It can be good to get away, just by yourself, if only for fifteen minutes, and if even just across the road. So I left a sleeping and playing child (while still knowing I was within earshot), grabbed a basket and headed down to the neighbour's house that has sadly been empty for the past two years. I disturbed a flock of Rosellas happily feasting on an apple laden tree. Though there weren't terribly many left I managed to fill half a basket of juicy Granny Smiths. It was nice to have just those few minutes of apple picking to myself. I've similarly foraged off many trees in the village. From empty houses, street trees or generous neighbours. Sometimes the odd apple tree in the middle of nowhere (which seem to be the most pest resistant of all). There are often other options out there than buying all your fruit, if you just keep your eye out.
While we were on holidays we had a picnic in a remote valley. It was strangely filled with old European trees, so must have been a home to somebody once long ago. There was a majestic old tree with fallen nuts everywhere. I suspected they were walnuts and Google tells me that they were. I am still kicking myself that I did not fill up a few bags. Such trees are a rare thing, and I would like to go back there one day. With lots of bags.
So while we wait for our own fruit trees to grow and make fruit, we still get to enjoy a little home grown goodness. Incidentally our own walnut tree is a huge 30cm high, so it may be the next generation enjoying that one.
Do you forage?
Or do you have access to fresh fruit, if not your own, perhaps friend's, neighbour's or family's trees?
I wish I could. There was once a mulberry tree by the creek that flowed down near our park that bore fruit and I foraged but for some reason, it was removed (by council?). Sometimes I forage off our neighbour's lemon tree growing over into our yard but the cockatoos have been feasting on them before I get to them this year.
ReplyDeleteThere isn't much around our part to forage from. Although I did stumble upon a wild cherry tomato the other day. And we have lovely friends who often bring us fruit and vegies from their gardens.
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The house next door was vacant last year and in the yard is the biggest orange tree I've ever seen. We feasted on oranges for weeks. Now the house has tenants...but maybe they'll be willing to share!? Our elderly neighbour shares fruit and veg with us all the time. Kind folks drop it to her, but often they give her more than she needs...so it comes to us (with much gratitude). We give her fresh fish when my husband catches an abundance, plus eggs from our chooks. I love the way it works out - what goes around, comes around.
ReplyDeleteI just fell in love with that house...love those stone walls on the outer edge and the little retaining garden walls too. Can I move in?? please??? lol
ReplyDeleteSadly no foraging at our place Tania. Our house is only a few years old so a very young garden. I do love 15 mins to myself though and just a snippet of alone time can be so good...sometimes I find my 15 minutes watering the garden in the evening. Leax
ReplyDeleteWe have apricot, peach and plum trees. And I can forage lemons, grapfruit and oranges from the vineyard next door. My sister has two huge feijoa trees that I'm utilising at the moment. When the fruit trees are in season anyone who visits always leaves with a bag of something. Have a great weekend Tania xo
ReplyDeleteI have just got into foraging-after being taught how to find and identify porcini a couple of weeks ago its like a switch has been flicked in my brain. Today i noticed almonds fallen from a tree, on my block, where i've lived for 8 years, and a huge rosemary bush outside the solicitors office. Perfect time of year for it-happy hunting!
ReplyDeleteLast Summer we rented a French
ReplyDeleteholiday cottage and they had surrounded the garden with all kinds of fruit trees, so that whenever you stayed there you would be able to pick fresh fruit from the garden.
Cherries then apricots, peaches, plums, grapes, apples, pears, and finally figs. There was also a strawberry bed and soft fruit bushes.
Such a lovely idea.
We have a mulberry tree that despite only being two years old manages to fruit itself twice a year. That's about all up here, the possums pinch all the good stuff and it's too humid for all those lovely fruits. mel x
ReplyDeleteOh this is so reminiscent of my childhood. Whenever we used to travel dad would always stop on the side of the road if food was to be found :)
ReplyDeleteI have noticed since having olive trees in our back,yard that they line a lot of the suburban streets here, at the moment they are all laden with fruit screaming to be picked.
Is this house the same one you showed us in a previous post? Love me a rambling old house.
Xx
Hi Tania,
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a girl I lived on the same road as my grandparent's farm. The property used to have old houses on it but had been torn down years before I was born. Old apple trees remained and we always picked them in the fall, and put them in brown paper grocery bags. The apples were delicious.
Glad that you have a place to gather.
Nowadays, the children and I forage for raspberries each fall. They grow on the side of the road and they are big and juicy. It's so exciting to get free fruit!
We've just moved into a new home and one of the best things about it is the fruit trees in the back yard. We have a peach, a couple of apples, possibly an apricot, and something as yet unidentified.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving being able to pick an apple to have with lunch. But the tree has so many fruit that I can't possibly eat them all myself. I see lots of apple pie, and donations to the neighbours . Maybe they will swap for some of their produce?
I haven't ever actually foraged - a bit nervous about taking something where I don't know what has happened to it. But I do like the idea of it.
oh that must have been a lovely time foraging!! I am lucky to have inherited a great fig tree at home...I have a few lemon trees in the street that so kindly sway their branches over the path for me to pick some luscious fruit too! Have fun with those apples xx
ReplyDeletegorgeous photos! We love foraging for apples too. So much fun and we are very lucky to have lots of apple trees growing in the streets around us.
ReplyDeleteWe forage loads of fruit every year ever since we disccovered it was an option. Free fruit!? Hooray!
ReplyDeleteWe get apples mostly, but we've also gathered grapes, plums, strawberries, thimbleberries, and chokecherries. Grapes are probably my favorite as far as deliciousness goes--though a wild mountain strawberry is close. We pick hundreds of pounds of apples which we turn into juice, sauce, and pie filling to last us through the year.
We have been watching the roadsides and making note of where the blackberries have been blooming the most and are anxiously awaiting June/July's arrival when they will be covered in berries.
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