Have you read about bottom feeders

**Shell** · 10-05-2005, 08:14 PM

I ran across this article a few years ago, have you ever seen it?

http://www.frugalfun.com/bottomfeeder.html

**baxjul** · 10-05-2005, 08:59 PM

Saved it to read this weekend! Thanks

**Jerseygirl** · 10-05-2005, 09:09 PM

Interesting article

**kmsinsa** · 10-05-2005, 11:19 PM

Also bookmarked to read this weekend

**Hollyhandi** · 10-06-2005, 09:13 AM

Thanks saved fro SO to read this weekend

**PrairieRose** · 10-06-2005, 10:04 AM

That was a good read. Thanks!

**peanut** · 10-06-2005, 07:15 PM

Interesting! Some good points about finding food growing wild near you that is available for the taking. Sometimes I think it would help people to simply buy a plant identification book and check out unsprayed wild areas for food.

**MandiDawn** · 10-07-2005, 10:30 AM

I was under the impression that it is illegal to take anything off public land. THat even if you pick cattails out of ditch, it's illegal. Some things i'm sure they are more leient about , but to gather enough to feed you every day, wouldn't that be hard? Not to mention that you would have to make sure you don't get caught? Does anyone here gather food from land that's not theirs? Where do you go? Public parks? or along roads? Just curious.

**peanut** · 10-07-2005, 06:40 PM

I think it depends where you live. In Europe you're probably right.

In Canada most of the people living on the east coast wouldn't survive if they couldn't pick berries, etc. out of the wild. When my dsis #3 lived in Newfoundland, they picked their year's supply of blueberries, etc. from the wild.

In B.C. (western Canada) it's mushrooms, among other things. They had a great growth of morels after the forest fires a couple years ago. Dsis #2 was picking them with her family, drying them and selling them. They weren't the only people doing so.

There's nothing that says you can't pick weeds from your own lot for the soup pot or salad, if you haven't sprayed them in 7 years. I believe that's the length of time you're required to wait for sprays to work their way through the plant/soil.

We also pick wild blackberries and raspberries in Canada. And currants, saskatoons, gooseberries and fiddleheads.

Whether these are on public lands is another matter. I doubt there's much public land left. Usually it's crown held land in Newfoundland (is that considered public land? It's often cut lines), and in dsis's case in B.C., the morels were growing on private land...where they had permission to go.

I think in Canada things are pretty much wide open. But I wouldn't advise going to the local urban park and picking berries! Though I know this is done in Vancouver, I'm not sure how legal it is. And some species are protected and illegal to pick. Those should never be picked...period. So know your plants before doing this.