when you collect the orchid seed collect some soil from next to the plants and sow the seeds into that , as likely to contain the symbiotic microbes they need to germinate
Eva being labelled as "Doofus Minimus" sent me into a laughing fit, almost spit out my tea. Red and black currants have been pretty prolific at the allotments this year, and they often have wild strawberries growing underneath them. Great combination to brew a berry soda from, as it turns out.
I have been going through a very difficult few weeks with a very sick child. Your videos are a true respite for me. I actually laughed out loud when I saw dufus minimus on the screen. Thank you Mr Mike!
Never too late to get into appreciating it. I have developed a fungi obsession, now I am getting into the plants. It all started with birds of course, crows in particular!
I am in Canada and in a position of recovering heath- I joined the Nature Conservancy group on line and once a week they send me three very simple ways to make sure I remember to bring myself outdoors. Maybe they have something similar where you are to help remind you? I’ve found it very helpful.
15:18 This is the first time I've seen Jenny's face in one of your videos. Hello Jenny. Nice to finally see you. Your lovely walks/hikes are always my favorite videos. Makes me want to go on a nature walk myself.
Hey hey Sir Shrimp...just wanted to comment about how much I love your content. I moved to the USA from the UK last year and am very much homesick. Your videos honestly brighten my day and give me a little dose of the UK. I also love how you have supported the Africa Everyday channel. On top of that, your content is so unique, well-crafted and thought out. I always look forward to Friday/Saturday! Please keep it up, you are a fantastic person.
I just did this actually. I had a ramble through the local forest and managed about 2kg of redcurrants, raspberries, alpine strawberries, some red gooseberries and some random rhubarb. Needless to say, when I got home I just put everything in a pot and made a load of Everything Jam. Like your everything chutney but sweeter. T'was lovely. Even the wifey was happy.
@@pavlovssheep5548 Lol. This was a few miles from my allotment. I think there used to be one there, at one time, but they moved it due to county boundaries being altered and the new council wasn't interested. They also shut a nearby playground at the same time. Just foundations now. What a waste.
My favorite berry picking experience was when myself and a friend went camping on an island. We ended up with a heat wave and on a hike, became very dehydrated and famished. On the way back to camp we ran out of water and then stumbled across a field of wild blueberries. I'm talking thousands and thousands. My province is renowned for them but I've never seen it in such enormous abundance. I've never eaten so many berries in my life before nor since.
We also had no cherries this year on the prairie, but our old, dying single, twisted (beautifully) plum tree put out another bumper crop of last gasp plumbs.
Mike I just want to say thank you! Your videos are so relaxing. I had a Kidney Transplant 4 weeks ago and watching through older videos and awaiting your new ones kept me sane while in hospital. I never thought I'd gain an Interest in mudlarking and foraging at only 33. I love your wide variety of videos and humour. So thank you! :-)
There is definitely going to be a shortage of fruits (wild and otherwise) this year. I have all these plants in my garden - plus lots of their hybrid cousins, and all have been adversely affected by the heat and dry weather (been as bad here in SW Scotland as in many parts of the South). Also, this morning, I have noticed that many hazelnuts have also aborted, lots of embryo buds dried out on branches (and it looked such a promising harvest initially), with only a few still going ahead and forming nuts. As I suspected a lot of fruits wouldn't make it, I decided to pick whatever scented wild rose petals I could find (pollinating the roses myself in return, just in case the bees don't see them all, although they seemed to be doing just fine). Last year, I froze the rose petals until the heps/hips developed, and then made jam out of both combined. Very pleased with the final product. Open the lid of the jam jar and you get the concentrated scent of the rose flower, and the jam itself has the taste of the sweetened fruits. I am hoping that as we had a hot Spring last year, followed by a bumper crop of Boletes, that the same will be true of this year.
Eva romping through the flowers, living her best life, so sweet. Lovely walk, even if your timing was a bit off for fruit, or the weather hasn't been cooperative. Have you any plans on planting fruit trees and bushes at your home? Take care, be well
Love your channel all the way from Tennessee. Many thanks for the content. Your creativity is fantastic. Enjoy your personality, seeing Eva's fun, and think Jenny is sweet and kind. So happy to see you enjoying life. Congrats on moving to this place; it looks adorable.
Excellent example of context being critical to statements about a plant's growth habits. AS shows two samples of wild garlic in close proximity with one close to the end of it's annual cycle and the other still in full production. Wild garlic is available as a good eating crop in similar conditions on the West coast of Scotland right into the autumn.
