with books trying to distinguish edible from those marked with a skull and cross bones. We failed - besides the local hunt killed 2 mushroom pickers the other year !!

Heh - The free spuds were a real winner !

Carp - our neighbours have a rectangular pool flushed by their spring to keep their carp in for a few days ( gets rid of the muddy taste). Now that is real smallholding and enterprise ( French style !)

[Sandy]

Some people we know had a friend that was knowledgable in fungi and he is still in hospital and the rest of the people that ate the bad mushrooms need transplants!!! Nooooo, not a chance I would rather buy them!!! My brother said he used to collect rose hips and get paid for them but that was years ago!!! A lot of young leaves can be used for salads and they are nice, I got fed up with different bags on dog walks, we also collect stuff for our chickens as they cleared thier big bit of garden!!! Pluss I have a load of nettles ready for beer in the freezer....
Our tree surgeon said he takes anything thats free and so do I, our whole house is pre owned and most of my wardrobe is, we get some great stuff for min £ 

[Sylvia]

Road kill. Pheasants, rabbits, deer

[VSS]

I have had several hares off the road too in addition to all the above.

[Lesley Silvester]

A red deer stag once disembowelled itself on our gate.  It had to beput out of its misery.  Kept us going for months.

[northfifeduckling]

wild garlic is my favourite, can't wait for the season. We also had a hare recently off the road.

[Sandy]

I think Deer must be too rich for me as evertime I have eaten it, I  have ended up with an upset stomach and thats rare for me, my stomach can take most things!!!!!! I have never thought about road kill as its picking it up thats my fear, probaly get run over myself!!!!!

I love my book food for free...I was mad I missed all the hazel nuts on a tree I often stop at on a walk, I only noticed when I saw all the empty cases on the floor....the dogs love me collecting stuff too as they also eat the fruit..not the garlic though!!

[MAK]

We didn't get done what we intended to AGAIN today... all our plans went out of the window when we were offered this lot, free for the digging.



There were parsnips, pumpkins, cabbages, swede, chard, parsley, beetroot and our neighbours rejected potatoes (if they have even a small spot/blemish she puts them in a box for our pigs  )

It was all supposed to be 'waste', but the parsnips were so good that a bucketful are now in our freezer!  The pigs, ducks and chickens will get the rest though! 

[princesspiggy]

wev took road kill once cos the car infront of us killed it, jus a pheasant, but was my first ever gutting!
deer dont stay long on the roads round here.

[Sandy]

Wooow, some people drive round early in the morning to collect stuff, good idea!

[doganjo]

Apparently if you run over a pheasant you're not supposed to pick it up, but if the car in front does it's OK.  Don't know where I heard that.  I suppose if it's a rarely used country road who would see you anyway    I've picked up road kill many a time - not now as there's just me and the dogs so I don't bother.  But if the cat brings a biggish rabbit back he's allowed to eat the head then i dash out and grab it off him.  Skin peeled and salted for covering retrieving dummies, best bits fro me and the rest divided up between the dogs.  I've had a pheasant off him too, but I don't bother with any of the smaller things he brings back - he always seems to take his kill home with him and eats it on the garden picnic bench, to a chorus of dog yowling usually.