Gathering water is a top priority if trapped in the New Zealand bush, but dining on native edible plants can provide additional  energy and sustenance to survive. Mieke Couling featured in life and leisure Magazine You’d be a bit silly to enter the bush unprepared to face unfortunate circumstances, but if you ever do find yourself having to survive in the wild, it will only aid your situation if you have some basic knowledge about edible wild plants. While surviving on native edible plants in the NZ bush is unlikely to maintain your weight, they should provide you with the energy and sustenance to survive. The average person can survive around 30 days without food but only three days without water so gathering food should not be your priority in a survival situation. But if the situation is somewhat longer-term then energy levels need to be maintained and boredom and depression need to be avoided. For these reasons, gathering wild plant foods can be extremely beneficial. 1. FERNS The easiest and most recognisable for most people would be NZ’s native ferns. Some caution is required here as only a few of the many hundreds of fern species are edible, although it appears none are highly poisonous. Even the edible ones are likely to have some carcinogenic qualities but as survival food, this may not be avoidable. Māori commonly ate the roots of bracken fern (rārahu) and although their preparation methods were quite complex, in a survival situation you could roast them and chew them to obtain the juices. The fibrous part of the root is edible but according to Elsdon Best (author of Forest Lore of the Maori ), it’s not terribly pleasant to swallow. The young fronds (the koru-shaped fiddleheads) have historically been eaten but are now known to be carcinogenic. Although the carcinogenic compound appears to be destroyed with cooking, it’s best to avoid this plant unless absolutely necessary and only eat it after cooking. It’s preferable to obtain the young shoots, or fiddleheads, of the hen and chickens fern (mouku), the common shield fern (pikopiko), the gully fern (pākau), or the hound’s tongue fern (kōwaowao). All of these young fronds are quite palatable when steamed or boiled until just tender. The easily-recognised mamaku (black tree fern) is a useful survival food to know. Māori steamed the mamaku pith taken from the trunk but due to the slow regeneration of the tree, it was only used in times of scarcity or by travellers. Removing the pith from the trunk prevents the tree from renewing and should only be attempted in a genuine survival situation. According to Andrew Crowe, author of A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand , it’s possible to remove some of the pith from the frond stems without damaging the tree. These can then be sundried, steamed, baked, or boiled. 2. CABBAGE TREE Another tree that grows in abundance in New Zealand is the cabbage tree (tī kōuka). The tender shoots of all types of cabbage trees can be eaten, raw or cooked. The trick is to get the new shoots growing out of the top of the stem, peel away the outer leaves and eat the tender white part, which looks a bit like a leek and tastes a bit like cabbage. Depending on the season and the age of the shoots, the taste can be fairly bitter but this does improve somewhat with cooking. Due to the year-round availability of this plant, it truly is a great survival food. 3. SUPPLEJACK Another great survival food to keep in mind is the supplejack (kareao). The new growth at the end of the vine has a mild similarity to asparagus or green beans and are at their best in summer and eaten cooked. The berries are little red ones and can be found throughout the year. They don’t taste brilliant but do provide some good protein and energy. The tubers and leaves of supplejack are all purportedly edible but not known to have been consumed by anyone on a regular basis. 4. NIKAU The well-known nīkau palm is not only beautiful, but it also supposedly provides one of the best bush meals in New Zealand. The tender heart or cabbage is a delicacy but sadly removing it will kill the tree and as these special palms take around 20 -200 years to grow it’s highly unethical to remove the heart simply to eat it unless you are facing an absolute dire emergency. This delicate heart of the palm is commonly referred to as the millionaire’s salad. The good news is that there are parts of the palm you can eat which aren’t a death sentence for the plant. You can eat the cooked immature flowers (before they open) and the berries while still green (before they mature and turn red) without killing the plant. Nikau berries. CAUTION: EAT WITH CARE While it’s very useful to have sound knowledge of at least some native edible wild food plants that you may find in New Zealand bush, this knowledge comes with great responsibility and very little practice for most people. When it comes to many of the most common native plants, such as the nikau palm or the mamaku, harvesting the edible part of the plant places it in great jeopardy, and it’s not only humans that threaten their survival. We must be cautious and deeply respect and honour the wonderful native plants that our beautiful country has to offer. Often this means that we can’t simply go out into the bush to ‘experiment’ with eating the various plants we may have learned about. It’s more a case of gaining a lot of theoretical knowledge and possibly trying a little in practice. Aside from being unethical, it’s also illegal to harvest living plants from New Zealand’s national parks and reserves, so during non-emergency situations you can’t remove edible wild plants from the forest. However, there are many other places where many of the plants, such as ferns and flaxes, grow – you might even already have some in your own backyard. Removing some of the plant to strengthen your knowledge of wild foods is quite acceptable if it doesn’t harm the plant and if the location isn’t a