Can we actually find some food staples right in Perth suburbs? Free and available, these covert gifts are not actually covert at all. Or uncommon to come across. (Although with all the relentless land clearing going it, it is becoming harder to do so these days.) But short answer is YES!! Yes you can. You just have to know where, when and what to look out for.
It is important to note that you forage at your own risk. Councils spray deadly herbicides.
How many of us use Pepper and ever wondered what the red peppers are? Well, they are commonly BRAZILIAN RED PEPPER BERRY (SCHINUS TEREBINTHIFOLIUS) and the CALIFORNIAN PEPPER TREE (SCHINUS MOLLE).
These can both be found around Perth suburbs. In bushlands usually unmaintained, you will stumble across one of these. Peppers are the fruit of these plants, after pollinating mid-Autumn, you will see the fruit forming around the start of Winter and by July you can start harvesting these wonderful, fruity, peppery berries. Make sure to only harvest what you will use. Always move from tree to tree ensuring that you do not negatively affect future harvests and pollination.
Dry and store them in a dark place. Just as you will with your Black Pepper. I like to mix some together with the black pepper and also leave some plain red.
Figure 1 L: Fresh Harvested Brazilian Red Pepper R: Fresh Harvested Californian Pepper Tree WANNEROO PERTH
Next is something we have all seen towards springtime. RED BOTTLE BRUSHES (CALLISTEMON) flowing and radiating beauty and bees, birds and a bounty some may not know exists. A sweet syrup made from the nectar filled flowers is something we must all try. Being extremely careful not to overharvest from any one tree, I advise taking a 20l bucket or whatever you have as a container, some water and take a long walk through the Bottle Brush bushland. Picking a few off of each tree as you freely move. We are not the only ones who feed off these flowers.
Once your bucket is half filled, not compressed but half filled, take it home and fill it just above the flowers with filtered water. Gently with a clean stirring stick, agitate the flowers for a few minutes. Allow to stand for an hour and then, using cotton cloth or similar, filter the plant material out and discard on your garden to go back to Creation. You can drink it as it is or you can also pour it into a large cooking pot/boiling pot and on a low heat (try aim for 60-80 degrees Celsius), reduce it down over a few hours to make a syrup or cordial.
Figure 2 Red Bottle Brush in WANNEROO PERTH
Something some may not have even thought about, but most of us use frequently is MUSTARD (SINAPIS ARVENSIS and SISYMBRIUM ORIENTALE). That right you can also source Mustard Seeds! That’s right there’s plenty of free mustard seeds available to harvest from almost everywhere you can see. Along roads, footpaths, bushland, vacant blocks, neglected areas, parks, almost everywhere.
Many know these as those annoying weeds the councils never clean up. Flowering yellow blooms in Spring, around October you can see the seed heads swollen and then drying. Collect only dry, crispy seed pods. Leave any that are not completely dry to continue to finish off. Then collect and once collected (again, only what you need), break apart the pods, releasing the seeds. Winnow them to clean the seed free and leave to dry again a further few weeks before storing away.
Figure 3 Wild Mustard/Brassica in Flower
Then there is the WATTLES (ACACIA). Two common Acacias here commonly found in Perth are the GOLDEN WREATH (ACACIA SALIGNA), the RED RASPBERRY JAM WATTLE (ACACIA ACUMINATA) and the RED EYED WATTLE (ACACIA CYCLOPS).
The formers seeds are great for a hot herbal infusion or coffee addition. The latter two Wattle Seed are great for flour and the wood of the Raspberry Jam Wattle when burnt smells wonderful and fruity. Seeds must be roasted and then ground to make flour.
These Wattles flower in Winter and there seed can be harvested usually from December to Early March. Harvest from serval bushes over a large range to preserve balance and not to disturb these ancient, mystic givers.
Figure 4 L: Golden Wreath Acacia in Flower R: Red Eyed Wattle Acacia Seed pod and Seeds
So you now have some new activities to try and do together. Respecting Country and The Ancients.
Ras Tafari Love and Light
RAS MARK HAILE SELASE SUBURBAN FARMER
Ras Mark Suburban Farmer