I love your ability to turn a nice walk in the countryside into a quest for berries and make it interesting for us viewing it reminds me of the tv programs i used to watch when I was a kid like HOW and MAGPIE in the days when tv was informative and about learning 👍
The abundant wild strawberries you found remind me of the place up the road from where I grew up where there were always so many strawberries. It was also on a small bank at the side of an uncommonly used road. They seem to love a bank/hedgerow under small trees. I am living in a city now. So watching your videos gives me a bit of home even though I live in Ireland. The countryside is almost identical. You also remind me of both my parents who are both from England. It's always nostalgic and relaxing to watch your videos. Thank you for the wonderful content. Keep up the great work! ❤
I don't know if you'll ever get to read this now but myself & my better half have never seen wild strawberries, until today that is & guess where they were? In my garden!! They did taste good though.
That was a lovely walk. I live in Nebraska in America, and we have been busy picking mulberries, actually shaking mulberries down. We lay a sheet on the grass, and then shake the branches over it. We have purple and white mulberry trees. They are so delicious. And today we picked black raspberries. The black are native here, not the red. We planted sweet cherries and pie cherries, and the birds devoured most of the sweets and left the tart pie cherries for us. We don't mind sharing. Our wild strawberries have no flavor; just a burst of water, but they are very beautiful. Thanks for taking us along with you.
This was such a lovely video. I'm so lucky to have wild raspberries surrounding my garden, and two seasons ago I experimented with past it strawberry plants, putting them in a bare patch of the garden, where they rooted and turned wild! They are superb. Here on Skye there are almost carpets of the common orchids, plus ramsons galore. I have Herb Robert in the garden too, but what can I use it for? I almost fell off the chair laughing at "Doofus Minimus".... we call our little brown Perra Mestiza ( posh Spanish for mongrel), Holly, "Wallappet" because she seems like a cross between a Wallaby and a Whippet.... she came from the streets of Spain, rescued from a horrible kill centre by a dog charity. Thank you for another relaxing and enjoyable share time.. much appreciated. 😊
9:35 Saint johns wort has clinically significant antidepressant properties. Unfortunately it also has a ton of possibly dangerous interactions with other medications, which is why its use is not always suitable.
Whilst it is illegal (without permission) to dig up the orchids from the wild, could you take a sample of soil from near them...? This could be a good medium from establishing their seeds as it would hopefully contain the appropriate fungus.
Found some wild strawberries growing in the yard at work, so have been watering them early in the morning or evening. They're coming on nicely and taste wonderful. :)
I have and have been collecting Asian Raspberries (Rubus phoenicolasius) every june in my area. Fir some reason they are extremely abundant. Usually i make a tart sauce with it for meats and cheeses - its heavenly. Combined with those pickled walnuts i learned from you Mr Shrimp about 4-5 years ago, it really is a gastronomic adventure.
EVA - Doofus minimus meaning "a little bit stupid" :D (When she was trying her best to dig up a stone at 13:20.) This was cracking me up. Thanks! She is lovely. I think she is trying to mimic what she saw you doing. Digging up things. She might be onto something. ;)
Have you heard of Frankfurt Green sauce. Because it is made of seven herbs including sorrel thought it might interest you. It s served cold with hard boiled eggs. In Frankfurt dialect, this recipe for sour cream and herbs is called grie soβ. You can find the herbs used in this sauce packaged together and kitchen-ready in the Frankfurter region in Germany. No one else sells them like this, so you have to put together your own mixture if you do not live in the Frankfurt area. These herbs in German are borretsch, kerbel, kresse, petersilie, pimpinelle, sauerampfer und schnittlauch (borage, chervil, cress, parsley, salad burnet, sorrel, and chives). Some of these herbs are difficult to find outside of Germany. You may become adept at gathering the herbs wild, or several seed companies sell the more unknown seeds, like borage and pimpernel (salad burnet).
These videos - and the beach combing ones - make me pullout google maps to see what else is in the area. I’ve never been to the UK, but what beautiful countryside - so much greener than our Aussie bush.
St John's Wort is still used as an anti-depressant for mild and seasonal depression. I've used it myself at the suggestion of and under supervision by my GP and found it quite effective. It reduces tolerance of alcohol and can make your skin sensitive to sunlight so it's not for everyone.
I live in the Southern US, but my gosh, I adore watching you forage. Things look very similar, but, I worry... "Wild Berry Score Card" would be a great album name
Lack of rainfall has affected us in the north of Finland too, a month ago the blueberries were in abundance, but they have almost all shrivelled up and dropped now. We have hopes for a decent crop of lingonberry though.
We used to have loads of wild strawberries at our old house. We never had any as our doberman used to beat us to them. She also found a truffle in the garden too. Love all you videos, thank you.
Yellow rattle is also known as 'the meadow maker'. Because it parasitises grass it reduces the height of the grass, making it easier for other wildflower species to grow!