protected one. WHY GORSE IS A GREAT PLANT TO ADD TO YOUR PANTRY A surprisingly wonderful survival food to keep in mind is the much-despised gorse. Gorse is sadly invading many areas of New Zealand but it also means, depending on your particular survival situation, you may just be able to find it within your reach. The well-known bright yellow flowers are quite edible and are simply eaten raw or steeped into a tea, tasting somewhat like almonds. Although slightly toxic due to alkaloids, the small level of toxicity is not something to be concerned about in a survival situation. Neither the seeds nor pods are edible.Another interesting note about gorse flowers is that Bach practitioners often prescribe their essence for individuals who have given up hope, those that have lost motivation. This negative state is something that you want to avoid in a survival situation, so a tea from the bright little yellow flowers wouldn’t go astray. This invasive and obnoxious weed also serves a purpose in the reestablishment of native forests. In places of abandoned land, nitrogen-fixing gorse has been found to be a useful nursery for native bush regeneration. The newly-growing native seedlings grow through the gorse; as they get bigger they compete for the light, nourishment, and water, slowly killing off the gorse. BEST OF BOTH WORLDS SALAD RECIPE FROM THE VEGETABLE GARDEN • mixed lettuce leaves• beetroot, grated• carrot, grated• fennel bulb, finely sliced• flat-leaved parsley, finely chopped FROM THE WILD • young dandelion leaves, roughly torn• nasturtium leaves, torn (if large)• onion weed leaves, finely chopped• young pūhā leaves• small comfrey leaves• sprinklings of finely-chopped wildfennel foliage and/or mint leaves DRESSING • olive oil, lemon juice, crushed garlic OPTIONAL EXTRAS • almond nuts• pumpkin• sunflower seeds• feta cheese• home-grown sprouts GARNISHES • nasturtium• onion weed• violet flowers You won’t need to eat large amounts of this salad. The flavours are amazing and varied, and the density of this salad will satisfy your hunger much sooner than an ordinary salad. RESOURCES The internet is full of excellent resources to learn more about edible wild plants, just make sure you always double (actually triple) check your information. The best book for native edible plants has to be A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand by Andrew Crowe. First published in 1984, this book is still the bible for people wanting to learn more about New Zealand native edible plants. Find a local wild food group or programme and go along to one of the many wild food workshops offered around the country. For all sorts of survival information, including wild plant foods, check out www.waypostsurvival.com

There are plenty of edible wild plant foods in the NZ countryside, if you know where to look and what to look for. Mieke Couling featured in life and leisure Magazine Words: Mieke Couling https://ourwayoflife.co.nz/beginners-guide-foraging-new-zealand/ There are so many reasons to add wild foods to your diet, ranging from gaining survival knowledge to increasing your health and well-being, it seems a shame that information about it is so hard to attain. Our ancestors had excellent and necessary knowledge on the identification and preparation of wild plant foods. Sadly, a lot of this knowledge and wisdom has eroded out of everyday life. Most of us would be hard-pressed to identify even a few edible wild plant foods. Resurrecting the old ways and wisdoms, shifting back to a simpler way of life has to be good for us, body and soul. Vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts bought from the shop often have low nutritional value, and if you add to this concerns about food safety, genetic modification and the rising costs of fresh vegetables, the wonderful diversity of wild foods becomes very alluring. One way of reconnecting with our innate ability to know what is good for us is to eat naturally-growing food, locally-sourced, and with the seasons. Many plants that grow wild have high nutritional value, medicinal benefits and are just more healthy for us. The flavours are often rich and intense, and while they are not all scrumptious, many are delightfully tasty. Identifying and preparing wild foods is a learning process that takes time, dedication and practice. Having an interest in identifying and learning about a variety of edible wild plants allows you to engage with nature in authentic and intimate ways. When you start incorporating wild plant foods into your diet it will be the beginning of a wonderful relationship. THE CULTIVATION OF WILD PLANTS Supermarket aisles and local vegetable stores are brimming with beautifully cultivated fruit, nuts and vegetables. These delicious-looking specimens are the result of generations of plant selection and breeding by humans. We seem to forget that all the world’s vegetables, fruits and nuts were once wild plants. The intentional cultivation of wild plants dates back to antiquity. Cereal crops were first purposefully planted around 9000 BC in the Middle East. The apple tree is believed to have originated in the southern Kazakhstan region, where the Middle East meets China, and is most likely the earliest tree to be cultivated. Its wild ancestors still grow there, and cultivated apple trees have been an important food source for thousands of years in Asia and Europe, but it didn’t make its way to North America until the 17th century. A more recent food cultivated from its wild ancestor is the macadamia tree, indigenous to Australia where its nuts have been consumed by Australian Aboriginals for thousands of years. It wasn’t until the late 1800s that the first cultivated commercial planting took place, with mass production and consumption only starting out less than a hundred years ago. The movement of wild plants into cultivation is by no means over, and as we learn more and more about the benefits of wild plants, it is