An interview with Fi Martynoga, co-author of A Handbook of Scotland’s Wild Harvests, and lifelong forager.

We discuss why foraging is still relevant, even though it’s apparently unnecessary in our world of shop-bought abundance, and the practical reality of foraging in the Scottish Borders.

Our conversation takes us from kitchen table to woodland, sampling and being surprised by the kind of weeds you might walk past everyday. Fi blends the boundaries between ‘weed’ and wild plant, by inviting them into her garden so she can harvest them sustainably.

Some of the plants we encountered:

* wild strawberries

* bush vetch

* dandelion (which Fi recommended cooking with caramelised onions and sumac)

* ground elder, ‘bishop’s weed’, or ‘gout weed’

* sweet cicely

* water avens (the plant that has clove scented roots)

* nettle

* burdock

* Good King Henry, or perennial goosefoot

* lime tree leaves

* garlic mustard, or ‘Jack by the Hedge’

* Elm tree seeds

* wild garlic

* Butterbur

* cleavers

Fi has written several books including:

* The Handbook of Scotland’s Wild Harvests

* A Handbook of Scotland’s Trees

* A Handbook of Scotland’s Coasts

All available from Saraband.

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The FoodScape Podcast explores how food shapes the lives and land of the Scottish Borders. It also asks the question; what more could food do for us?

From boosting local economy and creating jobs, supporting biodiversity and improving soil, to establishing a place as a destination; what would it look like for our place to thrive, and can food help us get there?

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Produced & Presented by Charlotte Maberly

Music by Iain Fraser from his album Koterana

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