# Storing scavenged food



## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

Is it foolish to hoard the herbs and things I find day to day in the woods just as I hike? Or should I focus on storing things I can't find in the wild?


----------



## rjdpj (Dec 14, 2012)

You should focus on storing things you can't find in the wild once you get enough of the herbs and stuff stored  !


----------



## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

if it stores well and doesn't degrade I see no harm in storing some incase you for whatever reason are prevented from getting too it by situations or injury. But if you don't have stuff to go with them probably not too worth it. kinda need a balance approach.


----------



## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

jsriley5 said:


> if it stores well and doesn't degrade I see no harm in storing some incase you for whatever reason are prevented from getting too it by situations or injury. But if you don't have stuff to go with them probably not too worth it. kinda need a balance approach.


The herbs are easily identified, but I guess I was a little worried on what switching back and forth between natural and processed foods would do to our health. Ya know?


----------



## kyredneck (Aug 12, 2012)

By all means do what suits your fancy, carry them home, research them, dry them, bag them, nibble on them, cook with them, anything that gets you more acquainted with the plants. Natural whole foods added to the processed supermarket junk most us eat can only help in the long run.

What herbs are you finding now? ...just wonderin....


----------



## rjdpj (Dec 14, 2012)

kyredneck said:


> What herbs are you finding now? ...just wonderin....


She gets a lot of stuff ! She is much better at gathering than me ,


----------



## UncleJoe (Jan 11, 2009)

rjdpj said:


> She gets a lot of stuff ! She is much better at gathering than me ,


It' quite apparent she is familiar with the language. Please let her speak for herself.


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

rjdpj said:


> i know exactly what she preps so just saying , i have a ****ing list of all her shit sooo .


Bu-bye!

God! And I thought the other newbie was a twit. Not you, Sybil.


----------



## Startingout-Blair (Aug 28, 2012)

Grimm said:


> Bu-bye!
> 
> God! And I thought the other newbie was a twit. Not you, Sybil.


What was with this person getting all worked up and swearing? I thought everyone seemed to be treating them well. I take it they were booted?


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Startingout-Blair said:


> What was with this person getting all worked up and swearing? I thought everyone seemed to be treating them well. I take it they were booted?


They were booted for posting about masturbation after SHTF.


----------



## goshengirl (Dec 18, 2010)

Well, alrighty then, that does scream immaturity. You know, we have a number of mature teenagers on this board. Those guys would have been better off lurking and observing first. 


But back to the OP - Sybil, you raise an interesting question. My first thought would be to not to spend the time on something that's already there, since there is time needed to gather the things you don't have, know what I mean? But ky's post about spending time with foraged foods and learning about them makes a great deal of sense, too. I know I have a long way to go with learning about foraging - I have a couple of reference books, but haven't used them yet. 

With that in mind, I'd say that I wouldn't gather a lot of foraged foods right now (unless they were foods my family was already eating), but I would spend time with them to learn about them. Remember, learning and developing skills is a prep every bit as much as building a food storage is a prep.

As for the processed food part of your question, you can wean yourself off processed foods by growing a garden.  And you're definitely right, anything you can do now to ease the transition later is a good thing.


----------



## cnsper (Sep 20, 2012)

What many make the mistake of doing is collecting too much. And by that I mean that they collect so much of one plant that it does not recover thus you loose that source. Once you find a good source, collect only a few plants or parts of a plant and not the whole thing. 

Now as for storage, if you are a good steward of your resource then collecting what you will use for the next year and storing it is not a problem. Heck it will be another year before you can get more. Remember that it is your responsibility to make sure that the renewable resource is actually renewable. Take a hill side covered in mushrooms, don't pick them all and leave enough so that they will propagate again and again.


----------



## Startingout-Blair (Aug 28, 2012)

Grimm said:


> They were booted for posting about masturbation after SHTF.


Definitely not a topic I wish to share with the class! Lol!


----------



## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

Startingout-Blair said:


> Definitely not a topic I wish to share with the class! Lol!


I kinda had a feeling they may turn out to be a bunch of trolls. At least some have proven themselves to be just that. Hopefully any of them that really want to participate will be back.


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

jsriley5 said:


> I kinda had a feeling they may turn out to be a bunch of trolls. At least some have proven themselves to be just that. Hopefully any of them that really want to participate will be back.


Why the sudden wave of trolls and teenage asshats?


----------



## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

All over the web there has been a sudden left wingish surge of trolls I think they are cruising the web looking for places like this and other pro gun prepping basically anything right wingish to stir crud. The current political upheaval and the lamestreams medias coverage of it I figure are to blame. Not to mention poor parenting somwhere along the line  And perhaps some are just over eager but well meaning kiddos who are also seeing the mess a brewing and trying to figure out what to do about it. I vaguely remember being of an age where I wanted answers to my questions right now and I didn't have time to sit down and study on it. I"m sure I bugged my fair share of folks then too. Lucky for adults everywhere I didn't have access to the internet (or awareness of it) way back in the 80's when I was worried about fall out shelters to protect us from the Russians. I"m sure I"d have butted in half cocked with questions poorly constructed and impatient for answers. I too get irritated quickly and takes some thinking to remember how I was when I was their likely ages. I try not to be an old grump but it's hard to bypass my nature


----------



## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

goshengirl said:


> Well, alrighty then, that does scream immaturity. You know, we have a number of mature teenagers on this board. Those guys would have been better off lurking and observing first.
> 
> But back to the OP - Sybil, you raise an interesting question. My first thought would be to not to spend the time on something that's already there, since there is time needed to gather the things you don't have, know what I mean? But ky's post about spending time with foraged foods and learning about them makes a great deal of sense, too. I know I have a long way to go with learning about foraging - I have a couple of reference books, but haven't used them yet.
> 
> ...


