Is a "foraging" food plan realistic?

**Oscar Wilde** · 05-01-2012, 04:22 PM

Originally Posted by myakka62

There has to be a good name for this......

Guerrilla gardening?

I came across the term a bit ago, thought it might be suitable.

O.W.

**dalewick** · 05-01-2012, 04:32 PM

OW, I like it. Have to do some searching and see whats written on it. Thanks!

**Flyflinger** · 06-08-2012, 10:59 AM

The way I see it is you can't store enough food to last you the rest of your life and if you don't learn to forage you are going to run out of food. Are you willing to risk your life? My plan is to store about a years worth of food and then hunt and forage after that. If you can't learn to live without a grocery store just down the street you are waisting your time in any kind of long term survival situation.

**coyotee** · 06-08-2012, 11:36 AM

No. Stock up

**myakka** · 06-08-2012, 09:15 PM

Originally Posted by Flyflinger

The way I see it is you can't store enough food to last you the rest of your life and if you don't learn to forage you are going to run out of food. Are you willing to risk your life? My plan is to store about a years worth of food and then hunt and forage after that. If you can't learn to live without a grocery store just down the street you are waisting your time in any kind of long term survival situation.

I think you are 2/3rds of the way there. stock up, hunt and forage, garden. I have a great seed vault in the fridge in my shop.

**gaLadhon** · 06-09-2012, 07:31 PM

Agrillaforageculture! not baaaad, but all this talk of food makes me sheepy, er, sleepy! TIme for a walkabout! So, wot's wrong with dropping a few seeds here and there on land you don't own, isn' that wot birds do when they poop while flying from one place to another? btw, johnny appleseed dropped seeds wherever he went, and no forrest ranger ever wrote HIM a ticket!

**Klickitat** · 06-22-2012, 01:13 AM

Besides hunting and fishing we gather from the woods all year long.

Early Spring: Morels, fiddle heads, clover, nettles, camus
Late Spring: Red caps, red huckleberries, lambs quarter, salmon berries
Summer: Blue huckleberries, black berries
Fall: Chantrelles, shaggy manes, bears head, witches butter, puff balls, hazel nuts.

Gathering edibles is good for varying the diet, but I do not think you could survive for long doing it. There is a reason why the Native Americans where hunter/gatherers or farmers. You need the fats and high calorie foods. Grains and/or animal fats are needed to survive. Black berries make up the largest part of what we gather for calories with about 50# per year. Blackberries are only for about 3-4 weeks out of the year and unless you can process them, I doubt you can get them to sustain you through the year. Now this is for the PNW and does not apply to other parts of the country. If you have natural grains such as wild rice or something, that might make a big difference.

**Morgan101** · 06-22-2012, 08:32 AM

I would not want to rely on foraging for anything more than a supplement to my diet.

First, I would think you would deplete the resources in a region fairly quickly, depending on group size.

Second, seasonality would have to be considered. You probably won't have the same things available all year long.

Third, wouldn't you be expending a lot of calories for a modest reward?

As a supplement it is an enviable skill. One I wish I had, but long term I don't think kyou would last.

**Flyflinger** · 06-22-2012, 11:50 AM

It seemed to last early man for a million years before Walmart Super Stores came along. Again, You can't store enough food to last you the rest of your life. If it comes to a total collapse and you don't know how to live off the land you are a dead man, period.

**myakka** · 06-22-2012, 12:39 PM

Originally Posted by Flyflinger

It seemed to last early man for a million years before Walmart Super Stores came along. Again, You can't store enough food to last you the rest of your life. If it comes to a total collapse and you don't know how to live off the land you are a dead man, period.

The ratio of wild edibles and game to people was a lot more friendly then though. That's why I promote multiple source thinking. Stock up while you can on long term stored goods, learn and eat wild edibles now. Farm now. Hunt now. Fish now. It will be too late when things go sideways to start "learning" a skill or start "trying out" something that you only have a book knowledge of and no practical experience doing.