How To Get Started Foraging - Practical Guidance For Absolute Beginners

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3 жыл бұрын

Lots of people asked me for tips, advice or tutorials on getting started foraging - well, OK, here it comes! This video assumes you're starting from complete scratch. In a future video, we'll maybe look at other aspects like ethics, conservation and legalities
About books and reference materials:
It's vital that you choose reference guides that are appropriate to your geographic area - if you try to use a book from a different region, the chance of fatal mistakes is significant (for example, my foraging books don't rule out poisonous lookalikes that never grow here)
Here are the books that appear in this video (plus a few from my library); some of these are now out of print, but here are the details, and my brief review impression of each:
My handbook is 'A Handguide to the Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe' by Marjorie Blamey & Richard Fitter - Treasure Press - ISBN 1850510512 - good. Look for a handbook like this with lots of pictures per page to make it quicker to narrow down your search.
My larger book is The Encyclopedia of Wild Flowers by John Akeroyd - Parragon Books - ISBN 1405416262 - good.
Food for Free by Richard Mabey - Collins - ISBN 9780007247684 - excellent.
Wild Food by Roger Phillips - Macmillan - ISBN 0330280694 - very good.
A Country Harvest by Pamela Michael (illus by Christabel King) - Peerage Books - ISBN 1850520704 - nice recipes and folklore

Пікірлер: 2 200

@AtomicShrimp 3 жыл бұрын

*Afterthoughts and addenda* *TOUCHING PLANTS* - you see me touching plants during the ID process here. There aren't many plants in the UK that are unsafe to touch (there are a few) but that doesn't hold true in all parts of the world, so... *look with your eyes only until you at least have a working knowledge of any irritant or unsafe-to-touch plants in your locality.* *USING AN APP* - there are apps you can get that will try to ID a plant from a photo. As a cautionary note, I tested one of these with a photo of Poison Hemlock and the top suggestion from the app was Cow Parsley (and Hemlock wasn't anywhere in the list). These apps may have a use in supplementing other references, or pointing you in helpful directions, but *an ID-by-photo app is not a substitute for the processes of identification I discussed in this video.* You should never rely solely on an identification from an app, if you cannot make the same positive identification by observing the detailed features of the plant.

@OllieSMH 3 жыл бұрын

Where I live in Canada we get lots of Poison Ivy and sometimes some crazy Cacti I’m more than familiar with dangerous to touch plants 🤣

@Sepahe 3 жыл бұрын

Stinging nettles and giant hogweed causes irritation when touched

@richardeadon6396 3 жыл бұрын

I fully trust AI to feed me hemlock

@thymythymyth 3 жыл бұрын

@@richardeadon6396 surely you must mean parsley

@xander1052 3 жыл бұрын

@@Sepahe hence why shrimp said that there are a few in the UK, though Stinging nettles are a lot less bad to touch and a lot easier to safely handle barehanded than giant hogweed.

@Ididathing 3 жыл бұрын

I would have eaten number 1 and number 2. I still might

@vegancam 3 жыл бұрын

Silly magpie

@liserjones8465 3 жыл бұрын

Wouldn't surprise me after watching you play with your bey blade - you have a death wish!

@JeagerTv 3 жыл бұрын

Don't do it. You would look silly in a casket with barefeet and an apron.

@TheLuftpolsterfolie 3 жыл бұрын

You here? Yay! Better not eat them, the dangerous amount is kinda low

@tristanrichards8674 3 жыл бұрын

@@liserjones8465 anything to get rid of that third leg

@solchapeau6343 3 жыл бұрын

I used to think I was "living off the land" when I would walk thru my grandma's yard and eat the plants straight off the stem. I was a kid and didn't realize her entire yard was full of herbs, fruits, and veggies.

@thymythymyth 3 жыл бұрын

Thankfully you didn’t eat poison hemlock or whatnot

@TheGastropodGamer 3 жыл бұрын

@@thymythymyth his brother wasn't so lucky.

@aansherina4536 3 жыл бұрын

I did that too, my grandparents have a little house on a remote mountain and they had a apple and mango tree and thought that hey you could probably eat the leaves too and so I did, I did this every weekend (I only visited the house in the weekends) for two or three months then one day decided to eat the grass too but before i could i got caught by my older sister and finally stopped eating leaves.

@michaelgreen1515 3 жыл бұрын

I was raised this way in the UK!

@rptck1928 3 жыл бұрын

@@aansherina4536 how did you not get burnt by the sap

@mericaman8877 Жыл бұрын

Haven't watched all this yet, but the fact he starts by saying "focus on learning to identify plants first before starting to learn to forage" tells me this guy knows what he's talking about

@user-vt1zr9fo2c 3 жыл бұрын

I only just now realised how easy it is to poison someone. "Want some parsley to garnish your meal?"

@somedudefromapharmacy Жыл бұрын

Yeah just go find some suspicious plants and dump them in food

@nurdytyrd3816 Жыл бұрын

Then you also have to concern yourself with which poisons are untraceable so you don't get caught

@Sqk. Жыл бұрын

The taste would be pretty fucking noticeable though

@user-vt1zr9fo2c Жыл бұрын

@@nurdytyrd3816 yeah. Easy to kill someone, less easy to get away with it

@Madonnalitta1 Жыл бұрын

@@Sqk. Not I'm the case of hemlock.

@titanspirit7238 3 жыл бұрын

If Skyrim taught me anything it's just pick and eat everything and worry about any side effects later!

@ketugrahagraha3673 3 жыл бұрын

In Skyrim eating a plant is a good way to learn its effects (and make good money by creating and selling powerful potions), in real life it's a good way to bite the dust. LOL

@lanceanderson8318 3 жыл бұрын

Where will you respawn on Earth?

