Guerilla forest gardening....

bonniebede

Just a thought.

Guerilla gardening is planting gardens edible or ornamental on spaces you don't own. mostly public property, like grass verges and so on. Usually involves reclaiming and cleaning up a neglected few square feet of waste ground.

Forest gardening is building an edible forest, it is full of perrenial self renewing plants, growing at the various layers of a natural forest, like canopy, ground cover, roots etc.

What about combining the two. there's a local park with a bit of woodland. Certain areas are maintained, paths and so on, but the woodland is pretty much left to do its own thing.

If someone, not me obviously, this is just a thought experiment, :cool: were to add a few nice edibles, perrennials, native irish species, to improve the foraging from that area if one had to forage....

Ideas anyone?

Builderfromhell

Interesting post.

A friend of mine grows blueberries in peaty soil in clare. She told me about a farmer who got a dozen or so blueberry bushes to plant at his bog where a similar type of blueberries already grow. He planted them, got involved in other things and forgot about them. years later he was up the hills and found the blueberries had thrived and spread to a much larger area.

I often wondered if people could casually plant blueberries, rasberries, logan berries, crab apple trees in remote areas and wait to see if an abundant harvest comes from them.

slowburner

I think it is a great idea - but only if native plants are used.
Introducing non native plants into the wild would be a major no-no.

One problem with planting raspberries and logan berries is that they really need pruning to be productive. They will occupy more land then they are worth, if left to their own devices.

sheesh

its an idea and an admirable one in some ways have a look at these guys

http://irishseedsavers.ie/

Grizzly 45

Builderfromhell wrote: »

I often wondered if people could casually plant blueberries, rasberries, logan berries, crab apple trees in remote areas and wait to see if an abundant harvest comes from them.

If you know there is deer in an area and you want to harvest them without too much problems.Plant or check out your patch for any apple trees,either crab or normal.A bit of pruning will get them producing again,and deer go crazy for apples.Come apple harvest time which is usually around deer season,you will know where to go for some good deer hunting!;)

bonniebede

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

If you know there is deer in an area and you want to harvest them without too much problems.Plant or check out your patch for any apple trees,either crab or normal.A bit of pruning will get them producing again,and deer go crazy for apples.Come apple harvest time which is usually around deer season,you will know where to go for some good deer hunting!;)

What about breeding in some plumper meatier rabits into the wild stock? Probably to wussy, got all their instincts bred out i suppose. But maybe a better class of edible snail in the garden.

Jimmy Garlic

I know someone who grew weed in the middle of a roundabout.. Ming used to grow his in the bog.

kildare.17hmr

bonniebede wrote: »

What about breeding in some plumper meatier rabits into the wild stock? Probably to wussy, got all their instincts bred out i suppose. But maybe a better class of edible snail in the garden.

That would be illegal. but there is nothing wrong with our rabbits 1 will feed 2 people a decent enough meal

bonniebede

bonniebede wrote: »

What about breeding in some plumper meatier rabits into the wild stock? Probably to wussy, got all their instincts bred out i suppose. But maybe a better class of edible snail in the garden.

forget the snails. I've just been reading about them, The ones we have in the garden are as good as it gets.
And apparently you can use their slime in cosmetics. Maybe i should post that to the herbal medicines thread.:cool:

Grizzly 45

bonniebede wrote: »

What about breeding in some plumper meatier rabits into the wild stock? Probably to wussy, got all their instincts bred out i suppose. But maybe a better class of edible snail in the garden.

Why not just keep a few in hutches,like folks used to do in the cities?They breed like...rabbitts and one buck and four does should keep you in meat for a long time.Better than relying on trying to catch one out in the wilds with traps or snares.Its easier betimes to keep live critters in your place and slughter them as needed if refridgearation and whatnot is going to be a major problem.
Snails,you can eat our local lot,but the really good ones are the European Escargot or vineyard snails.They are twice the size as ours. You need to keep them in a cardboard box for about 14 days and feed them on corn flour so they detox themselves.Then you have to get them out of their shells,wash them and remove the bitter gall bladder.Put them back in their shells and cook them by simmering the shell in boiling water while melting garlic butter,salt and pepper on them.

For all this effort you get a piece of rubbery meat that looks like a big boogerwith a taste like Garlic butter.

