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Post by brianbutler on Jun 11, 2022 17:49:58 GMT
I noticed this mulberry tree along the rail trail today. Looks like it will start producing in a week or so. The problem with mulberries is they don't keep very long after picking and they are hard to transport without bruising, but they make a good roadside snack.
Brian
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Post by triitout on Jun 11, 2022 19:32:38 GMT
Better than energy bars! Many years ago, my neighbor had one. Great tree except for squashed berry stains everywhere. Bye, bye tree.
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Post by brianbutler on Jun 11, 2022 21:13:47 GMT
They are a mess. There used to be four or 5 along the paved portion of this bike trail and for a month each year the trail was covered with squashed berries. The town must have cut the trees down. This one is in the corner of an office building property, far enough away from the building not to be a nuisance but inside a fence along the trail so probably not town property, therefore safe. Now the trick is to stay ahead of the birds.
Brian
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Jun 12, 2022 5:40:21 GMT
I wish we had nice berries along our roads. We do have Coffee Berry and Black Elder Berry; both are full of seeds and not very tasty. As for carry along snacks, I prefer Clif Bars ( especially Blueberry Almond Crisp) bags of nuts and bananas. Better yet, I stop at a country store, much better!
Ride Happy! Jim
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Post by brianbutler on Jun 12, 2022 10:43:51 GMT
Jim, that does look like pretty good forage.
Brian
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Post by brianbutler on Jun 12, 2022 10:47:19 GMT
The most frustrating roadside fruit around here is the vast number of Concord grapes in September. They smell wonderful and look inviting but the vines are always hopelessly intertwined with poison ivy.
Brian
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Post by wheelson on Jun 12, 2022 18:17:21 GMT
The most frustrating roadside fruit around here is the vast number of Concord grapes in September. They smell wonderful and look inviting but the vines are always hopelessly intertwined with poison ivy. Brian Lots of edibles along the trails, even including apples and those tiny pears. I think the birds contribute by seeding trees in unexpected places. Growing up in the mountains of western North Carolina, hiking especially yielded a great supply from raspberries, blackberries, morels, an occasional abandoned peach orchard. Locally, on the Great Allegheny Passage and C&O Towpath, berries abound, especially one spot heading eastward to Cumberland, Maryland. Best, John “wheelson”
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Jem
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Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Jun 12, 2022 20:18:49 GMT
There's only 2 mulberry bushes (as big as trees) in our town, and they don't fruit till late August/early Sept.The stains on the pavement side of those bushes are there till Xmas and beyond.
In terms of foraging around this area, the wild garlic has been and gone, the pears, plums, damsons and apples are way off, but cherries are almost ready, maybe 1 more week of sun needed. The none stinging nettles (those with white flower) are good at the moment and apparently have more vit c , ounce for once, than anything (including oranges)
I found such a great feature on the iPhone a couple of weeks ago. Take a photo of a leaf, plant, tree or shrub and then at the bottom of the picture on the menu bar, if there is a big star and little star next to the letter 'i' in a circle , then click on it and it will then have option to 'look up plant'. It has been 100% correct for me and links to wiki and gives plenty of great info on edibles. I had an app that claimed to do this, but was poor at ID'ing anything.
I've found things out that I had no knowledge of using that feature. I had no idea that honeysuckle flowers can be eaten.
Blackberries are everywhere last august, edible wild mushrooms here in UK are mainly found in October.
