Essential Foraging Supplies

 

Before foraging please note:

• Take only what you know.
• Only harvest what you will use. It's important to let the remaining population recover.
• Never harvest where someone has sprayed chemicals, places that are commonly sprayed, or have high pollution. Railroad tracks, under power lines, busy roadsides, city parks, etc.
• Do not litter or leave trash on the ground.
• Always have your phone battery charged in case of emergencies.
• If going alone, always let people know where you are going and how long you will be gone for, just in case. 

When going foraging, it's important to have the right equipment with you to make your life easier and to also not to damage the thing you are foraging for. The supplies people use can be different depending on the preference and also what you are foraging for. Here are examples of what I like to use: 

• Gathering tools - I prefer to always have a pocket knife on hand so if I find something I want to forage, I can use it to cut it. For mushroom foraging, a good thing to have is a mushroom knife. The mushroom knife has a blade on the one side and a brush on the other to make the clean up process easier. If you are gathering blueberries for example, I've found the fastest way to pick them is to use a berry picker. That way you don't have to pick the berries one by one. Instead you can scoop the picker through the plant and get several berries at the same time.
• Headwear - There are lots of bugs and ticks in the forest that you want to avoid getting stuck in your hair. Wearing something on your head can help with that. Additionally, wearing a hat protects your head from the sun and also blocks the sun from your eyes.
• Containers - You don't want to walk through the forest with your hands full of all the goodies you've found. My favourite container is the one I can wear as a belt so my hands are free. However, I also really like the basket that folds together. That's a real room saver that you can keep in the trunk of your car. If you are gathering big things or you forage a lot of things, a bucket is also a nice thing to have around. A bag can also be used in a pinch, but if you are foraging for mushrooms, people usually don't recommend that because you can end up breaking the mushrooms.
• Footwear - This is the most important thing. If you forage for hours, invest in good footwear. You don't want to walk around in something that can get your feet wet or something that hurts your feet. Plus, you will protect your feet from snakes and ticks. Find some good boots or wellies to wear and your feet will thank you.
• Field guides - While you can find almost everything on your phone nowadays, it's good to have some books or field guides on you when foraging. Maybe you're in an area where the cell service is bad or slow. Maybe the identifying apps aren't as reliable. You never know.