City blagging vs Country blagging

[Goodlife1970]

You wouldve thought that living in the country would give you more chance of blagging cheap or free things,the endless pick- your-own farms and farm shops,enthusiastic gardeners swapping excess produce,the abundance of free food just going begging in the hedgerows,paints a lovely picture doesnt it? Not strictly true though,yes we do get the first call should any trees need cutting or get blown over in a storm,our neighbour is wonderful and shares his produce with us and theres the blackberries,wild mushrooms,the river,not to mention the free livestock (mainly chickens and ducks especially now the bird flu scare,but kittens,pups and the occasional goat!) Now compare it to the city I lived in before,there was a small park closeby that had apple,plum,damson and pear trees on it,a legacy from its days as allotments ,blackberries too. The local supermarket had a skip that they would throw past its sell by date stuff into,great for bread for the hens (yes we had hens there just not as many!) and the odd cake (if you caught the chap before he threw it in the skip!) Hay and straw were cheap at the farm shop not that far away as were potatoes,the sprouts they gave away at the end of the season,sprouts for us and the tops and stalks for the hens.Firewood was never a problem as there was always someone knocking something off of their houses or cutting down trees.Just a few examples but you get the drift.Im not complaining about things here,dont get me wrong,I love where I live and certainly wouldnt go back but it seems to me that cities are getting a rough press on these "change your life" type programmes as far as the dream of escaping to a rural idyll is concerned.Seems to me that its just as easy (if not more so) to live a self sufficient-ish livestyle in a city or town.We did rather well out of it anyway!

[hedgewitch]

As a city dwelling selfsufficientisher myself - I know exactly what you mean. I'm forever foraging off the land, but then I'm lucky 'cos there's a bit of waste land right next to my house. Lemons, Limes, Oranges, Fig, Pommegranates, Senna, Dandelions, Chamomile are amongst the delights on offer.

[ina]

I think it depends largely on where in the city and in which city you live - what kind of neighbours you have, how strict the local supermarket is with throwing stuff out (make sure the chappie who lets you have out of date stuff doesn't get caught! I'm sure there's a law against giving that away ).

What I find rather strange is the fact that even in the country most people seem to have very little interest in growing their own, shopping in local shops, picking wild food for free. When I once stopped by the roadside (I was on my bicycle) to pick blaeberries, a very concerned busdriver stopped and could hardly believe it when I assured him that I was perfectly ok, I was just picking berries. You what??? My neighbour knows all the places where to find mushrooms, brambles, hazelnuts etc, but he is an exception. And his family won't touch the stuff. (I often benefit!)

Out of the 6 families that live around me, all in houses with large gardens, only one grows their own veg. None keep chickens or other livestock. They all have immaculate lawns and rather suburban front gardens. (Needless to say, I stick out like a sore thumb.) Most shop at a supermarket, or, better still, have their groceries delivered by T***o.

[Goodlife1970]

Hi Ina,that reminds me of when I was picking blackberries in the city park.A young lad of about 12 came over and asked what I was doing,I told him and he was horrified,but blackberries are poisonous! Never quite worked out if his mother actually believed it or had just told him that so she didnt have to make any crumbles!

[Libby]

We always picked blackberries as kids, used to make special trips so my mother could make us tarts. My sister picked a load last year for my jams. Free and delicious. Yum!
I used to love to go nut picking too, and early morning trips with my dad to pick mushrooms. Horse or field mushrooms I think.
I,d love to still pick mushrooms, they taste better than anything cultivated you get in the shops. Unfortunately, dads 'spots' are now covered in houses

[Goodlife1970]

Id like to pick nuts too but the flippin squirrels get there first!

[glenniedragon]

Had a lovely experience last autumn when I was out Blackberrying/Elderberrying with eldest offspring. We headed off the beaten track a little and as we were passing over a liitle stream we looked up and not 10 metres away was a young fox, one of last years cubs by the look of her, she looked up saw us and gently edged back into the cover and then sprint over the next field. We had a couple of carrier bags of each berry, but for the look on my son's face the outing was worth it. He was so taken by how close we had been, he is definately starting to appreciate the world around him in a way no PSP can give him. To think how many kids are denied those kind of memories now makes my heart break.

Kind thoughts
Deb

[Goodlife1970]

As a city dwelling selfsufficientisher myself - I know exactly what you mean. I'm forever foraging off the land, but then I'm lucky 'cos there's a bit of waste land right next to my house. Lemons, Limes, Oranges, Fig, Pommegranates, Senna, Dandelions, Chamomile are amongst the delights on offer.

Hi Hedgewitch,crikey! How wonderful to be picking all that lovely exotic stuff! Could do with some senna here,eldest daughter having "a problem" but thats a different story....

[Andy Hamilton]

I think that there is an abundance of wild food around in cities as well as the country side, just have to go to the right places.

Bristol is full of green places and although it has not been the right season really, we have done ok for wild food. Oyster mushrooms, chick weed and goose grass have been around and jack by the hedge is comming up. Always see fresh rosemary bushes in people garden too and a sprig or two never goes amiss. I have even scrumped an apple from a garden centre tree in the past. I expect a bit more exploring and the right books and season will open up natures harvest more for me this year.

The same could not be said about Bath, although there is plenty of countryside about much of it is farm land. Bristols green spots appear to be far more diverse as some have been perposly planted to be so. Although there was plenty of Elder around Bath, Mushrooms were not quite as diverse as Bristol but there were some blewits and puff balls about.

On top of this of course is the stuff you grow yourself.