@NuggetOG 3 жыл бұрын

@@ketugrahagraha3673 no its the same for IRL, just that it takes generations/ sacrifices to learn which are edible or not

@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep 3 жыл бұрын

@@ketugrahagraha3673 I've not even touched the foraging side of Skyrim yet because it always felt so overwhelming to me! 😔

@Sleepless_Sam 3 жыл бұрын

@@lanceanderson8318 you don't respawn, you just load your quick save.

@LordBathtub 3 жыл бұрын

Confidently said "ah number 2 is parsley" thank christ I'm not a forager...

@kaiju42 3 жыл бұрын

same, lol

@theeffete3396 3 жыл бұрын

Yup. I was like "Oh, #2 is wild parsley. Ooo, #3 is purple and hairy, it must be poison." Welp, I'm dead...

@ginsederp 3 жыл бұрын

@@anti-ethniccleansing465 cilantro is part of the parsley family, so you aren't wrong

@dindixie 3 жыл бұрын

I was pretty sure #1 was hemlock, but thought it was the water hemlock, and I also thought #2 was parsley. I am not sure that we have parsley-looking version hemlock growing wild in the USA. I also don't know if cow parsley or ground alder grows in the US. I was always taught to avoid anything that resembles Queen Anne's Lace (which hemlock does).

@magencrisis1682 3 жыл бұрын

I got them completely backwards. Didn't trust the cow parsley because of the hairs.

@imtryingmybestbutitaintworking 3 жыл бұрын

This is the most calming experience I've had all year, just vibing with some British dude looking at funky plants😊🌿

@Madonnalitta1 Жыл бұрын

As a British non dude, your comment really make me laugh. 😊

@anyascelticcreations 3 жыл бұрын

My family has been foraging for generations. We've studied, and learned from each other. One of the first things I learn is what not to eat and what looks like that. Like you, I don't eat the delicious plants that look like the deadly poisonous ones. The stakes are just too high for the possibility of making a mistake. But like you said, there are lots and lots of plants that are pretty hard to misidentify. Or at least close enough. Like blackberries vs raspberries. I don't care which they are aside from curiosity. They're all edible and have no poisonous look alikes. Anyway, I agree that we should start by learning not to poison ourselves. Learn the most dangerous ones. Don't eat what you don't know. When in doubt, leave it there. And enjoy the many, many very safe plants out there that we can identify. Thank you for an awesome video! I subscribed. 👍👍👍

@sovietbot6708 3 жыл бұрын

I assume every plant is deadly until proven otherwise.

@unnamedchannel1237 3 жыл бұрын

And the only way to prove that is to rub it into somebody’s eyes

@CorinnaAtHome 3 жыл бұрын

Every plant can be deadly to someone allergic to it.

@unnamedchannel1237 3 жыл бұрын

@@CorinnaAtHome I am allergic to penguin meat

@erindonut 3 жыл бұрын

@@unnamedchannel1237 what

@RatOfTheWoods 3 жыл бұрын

@@unnamedchannel1237 I am VERY curious in how you discovered this, I don't know why it'd be on the typical swatch test or whatever it's called so I can only imagine you've had penguin meat before??

@Dinki-Di 3 жыл бұрын

As an artist, I’d also suggest sketching the plants you are trying to identify. Drawing is a fabulous way to train your observation skills. It doesn’t have to be great art- most botanical illustrations aren’t photographically realistic- the intention is to record the features that you see. Thanks for a great vlog!

@KuraiLunae 3 жыл бұрын

As much as I'd love to do that, some of us can't even draw stick figures without help. For those even marginally more art-inclined, though, this is a great tip!

@SpoonOfDoom 3 жыл бұрын

@@KuraiLunae I mean, you could train two skills at the same time with this method. And even if the resulting drawings are bad at first, it still forces you to look at the plants very carefully and pay attention to details. Overall, I think that's a great idea whether you're art-inclined or not.

@KuraiLunae 3 жыл бұрын

@@SpoonOfDoom I appreciate the optimism. And you're right, you could potentially train 2 skills at once. I didn't think about that. Personally, though, I can't even draw a straight line with a ruler, so I don't think it'd be much help for me, lol

@SpoonOfDoom 3 жыл бұрын

@@KuraiLunae I'm convinced it's a learnable skill. Sure, the later in life you start, the harder it might be to learn. But you'd probably be surprised how much you could improve if you followed a course or something, or even just practiced regularly. Forgive me rambling on about this point, but I truly believe that the idea that you need to be born with some undefinable talent to do some things is harmful, and has kept a lot of people from discovering new hobbies just because they didn't happen to start doing it as a kid and think they just can't. My intention isn't to force you to pick up drawing, of course :D

@KuraiLunae 3 жыл бұрын

@@SpoonOfDoom oh I'm sure it's learnable. Art does have inate talent that makes it easier, but it's by no means limited if you don't have that talent. My issue is, I have an inate talent at being *bad* at art. Literally got an F in it in school. Straight up flunked. I think I got like a 10%, and I didn't skip assignments or anything. I'm not exaggerating with the straight line and ruler bit either, I legitimately can't. I've tried

@justgay 3 жыл бұрын

wow acually guessed all 4 correct by pure chance, with the presumption that the split was even and 3 and 4 had some "physical defense mechanisms" that I assumed they would be less likely to be poisonous

@macroverbumsciolist 3 жыл бұрын

"let's not squat in the grass, we can find somewhere nice to sit" *squats by bench while using it as a desk*

@stephenlee5929 3 ай бұрын

That was weird, I didn't notice, I had watched it on a number of occasions. The main thing I did notice was he took time to focus on the bench's dedication, Thanks for that.

@Sleepless_Sam 3 жыл бұрын

I probably wouldn't do this for food, but going about and staring at plants sounds like a good time.

@miekekuppen9275 3 жыл бұрын

It is! I hadn´t been out of the city for a year (blasted pandemic) when I went hiking a couple of weeks ago and where 20 years ago I would´ve just enjoyed being among all the pretty green stuff now it was like coming back to a group of friendly faces, almost all of which I could name or at least recognize.