Hi Mike, me and my wife have been lurkers on your channel for many years. Love all the stuff you post and you always bring us down to earth when we need it, so thank you. I do have a question though. (Absolutely no judgement in this question, its pure curiosity). You are so conscious of the environment and the planet - always careful with waste (including food), reduce plastic use, collect rain water, compost, use food waste to make stock, the list goes on... (You're practically a druid!) As someone who is so conscious of this, why do you choose to eat meat and dairy? I understand some people struggle with veganism due to intolerances, allergies and deficiencies, but I wonder if there's another reason? Thanks for grounding us for so many years
St. John's Wort is today used as a very mild herbal relaxant and antidepressant! I think it has been used that way for a couple centuries, though I'm not sure.
I have indeed taken St Johns Wort as a treatment for depression when I didn't feel overly happy with my prescribed medication and sought an option outside of SSRI's due to common side effects. I do not take it any more as my treatment plan has changed, but from my own experience I can say it helped me and my GP was on board with it.
In the woodlands near me there are crab apple trees and a rogue Danson tree, along with elderflower/berries and Brambles. A good source of jam making loveliness lol.
Your challenges in introducing orchids to your property (09:15) echoes that of ours growing paw-paw trees here in the American Midwest. Weird trees, these -- they either take to the soil and forest canopy or they don't. A grove of these Indiana bananas is as closely guarded a family secret as the patch of morels beside the fallen hickory tree out back. The fruit is soft ripe only a day or two, so some Hoosiers can go years without tasting one. Neighbors watch neighbors to see who is strolling into the woods with a serated grapefruit spoon in a breast pocket...
I'm wondering if a glut of wild strawberries is a sign of a coming harsh winter ahead. Mother nature knows best, and yes here in NE lots of blackberry flowers. I'm a fisherman, the bee's often fall in the water but if I see them I offer my net and put them on a flower, bit eccentric but at times we all need a helping hand.
Scattered some ramson seeds in the spring... Sadly... They don't seem to be doing much of anything (though not given up them doing *something* at some point).
We've had a wonderful season for wild strawberries here in eastern upstate New York, USA. My dog Tasmin and I have been eating them for the last two weeks. She is just as fond of them as I am.
An awesome video, like always. Even if the video had just been rambling, like you said, I would've loved it. "Doofus minimus" caught me by surprise :D One piece of advice though. I don't know how knowledgeable you are about foxes in your area. Usually when picking things from very low (like below 30-50cm height) you don't eat it immediately because little animals like foxes could have urinated, marked their territory or drooled there. A good wash (either at home or from a bottle) usually is the way to go. As far as I've learned the rule of thumb is anything from the waist upwards can be eaten without wash, if you don't mind the occasional insect.
The wild strawberries in urban Ohio have also exploded this year. You usually only find one little treat poking through the underbrush around here, but in my relatives’ yard you can see them all over! I doubt these are related due to the long distance, but one can dream
The lack of rain might be the reason for the lack of summer fruits. I havent seen many lately. Although there's really only one location I know of that has raspberrys come up and it's not an easy walking distance. I did spot some ebbings silverberry a month back, though. They are one of the first fruiting ......well fruits of the year. Although they are very astringent (from what iv been told) at any point other than ripe. Worth Google if you're unaware of that particular plant as its nit specifically wild but is often planted ornamentally by gardners and local councils' and has a very interesting looking berry that is abundant on the shrub when in fruit
We've got cultivated strawberry plants and we've always lost to the slugs and snails. Hoping thus year we remember to check on them before the wildlife eats them We've also had no luck with foraging hazelnuts before the squirrels got them all, at least they're well fed!
Do you guys not have ticks in England? Those tall grasses make my skin crawl. Walking around in that in the US would be a one way ticket to Lyme disease or alpha gal syndrome. 😢
We do indeed. My dog used to get infested with them, I've had a couple, and my son woke up one night to find one burying itself in his chest. We do get Lyme Disease over here. Never heard of Alpha Gal syndrome. We used to get a sort of systemic pesticide liquid that you could apply to your dog's skin and that would deter ticks. But, unfortunately, the ticks are becoming resistant to it now, so we had to get a removal kit - painful, and the dog used to hate the anticipation of it.
@@Bobario1 Ah, our famous Scottish midges are not so plentiful as they used to be. Plus, the anti-insect sprays are getting much, much better these days. I used to use Avon Skin-So-Soft against midges, but now I buy this spray from Tesco and that's brilliant. (Eat oranges, marmite and garlic, lay off the cheese and meat - and the midges tend to leave you alone a lot more).
@@debbiehenri345 I find smidge works well. Never heard that about oranges marmite and garlic, I eat loads of garlic and love marmite but don't eat much because of the high salt content.
Do you find any black raspberries/ black caps in the UK? I always loved picking them with my mom as a child and I planted some in my backyard this year in hopes of establishing a patch. Fingers crossed for fruit next year.