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Post by wheelson on Jun 12, 2022 21:37:53 GMT
There's only 2 mulberry bushes (as big as trees) in our town, and they don't fruit till late August/early Sept.The stains on the pavement side of those bushes are there till Xmas and beyond. In terms of foraging around this area, the wild garlic has been and gone, the pears, plums, damsons and apples are way off, but cherries are almost ready, maybe 1 more week of sun needed. The none stinging nettles (those with white flower) are good at the moment and apparently have more vit c , ounce for once, than anything (including oranges) I found such a great feature on the iPhone a couple of weeks ago. Take a photo of a leaf, plant, tree or shrub and then at the bottom of the picture on the menu bar, if there is a big star and little star next to the letter 'i' in a circle , then click on it and it will then have option to 'look up plant'. It has been 100% correct for me and links to wiki and gives plenty of great info on edibles. I had an app that claimed to do this, but was poor at ID'ing anything. I've found things out that I had no knowledge of using that feature. I had no idea that honeysuckle flowers can be eaten. Blackberries are everywhere last august, edible wild mushrooms here in UK are mainly found in October. Oddly enough, I just went for a walk with Mrs.W on a nearby college campus grounds and noticed two mulberry trees along the road I’d never paid attention to before. Same area I rode as a virtual DFR year before last. As for identification, I use a National Geographic app called Seek. It works pretty well, although sometimes not quite getting down to species. While not identifying as edible or no, it’s easy enough to find that once identified. Best, John “wheelson”
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Jun 13, 2022 4:51:28 GMT
I forgot about Prickly Pear apples. I knew a hiker who would wack one off with a knife. Then use the knife to hold the apple while burning the spines off with a Bic lighter. They have buds that are filled with tiny spines; if not removed, they stick in your tongue and cause pain for days. I sometimes see them when I ride, but for some reason never tried one.
Ride Safe Jim
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Post by cusqueno on Jun 13, 2022 10:54:40 GMT
I forgot about Prickly Pear apples. I knew a hiker who would wack one off with a knife. Then use the knife to hold the apple while burning the spines off with a Bic lighter. They have buds that are filled with tiny spines; if not removed, they stick in your tongue and cause pain for days. I sometimes see them when I ride, but for some reason never tried one.
Ride Safe Jim
From the Bare Necessities song from the Jungle Book animated movie (I'm not sure this makes any sense at all): Now when you pick a pawpaw Or a prickly pear And you prick a raw paw Well, next time beware Don't pick the prickly pear by the paw When you pick a pear Try to use the claw But you don't need to use the claw When you pick a pear of the big pawpaw; Have I given you a clue? The bare necessities of life will come to you They'll come to you!
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Post by brianbutler on Jun 13, 2022 11:35:39 GMT
Jim, I had not seen the "apples" before. My brother lived in Ventura for a while and we got some prickly pear "leaves", or whatever you call them, at the Santa Barbara farmers market a couple times. I forget how we cooked them, maybe just on the grill. They were good.
Brian
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Jem
Viscount
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Posts: 3,390
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Post by Jem on Jun 13, 2022 16:29:44 GMT
I forgot about Prickly Pear apples. I knew a hiker who would wack one off with a knife. Then use the knife to hold the apple while burning the spines off with a Bic lighter. They have buds that are filled with tiny spines; if not removed, they stick in your tongue and cause pain for days. I sometimes see them when I ride, but for some reason never tried one.
Ride Safe Jim
When I was hiking in Morocco a few years back, we saw the tops of a certain kind of cactus for sale in the food markets (similar in colour to those you show here Jim). While walking through a small village on the way to the Atlas mountains, we some some growing and my hiking buddy thought he'd try some, and pulled one off. The spines were almost invisible , and were in his hands for days afterwards.(thankfully he gave up within a few seconds and didn't get near his mouth with one) As he stood there trying to pull almost invisible spines out of his fingers, a woman with a huge bundle of sticks on her back, saw us struggling and looked around and found a small piece of waste cardboard with which to grab the 'fruit' and pulled it open to reveal a succulent mouthful of something or other and handed a couple to us. EDIT - my mind was playing tricks on me, the fruit on the Moroccan cactus were more yellowy/green, but the inner was more of a red colour
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Post by oldroadietehachapi on Jun 13, 2022 17:43:14 GMT
Prickly Pear plants (in general) get their common name from the species with yellow fruit; which resembles a pear. In this area the fruit is red; so the fruit is called a Prickly Pear apple. The fruit is tasty. The pads may be used as a vegetable; sort of sticky and perhaps an acquired taste.
Prickly Pear is easily propagated by simply sticking one of the pads in the ground. I worked in the desert and knew of people making formidable Prickly Pear hedges; much cheaper than a fence. If you land on one (say falling from a mountain bike) the pads may (along with the spines) stick to you. This mechanism aids in their distribution.
Cheers Jim
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