# Light weight foraging bag 10 pieces



## OntarioWildForagedHerbs (Jul 29, 2016)

This is normally whats in my foraging pack, minus water and food. My rule is 10 pounds wet to 1 pound dry plant. That way you'll normally end up with more then you planned to get. Currently I'm focused on collecting and storing lactuca and lactarium resin

1 Dog mace ( coyotes, foxes, strays, agressive dogs )
2 Cold steel workhorse kukri 
3 Karambit fixed blade
4 Folding knife drop point
5 Garbage bags ( for herbs)
6 Reuseable shopping bags ( to put tied garbage bags in to avoid braking and spilling )
7 Jar or container ( resin collecting )
8 Flash light, lantern. 
9 Iso alcohol spray ( cleaning hands before eating or smoking ) 
10 wasp spray ( for spraying into clouds if swarmed to lessen the number of stings taken, never know when you could step on a downed nest )


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

OntarioWildForagedHerbs said:


> This is normally whats in my foraging pack, minus water and food. My rule is 10 pounds wet to 1 pound dry plant. That way you'll normally end up with more then you planned to get. Currently I'm focused on collecting and storing lactuca and lactarium resin
> 
> 1 Dog mace ( coyotes, foxes, strays, agressive dogs )
> 2 Cold steel workhorse kukri
> ...


Hmmm, interesting. Why are you focusing on Wild Lettuce? There are many other Wild Edibles that can also be gathered.


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## OntarioWildForagedHerbs (Jul 29, 2016)

Insomnia. Saving up herbs for the winter


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

Why the three different knives? I am not familiar with the ones you mentioned so just asking.

I have not gone out specifically in the woods to harvest, I have everything I really need growing in the yard. Berries and such I used a small plastic pail from the dollar store. If harvesting one or two plants or flowers, I used a large cup or the drying basket. It takes a good amount of chamomile flowers to fill a plastic cup and it is picked every day. I didn’t have acres of things though, just small plots to harvest. If I was harvesting many, I used one of the grocery store plastic baskets with cups and plastic grocery bags in it. For major harvests such as basil, mints or Passion Flower budding ends, I brought some twine, cut them and tied them in bunches and just carried them back to hang. I could see putting the bundles in a bag, for easier portability on a longer trek. 

I drink a bit of tea and don’t think I ever went through an actual pound of dried. I usually have two quart jars of something like chamomile flowers and it will last me a year. Same with tinctures. Three quart jars of Valerian root is more than enough for my needs for a year or better. If it was a daily need I can see making more though. I did buy the Valerian but can’t remember the weight of it. I just filled a bag at the store and estimated three jars full.

For cutting, I had a medium scissor, like for trimming nose hairs or a beard. The only knife I used was a buck, single blade folding. Hardly ever even used the knife, the scissors are robust enough to cut or prune most plants. Flowers I just pinched off using a fingernail. I play clawhammer banjo so the right index finger is longer than usual and it makes a handy tool also. It ain’t just fer pickin’ yer nose with.

I can see the extra bags, you never know what you are going to run into. The mace, I carried a side arm. It gives me the warm fuzzies knowing it is there. I don’t get the wasp spray though. That would seem like you would have to stick around to use it. I would just run like a bastard and not look back while swatting myself like a MoFo to get them off! I used that particular technique when I ran into a nest of black hornets while cutting firewood. Ground bees I only ever got stung a few times before using it. They tend to bunch up at the nest, the hornets I got stung a bunch and it seemed like they chased me. Just went back an hour or so later to quick grab stuff then left that tree be. They made it perfectly clear I was not welcome.

I’m borderline on the isopropyl spray. Can’t see where I would really use it. I wouldn’t harvest anything I would need to sterilize myself for before doing something else. Maybe for poison ivy or something? In my portable first aid kit I use the little ‘airplane’ liquor bottles for alcohol. One (or two) filled with a good brandy, (for snake bites and such) and one with grain alcohol for sterilizing. I wanted consumable, not poison alcohol, for medicinal purposes of course.

I’m interested in what others use or carry for herb harvesting also!


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

I have used different things over the years, from Grocery Bags to a Canvas Haversack. I have found that for me a small Wicker Basket works well along with a pair of Trauma Shears.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

Trauma shears. Are they the ones with a longish handle and bent shears that are short? Something like that would give you more leverage when pruning. We used a small, hardy scissor at the fireworks factory, for cutting fuse and twine. Had its own little leather sheath. I should try and find a pair, they were comfortable enough to just hang on your finger while doing something else.


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