Guide For Mindful Gathering

Writer: Mads Wolter Nielsen

24.1.23

What to know before you start gathering

Dear reader!

This is the second week in our guide to mindful gathering. Last week we looked into the term mindful gathering and what it can do for you and for the environment where you gather from.

This week will be a more specific guide to what you need to think about before heading out and start gathering and what tools to bring to make sure you are as successful as possible in your endeavor.

Seasons

Before you venture out on your first gathering trip, there are a few things to make note of. I think this is where a lot of people jump off the train, before it’s even left the station. So, to speak. But it is my hope that through reading this, you will be guided through the difficult steps of gathering so you are actually prepared and motivated to try it out yourself.

The first thing to think about is the seasons. Maybe you live in a place where the seasons do not impact the growth of plants to much. But in Denmark there are very unique and separate seasons, as they shift so too does the resources you can gather, change. Many of our herbs bloom in the spring this is the season where most flowers blossom and are visited by pollinators. Fruits usually do not occur until late summer or fall. In order for plants to produce the fruits, they first have to be pollinated, then they need to grow the fruits and this takes a lot of solar energy, water and nutrients, and this takes most of the sunny summer season to gather.

Many mushrooms sprout mostly in the late fall, here the humidity rises because of lower temperatures and increase in precipitation. Knowing the seasons will give you a good base knowledge about what you might expect to be able to find on your trips. 

What do you want to gather

Another good thing to keep in mind, is knowing what you want to gather. Maybe this seems obvious to many, but having an idea of this can save you a lot of frustration over not finding what you are looking for, simply because you are in the wrong kind of environment or in the wrong time of year. Many crops such as herbs, mushrooms, fruit plants only grow in certain types of environments. Another way to prepare for a gathering trip is simply to look at the season you are in, there will be certain things that grow in that season, that way you have more chance of finding something, just not anything specific.

Tools and equipment

The last thing I want you to have thought about before heading outside, is what equipment to bring. The equipment you should bring varies greatly with what you want to be gathering. In most cases though a zip-lock bag, plastic bag or container with lid will be a good thing to bring. If you plan on picking mushrooms or herbs then a pair of scissors or a small knife can also be a really useful tool. Especially with mushrooms it is important to cut them at the stems above ground level. This way the fungi which produces the mushroom can continue to grow under the earth and they will be able to produce mushrooms again next season.

I hope you learned something by reading this blog, hopefully you have enjoyed it and now know a little more of what to think about before heading outside and begin your mindful-gathering adventure.

Next week I will provide some great herbs that you can use to hone in your skills as a mindful-gatherer. The herbs I have chosen I have done so for a number of reasons, their recognizability, level of occurrence and availability during the year. Join us next week to figure out what they are and how you can use them in your kitchen.

As always if you have any questions or stories you want to share, please contact us on our email or DM on social media.

Cheers,

Mads