@justjess6636 3 жыл бұрын

The reason I'm interested in this is because I kind of want to make a pollinator garden and I've seen multiple articles that say to not forget the native species of your area because that helps the native bugs also. I also wouldn't want to do this for food as it seems a lot of these wild edibles are incredibly bitter.

@wolfnation100 2 жыл бұрын

i would, flowers look tasty

@Veronica.John10-10 2 жыл бұрын

Have you ever tried shouting at plants? It's amazing.

@foleydave26 2 жыл бұрын

It's about the most addictive hobby. Lol

@MagicalxxMuffin1 3 жыл бұрын

6:49 - Atomic Shrimp, you've outdone yourself here. I beg, nay, DEMAND, that you teleport and crash into more places in the future.

@ster2600 3 жыл бұрын

I love it

@nateosborne7361 3 жыл бұрын

I thought the same

@kayagorzan 3 жыл бұрын

Yes indeed

@MrSharpshot 3 жыл бұрын

Also when going back to Studio Shrimp would be fantastic!

@rihardsrozans6920 3 жыл бұрын

Right? The edit was so smooth. Better than what I've seen from some VFX focused KZfaqrs

@Lovelandmonkey 3 жыл бұрын

“Ooh, a video on foraging, I’ll watch that!” “Hey, I recognize that intro…” Who would’ve thought scambaiting and foraging were two commonly shared interests for my suggested?

@cakeisyummy5755 2 жыл бұрын

Because both Videos were made by the same Person, and the same Channel.

@fylthl 2 жыл бұрын

@@cakeisyummy5755 wow

@stephenlee5929 3 ай бұрын

Not sure but I think in both cases you need to be careful and have a good understanding of the risks involved.

@wissewester1276 3 жыл бұрын

Atomic shrimp is like a friend that shows up with something completely random to do.

@MedievalSolutions 3 жыл бұрын

Me: Ah, number 2 looks kinda edible? Him: That's a murder plant, that will kill you.

@EraidFreefire 3 жыл бұрын

Lol I saw this on my home page just now. I totally would've died too! I thought 4 was iffy but ok. I guess my gut instinct would get me killed :(

@lagggoat7170 3 жыл бұрын

I thought 2 and 3 were sus... so half-right I guess. I HAD PLANT ID AT UNI! At least I knew it was Apiacea and that Apiacea is a bitch that has a bunch of very similar, sometimes deadly plants, so I woulda stayed away. Know 4 though, have a bunch in my yard and the guinea pigs love it

@melkiecapella2998 2 жыл бұрын

Same, lol

@nimbusstormysheep9553 2 жыл бұрын

Yeah at first glance it looks similar to cilantro

@Rabid_Nationalist 2 жыл бұрын

Same

@__-cd9ug 3 жыл бұрын

You wake up in an empty room with white walls, white floor, white ceiling. You're tied to a chair. In front of you, a table with 4 different plant specimens numbered. A man is standing behind you. He instructs you to pick at least one to eat for yourself. The specimens you don't eat will be fed to your family. Welcome to the Plant Problem.

@NuggetOG 3 жыл бұрын

I take the one with the big leave and give the hairy plant to my brother, the rest can have the other species

@jpthepug3126 3 жыл бұрын

I would eat the poison plant but all the plants are poison

@CorinnaAtHome 3 жыл бұрын

😆😆😆

@Heuhegeygeygeheu 3 жыл бұрын

I'd just eat them all since I'd have no idea which is which

@labibrashidinan9868 3 жыл бұрын

I hate you.

@grahamda1379 3 жыл бұрын

You are a very rare variant of “KZfaqr”. I can watch your videos in full without any boredom.

@tyler_o4936 3 жыл бұрын

Watching this at 3am thinking, “should I have eaten that dandelion?”

@moonstone6133 3 жыл бұрын

i heard that some people eat fried dandelions so idk

@tacrewgirl 3 жыл бұрын

Dandelion and it's lookalikes are not toxic. You can saute the leaves (like I did with my scrambled eggs today), deep fry the flowers (fritters), use the root for medicine in the falll, and pickle the buds for capers.

@a-s-greig 3 жыл бұрын

Dandelions themselves aren't toxic, but I wouldn't eat them unless I had to. It's not worth the chance of weedkiller on them.

@sweateryoshi4026 3 жыл бұрын

People used to eat a lot of dandelions during times of war where food was scarce. Because of this there are many recipes you can try out. Ranging from dandelion coffee to dandelion jelly and many more.

@bugsmith9751 3 жыл бұрын

you will often find dandelion leaves in stores with other salad greens, the roots tho, arnt as easy to find without digging them up, they make a great tea when roasted

@Zarglog 3 жыл бұрын

Me having 10+ years of green thumb foolery: Yeah I got this. 1 and 2 looks like something I'd find in a salad. Atomic Shrimp: You may die now, AND later.

@hajimehinata5854 2 жыл бұрын

now all your muscles will contract before getting cut off from your brain

@Zarglog 2 жыл бұрын

@@hajimehinata5854 So I'll be super buff from eating a salad?

@hajimehinata5854 2 жыл бұрын

@@Zarglog No, all your muscles will activate at once or smth

@BoleDaPole 2 жыл бұрын

That's why u put some in ur mouth to taste it or rub it on your finger and snell the plant. Once yoy get the feel for them its easy once yoy get the feel for them

@diemonder 10 ай бұрын

i figured it out. plant 1 makes your muscles very stiff, plant 2 makes them unable to move. so eat them both at once and theyll cancel each other out. this shit is too easy

@AFAndersen 3 жыл бұрын

So I "died" on the first go at 3 minutes.. I only picked one I felt looked safe, and that was the most deadly of them all... This is why I forage in stores ^^

@anonymouse265 Жыл бұрын

Yep, I thought the hemlock water dropwort plant was very similar to parsley I'm already growing at home so it's the only one I trusted! I'd be dead in less than a day if I was foraging on my own. XP

@purpleghost106 Жыл бұрын

lolsob I picked 'starve today' as I could trust any of them. The frist 3 look like wild carrot which is related to hemlock so I guessed one of them probably *was* hemlock, and couldn't tell which one. So that left the board leafed one as the edible candidate, but I didn't recognize it, and I'd never eat something I couldn't ID. Plants are beautiful, but terrifying

@Madonnalitta1 Жыл бұрын

@@purpleghost106 plenty of really easy to identify plants that are also edible. Daisy, dandelion, plantain, goose grass/cleavers. I bet you could identify at least two of those safely.

