Foraging in the Season of Abundance: Old Homestead Apples
Foraging is an engaging and fun way to get food and medicines locally.
It is an ancient skill that ties us to our human history.
In the modern era the idea of wilderness has taken on new meaning, but we are still able to connect with whatever bioregion we find ourselves in. Finding sustenance and healing is the best way that in know of to engage with nature.
Foraging is a lifestyle where we are tuned to the abundance of nature.
With a little knowledge anyone is able to harvest from their surrounding environment.
Whether near home or on the road we are always looking around to see what abundance there is to be enjoyed and appreciated and often come upon an unexpected yield. This happened the other day when we scouted a feral apple tree by a pull off in a state park.
We of course filled whatever bags we could with the delicious fruits (upwards of 50 pounds).
We are always glad when we can harvest from plants and fungi that are not dependent on humans, and this sometimes means being flexible with plans. All too often our ideas of what food is contain us into a narrow range of edible things.
I remember trying to share the hundreds of pounds of feral apples I harvested in college.
Most people looked at me sideways and proceeded to buy waxy chemical apples from the cafeteria. Knowing the ease of supermarkets I can understand why foraging isn’t more popular, but it is rewarding on many levels.
Local wild or feral foods are healthier for the Earth and us, plus we don’t need to plant, weed, water or spray them. These foods represent an abundance that often goes unharvested when they could be providing great nutrition and a useful form or exercise for forgers. Wild food are often more nutrient dense and packed with antioxidants.
Apples are one of the easier to ID fruits and many abandoned homesteads still have fruit bearing trees growing nearby.
They require no special equipment and no processing to render them edible. Keep your eyes peeled this time of year for apples that would otherwise go to waste.
Get to know your ecosystem and take a walk with an experienced forger to get you started!
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Some of those are nice looking apples! I can't eat apples, but I can use apple cider vinegar. There are no apples on our tree this year. :((
I need to find a clean source for apples to make vinegar.
They are good ones! We were pleasantly surprised! Sorry you can’t eat apples, but I’m happy you can use the ACV! Have you made your own before? We’d like to do that with some of these. Good luck finding a source!
Yes, the first time when our tree had its first huge crop, I think in 2015 or '16. And again last year.
I love foraged fruit, there is a wild apple tree on a trail I know, they may not look perfect but taste amazing. I djare them with the horses that wander free in the fields
Mm that sounds so idyllic! :) and exactly, it doesn’t matter what they look like. The taste of these has been improved by some freezing temps!
I like when they are wild bitter and the peel hard, but dont ask mecwhy, horses with no complaints either
So jealous! I remember the time Ini spotted a couple of trees near our home...we parked, jumped out and bagged up a bushel of apples...applesauce, applebutter, apple chips :) It was wonderful!
He’s an Apple sleuth and a genie! 😘 Maybe I will throw some in for some apple bread in my new bread maker when I get home ❤️❤️
Awesome! I'm always fascinated with old farmsteads. Lots of times the trees are the only thing left after the building are long gone. In the part of the world I grew up in (the high plains), those trees were usually shade and windbreaks. Oftentimes, the only trees on the landscape were on the farmsteads and riverbottoms. I had not considered fruit trees.
It’s interesting to think of what’s left after we’re gone. The power of trees is truly amazing. The potency of roots and longevity of thee beings is remarkable.
Apples for a year!!!
Oh I love this time of the year and the smell of the soil takes on a cinnamon scent and soon the rot of leaves and the pungent odor of the apples will tell me, for certain, it is Autumn.
I plan on having some step-over apples one day in my veg garden lining the beds.
I enthusiastically agree with everything you say here about foraging and that local wildfoods are healthier for the Earth and us! We've been talking about this a lot lately.
Foraging for apples is the best! I just love hauling apples home from the woods. We seem to be the only ones that actually care to gather them and so much goes to waste. It's such a shame.
My favourite picking spot happens to be on the "forestry" guys land. I had mistaken it for crown land but now a line has been drawn to keep their work site safe I suppose. I have been snooping and they have left these magnificent old giants alone! :)
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