April is here and it’s all kicking off in the world of fresh seasonal produce! For starters, this is the month when the first of nature’s free bounty is available to be picked and enjoyed. For our expert foragers, Gordon and Sharon Greene of Wild Irish Foragers and Preservers, the season of gathering plants and herbs from the wild are just beginning and very excited they are! 

Sharon and Gordon are very lucky to be foraging on their own land at Shinrone in Co Offaly. They don’t have to ask permission to pick the wildflowers, blossoms and herbs they use for their seasonal syrups and shrubs. But normal members of the public must get permission to forage on private land and should avoid farmland and land bordering farms, which may be sprayed with chemical pesticides, fertilisers or slurry.

Public woodlands, country hedgerows with little or no traffic and commonage make good ‘clean’ foraging sites. Be kind to nature when you pick. Take only as much as you need.

WHAT TO FORAGE IN APRIL

This time last year, Sharon Greene gave us some useful tips for what can be found this time of year if you’re out on a country stroll. As the weather is set to improve this week and into the weekend, we thought we’d refresh our memories in case we fancy getting out to pick some food for free! Here’s Sharon’s advice:

Gorse

‘Gordon is currently picking gorse. We use the yellow blossom in syrups and our shrubs. He gets covered in yellow gorse pollen when he’s removing the blossom from the thorny stalks. I make a syrup with it. We use about 2kg of pure blossom to make 30 x 150mls bottles of syrup. It’s brilliant on vanilla ice cream! You can also put it on porridge or a fresh fruit salad or mix it with still or sparkling water as a long refreshing drink. Gorse flowers have calming soothing properties. 

When Gordon has finished getting all the flowers off the stalks, we save all the green, dry it out in the shed, then use it for lighting the stove. Gorse is the best firelighter ever, you will never have to buy another pack of firelighters when you have this stuff handy! In the old days, it was also given as chaff for working horses. Our girls have horses, so we tie bunches of gorse up with string and hang them in their stables. They eat every bit of it. They love it as a treat and the little thorns stimulate a healthy mouth in a horse.’ 

Nettles

‘The important thing to remember about picking nettles is that you only ever take the top six inches of growth. You can only use new growth. I hear of people picking nettles in July and August when they have matured and they don’t realise that the older a nettle gets, it starts to develop an acid which really irritates the kidneys. If you use old nettles you would probably need to be fairly near a bathroom for quite a long time! The best advice is to take your first six inches of new spring growth, then cut the patch right down to the ground and let it regrow before you pick again. 

I use nettles for a lovely Spring Nettle Syrup. Nettles are iron-rich and can help with some allergies. You can take our syrup off the spoon or stir it into porridge or natural yoghurt. When the nettles go to seed, we collect the seeds for our own use. We hang the nettles to dry in the conservatory then rub them in our hands through a sieve. They are brilliant as an energy boost. Our son plays a lot of rugby so he puts the seeds on his porridge every morning. You only need about one teaspoon a day and it works wonders. In the old days, nettle seeds were well known at dodgy horse fairs, where they would be given to an old nag before he went up for sale, and he’d perk up so much he’d look like he could win at Cheltenham!’ 

Goosegrass and daisies

‘For our own use at home, we pick goosegrass. We used to call it ‘sticky backs’ as kids. We just pick a few leaves to throw into a salad. It has a lovely lemony taste.

Daisies are just starting to come now as well. You can eat these whole, flowers and blossoms. They look really pretty in leafy salads. Some people who are into natural skincare and healing make a daisy salve also. I don’t do it myself but it’s supposed to be wonderful!’

Some great tips there from Sharon which will carry you into the foraging season this month!

WHAT ELSE IS AVAILABLE IN APRIL?

Wild Garlic

One of our very favourite things to pick this time of year is wild garlic, now growing prolifically in woodlands. This useful wild plant, which began its season in late March, will continue growing for a couple of months. Wild garlic is identified by its short, soft, tapering green leaves, which when rubbed, have a very familiar mild garlic smell. Later in the season, you can pick the pretty white flowers which look great in salads.

Rhubarb

Early rhubarb appeared in the shops in March and the season will continue for a few weeks. This is the taste of the moment, bringing a flourish of pink to sweet and savoury courses. If you have a rhubarb plant, you will know how easy it is to grow. Once planted, it is very difficult to get rid of! But why would you want to? Who doesn’t love rhubarb pies, tarts, crumbles and (April) fools…? Check out these rhubarb recipes from our chefs.

Lamb

The first of the new season lamb should be hitting the shops in time for Easter on Sunday, April 16th. It will be pricey but worth it for the sweet tenderness of the young meat. Worth keeping an eye out or ordering a joint from your local butcher, especially for the Easter feast. We have a choice of lamb dishes for you to drool over as you contemplate what you’ll be eating this Easter Sunday!