@aizirtap05 3 жыл бұрын

This got recommended to me for some reason. It ‘pleasantly’ reminded me of botany/pharmacognosy classes. Those were really tough especially the plants we studied were not native to our country. This video is comprehensive and just fun! It made me miss learning about these things which I thought I would never miss ever. 🌿💚 Plus, that drop-in on the field was 🤯

@codemiesterbeats 3 жыл бұрын

My favorite wild plant from my area is "sheep sorrel" I only eat a small amount... apparently it can be poisonous in large amounts. I been eating it since I was a kid.

@richardeadon6396 3 жыл бұрын

Had no idea which were poisonous/edible, but I was thinking "these all look like celery leaves" so I'm not as dumb as I thought after all

@GlitchedRed 3 жыл бұрын

Same, but I was thinking parsley

@devon371 3 жыл бұрын

Me too! But what I thought looked like a wild parsley was one of the deadly poisonous ones so I guess I'd die 🤷🏼‍♀️

@mrslinkydragon9910 3 жыл бұрын

I tend to avoid apiaceae for this very reason! Except for the obvious ones like fennel and hogweeds, they all look loo similar to one another

@mynickisnick8270 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, I was constantly thinking "plant" and I was right! I might not be as dumb as I thought

@richardeadon6396 3 жыл бұрын

@@mynickisnick8270 lol gj

@ohmydinosare 3 жыл бұрын

I love the "jump down to earth" shot there, that really caught me off guard. Now I know why there's been so many budget cooking challenges, he's been saving up for the effects budget to do that

@BEAUTYnIQ 2 жыл бұрын

right at the beginning .. ? yes that def was a great effect .. lol

@Zogerpogger 2 жыл бұрын

I lost it laughing when I saw that.

@mnmlst1 Жыл бұрын

As someone who's been foraging for three decades and taught people about it in the past, this video is incredibly educational. Hope KZfaq recommends it to people.

@ninjawithnobalance 2 жыл бұрын

i started with easy stuff like stinging nettle , elderflower, dandilion,clover , ect and then i kept improving and you atomic suggested me another channel on this , thx !! it really helped . im still a bit scared of mushroon picking but im getting better.

@africa_everyday 3 жыл бұрын

Forage is an exciting activity. I love it. 😍

@leea8706 3 жыл бұрын

Hey Babatunde!!! So glad Atomic Shrimp brought attention to your channel!

@michael2632 3 жыл бұрын

@Henry Merivale this gets asked every reply of his. He's a friend of atomic shrimp so seemingly gets access before we do. You can upload videos unlisted and then share them before making them public to the wider KZfaq audience

@africa_everyday 3 жыл бұрын

@@leea8706 me too.

@boomerboxer3574 3 жыл бұрын

@@africa_everyday Get well soon...

@KatieM786 3 жыл бұрын

@@michael2632 Hopefully people will learn how friendship and KZfaq work before long...

@HotelPapa100 3 жыл бұрын

In school we had a field guide that took you step by step through identifying features, starting with flower color, then flower structure, leaf arrangement, leaf form, leaf edge narrowing down to the genus at least. I have never found anything quite as systematic again.

@yeahsuredude7082 3 жыл бұрын

that sounds amazing, do you remember the title?

@HotelPapa100 3 жыл бұрын

@@yeahsuredude7082 I know it was released by Klett Verlag. I have recently searched for it and it seems to no longer be in print.

@HotelPapa100 2 жыл бұрын

@@sfadf8234 Not DIchotomous, many branches were multifold, but yeah.

@MathieusTheWalkingWitness 2 жыл бұрын

Schools teaching how to survive without man made constructs? That's a first.........

@jasminbaumer3775 2 жыл бұрын

I have watched this video at least 5 times now and I keep coming back to it. I have always been interested in foraging and plant identification in general, but it always seemed too complicated to get started. And well, it is complicated, but you have given me a very good starting point! I just ordered some used copies of the two first books you mentioned and I can not wait to go out and start learning to identify and then, eventually, confidently foraging something! I really enjoy all of your videos btw. They are very calming to me and feel casually educational. Thank you so much for making this content. All the best from Brighton!

@stopandlisten6070 3 жыл бұрын

6:50 this is one of the most casually awesome things I've ever seen.

@bokchoi5081 3 жыл бұрын

About these apps. There was an AI given the task of deciding if the photos shown to it were a dog or a wolf. After a great many photos and some success the AI had decided a photo of a chihuahua was a wolf. This concerned the researchers who went through the code in minute detail to work out why the AI was so badly wrong on this occasion. It turned out it had barely been looking at the animals in the photo but at the backgrounds and scenery. The chihuahua photo had been taken in the snow and that's how the AI identified it as a wolf.

@HurtsEnd Жыл бұрын

So honestly you just gotta research books and stuff? That’s scary! Imagine the app says a safe plant and you eat a poisonous one!

@MakenaForest Жыл бұрын

@@HurtsEnd these apps commonly misidentify hemlock water dropwort as cow parsley, which will probably lead to death soon if not already

@aabeceedeeeff6076 3 жыл бұрын

I'm positive that Foraging Shrimp is just Gandalf in disguise!