Doc Ruby

I've heard some people have had good results with quail in urban farms.

kildare.17hmr

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Why not just keep a few in hutches,like folks used to do in the cities?They breed like...rabbitts and one buck and four does should keep you in meat for a long time.Better than relying on trying to catch one out in the wilds with traps or snares.

there was a thread a while ago in animal and pets about a European family who had a load of rabbits out their back that were for eating. Alot of shocked posters over there but seriously a great idea. With the numbers mentioned above you will have fresh meat for years to come andawayn have enough to give some away or sell if needed

slowburner

Likewise, that's what dovecotes were for.

Tabnabs

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

there was a thread a while ago in animal and pets about a European family who had a load of rabbits out their back that were for eating. Alot of shocked posters over there but seriously a great idea. With the numbers mentioned above you will have fresh meat for years to come andawayn have enough to give some away or sell if needed

Beware, however, rabbit starvation - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation

bonniebede

Grizzly 45 wrote: »

Why not just keep a few in hutches,like folks used to do in the cities?They breed like...rabbitts
.

THe problem is I live in a rabbit hutch in the city myself.

The idea was to access foraging or cropping on public land.

@Kildare, how can it be illegal, rabbits are not native fauna but even wild rabbits are descendants of escapees from someones imported stock for eating.:)

Great idea about the apple trees, lots of native species that need heirlooming there.

bonniebede

Tabnabs wrote: »

Beware, however, rabbit starvation - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation

Very interesting, never heard it called this. I do know, being a low carber that when they initially tested low carb eating , in fact zero carb eating, back in the 20's they had that result.

they wanted to see how the inuit could survive on an all meat diet.
1 guy ate all meat for a year, no problem, he thrived, but he also ate all the fat and skin and so on.

2nd guy ate only lean meat, and had to stop after a couple of weeks because he was nearly dying.

It's a common mistake for newbie low carb dieters (though low carb never means no carb) who try to combine low carbing with low fat diets , its a disaster.

krissovo

Tabnabs wrote: »

Beware, however, rabbit starvation - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_starvation

Thats very interesting, never came accross the term before.

Being rural I dont see a need but I have identyfied in my area edible plants.

When we moved to London in the 70's there were still some public areas growing fruit and even spuds which was continued after rationing.

Doc Ruby

bonniebede wrote: »

they wanted to see how the inuit could survive on an all meat diet.
1 guy ate all meat for a year, no problem, he thrived, but he also ate all the fat and skin and so on.

I believe the best way is to eat it raw for your full vitamin complement, but obviously thats not a practical option what with parasites and diseases.

Grizzly 45

[

QUOTE=bonniebede;75995100]THe problem is I live in a rabbit hutch in the city myself.

Got a balcony,or access to the roof if it is flat roofed?

The idea was to access foraging or cropping on public land.

TBH ,I'd be checkig out derelict sites or aandoned houses for this kind of work.A lot of the older city houses have overgrown gardens with some apple or fruit trees,and very fertile soil hidden nicely by brambles and undergrowth from prying eyes.

@Kildare, how can it be illegal, rabbits are not native fauna but even wild rabbits are descendants of escapees from someones imported stock for eating.:)

Apprently it would come under introducing non native species into the wild of Ireland.:rolleyes: Doubt that they would survive very long mind,as the domestic rabbit hasnt got the brains of its wild cousin.

Grizzly 45

Doc Ruby wrote: »

I believe the best way is to eat it raw for your full vitamin complement, but obviously thats not a practical option what with parasites and diseases.

Proably because of the cold the Eskimoes can store it longer,and like steak tartare mince meat if it is shock frozen it kills off all the parasites?

kildare.17hmr

bonniebede wrote: »

@Kildare, how can it be illegal, rabbits are not native fauna but even wild rabbits are descendants of escapees from someones imported stock for eating.:).

Its illegal to release any non native species into the wild here. rabbits are a pest to alot of farmers, are considered vermin so can be hunted all year round with the only real protection/right they have is to as quick a death as possible. Releasing rabbits would land you in alot of hot water with the PTB

bonniebede

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

Its illegal to release any non native species into the wild here. rabbits are a pest to alot of farmers, are considered vermin so can be hunted all year round with the only real protection/right they have is to as quick a death as possible. Releasing rabbits would land you in alot of hot water with the PTB

Fair enough. Anyway have to reckon the ones that live around are the best adapted to the local situation.

