Gone Foraging - Seaweed
Happy New Year! There's nothing to do on the allotment at this time of year, so take advantage of any nice days with a foraging trip to the coast.
You can harvest seaweed all year round, but it is best picked in January and February when the water is clear and cold. It also packs a nutritional punch of vitamins and minerals at a time when we need them most.
Seaweed is abundant and relatively easy to harvest. Find a rocky headland or rock pools and you will find seaweed. Check the clean water status of the area online before setting out. We use this map on the Surfers Against Sewage website.
Different seaweeds can be found at varying heights of sea level so it's best to go foraging on an outgoing tide, but make sure not to get cut off by the returning tide. Care also needs to be taken scrambling around on wet rocks in welly boots. You will need a large tub with a lid and a knife or scissors. Fill the tub with clean seawater and put your seaweed into it to keep fresh until you get home. The lid stops it spilling out in the car on the way back!
Harvest only nice-looking fronds which are attached to the rocks. Cut off the end two-thirds of each piece, leaving some to re-grow. Almost all seaweed is edible, but some definitely taste better than others. Chew a small piece and decide which you prefer. We've been on a couple of foraging courses and that's always a good idea, but a decent guide book should help you identify the different types.
You can harvest seaweed all year round, but it is best picked in January and February when the water is clear and cold. It also packs a nutritional punch of vitamins and minerals at a time when we need them most.
Seaweed is abundant and relatively easy to harvest. Find a rocky headland or rock pools and you will find seaweed. Check the clean water status of the area online before setting out. We use this map on the Surfers Against Sewage website.
Different seaweeds can be found at varying heights of sea level so it's best to go foraging on an outgoing tide, but make sure not to get cut off by the returning tide. Care also needs to be taken scrambling around on wet rocks in welly boots. You will need a large tub with a lid and a knife or scissors. Fill the tub with clean seawater and put your seaweed into it to keep fresh until you get home. The lid stops it spilling out in the car on the way back!
Harvest only nice-looking fronds which are attached to the rocks. Cut off the end two-thirds of each piece, leaving some to re-grow. Almost all seaweed is edible, but some definitely taste better than others. Chew a small piece and decide which you prefer. We've been on a couple of foraging courses and that's always a good idea, but a decent guide book should help you identify the different types.
Submitted by Adrian, plot 9
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