@riddlydiddlyimawantedmanin4442 3 жыл бұрын

tom bombadillo

@PlzTouchSomeGrass 3 жыл бұрын

He’s cleaned himself up and is camping it out in Britain waiting for the Orcs

@fromthegamethrone 3 жыл бұрын

More like Gandalf is foraging Shrimp in disguise ahaha

@Luca-bj3cq 3 жыл бұрын

Thank god you´re not foraging for Birds, because the "Crane" at 25:17 is a young Grey Heron. Also one might add fool´s parsley and rough chervil to the long list of plants that really make picking cow parsley a dangerous game.

@hannasandwitch8337 3 жыл бұрын

I’ve never thought of foraging before, just small farming what I commonly eat, but I think that changes today :D

@HaroldSeaman 3 жыл бұрын

Probably worth mentioning that it is best to be aware of which verges or edging are sprayed by the council/land owner with weedkillers.

@immortalhamster1645 3 жыл бұрын

Can we all just appreciate the immense amount of effort this dude puts into his videos. I’m just noticing the vfx scene transitions and it’s like woah

@Boltercon 3 жыл бұрын

This is literally one of the most informational videos I've ever watched and still thoroughly enjoyed, so thank you!!

@mayabrook1153 2 жыл бұрын

This is very encouraging and I really want to find myself a field guide and have a go walking around and trying to identify things. Thank you! The philosophy of learning to identify first then start picking to eat makes so much sense.

@camille4917 3 жыл бұрын

''Oh. and look: there's cow parsley again!'' That made me chuckle to myself.

@leea8706 3 жыл бұрын

I can’t believe people would be annoyed it’s not simple and you cant just Chuck the stuff in the basket. Learning, at least for me, is a huge part of the fun. I love learning new things. Plus you can appreciate the beauty of nature as you said, but also, you can make some lovely memories to cherish and you go out and have fun in the countryside.

@benny_lemon5123 3 жыл бұрын

When I started looking around my area (well before I ever began considering foraging) I was so disappointed to realise I know almost nothing about the plants around me. That realization became the impetus to identify things, which turned into the knowledge that a shocking amount of things were actually edible. You can never go wrong with learning about your surroundings!

@myld_panic4416 3 жыл бұрын

for someone who does plant determination and species recognision courses for school, I can say this is a really amazing thing to learn. It is not really hard to whip out a book and regular practise in nature makes it easy to do automatically. I know about 170 different species that I learned over just 1 year and I am able to amaze all my friends with quite easy knowledge :)

@chewbekah 3 жыл бұрын

I’m only 10mins in and I’ve already learnt so much! This is an excellent and informative video, thank you!

@amcconnell6730 3 жыл бұрын

What a great, and in hindsight obvious, lesson. If you want to start foraging - don't start foraging. Start identifying and you will (1) Be safe, even if you're really bad and/or lazy at it and (2) enjoy the walking more, as the journey becomes more interesting than the destination.

@johnromero1029 3 жыл бұрын

Your friend from Africa Everyday, is not very well. Hope he gets better soon, he's a nice chap.

@justanotherviewer4821 3 жыл бұрын

Same, hope he gets well soon.

@ThePerradox 3 жыл бұрын

Sending my thoughts

@al3k 3 жыл бұрын

Is that Mr. Babatunde?? What's going on? :(

@lek0mania 3 жыл бұрын

@@al3k he got malaria

@al3k 3 жыл бұрын

@@lek0mania aaah, crap.. hope he gets through ok. :/ thanks for the info.

@olivem.5249 3 жыл бұрын

What a cool video! I’m glad I knew enough about hemlock to be wary of the parsley-ish plants. I’m so glad to have discovered this channel. I wish I knew as much as you.

@Liliththelizard Жыл бұрын

Fun fact, the flora guide in my country is organized by color, and then sub-catergorized by numer of flowers/leaves etc. So if you come across a plant with a purple flower that has small clusters of flowers, you just go to the purple chapter, look up plants with flower clusters and then look at the images until you find one that matches exactly. Leafy plants/grasses and other "non flowering" plants have their own chapter... it is 🥁 the green chapter

@thisischris898 3 жыл бұрын

I love how this turned into CSI: Foragables

@alexniklaus6216 3 жыл бұрын

something that's unrelated but worth noting is that ground elder/goutweed is not native to the U.S and is in fact considered a highly aggressive, invasive weed. so it would be worth while to get rid of it if you see any in your yard or garden or what not.

@molybdomancer195 3 жыл бұрын

In my old garden in the U.K. we had ground elder which is difficult to get rid of of. If only I’d known we could eat it

@lizh1988 3 жыл бұрын

@@molybdomancer195 we have stuff on our front yard we can eat. My mom refused to let us weed out the violets because of how they look in the spring. Found out later, the leaf and flower are edible.

@Cherryblossoms110 3 жыл бұрын

Good to know, sounds good to make some vegetable stock with

@muhammadnursyahmi9440 3 жыл бұрын

@@molybdomancer195 well, now you know you could eat it.

@SMTRodent 3 жыл бұрын

@@molybdomancer195 Nothing kills a weed quite as rapidly as deciding that you want it around as a delicious vegetable.

@destraye 3 жыл бұрын

This provides some incredibly useful concepts I've never before heard anyone explain

@farjanaakhter7429 2 жыл бұрын

The best foraging video guide I have ever seen. Thank you for taking the time.

@axelolord 3 жыл бұрын

Watching the plant leaves. Number two shows on screen. "Oh hell yeah. This looks like parsley. That is 100% the edible one." Number 2 turns out to be the deadly one. "Guess I'll die then. "

@emmalucas4177 3 жыл бұрын

for anyone wanting to watch some videos on botanical identification, the channel Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't has some great videos about identification, as well as a ton of videos of info in the field (mostly in the US)

@williamfullofwood7421 3 жыл бұрын

I was just about to comment this.

@EraidFreefire 3 жыл бұрын

Lol I'm interested in just going around looking at plants! but most channels or books I used to find were all about out side the US or the wrong side. I'm in the NW side.

