As a kitchen gardener I find myself getting very excited whenever I see a food plant. Sometimes it is easy to predict where you might find them; mushrooms in paddocks, these blackberries picked from plants growing beside an English road (and tasting slightly dusty as a result) and so on. At other times the appearances of food plants is a lovely surprise, appearing where you least expect them.
While I’m on the subject of blackberries I wanted to share a really good tip I was given on my recent trip to Britain. Try not to pick any growing at a height a dog could wee on. Excellent advice and not something this particular forager had thought off…. In Australia the main reason not to eat wild blackberries is the likelihood they have been sprayed by some Landcare group or other – they are a weed and a lot of Australia’s supply of weedkiller is dedicated to their eradication.
But this post isn’t just about blackberries, it is also the first in a series of posts highlighting food growing outside of dedicated food gardens. For example the use of rainbow chard in the (slightly tired, end of summer) gardens of Artis Zoo in Amsterdam.
Where have you been excited to see a food crop?
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