I had to buy a black raspberry plant here in the UK. They're not wild, and they are quite pricey to buy - compared to other raspberries anyway. Last Autumn, in a bid to diversify my fruit garden, I decided to buy in a few of the new colours in raspberries that have lately become available (purple and salmon coloured), I hope they're better than the yellow type (which was the only alternative colour for years, and tastes of nothing really).
Hi Mike. St John’s Wort can be purchased as a herbal supplement, not as a ‘medicine’ in the UK. There is some evidence to support its use for depression and/or anxiety but, not good enough evidence to gain a licence. Consequently we can’t recommend it or prescribe it. If someone is using it and, there is no safety concerns re: this and any other medication that they take, I have no objection. I tend not to yuck other peoples’ yums 👍🏻 (my job is to be a specialist mental health pharmacist)
Bad year for cherries where I live. I got 5 from my tree. Red currents on the other hand are going nuts right now, the red and black raspberries are just starting to ripen. Sadly, the only "wild strawberry" that grows in my yard is Potentilla sp.
Has it been a dry spring for y'all because of El Niño? It's definitely been a wetter summer for us because of it. We normally don't get this much rain all the way into June, it might help us avoid the normal July burn-bans
Always enjoy the botany and foraging content. Have you tried dewberries? It should be quite abundant in your area, but most likely overlooked as just being young blackberry shrubs.
My partner used St John's Wort as an antidepressant for a long time! It's still recommended you don't take it with antidepressants because they can interact and cause nasty side effects. So yeah, it absolutely does crop up in modern medicine.
It can also interact with basically any other medication, including potentially making birth control ineffective, so always, always ask your doctor if it would be ok for you to take it if you have any other medical issues.
@@mikekuppen6256 I've found pharmacists are much better for asking about interactions, to be honest. Doctors have the gist but how medications interact is literally what a pharmacist is trained for. It was my pharmacist that intervened when he realised one of my meds would make another far more effective, which meant that even though it was theoretically a safe dose in isolation, mixed together, I was actually at risk of overdose. That's why they need a fancy degree to dispense, that's what they're trained for.
I love seeing Eva in your vids especially when she's being a bit naughty lol. Can't wait for the brambles to come in near me, always superb for freezing and adding to cocktails/mocktails
Now is the time for blueberries in Poland (Vaccinium myrtillus) - best berry! Is small hard to gather but damn - taste and smell is wonderful. I definitely recommend dumplings with them + sour cream.
when you collect the orchid seed collect some soil from next to the plants and sow the seeds into that , as likely to contain the symbiotic microbes they need to germinate
Eva being labelled as "Doofus Minimus" sent me into a laughing fit, almost spit out my tea. Red and black currants have been pretty prolific at the allotments this year, and they often have wild strawberries growing underneath them. Great combination to brew a berry soda from, as it turns out.
Yeah, that label was funny, lukily I was not drinking at the time.🤣
Why do so many spit out tea .something I've never done or even seen
Oh, me too! The family was wondering what I was laughing at. (Fortunately, I'd just put down my tea).
@@pixie706 You might have to practise a bit to get it right. So start laughing!
@@pixie706 It's a euphemism. It doesn't really happen, but it's like saying LOL.
Seeing the quirky way Eva is skipping around when walking is always fun
Eva is a very cool dog ❤❤
I have been going through a very difficult few weeks with a very sick child. Your videos are a true respite for me. I actually laughed out loud when I saw dufus minimus on the screen. Thank you Mr Mike!
I hope your child feels better soon. Remember to take care of yourself too
These videos really make me realise that I have taken our British countryside for granted.
Never too late to get into appreciating it. I have developed a fungi obsession, now I am getting into the plants. It all started with birds of course, crows in particular!
I am in Canada and in a position of recovering heath- I joined the Nature Conservancy group on line and once a week they send me three very simple ways to make sure I remember to bring myself outdoors. Maybe they have something similar where you are to help remind you? I’ve found it very helpful.
15:18 This is the first time I've seen Jenny's face in one of your videos. Hello Jenny. Nice to finally see you.
Your lovely walks/hikes are always my favorite videos. Makes me want to go on a nature walk myself.
Legend as it says, them "sink holes" aren't sink holes it's what Eva done looking for rocks..
Eva frolicking in the flowers. ❤❤
It makes me laugh every time you talk to her and she barks back.😂
Hey hey Sir Shrimp...just wanted to comment about how much I love your content. I moved to the USA from the UK last year and am very much homesick. Your videos honestly brighten my day and give me a little dose of the UK. I also love how you have supported the Africa Everyday channel. On top of that, your content is so unique, well-crafted and thought out. I always look forward to Friday/Saturday! Please keep it up, you are a fantastic person.