@ltraina3353 3 жыл бұрын

Yes! I love the Crime pays… channel! A heavily tatted guy with a thick Chicago/east coast accent, walking all over the place, happily identifying plants and telling us about them. There is just something magical about How he describes things in that accent, always generous with the curse words! He’s like the “cool” uncle who was always fun to hang out with, and taught you stuff too.

@RainbowFlowerCrow 3 жыл бұрын

Ok this video was so interesting and relaxing to watch! I'm stuck at work, so can't go for a nature walk, but I could immediately feel tension leaving my body while watching this! Thank you, Atomic Shrimp!☺️⚛🍤

@leamonty2992 3 жыл бұрын

Atomic Shrimp is the king of making any video in any genre. I respect you do what you want! It's cool to see how much you know

@ChimeTunes 3 жыл бұрын

I’m terribly sorry, did you just land out of the sky with a staff like a f***ing superhero? 6:50

@AjiNoPanda 3 жыл бұрын

That's his walking spoon.

@zljmbo 3 жыл бұрын

Yupp, it's magic

@brianartillery 3 жыл бұрын

Isn't that how he generally arrives at places?

@BoggyTheAmazing 3 жыл бұрын

Chime following Atomic Shrimp wasn't something I expected to see today, but I am very glad to see it. Love ya both!

@SerenityM16 3 жыл бұрын

*obligatory Harry Dresden comment*

@aaronconnell2152 3 жыл бұрын

I was 99% sure no.2 was flat leaf parsley. And thats why i'm 100% not foraging yet 🙃

@fruitloops666 2 жыл бұрын

same

@oneoflokis 2 жыл бұрын

Looks very parsley-like, doesn't it?! 😏

@toneenorman2135 2 жыл бұрын

Yep,me too!

@somniad 2 жыл бұрын

I used to spend time identifying bugs and sometimes plants as a kid, and this has reminded me of that a bit! It's the right time of year and I know a few good places in my city. I'll have to give this a go when I find the time.

@firstcanonkill1767 2 жыл бұрын

This is a great video! Thank you for this video. I want to learn to forage, and I’m definitely going to start with this, and get some books! The only things I trust myself to pick at this stage are things like brambles and dandelions, things I’ve seen and, in the case of brambles, picked before. I cant wait to be able to look at different plants and identify them!

@Kasperhp7410 3 жыл бұрын

Probably not the best advice, but growing up as a scout we were often taught that if animals and insects leaves something that looks edible be, so should we.

@AtomicShrimp 3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, but there are plenty of cases where animals can eat stuff that would kill a human

@megasocky 3 жыл бұрын

Like shrimp said its true. There are many nuts squirrels and birds can ingest thats toxic to humans. Same with certain greens cows eat that can harm humans (or humans who eat cows that ate said plants)

@Kasperhp7410 3 жыл бұрын

You're absolutely right. I had a memory in mind, when I wrote that, of seeing some berry bushes and we got told that. Then again, we also often picked and ate nettle leaves and some sour clovers that most animals didn't eat. So yes, not very reliable now that I think about it.

@shaanp9796 3 жыл бұрын

@@anti-ethniccleansing465 if a goat eats poison ivy, it’s milk is perfectly fine to drink, But if a cow eats milkweed (I think that’s it), I think that’s what Tom Jefferson’s mother died from since that was before pasteurization. Depends on the animal

@shadowjewel 3 жыл бұрын

While animals can help with picking out what is and isn't poisonous, it all depends. I heard a story that early European settlers to Australia made this mistake by trying to eat what birds eat when they should have watched the bats instead, to whom we are distant cousins by way of lemurs, then monkeys, then apes - if you are going to try and copy an animals diet, the closer related to us the better the odds it wont be a total disaster. On the flip side, there are foods we eat that most other animals cant; dairy (as adults), onions, hot peppers, tea (even goats wont touch tea), and I think grapes react badly to many animals as well (I know they toxic to dogs for example). There are probably others too.

@adamboof6769 3 жыл бұрын

First ever foraging interaction and i got em right! They do have a visible difference, amazing really.

@everettliu5157 3 жыл бұрын

“The first thing you need to do is resist the urge to eat things” Me with a mouthful of random leaves I found: 😶

@mloxard-9321 3 жыл бұрын

In my country "mushrooming" is literally one of the most popular activities to do in summer :D

@emusaurus 3 жыл бұрын

I see people doing it during winter, too. I’m interested because there are a lot of mushrooms on my property and I feel like I’m missing out by not eating them.

@fudgethedog 3 жыл бұрын

Are you in Poland by any chance

@mloxard-9321 3 жыл бұрын

@Smiya Coron Czech Republic

@caller145 3 жыл бұрын

In my country Finland too :D At least at the country side, for city people going in a forest seems to be a bit extra sometimes. I as a kid remember each mushroom seasons roaming the forests and bringing home all the goodies :)

@mloxard-9321 3 жыл бұрын

@@caller145 Yeah, people from cities usually go to their cottages in the countryside

@matthew4511 3 жыл бұрын

What foraging level do I have to reach to unlock the fast-travel option at 6:51?

@NuggetOG 3 жыл бұрын

its only for foraging level 30 and above. also you must have the 'keen eye of the roots' item

@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep 3 жыл бұрын

r/outside

@mark314158 3 жыл бұрын

The right type of mushroom...

@Narked1 3 жыл бұрын

Dosent seem to be a hypixel skyblock reference...

@99999bomb 3 жыл бұрын

@@Narked1 it’s r/outside

@julianmarsh7993 Жыл бұрын

Sorry to keep banging on......This has been one of your best youtubes yet, loved how easily you taught us the science or whatever studying plants is called.

@SSDD_NYC Жыл бұрын

This is the resource I've been looking for to teach me how to *think* while foraging. Brilliant! Thank you!

@tareyus2977 3 жыл бұрын

The first cave man who ate poison ivy: died painfully 2nd caveman who saw him die: interesting...

