Fruits Of The Forage

Almost time for the serious picking to commence! Very early blackberries this year again not as early as last year though. Foraging in different parts of the country you soon realise there are several different species of blackberry, over ten I think. In many warmer areas of the country different species won't be ready yet. The big juicy ones found in low lying areas of the north west seem to ripen super early and are the best flavoured I've found. Some later maturing species... I've picked in milder areas taste very bland and dry in comparison, at least our abundant rain yields some tasty fruits!
#fruit #fruitarian #wildfruit #wildharvest #wildedibles #food #british #britishsummer #britishfood #britishfruit #food #foodiesofinstagram #foodie #foodstory #forage #forager #foragefood #eattheseasons #livebytheseasons #seasonallife #seasonalliving #fruity #wild #sustainablefood #realfood #sustainable
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It's our second day at Haddon Hall, taking foraging courses in their meadow of meadow sweet. We've made some meadow sweet and red currant cordial which looks and tastes just like cherryade 🍒🍒🍒!
#peakdistrict #peak #bakewell #flowerpower #nature #cordial #cocktail #haddonhall #forage #foragefood #food #foodie #foodsofinstagram #chef #cheftalk #wildfood #wildharvest #summer #eattheseasons #seasonal #seasonallife #goodlife #naturesharvest #wildfood #wild #outdoors #britishsummer

Had a lovely walk around @haddonhall near Bakewell today. We will be teaching foraging courses at their summer fair this Friday to Sunday, free for visitors to the summer fair! Haddon Hall, set in the beautiful Derbyshire Dales, is a great location to browse the Peak Districts artisan producers, forage some edible plants and relax in the majestic gardens. Meadowsweet is out in force in the Dales now with a dusting of the white blossoms visible in the meadow below in this picture!
#derbyshire #dales #derbyshiredales #peakdistrict #peakdistrictnationalpark #nationalpark #bakewell #forage #forager #wild #course #artisan #haddonhall #wildfood #food #foodie #foodstory #wildharvest #wildherb #foragefood

Potting up elder cuttings to distribute today. We could of course buy them but where's the fun in that? This way we can choose the best fruiting trees and rest assured were spreading local specimens, not cheap imports from far away.
#wild #rewild #rewilding #elderflower #flowerpower #nature #instafood #foodstory #food #foodie #conservation #wildlife #wildlifeconservation #extinctionrebellion #wildfood #eattheseasons #sustainable #sustainablefood #herbalremedies #herblife #seasonallife #seasonalliving #propogation #botany #nativeplants #naturalfoods #realfood

Our apple grafts are looking good. We had almost 100% success with apples and 0% success with the pears and medlars 😳. I think that was down to poor scion wood rather than poor grafting!
The first picture is of a long forgotten Cheshire apple intriguingly called "Rakemaker". I've been curious about this apple for a while having seen it mentioned on a list of Cheshire apples, but haven't managed to find any other information on it. I stumbled across one tree whilst searching f...or wood for grafting in the snow last winter near Nantwich and managed to take a small twig from the tree. The twig was very thin so had to be "cleft" grafted (stuck into a split in the rootstock) and I didn't think it would take but it has! With many of these heritage fruits the only way to taste them is to go out and find them or grow them yourself. 🍏🍎🍏🍎🍏🍎 #wildfruit #heritageorchard #grafting #graft #realfood #foods #foodie #foodsofinstagram #foodstory #fruit #fruity #local #localharvest #sustainablefood #sustainable #britishfood #british #britishfruit
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Our apple grafts are looking good. We had almost 100% success with apples and 0% success with the pears and medlars 😳. I think that was down to poor scion wood rather than poor grafting!
The first picture is of a long forgotten Cheshire apple intriguingly called "Rakemaker". I've been curious about this apple for a while having seen it mentioned on a list of Cheshire apples, but haven't managed to find any other information on it. I stumbled across one tree whilst searching for wood for grafting in the snow last winter near Nantwich and managed to take a small twig from the tree. The twig was very thin so had to be "cleft" grafted (stuck into a split in the rootstock) and I didn't think it would take but it has! With many of these heritage fruits the only way to taste them is to go out and find them or grow them yourself.
🍏🍎🍏🍎🍏🍎

Local artist and illustrator of our labels is involved with a new Arts Festival in Chorlton starting in September! Calling for artists, all will have a chance to exhibit! Meeting: Monday 15th July - 6.30-8.30pm - The Font, Chorlton

Trefor - North Wales
#nature #outdoors #wales #visitwales #sea #ocean #beach #mountain #snowdonia #summer #harbour #beautiful #boat #summerholiday #orchid #cherry

The allotment is starting to produce prime veg. First very untidy bunch of tomatoes from an early Russian variety called Latah, that produces many tomatoes but the branches seem too weak to hole them? Also first success growing lettuce.
@realseeds
#veg #growyourown #grow #vegetablegardening