I just did this actually. I had a ramble through the local forest and managed about 2kg of redcurrants, raspberries, alpine strawberries, some red gooseberries and some random rhubarb. Needless to say, when I got home I just put everything in a pot and made a load of Everything Jam. Like your everything chutney but sweeter. T'was lovely. Even the wifey was happy.
sounds like you went for a ramble in somebody's allotment
@@pavlovssheep5548 Lol. This was a few miles from my allotment. I think there used to be one there, at one time, but they moved it due to county boundaries being altered and the new council wasn't interested. They also shut a nearby playground at the same time. Just foundations now. What a waste.
@@merlinathrawes6191 this made me tut so hard.
Always nice to see Jenny! Glad you found some strawberries. It's such a treat to taste wild growing fruit while out walking. 😊
Silly silly Eva! Gosh, I just love her determination!!🥰
Not so many Doofus Minimus in my area, but I have noticed a fair few Doofus Maxiums.
Wouldn't it be "Doofus Minimi" when you find them in large quantities? 😄
My favorite berry picking experience was when myself and a friend went camping on an island. We ended up with a heat wave and on a hike, became very dehydrated and famished. On the way back to camp we ran out of water and then stumbled across a field of wild blueberries. I'm talking thousands and thousands. My province is renowned for them but I've never seen it in such enormous abundance. I've never eaten so many berries in my life before nor since.
We also had no cherries this year on the prairie, but our old, dying single, twisted (beautifully) plum tree put out another bumper crop of last gasp plumbs.
Mike I just want to say thank you! Your videos are so relaxing. I had a Kidney Transplant 4 weeks ago and watching through older videos and awaiting your new ones kept me sane while in hospital. I never thought I'd gain an Interest in mudlarking and foraging at only 33. I love your wide variety of videos and humour. So thank you! :-)
There is definitely going to be a shortage of fruits (wild and otherwise) this year.
I have all these plants in my garden - plus lots of their hybrid cousins, and all have been adversely affected by the heat and dry weather (been as bad here in SW Scotland as in many parts of the South).
Also, this morning, I have noticed that many hazelnuts have also aborted, lots of embryo buds dried out on branches (and it looked such a promising harvest initially), with only a few still going ahead and forming nuts.
As I suspected a lot of fruits wouldn't make it, I decided to pick whatever scented wild rose petals I could find (pollinating the roses myself in return, just in case the bees don't see them all, although they seemed to be doing just fine).
Last year, I froze the rose petals until the heps/hips developed, and then made jam out of both combined. Very pleased with the final product.
Open the lid of the jam jar and you get the concentrated scent of the rose flower, and the jam itself has the taste of the sweetened fruits.
I am hoping that as we had a hot Spring last year, followed by a bumper crop of Boletes, that the same will be true of this year.
Eva romping through the flowers, living her best life, so sweet. Lovely walk, even if your timing was a bit off for fruit, or the weather hasn't been cooperative. Have you any plans on planting fruit trees and bushes at your home? Take care, be well
When you necked that handful of wild strawbs, I was consumed with envy!
Love your channel all the way from Tennessee. Many thanks for the content. Your creativity is fantastic. Enjoy your personality, seeing Eva's fun, and think Jenny is sweet and kind. So happy to see you enjoying life. Congrats on moving to this place; it looks adorable.
Excellent example of context being critical to statements about a plant's growth habits. AS shows two samples of wild garlic in close proximity with one close to the end of it's annual cycle and the other still in full production. Wild garlic is available as a good eating crop in similar conditions on the West coast of Scotland right into the autumn.
I love your ability to turn a nice walk in the countryside into a quest for berries and make it interesting for us viewing it reminds me of the tv programs i used to watch when I was a kid like HOW and MAGPIE in the days when tv was informative and about learning 👍
I appreciate the total opposite of clickbait in the video thumbnail.
Also, Eva is important and a cornerstone of this channel.
The abundant wild strawberries you found remind me of the place up the road from where I grew up where there were always so many strawberries. It was also on a small bank at the side of an uncommonly used road. They seem to love a bank/hedgerow under small trees.
I am living in a city now. So watching your videos gives me a bit of home even though I live in Ireland. The countryside is almost identical. You also remind me of both my parents who are both from England. It's always nostalgic and relaxing to watch your videos. Thank you for the wonderful content. Keep up the great work! ❤
I don't know if you'll ever get to read this now but myself & my better half have never seen wild strawberries, until today that is & guess where they were? In my garden!!
They did taste good though.
That was a lovely walk. I live in Nebraska in America, and we have been busy picking mulberries, actually shaking mulberries down. We lay a sheet on the grass, and then shake the branches over it. We have purple and white mulberry trees. They are so delicious. And today we picked black raspberries. The black are native here, not the red. We planted sweet cherries and pie cherries, and the birds devoured most of the sweets and left the tart pie cherries for us. We don't mind sharing.