@forgor4410 3 жыл бұрын

I actually did that once with poison oak. I'm immune to it's allergy for some reason, and I lived

@PoptartParasol 2 жыл бұрын

@@forgor4410 take pride in that! Your body probably isn't able to digest it properly, I have the same thing with caffeine. I am completely immune to it to the point where I can drink as much coffee as I like and fall asleep not even 5 minutes later. Woohoo weird genes.

@Szszymon14 2 жыл бұрын

@@PoptartParasol Sounds terrible, If you ever be sleep-deprived for more than one day. If I would be forced to work night shifts without caffeine effects, that would suck terribly.

@shitmultiverse1404 3 жыл бұрын

6:50 when you think you've seen all Atomic Shrimp skills, he throws this pro editing. That was smooth af

@lisahutcherson5897 2 жыл бұрын

This video is awesome! 🙂👍This should be the first video anyone interested in foraging should watch. Thank you

@sofiaardvark9039 3 жыл бұрын

Really interesting! I wasn't sure where to start and what kind of books to get, so this was helpful.

@minijimi 3 жыл бұрын

I would have died having eaten a big salad of poison.

@magiv4205 3 жыл бұрын

I wouldn't have, since I knew ground elder and refused to take my chances on any of the other plants, I'll just stick to what I know, thank you very much😅

@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep 3 жыл бұрын

Same. There really are no shortcuts and my brain is not great at holding this kind of information with such specificity. When he showed that it's like identifying cars or Pokémon I knew immediately that I'd be screwed.

@jpthepug3126 3 жыл бұрын

@@BonJoviBeatlesLedZep that’s what the book is for

@SombreroPharoah 3 жыл бұрын

Eventually though you get an eye even on a glance. 4/4 on those. The lookalikes of Chervil (cow parsley) I always pay a bit extra attention to but as a whole after a time you can ID and notice things as your driving. FWIW cow parsley Imo doesn't taste that great anyway. Ground elder is much nicer and safer. Invasive too if its on your land. Like 3 cornered leek. So best control is to eat your weeds tbf. Which is a good website and book come think of it.

@jasonharrison2434 3 жыл бұрын

Me, living an hour out of Melbourne, Australia: ✍ Hairless, round stems.. splotches of purple.. bipinnate leaves..

@SEAWOLF815 3 ай бұрын

Thank you for this, I often have trouble starting a hobby like foraging (high risk of error) without a teacher or a solid foundation, this video gave me a foundation. its a great instruction on what someone is actually getting into!

@infinitelybanta 3 жыл бұрын

The special effect ar 6:49 honestly looks pretty darn good.

@filmecke2618 3 жыл бұрын

@@anti-ethniccleansing465 maybe greenscreen

@berosist2197 3 жыл бұрын

I've always had a morbid curiosity about deadly plants, it's sort of amazing how it's not really taught about as part of the school curriculum given there are so many plants around us that are deadly. It kind of amazing you don't hear about people being poisoned or killed by plant life more often. Great video.

@thymythymyth 3 жыл бұрын

Only kids and the homeless go around tasting rando plants

@achicken21 3 жыл бұрын

Me too, it's really interesting to learn about them and see what they look like and also how they kill you lol. Something I want to do that's on my bucket list is to get a tour of the Alnwick Poison Garden!

@js66613 3 жыл бұрын

True, true. But I suppose people don't go outside and pick at wild plants as much as before, and when they do, it's typically just the berries, or apples, and there's a pretty limited amount of species of fruit bearing plants growing in my area... so getting mixed up isn't much of a risk. And most people only pick blueberries, blackberries, raspberries... and by most, I just mean my dad and a handful of other people that do actually pick wild berries. When less people interact with plants, less people die at the hands - or leaves, flowers and stems - of plants. I do think we should be taught about this though. I recall being taught about a lot of things and this was not one of them. Which is unfortunate, given that kids pick at a lot of things and are the most likely candidates to eat or touch something deadly by accident.

@js66613 3 жыл бұрын

@@anti-ethniccleansing465 A murderer who kills people with plants would work really well in a crime novel, I think... you could probably build a whole characters and backstory behind their preference of killing with wild plants, too...

@EraidFreefire 3 жыл бұрын

Looks like you arent Alone! I'm also fascinated! And a book about someone murdering others with plants would be a great read!

@utkf16 2 жыл бұрын

One of the best videos on getting started, well done and thank you

@catmuch4569 3 жыл бұрын

Oh god, I recently decided that I want to start foraging and this comes out, the timing is perfect!

@pauljerome01 3 жыл бұрын

shrimp made a new comment warning about stuff make sure to read it since your comment is before he made it

@catmuch4569 3 жыл бұрын

@@pauljerome01 yes, very true, I always thought that touching plants you're not sure are safe isn't the best idea, so that comment is very useful reminder

@ravenwolf2220 3 жыл бұрын

Can I recommend finding a local nerdy biologist group to just go on walks with. They often know a hell of a lot about plants and it helps you learn IDing very quickly

@KdosdaHegen 3 жыл бұрын

Nature in your country looks beautiful. Plants are slightly different from the ones that grow in my country Lithuania.

@karosasnn 3 жыл бұрын

Tho I can't say ours is bad either! We've got some beauties too :DD

@sarah3796 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I'm in Australia so this has helped me start learning our plants

@Yobydobie Жыл бұрын

Man… I will probably never forage anything in my life but I am so relaxed by this video. Soothed to the bone.

@MartinAhlman 3 жыл бұрын

When you can do this you'll be burned as a witch, if you travel back in time and always had something to eat. That's how we can tell someone is a witch! They can travel through thyme!

@zljmbo 3 жыл бұрын

Foraging Shrimp is a witch - confirmed

@dustinsmith8341 3 жыл бұрын

18:00 This plant feels like something that would evolve in a place with intermittant extreme winds. The wings help the plant grow a strong stalk while growing by catching any tiny amount of wind when the air is very still. Then, as an adult, when it encounters the strong winds it breaks up the gust and channels it away from the plant.

