>>2461432Get started with foraging, that's probably the easiest way.
Get a really good foraging book, covering edible plants. It should have 5 defining characteristics:
Decent pictures - Good enough for you to accurately determine what plant it is you have before you.
Good structure - Have the book ordered in a good way. This can be by location or by leaf shape.
Good text - that explains, in detail, how to know what type of plant it is.
Explanation of the uses - Should cover uses for food and medicine. Stuff like how to prepare the plant, what parts are edible, medicinal uses (tea/stir fry/oven food/etc.)
MOST IMPORTANTLY a list of plants that you can reasonably confuse this one with, as well as if those other plants are poisonous, how poisonous they are, and how to tell them apart.
Bonus points if the book isn't too big - should be pocket sized. It covering more plants is obviously nice,
Then get started with going /out/, pay attention to the plants, try to determine some, slowly learn.
There's some super common ones with great medicinal and culinary uses, some even growing all year round. Stay away from plants that are too close to popular trails and grow in dog pissing height. It's pretty fun, easy to get started, and free.
As for gear, shit I carry in my foraging backpack:
- Backpack
- Knife (I usually carry a mora and a opinel, the mora is a bit overkill though)
- vegetable nets (something like picrel), they are easy to carry plants and unlike plastic bags it doesn't start sweating as much and desintegrate as quickly
- a pair of PU covered gloves. Great for nettles, digging and whenever thorns are involved
- a trowel
- 2 bottles of water, one for drinking one for cleaning plants
I also carry a magnifying glass (for bugs I find or to see fine details on foraged plants) and a 8 times monocular (for birdwatching) as well as a shemagh for general versatility.
If you have a garden or balcony, you can also grow your own, that's fun, too.