Our wild strawberries have no flavor; just a burst of water, but they are very beautiful. Thanks for taking us along with you.
This was such a lovely video. I'm so lucky to have wild raspberries surrounding my garden, and two seasons ago I experimented with past it strawberry plants, putting them in a bare patch of the garden, where they rooted and turned wild! They are superb. Here on Skye there are almost carpets of the common orchids, plus ramsons galore. I have Herb Robert in the garden too, but what can I use it for? I almost fell off the chair laughing at "Doofus Minimus".... we call our little brown Perra Mestiza ( posh Spanish for mongrel), Holly, "Wallappet" because she seems like a cross between a Wallaby and a Whippet.... she came from the streets of Spain, rescued from a horrible kill centre by a dog charity. Thank you for another relaxing and enjoyable share time.. much appreciated. 😊
I get too excited when I see a new video from you. I save them for when I feel stressed or to help me fall asleep. Your voice is so relaxing.
9:35 Saint johns wort has clinically significant antidepressant properties. Unfortunately it also has a ton of possibly dangerous interactions with other medications, which is why its use is not always suitable.
3:09 Yes I can hear the yellow rattles!
Whilst it is illegal (without permission) to dig up the orchids from the wild, could you take a sample of soil from near them...? This could be a good medium from establishing their seeds as it would hopefully contain the appropriate fungus.
Congrats on the foraging finds there sir, enjoyed the scenic walk.
Found some wild strawberries growing in the yard at work, so have been watering them early in the morning or evening. They're coming on nicely and taste wonderful. :)
Doofus Minimus made my morning cuppa come out my nose 😂
I have and have been collecting Asian Raspberries (Rubus phoenicolasius) every june in my area. Fir some reason they are extremely abundant. Usually i make a tart sauce with it for meats and cheeses - its heavenly. Combined with those pickled walnuts i learned from you Mr Shrimp about 4-5 years ago, it really is a gastronomic adventure.
This is the most wholesome content on RUclips. Love it❤
EVA - Doofus minimus meaning "a little bit stupid" :D (When she was trying her best to dig up a stone at 13:20.) This was cracking me up. Thanks! She is lovely. I think she is trying to mimic what she saw you doing. Digging up things. She might be onto something. ;)
Thank you for a lovely rambling video. Wild strawberries are so yummy!
Your thumbnail for this video gave me a good laugh. 😂
Have you heard of Frankfurt Green sauce. Because it is made of seven herbs including sorrel thought it might interest you. It s served cold with hard boiled eggs. In Frankfurt dialect, this recipe for sour cream and herbs is called grie soβ. You can find the herbs used in this sauce packaged together and kitchen-ready in the Frankfurter region in Germany. No one else sells them like this, so you have to put together your own mixture if you do not live in the Frankfurt area.
These herbs in German are borretsch, kerbel, kresse, petersilie, pimpinelle, sauerampfer und schnittlauch (borage, chervil, cress, parsley, salad burnet, sorrel, and chives). Some of these herbs are difficult to find outside of Germany. You may become adept at gathering the herbs wild, or several seed companies sell the more unknown seeds, like borage and pimpernel (salad burnet).
Those strawberries are probably some of the best flavoured you could hope to get. Crazy to see so many.
These videos - and the beach combing ones - make me pullout google maps to see what else is in the area. I’ve never been to the UK, but what beautiful countryside - so much greener than our Aussie bush.
I’m glad you found the strawberries. Thank you for sharing your lovely hunt. 🍓
I live in Kent. I will get out tomorrow and do this!
St John's Wort is still used as an anti-depressant for mild and seasonal depression. I've used it myself at the suggestion of and under supervision by my GP and found it quite effective. It reduces tolerance of alcohol and can make your skin sensitive to sunlight so it's not for everyone.
Up here in London we found a tonne of wild/sour/plum cherries this year. It was a great season
I live in the Southern US, but my gosh, I adore watching you forage. Things look very similar, but, I worry...
"Wild Berry Score Card" would be a great album name
Lack of rainfall has affected us in the north of Finland too, a month ago the blueberries were in abundance, but they have almost all shrivelled up and dropped now. We have hopes for a decent crop of lingonberry though.
how i love these videos in the morning, so peaceful
Thank you for the ramble and the eva.
We used to have loads of wild strawberries at our old house. We never had any as our doberman used to beat us to them. She also found a truffle in the garden too.
Love all you videos, thank you.
Lovely walk in the English countryside complete with strawberry fields. Thank you for bringing me along. Please say hello to Jenny and Eva.
Yellow rattle is also known as 'the meadow maker'. Because it parasitises grass it reduces the height of the grass, making it easier for other wildflower species to grow!
