Foraging

Picking the berries

Juicy

I love to forage this time of year-its amazing what you can bring home in a very short space of time...and all for free!

Alfie and I have just spent an hour up the fields gathering blackberries....they are ripe and juicy, I'll wash them and let any creepy crawlies make an exit then I'll bag them up and freeze them till I want to use them. 

We then raided the sloe bush.....abundant with big purple berries. Dean's off to buy a large litre bottle of Gin. I'll wash and weigh out 450g of berries then prick the skins with a sterilised needle and put in a large sterilised air tight jar along with  225g of  sugar. 

I'll put it in a cool, dark cupboard and shake it every other day for a week then once a week for a couple of months, should be ready in time for Christmas!

We came across a hop plant growing up a telegraph pole-I feel my own brewery coming on...maybe not! Some apples, quite small and some cob nuts. Also a passion flower growing in the sloe bush..bizarre- I've taken a cutting to see if it will grow.

Hop

Our hoard