The healthy forager

I’ve been a bit quiet in the past two weeks, as we have reached the so-called “hungry gap”; there’s not a huge amount of edible stuff growing, and I can see the bottom of the freezer again. Though it will be a while before we’ve totally run out of stored foraged food, a post about defrosting plums may be of less interest 😆.

Two things I’m still currently foraging are blackberry leaves and pine needles for tea.

The leaves and needles, when dried, get mixed with chaga powder. This is my go-to drink in the morning. I’m also putting this concoction in tea bags to send to my dad. He’s had surgery and could do with a boost to his immune system.

While I was drying Scots pine needles (from a fallen tree) one of the branches contained a cone. I kept it as I think they’re beautiful. But then a few days ago I held the cone upside down and a whole stream of seeds came fluttering out! They’re a bit like sycamore seeds, with a ‘wing’ to help them travel far.

I absolutely love Scots pine. Their reddish bark and irregular shape, their scent and habitat with heather… Whenever I’m near one I feel at home, in the moment, and protected somehow.

So I decided to sow these little seeds. Yesterday I went out to the woods near Knockburn with a small bag, to get some native soil for the wee chaps. It so happened that a tree feller had dug a deep trench and the soil was easily available to scoop up. But then I spotted it: a tiny Scots pine seedling, atop the tyre track.

I know you shouldn’t uproot wild plants, but this one would have a guaranteed death if it stayed where it was, so I took it home in my pannier:

Back home I mixed the heavy soil with some sand, and sowed the seeds. The seedling has its own pot and is enjoying a sunny aspect at the front of the house.

The ancient Caledonian forests started like this – tiny seedlings that turned into Scotland’s answer to ‘primeval’.

I will try to remember to photograph a mature one next time I’m out. There’s other food to come, too: today I saw the first butterburr flowers and ground elder. Frying pans at the ready!