Eva is having so much fun, those strawberries looked delicious & thanks Atomic shrimp 🦐 😊
Hi Mike, me and my wife have been lurkers on your channel for many years. Love all the stuff you post and you always bring us down to earth when we need it, so thank you.
I do have a question though. (Absolutely no judgement in this question, its pure curiosity). You are so conscious of the environment and the planet - always careful with waste (including food), reduce plastic use, collect rain water, compost, use food waste to make stock, the list goes on... (You're practically a druid!) As someone who is so conscious of this, why do you choose to eat meat and dairy?
I understand some people struggle with veganism due to intolerances, allergies and deficiencies, but I wonder if there's another reason?
Thanks for grounding us for so many years
St. John's Wort is today used as a very mild herbal relaxant and antidepressant! I think it has been used that way for a couple centuries, though I'm not sure.
I have indeed taken St Johns Wort as a treatment for depression when I didn't feel overly happy with my prescribed medication and sought an option outside of SSRI's due to common side effects. I do not take it any more as my treatment plan has changed, but from my own experience I can say it helped me and my GP was on board with it.
In the woodlands near me there are crab apple trees and a rogue Danson tree, along with elderflower/berries and Brambles. A good source of jam making loveliness lol.
Your challenges in introducing orchids to your property (09:15) echoes that of ours growing paw-paw trees here in the American Midwest. Weird trees, these -- they either take to the soil and forest canopy or they don't. A grove of these Indiana bananas is as closely guarded a family secret as the patch of morels beside the fallen hickory tree out back. The fruit is soft ripe only a day or two, so some Hoosiers can go years without tasting one. Neighbors watch neighbors to see who is strolling into the woods with a serated grapefruit spoon in a breast pocket...
She is soo gorgeous 😍 Eva that is 😅 thank you for your great videos.
Being puffed is par for the course when climbing and walking 🚶♀️ 😊
I have my bilberry, lingonberry and raspberry spots mapped out for July :) going to get them all!
I'm wondering if a glut of wild strawberries is a sign of a coming harsh winter ahead. Mother nature knows best, and yes here in NE lots of blackberry flowers. I'm a fisherman, the bee's often fall in the water but if I see them I offer my net and put them on a flower, bit eccentric but at times we all need a helping hand.
Scattered some ramson seeds in the spring... Sadly... They don't seem to be doing much of anything (though not given up them doing *something* at some point).
We've had a wonderful season for wild strawberries here in eastern upstate New York, USA. My dog Tasmin and I have been eating them for the last two weeks. She is just as fond of them as I am.
Don't forget Serviceberries- also red, also just coming into season and also available in most parts of the UK.
An awesome video, like always. Even if the video had just been rambling, like you said, I would've loved it. "Doofus minimus" caught me by surprise :D
One piece of advice though. I don't know how knowledgeable you are about foxes in your area. Usually when picking things from very low (like below 30-50cm height) you don't eat it immediately because little animals like foxes could have urinated, marked their territory or drooled there. A good wash (either at home or from a bottle) usually is the way to go. As far as I've learned the rule of thumb is anything from the waist upwards can be eaten without wash, if you don't mind the occasional insect.
The wild strawberries are so small and cute. 🍓
You're right, I built my foraging knowledge up, slowly over the years.
I’ve always wanted to find enough wild strawberries to be able to make a tiny tart with beautiful sweet buttery pastry and served with clotted cream.
Eva is absolutely ADORABLE! I think she had a better time on the hunt than anyone😂
The wild strawberries in urban Ohio have also exploded this year. You usually only find one little treat poking through the underbrush around here, but in my relatives’ yard you can see them all over! I doubt these are related due to the long distance, but one can dream
Looks like Eva is having all the fun 😁
Really appreciate your videos, thank you. Very inspiring to try new things.
The lack of rain might be the reason for the lack of summer fruits. I havent seen many lately. Although there's really only one location I know of that has raspberrys come up and it's not an easy walking distance. I did spot some ebbings silverberry a month back, though. They are one of the first fruiting ......well fruits of the year. Although they are very astringent (from what iv been told) at any point other than ripe. Worth Google if you're unaware of that particular plant as its nit specifically wild but is often planted ornamentally by gardners and local councils' and has a very interesting looking berry that is abundant on the shrub when in fruit
We've got cultivated strawberry plants and we've always lost to the slugs and snails. Hoping thus year we remember to check on them before the wildlife eats them
We've also had no luck with foraging hazelnuts before the squirrels got them all, at least they're well fed!
The raspberry bush in my garden has gone mad in the last week, will have to check my wild strawberry patch!
Do you guys not have ticks in England? Those tall grasses make my skin crawl. Walking around in that in the US would be a one way ticket to Lyme disease or alpha gal syndrome. 😢
Yes we do. They are becoming much more common lately.
@@buffys3477 Up there you need to be more worried about the midges!
