This article is written by Andrew Ross.
Anyone who has been out and about in the last two months can’t have failed to notice the abundance of blackberries in the hedgerows and the number of people picking them! Blackberries and most soft fruit at the farm are over now. At home we’ve just been picking our olives, but the medlars will remain on our tree for several more weeks yet.
However the Forager’s hedge is looking wonderful at present and all its produce is available for free to HCF members. It was planted by our members in November 2010 after gifts of 450 40 cm tall whips by the Woodland Trust and some recently grafted apple trees from my allotment. It is on your left as you come into HCF, behind the pond and the Pondside orchard.
This year Kate has already made four bottles of rose hip syrup which apparently contains 65 mg Vitamin C per fluid ounce, four times as much as blackcurrants and 20 times as much as oranges (Richard Mabey: Food for Free). Rose hips were collected by school children during WW2 who were paid 2p a pound for their efforts! By 1943 the harvest averaged 450 tons. If you might need a Vitamin C tonic this winter you know where to look.
If you need something stronger how about Sloe Gin? Sloes are mixed with gin and sugar and shaken or stirred every two days for 3 months until it becomes sloe gin.
There are several different types of crab apples and apples abundantly available at present. I believe Kate has scheduled me to make Apple Pie Curd later this afternoon.