Harvest Heathrow ~ free foraging fortnight of wild food
Posted: September 18th, 2012 | Author: Amay | Filed under: Foraging | Tags: community, food, scrumping, wild food | No Comments »
Damsons
As the autumn starts to blow in, the jewels of the hedgerow start to catch the eye and here at Grow Heathrow we keep a very close eye on the abundance of wild food which grows around the Heathrow villages.
Our weekly Foraging Friday event has been a huge success and a wonderful way to regularly observe, harvest, make preserves, fresh meals and medicinal remedies from the plants growing around us – from dandelions in early spring this year to the dark elder and black berries which grow in masses around us this autumn. Its time to take advantage of autumns bounty and get as many people as possible skilled up with a a fortnight of foraging!
Elderberry sorting
Please come and join us for one or more of the events taking place at Grow Heathrow, whether your an experienced wild food gatherer or completely new to it all come down to share, learn and hopefully take away something from the harvest as well as plenty of knowledge of what grows around us.
If you can only make one event we are having a big scrumping apple day on Friday 5th October exploring and havesting Harmondsworth barn’s old orchard and other apple and pear trees in the area. On Saturday 6th October we will will sort the apples, pressing some into juice for drinking and cider making and keeping the best for winter stores, apple rings, chutney and jams with a harvest soup for lunch, bring your whole family to this one – was a massive success 2 years ago – we want to make it bigger and better this year with as many kids as possible!
Heathrow village apple havest 2010
Below is the an outline of the timetable for the fortnight – all changeable depending on who comes and what they want to forage, all free events.
The whole family can learn to make seed bombs, nettle soup, rosehip syrup, pickled spicy seeds and horseradish sauce for free. And what a delicious dinner those ingredients would make together! Take home a free nettle bracelet you’ll have made yourself; it’s softer than cotton and harder-wearing. I promise it won’t sting! (Gloves are provided.)
If you wish to stay over night at Grow Heathrow or for a few days we have limited indoor sleeping places so let us know before hand or bring a tent as there’s plenty of room for camping! The forages will always start from the Grow Heathrow site, if you need directions to us you can find them here
Elderflowers and red clover
| Date | Time | Workshop |
| Wed 26 | 2pm – 5pm | Wild food walk around Grow Heathrow, discussion of foraging law and safety, and make and taste nettle soup |
| Thu 27 | ||
| Fri 28 | 2pm – 5pm | Horseradish sauce |
| Sat 29 | 10am – 12pm. 12pm: join bike tour | Seed bombs. At 12pm, join CAAT’s bike tour (see below) |
| Sun 30 | 10am – 5pm | Nettle bracelets and nettle soup |
| Mon 1 | 2pm – 5pm | |
| Tues 2 | 2pm – 5pm | Guelder rose jelly |
| Wed 3 | 5pm – 7pm | Dried fruit: hawthorn berry leather |
| Thu 4 | ||
| Fri 5 | 2pm – 5pm | Apple and pear scrumping with trailers and panniers |
| Sat 6 | 10am – 5pm | |
| Sun 7 | 10am – 5pm | Gardening day |
| Mon 8 | 2pm – 5pm | Preservation including pickling |
| Tues 9 | 2pm – 5pm | Wild food cycle to Cranford Park |
| Wed 10 | 2pm – 5pm | Rosehip syrup and dried rosehip tea |
No need to book – just drop by.
On the second day of Harvest Heathrow, and we cried and cried. We wailed and sobbed, tears streamed endlessly, unstoppably like the Ganges. We were grating horseradish for horseradish sauce, and we now have a vat that could feed 100 people purely on horseradish. This experience put us off biological warfare, and also conflict in general.
So on Saturday 29th, we will be joining CAAT’s cycle ride. At 10am, we’ll make seed “bombs”. Seed bombs are a mix of clay and useful seeds, which can be thrown onto barren land to plant marigolds or nasturtiums. Then at 12pm we’ll get the train into Paddington and cycle to 11 Strand, WC2N 5RJ, where the bike tour begins!