@tacrewgirl 3 жыл бұрын

This is a well done video. I've always been skeptical of harvesting cow parsnip because of the toxic lookalikes (poison hemlock and water hemlock). However, I like how you go through how to research and look at the differences. I've been a lot of time researching all three among other lookalikes like Queen Anne's Lace (wild carrot) that isn't poisonous. I really appreciate you doing this. It really bothers me how many foraging videos do not first mention the poisonous lookalikes as that should be the first thing, nor do they talk about how to correctly identify the plant. You do a great job, even mentioning a magnifying glass, which I had never though of beforehand. Thanks!

@yokochan4221 3 жыл бұрын

What a wonderful and helpful video. I feel very inspired and think Im gonna buy a guide like that.

@michellesovereign4564 3 жыл бұрын

I studied my UK wild edibles book and went out to forage. I came home with what I thought was cow parsley and when I checked the book ,I indeed had hemlock. That was my first time and it taught me to be super careful. This video is spot on and people should understand that it takes time and a lot of cross referencing. Thanks so much ☺ I'm looking forward to more.

@LindsaysWhimsies 3 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this. I've been interested in plants for so long, but this motivated me to buy books and actually pursue my interests instead of just wondering. The books are fantastic. I identified the very annoyingly prevalent and persistent weed around my garden area as poison hemlock thanks to you. As a mom of two small kids that like to grab stuff we're growing and ingest it immediately, I am indebted to you. I've found tons of mushrooms to identify too! I can only identify maybe 15-20% of what I find, but man, what a rush! I have been outside more exploring, identifying, and just enjoying life. It's so exciting to learn about all these beautiful things in my surroundings. I feel a little happier when I'm doing that, and my kids are enjoying discovering new things with me too. Thanks again, Mike.

@Madonnalitta1 Жыл бұрын

I've been identifying plants for a long time but have always shied away from mushroom foraging. Your comment made me think that it's about time I gave it another chance...tentatively!

@millieradio7069 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much for all the time and effort it took you to make this video 😀

@Gauche69 3 жыл бұрын

Loved this video! Gave me the wish to start a foraging diary.

@fonkbadonk2957 3 жыл бұрын

Dear Shrimp, I am already thankfull for making me realize that some of the weeds in my small garden are actually wild garlic with certainty just in the nick of time of gathering them. (Gosh were those some tasty dips and butters!) And now you've set me up to look around a bit more. Thanks for your continued great content. Please don't ever stop doing it in this style and varity!

@Zogerpogger 2 жыл бұрын

*10 minutes after posting this comment*: Fronk Badonk is now dead due to consuming poison

@Madonnalitta1 Жыл бұрын

I've yet to find any wild Allium ursinum (wild garlic/ramsons) but there is plenty of Allium triquetrum (three-cornered leak) where I live so the other must be around here somewhere...

@UffUffsen 3 жыл бұрын

The last weeks i kept thinking i should go out and forage more herbs and veggie on walks. And now you post this. youre a legend Shrimp

@kupus6622 Жыл бұрын

Brilliant video, very comprehensive, presentation excellent going out tomorrow for a looksee . Thank you, subbed

@labibrashidinan9868 3 жыл бұрын

Of course youtube algorithm, this is definitely a video tutorial I was interested in and was looking for

@ZackUkeEvans 3 жыл бұрын

That half an hour SHOT by!! Very interesting and engaging! I found Wild Food UK has a pretty decent pocket foraging book that identifies common edibles and poisonous plants and fungi. Found it to be a good starter for me last year :)

@ForestGramps 3 жыл бұрын

Great Video! I’m not a forager by any means, but I pride myself on the fact that I can recognize wintergreen (or Teaberry as the guy in boyscouts told me) whenever I pass by it. I love being able to show people some random plant and to surprise them with the smell of root beer

@testname4464 2 жыл бұрын

If a plant smelled like root beer I'd prolly end up eating it lmao

@ahomestucker 2 жыл бұрын

ok , this rly makes me wanna look more into plants and different species, whether it be gardening, forraging, whatever. theres just so much interesting stuff, like i never knew clovers were in the same family as peas, thats cool!

@jessie-ht7bc Жыл бұрын

eyy, I identified the plants at the beginning correctly! Though I still always stay away from feathery plants, just cause the chance of making a mistake is too large for comfort.

@danielgray1104 3 жыл бұрын

It's amazing to think that our ancestors discovered this knowledge, without books or videos but through most likely trail and error. I wonder if some of the ancient peoples would nibble on a plant, see that it made them feel ill and advise against eating it.Or if it was more tragic and they saw that this plant killed someone or did serious harm. Its astounding that people had made mental notes to avoid those plants, and to know what to look for, and to pass down what was harmful and what was beneficial. Great video btw.

@tartartar23 3 жыл бұрын

Man. I live in Singapore and foraging plants isn't that common. This is very interesting to see though.

@AjiNoPanda 3 жыл бұрын

Aren't there wild durian trees there in the park? With teeny tiny durians!

@muhammadnursyahmi9440 3 жыл бұрын

@@AjiNoPanda Wasn't durians in Singapore are imported from it's neighbour, Malaysia?

@NotAWomble 3 жыл бұрын

It’s probably illegal in Singapore XD

@j.kaimori3848 3 жыл бұрын

@@muhammadnursyahmi9440 I think not, this plant is in Indonesia too so it likely just live in the whole region. It's possible it had to be reintroduced to Singapore as a garden plant due to how dense Singapore is, but I doubt it wasn't originally there.

@lol... 3 жыл бұрын

@@AjiNoPanda there are quite a few in pulau ubin and bukit timah hill, especially in the durian loop part. However, you gotta go there in the morning during the durian season (june and december i think) for best results and be prepare to walk through difficult to reach places.The durians don’t taste too shabby, but they usually have a low flesh to seed ratio and you need to make sure the ones you pick are not eaten by squirrels or plucked by monkeys (you can see from the shape of the stem)