We do indeed. My dog used to get infested with them, I've had a couple, and my son woke up one night to find one burying itself in his chest.
We do get Lyme Disease over here. Never heard of Alpha Gal syndrome.
We used to get a sort of systemic pesticide liquid that you could apply to your dog's skin and that would deter ticks. But, unfortunately, the ticks are becoming resistant to it now, so we had to get a removal kit - painful, and the dog used to hate the anticipation of it.
@@Bobario1 Ah, our famous Scottish midges are not so plentiful as they used to be.
Plus, the anti-insect sprays are getting much, much better these days. I used to use Avon Skin-So-Soft against midges, but now I buy this spray from Tesco and that's brilliant.
(Eat oranges, marmite and garlic, lay off the cheese and meat - and the midges tend to leave you alone a lot more).
@@debbiehenri345 I find smidge works well. Never heard that about oranges marmite and garlic, I eat loads of garlic and love marmite but don't eat much because of the high salt content.
I’d count the cherries as half a point, since you found some but they were unripe.
Your kindness does you credit
Do you find any black raspberries/ black caps in the UK? I always loved picking them with my mom as a child and I planted some in my backyard this year in hopes of establishing a patch. Fingers crossed for fruit next year.
We've got blackberries, but not black raspberries (not native ones - maybe garden escapes in some places I suppose)
I had to buy a black raspberry plant here in the UK. They're not wild, and they are quite pricey to buy - compared to other raspberries anyway.
Last Autumn, in a bid to diversify my fruit garden, I decided to buy in a few of the new colours in raspberries that have lately become available (purple and salmon coloured), I hope they're better than the yellow type (which was the only alternative colour for years, and tastes of nothing really).
Jenny spotted an Orchid. It's the common spotted Orchid.
Ouch, I spent many hours picking raspberries and blackberries as a child. Love the video.
absolutely stunning woodland area.
Thank you!
Hi Mike. St John’s Wort can be purchased as a herbal supplement, not as a ‘medicine’ in the UK. There is some evidence to support its use for depression and/or anxiety but, not good enough evidence to gain a licence. Consequently we can’t recommend it or prescribe it. If someone is using it and, there is no safety concerns re: this and any other medication that they take, I have no objection. I tend not to yuck other peoples’ yums 👍🏻 (my job is to be a specialist mental health pharmacist)
Bad year for cherries where I live. I got 5 from my tree. Red currents on the other hand are going nuts right now, the red and black raspberries are just starting to ripen. Sadly, the only "wild strawberry" that grows in my yard is Potentilla sp.
_"Eva - Doofus Minimus"_
13:21 great part , my favorite.........I pray you check Eva for ticks when you get home
She's completely nonstick
I shall have to endeavour to go out for a walk tomorrow and see what's around.
Thank you again Shrimp
Has it been a dry spring for y'all because of El Niño? It's definitely been a wetter summer for us because of it. We normally don't get this much rain all the way into June, it might help us avoid the normal July burn-bans
Always enjoy the botany and foraging content. Have you tried dewberries? It should be quite abundant in your area, but most likely overlooked as just being young blackberry shrubs.
We had voles move in right by our raspberries- is Eva monitoring voles and moles in the forest?
My partner used St John's Wort as an antidepressant for a long time! It's still recommended you don't take it with antidepressants because they can interact and cause nasty side effects. So yeah, it absolutely does crop up in modern medicine.
It can also interact with basically any other medication, including potentially making birth control ineffective, so always, always ask your doctor if it would be ok for you to take it if you have any other medical issues.
@@mikekuppen6256 I've found pharmacists are much better for asking about interactions, to be honest. Doctors have the gist but how medications interact is literally what a pharmacist is trained for. It was my pharmacist that intervened when he realised one of my meds would make another far more effective, which meant that even though it was theoretically a safe dose in isolation, mixed together, I was actually at risk of overdose. That's why they need a fancy degree to dispense, that's what they're trained for.
For me wild raspberries are the most elegant-tasting food.
I love seeing Eva in your vids especially when she's being a bit naughty lol. Can't wait for the brambles to come in near me, always superb for freezing and adding to cocktails/mocktails
Lilly of the valley, also have beautiful red berries, after blooming. They are, like the rest of the plant poisonous. But they are beautiful
I have a cherry tree. This year is a very poor yield. I am north of Dorset - in Wiltshire.
Thanks so much! I have wild strawberries growing wild in my yard! I didn't know whether they were edible. Now I know! ❤
My partner and I were picking black raspberries in Pennsylvania and it was ROUGH!! It's been dry, so they are all small, and it is extra ouchy!
Now is the time for blueberries in Poland (Vaccinium myrtillus) - best berry! Is small hard to gather but damn - taste and smell is wonderful. I definitely recommend dumplings with them + sour cream.