Foraging is fun, easy and a good way of supplementing food for the table for free. There is so much natural food available each year, and aside from the small amount eaten by insects, birds and mammals, much of it goes to waste.
There are many wild growing plants that are edible and nutritious. Take a look through our list to find some wild food that is easy to recognise for beginners.
Blackberry Crab Apple Dandelion
Daisies Elderberry Goosegrass
Hazelnuts Hedge Garlic Nettles
Red Clover Rose-hips Sloes
Sweet Chestnuts Wild Garlic Wild Strawberry
Always forage responsibly. It is illegal to uproot wild plants without the landowner’s permission, but you do have a right to gather leaves, fruit and stems from plants on public rights of way. Always ask the owner’s permission to forage on private land.If you want to eat wild foods, then it is important that you know exactly what you are picking. Leaves, roots and berries of some plants are poisonous, so treat foraging with caution unless you are sure what you have is safe to eat.