I think i need to do a foraging course to see what is available at hand.

eth0

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

there was a thread a while ago in animal and pets about a European family who had a load of rabbits out their back that were for eating. Alot of shocked posters over there but seriously a great idea. With the numbers mentioned above you will have fresh meat for years to come andawayn have enough to give some away or sell if needed

If the rabbits were on your own land and it was any way decent quality would you not be better off growing some vedge on it instead? It would be nice to have a bit of meat as well but is it the most efficient use of land?

jugger

eth0 wrote: »

If the rabbits were on your own land and it was any way decent quality would you not be better off growing some vedge on it instead? It would be nice to have a bit of meat as well but is it the most efficient use of land?

probably not but there dam cute:D

eth0

jugger wrote: »

probably not but there dam cute:D

That doesn't help when you need to kill em to make dinner

I must try planting a few christmas trees beside the road and 'harvesting' them in a few years. Even in the worst shtf there will be some willing to pay the premium for this 'comfort item'

jugger

eth0 wrote: »

That doesn't help when you need to kill em to make dinner

just depends how hungry you are i guess but in a long term shtf situation clothing like this might make a come back

http://www.penn.museum/collections/shotridge/display.php?type=objects&id=NA11739

although thats a lot of rabbits

kildare.17hmr

eth0 wrote: »

kildare.17hmr wrote: »

there was a thread a while ago in animal and pets about a European family who had a load of rabbits out their back that were for eating. Alot of shocked posters over there but seriously a great idea. With the numbers mentioned above you will have fresh meat for years to come andawayn have enough to give some away or sell if needed

If the rabbits were on your own land and it was any way decent quality would you not be better off growing some vedge on it instead? It would be nice to have a bit of meat as well but is it the most efficient use of land?

They were in hutches or something out the back. Depends how big your garden is I suppose!

bonniebede

So today, I planted in my own garden some fruit bushes from ALdis, that camein packs of three. I only wanted certain ones, which left me with two unwanted golden raspberries and one gooseberry.

now our local GAA field has wild blackberry bushes all along the south facing wall, so I went for a little walk with my spare plants and a handy gardening tool.


It will be fun seeing if they survive, thrive and even produce fruit.

It would be ironic if they do better than the ones I am pampering in the garden at home.

Hope none of the locals wonder if I'm burying body parts or something, that could be awkward.:eek:

bonniebede

bonniebede wrote: »

Just a thought.

Guerilla gardening is planting gardens edible or ornamental on spaces you don't own. mostly public property, like grass verges and so on. Usually involves reclaiming and cleaning up a neglected few square feet of waste ground.

Forest gardening is building an edible forest, it is full of perrenial self renewing plants, growing at the various layers of a natural forest, like canopy, ground cover, roots etc.

What about combining the two. there's a local park with a bit of woodland. Certain areas are maintained, paths and so on, but the woodland is pretty much left to do its own thing.

If someone, not me obviously, this is just a thought experiment, :cool: were to add a few nice edibles, perrennials, native irish species, to improve the foraging from that area if one had to forage....

Ideas anyone?

I really like this idea, in fact I had a similar idea myself. Aldi sell fruit bushes (gooseberry, blackcurrant, etc) quite cheaply every so often. I bought a couple and got a farmers permission to plant them in the hedgerow about their fields. I was then offered a patch of land to grow veg on by the same person, so the fruit bushes are planted there now! (it can be read about on my blog). I will be doing this in future though, I really love the idea of letting the bushes grow semi wild and providing a harvest for anyone who wants them in the future...

Also, my grandmother has a damson orchard on her land - I'm going to dig up a couple of the younger saplings and transplant them to the area around where I live.

- Druss.

http://paddy-halligan.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/#!/druss_rua

bonniebede

Deleted User wrote: »

I really like this idea, in fact I had a similar idea myself. Aldi sell fruit bushes (gooseberry, blackcurrant, etc) quite cheaply every so often. I bought a couple and got a farmers permission to plant them in the hedgerow about their fields. I was then offered a patch of land to grow veg on by the same person, so the fruit bushes are planted there now! (it can be read about on my blog). I will be doing this in future though, I really love the idea of letting the bushes grow semi wild and providing a harvest for anyone who wants them in the future...

Also, my grandmother has a damson orchard on her land - I'm going to dig up a couple of the younger saplings and transplant them to the area around where I live.

- Druss.

http://paddy-halligan.blogspot.com
http://twitter.com/#!/druss_rua[/QUOTE]

Yes, i posted elsewhere that having bought a couple of th aldi packs to get what I wanted, I've planted the left overs 'around'. Love the blog.

Thrace

Its a good idea to plant tons of wild meadow flowers in the areas you select aswell. Not only does it help you identify the planted crops but encourages insects which is good for pollination and attracting edible wildlife - which attract bigger meatier wildlife. Plus they look good. Win, win.