He's a friend of mine. But thanks. I eat the things I scavenge regularly but I just wasn't sure about storing it, it's plentifully available.


----------



## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

Grimm said:


> Why the sudden wave of trolls and teenage asshats?


We're not trolls. We actually prep, mostly because we hate society though. Haha. My friend is just a little.... Um.... Odd turned... What can I say? Hahaha. Most kids our age are just big talkers and know-it-alls. I just want to be sure that I can make it on what I have and know, mostly because I have so much depending on me, including three toddlers (my cousins) and I fear this country is headed for either over seas invasion or civil war... I want to be able to disappear and be safe..


----------



## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

cnsper said:


> What many make the mistake of doing is collecting too much. And by that I mean that they collect so much of one plant that it does not recover thus you loose that source. Once you find a good source, collect only a few plants or parts of a plant and not the whole thing.
> 
> Now as for storage, if you are a good steward of your resource then collecting what you will use for the next year and storing it is not a problem. Heck it will be another year before you can get more. Remember that it is your responsibility to make sure that the renewable resource is actually renewable. Take a hill side covered in mushrooms, don't pick them all and leave enough so that they will propagate again and again.


I replant a lot of the things I find too in new places, so I have a sort of garden I guess because when school lets out I practically live in the woods and just eat and drink the things out there, but the frost now is hindering me from staying out too long. Oh! And do you know anything about researching (like person research) on the plants? How to keep notes and things I mean. I keep. A journal with crude sketches, but its a little... Um... Shady.. Haha.


----------



## 101airborne (Jan 29, 2010)

Sybil6 said:


> The herbs are easily identified, but I guess I was a little worried on what switching back and forth between natural and processed foods would do to our health. Ya know?


 The reaction you have with switching back and forth really depends on each person. Some fried foods cause stomach issues with both the wife and I. Otherwise we use both natures pantry ( herbs and plants I gather and raise) and processed foods daily with no issue. So if things get bad enough I think you'd be okay going with fouraged foods. The only real problem with it would be the lack of protiens in that kind of diet. But you could offset that by storing suppliments.


----------



## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

101airborne said:


> The reaction you have with switching back and forth really depends on each person. Some fried foods cause stomach issues with both the wife and I. Otherwise we use both natures pantry ( herbs and plants I gather and raise) and processed foods daily with no issue. So if things get bad enough I think you'd be okay going with fouraged foods. The only real problem with it would be the lack of protiens in that kind of diet. But you could offset that by storing suppliments.


See? Certain fried foods do that to me, but then again so do some processed vegetables and greens. My mother scolds me for not eating salads store bought, but they make me sick. But I've made salads from MY garden and been fine! So I was a little worried that switching back and forth could mess us up long term.


----------



## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Sybil6 said:


> We're not trolls. We actually prep, mostly because we hate society though. Haha. My friend is just a little.... Um.... Odd turned... What can I say? Hahaha. Most kids our age are just big talkers and know-it-alls. I just want to be sure that I can make it on what I have and know, mostly because I have so much depending on me, including three toddlers (my cousins) and I fear this country is headed for either over seas invasion or civil war... I want to be able to disappear and be safe..


I never thought you were a troll but your pal is a bit rude for us adults here. I can relate to not liking society. I still hate most of society...

WAIT! There is something wrong with this picture! I'm Arab and I hate society! I must be a terrorist! AAAAAAAAHHH! vract:

J/K
I do hate society but mostly because it is full of stupid.


----------



## jsriley5 (Sep 22, 2012)

Sybil6 said:


> I replant a lot of the things I find too in new places, so I have a sort of garden I guess because when school lets out I practically live in the woods and just eat and drink the things out there, but the frost now is hindering me from staying out too long. Oh! And do you know anything about researching (like person research) on the plants? How to keep notes and things I mean. I keep. A journal with crude sketches, but its a little... Um... Shady.. Haha.


You could use a three ring binder. Use a camera to take pics then use the puter to put the pic on a page with your notes and print punch and put in a binder. But I wouldn't knock what you are dong either my favorite rescouce is almost entirely schetches by the way if you can pick one up it's called Feildbook of Natural History. It is heavy on the identification of plants animals and fungus not so much on the usages. ONe thing in there I find handy is it often covers appearance at several different times of the year. That is often usefull info.


----------



## Sybil6 (Jan 28, 2013)

jsriley5 said:


> You could use a three ring binder. Use a camera to take pics then use the puter to put the pic on a page with your notes and print punch and put in a binder. But I wouldn't knock what you are dong either my favorite rescouce is almost entirely schetches by the way if you can pick one up it's called Feildbook of Natural History. It is heavy on the identification of plants animals and fungus not so much on the usages. ONe thing in there I find handy is it often covers appearance at several different times of the year. That is often usefull info.


Thanks.  I'll try it. The note book I have now is sorta falling apart so.. Haha. I didn't even think about that. I even have a binder and sheet protectors!


----------