Archie showing James our new man the ropes down on the stall @treaclemarket in #macclesfield today. We've got some limited edition treats for you from the walled garden @nortonpriory for the first time. Heritage cucumber, carrot and bean piccalilli, crab apple jelly and last but not least Chinese Quince Marmalade. I've never heard of Chinese quinces being grown or even sold in the UK before so get down to grab a jar while stocks last, think aromatic lemon jam grown here in Ch...eshire. We've also got our fruity forage cordial - raspberry, damson, rhubarb and sweet cecily from the the Peak District! Big effort from Archie getting straight on our local market after getting back from Borough market late last night.
#cheshire #food #foodsofinstagram #foodie #local #sustainablefood #localfood #wildfood #wildharvest #foodstory #foodwaste #foodlover #lovefood #chef #cheftalk #chefsofinstagram #foodiesofinstagram @ Macclesfield
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Luscious fruits of London - Medlar, cherry plum, loquat, walnuts and wild cherry. Last day at Borough market! Never seen a loquat in the UK before after spotting the first tree we saw two more trees within five minutes. Would they fruit in the North 🤔? I doubt it, the fruit sets before Christmas and would probably be finished off by a decent frost.
#london #borough #bermondsey #boroughmarket #londonfoodie #food #foodie #tropicalfruit #fruit #londonfruit #fruity #fruitarian #londongrow #cityfarminglondon #farminglondon #londonlife #eattheseasons #thegoodlife #seasonal #seasonallife

It's our second day here down at @boroughmarket with our fellow #Cheshire producers, promoting all things Cheshire! This years new batch of elderflower rhubarb and grapefruit cordial is going down well in this heat!
@forest_gin @lovelanebrewing @lovelanebrewery @taste.cheshire @visitchesterandcheshire @mornflake @haughtonhoney @reaseheathcollege
#london #boroughmarket #bermondsey #market #wild #wildfood #foodie #food #londonfood #londonfoodie #foodstory #londonmarkets #summer #foragefood #seasonal #markettrader #chester #realfood #eattheseasons #thegoodlife #bigsmoke

Fruits of the Forage have been showing you the flavours found in the wild since 2014, coincidentally this was the 1000th anniversary of @boroughmarket where we're proud to be trading this week, a milestone for us. The basis of our business, has always been market trade, something we've excelled at because we bring local regional flavours to market, bringing a fresh edge to traditional market fayre. We love to introduce and educate our customers about the wild foods in our pre...serves, and tell our orchard stories. Hawking our produce will by my younger brother Archibald (careful he's a smooth operator) and my eldest brother @thorneybert who founded the company with me. Bert's armed with a wealth of knowledge, akin to the depth of flavour in our Dam Sloe Chutney, rich, tart and fruity; excellent with strong cheese or charcuterie. Two fine pickles here represent our region, cold Pickled Wild Garlic Buds, gathered in the damp valleys falling from the Peak District to the Cheshire plains, where ramsons are rampant. I'll let Bert tell you about the damsons, but one link to our region is there use in the cotton industry during the industrial revolution, for dying the colour navy, and just yesterday at @cookeryfoodfest a Staffordshire lady told me they were used there for dying leather for shoes.
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Founder Fred will be taking the Chef's at UCFF (the Glastonbury for Chefs) on foraging tours with tasting sessions, based at Farringon Oils Farm - Mellow Yellow Kitchen Northamptonshire. Local Chefs roll up for a taste of the British landscape; cocktails on offer the Ol' Forager - old fashioned with dandelion syrup and pickled damsons; and a simple Elderflower Mojito cause you canny beat it. BBC Radio Northampton will be interviewing Fred at 8:50AM Tuesday 25th before UCFF Kicks off. After all this Fred's off to the real Glastonbury.

It was great to meet Andrew from @claremontfarm yesterday. Andrews family have been farming on the Wirral since 1906 and grow a wide range of fruit and veg to sell in their beautiful farm shop. We'll be collaborating to plant a large orchard and hedgerow of traditional apples, plums and pears! On the left of the first picture is the most amazing hedgerow, one of the oldest left in the Wirral filled with ancient oaks, a real shinning example of what a rich habitat a humble hedge can be!

Bottling up this year's batches of elderflower cordial today. Almost 2000 bottles filled by hand, if only the new filling machine was here!

Allotments looking lush after a bit of rain. Lettuces growing really well between broadbeans and my first attempt at growing onions from seed, love how well onions grow in bunches.
#allotmentveg #allotment #grow #gardening #gardenlifestyle #growyourown #veg #allotmentlife #seasonal #thegoodlife #healthysoil #realfood #sustainable #sustainablefood #organicgarden #organicveg #veglife #garden #homegrown #seasonalliving @ Manchester, United Kingdom