likely we will see an increase in ‘weeds’ being mass produced for human consumption. The variation in diet across the globe has shown us that different peoples cultivate different wild plant foods. Historically in Asia, the main staples centred on rice, millet and soy. In the Americas the focus was on squash, beans and maize. Today in many places in Asia, particularly China, tiger lily is grown for its edible bulb, yet in many other parts of the world this pretty weed has an (unproven) reputation for being toxic.In New Zealand the sweet potato is a common sight, but it is not widely used in Europe. The popularity of vegetables such as kale and endive is a relatively new phenomenon in New Zealand, but in Europe these vegetables have been part of their diet for a long time. Compared to what our ancestors used to forage for, we eat a very narrow range of vegetables today. Modern vegetables are more palatable and appeal to a wider range of people in some ways, but this often has come at the cost of losing nutrients, antioxidants and life- enhancing properties. THE ESCAPEES AND THE WEEDS The benefits of wild plant foods compared to cultivated plant foods are still being debated, with some sound evidence suggesting that wild plant foods have better nutritional value, a greater range of vitamins and minerals, and stronger antioxidant properties. It’s hard to deny that the survival rate of wild plants is quite astonishing. No matter how much we have attempted to alter the environment, through urbanisation, pollution, soil erosion and so on, the wild plant foods have survived, adapted and even thrived. Their resilience and ability to survive less-than-favourable circumstances seems to suggest that they are stronger and healthier than their cultivated counterparts. Additionally, wild plants have not been exposed to pesticides, transportation and packaging pressures compared to store-bought food. What we so often refer to as weeds, can provide us with a whole range of new foods to add to our menus, and for most of us, this free food is growing right outside our backdoor. There are a variety of ‘weeds’ that are so easy to add to salads. By adding a few wild plant foods to your next salad you are not only making the taste more interesting, you are also adding a diversity of vitamins and minerals that our bodies need. A weed is basically a plant growing where it is not wanted. A plant that might look delightful in your flower garden can be an invasive and damaging weed in our native bush. But many plants that are referred to as weeds are simply wild plants or garden escapees that we don’t recognise or appreciate. FORAGING RULES Foraging for food is fast gaining traction in popularity, and with good reason. Fruits, flowers, roots, seeds, stems and leaves are all freely waiting to delight and awaken your taste buds. Foraging for edible wild foods is a fantastic family affair, gets you physically outdoors, and feeds the soul. However there are some important practices that you need to keep in mind when gathering wild food plants. 1. Be absolutely certain of the plant you’re collecting Always err on the side of caution. If in doubt – leave it out. When you first start gathering wild foods begin simply. Don’t try and overdose yourself with knowledge and information, learn just a few plants at a time. When you have reached certainty about a plant and can easily recognise it in several environments, know which parts of the plant to harvest and how to eat it – then you are ready for learning about another plant. 2. Know where, and where not to, collect wild foods Clearly it is not wise to collect plants from sites that may be polluted. It is also important to respect private property, parks and reserves. While plants along the roadside may seem like a good idea, many of those will have been exposed to pesticides. If gathering from the side of the road, ensure you wash the plant really well several times before consuming. Places closer to towns tend to be the most foraged, so get off the beaten path for better results. 3. Rule of thirds This rule basically takes into account that rather than selfishly plundering all we see, we need to only take a third of any wild food. We leave a third for others and, importantly, leave a third for growth and regeneration. Many of the edible wild plants you can find in New Zealand are escapees, spread through wind, animal movement or human garden waste. There are close to 2000 species of introduced plants which have escaped and now grow wild which for the forager has some advantages as it means the variety of edible wild food plants is significant. These plants require no care or tending like their cultivated counterparts, freely following Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest. You simply have to go out, search and gather. The food is right there for the picking, for free. It is not difficult or onerous to develop the knowledge and wisdom of edible wild plant foods of days gone-by. Beginning a love affair with wild plant foods will enrich your life in many ways. Your body will thank you for taking the pleasure in obtaining healthy and nutritious food from Mother Nature’s plentiful store. Your mind will relish the meditative, yet exciting forays into wild and wonderful places. Your soul will rejoice in the authentic engagement with the simple beauty of knowing what is good for you. Your taste buds will awaken, your wallet will be fuller and your children will be better prepared for the future. If you too would like to experience the excitement of ‘hunting’ for wild plant foods and the satisfaction of preparing and eating it, why not begin with looking in your very own back garden? A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO FORAGING FOR WILD PLANTS Blackberry : This is the easiest to find and most delicious weed you can eat. It’s reputably one of our most invasive weeds, and one even children can recognise. No doubt most of you have at some point picked and eaten a wild blackberry, but did you know you can also dry the leaves of a blackberry bush for a delicious tea? If you haven’t picked any blackberries this year, be ready to do so at the end of summer. Blackberries provide us with potassium, phosphorus, iron, and calcium. The blackberry bush is a classic example of an escapee plant. It was brought over to New Zealand by English settlers and soon spread; by the early 1900s it had a reputation among farmers as the most ruinous weed. Tip: don’t pick blackberries from the side of the road – they are likely to have been sprayed and as they take a while to die, it may not be obvious that they have been sprayed. Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale): It is easy for all of us to find dandelion leaves. They’re easy to use, available all year-round and very good for you. One cup of dandelion leaves will provide you with your daily requirement of Vitamin K and Vitamin A, a large proportion of calcium, Vitamin C, fibre and iron. This little miracle weed also contains Vitamin B6, thiamine, riboflavin and potassium, among others.Dandelion plants are versatile and can be used in many ways. The entire plant is edible so you can’t go wrong. A simple way is to gather some of the younger leaves and add them to the next salad you make. They could even be the main ingredient in your salad: wash and trim them and add lemon juice, olive oil and a hint of garlic. For a sweeter salad, add some carrot and beetroot. For an even healthier version add beansprouts and fennel. Onion weed (Allium triquetum): From about September keep your eye out for onion weed, sometimes known as triangular garlic. This enchanting weed is easily spotted and quite a treasure. It belongs to the wider onion family, and just like them, the properties of onion weed are said to be antibacterial, plus it provides us with vitamins B and C. The sulphur compounds in this attractive little weed are beneficial to healthy cholesterol levels and digestion. The taste of onion weed is something between a spring onion and garlic. The entire plant, leaf, bulb and flower, is edible. Be sure to add some flower heads to your next salad. Onion weed is a great replacement for chives, spring onion or garlic. Scrambled eggs with finely chopped onion weed anyone? Or you can add it to sandwiches, soups, pizza, muffins or savoury tarts. The bulbs can be pickled as mini pickled onions. As this weed can be quite invasive, to eat it is a wonderful way to control it. 13 RULES FOR SAFE FORAGING 1. Learn how to accurately identify plants. Do a course, and get hold of some of the excellent written resources for NZ conditions, including: • A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand by Andrew Crowe• Julia’s Guide To Edible Weeds and Wild Green Smoothies (print, ebook) by Julia Sich 2. If in doubt , even a slight doubt, don’t eat it. 3. If you’ve never been foraging before, it is best to go with other people, preferably with someone who has experience in foraging. This gives you safety in numbers and more eyes to identify something edible (or not). 4. Always get permission from landowners or a land manager (eg, DOC) before foraging. 5. Don’t forage from anywhere smelly or toxic, eg roadsides where there may have been spraying, contamination from vehicles. 6. Be very careful foraging water plants, especially watercress as it can be affected by liver fluke, even in remote places. 7. Know what wild edibles look like at all stages of their growing life – some plants can look the same until they flower, but once they do, it gives you their identity for next year so you can pick it when the plant is at its edible stage (eg, young, leafy, before flowering). 8. Always know the Latin name for a plant and don’t rely on ‘common’ names as the same name can often apply to different plants, some edible, some not. 9. Don’t forage for mushrooms unless you are with someone who is an expert on mushrooms – it is very, very easy to confuse edible with poisonous and identifying fungi is a specialist topic. 10. Don’t go just by sight – understand the smell and texture of an edible plant so you have multiple points of identification for it. 11. Never taste a plant unless you are 100% certain of its identification. 12.  Know what kind of places plants grow – if you find something similar-looking but growing in the wrong habitat, it can be a warning sign. 13.  Don’t take too much or you wipe out the population – if you don’t need it, leave it so it can repopulate the area for next year.

This little pig cant go to the market Featured in Lifestyle block Nz Words by Mieke and Simon Couling 6 min read Converting pigs to pork needs to be as thoughtful and humane as possible. And converting pork to profit needs to be practical and economic. Pigs are a wonderful addition to the self-sufficiently-orientated lifestyle block. They contribute to the recycling of leftover food products (from the orchard, vegetable garden, kitchen or dairy shed), they provide compost, will plough up land in preparation for planting and then, when the time comes, will provide plentiful meat. Pork is a versatile meat, and if using the whole pig as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (from River Cottage fame) advocates, the variety of dishes able to be produced from one pig is outstanding. There is more to a pig than bacon and chops! Berkshire We personally have a bias towards Berkshire meat for its delicious, juicy, yet tender flavour, but any free-ranged, home-grown pork is a hundred times better than the pale stuff available at the supermarket. The Berkshire breed has been tagged as high priority in terms of conservation and we believe if more people tasted Berkshire pork it would soon become popular. It is known as the Kobe of pork in Japan and the American Berkshire Association make the most of this highly lucrative market. Given the right conditions to produce and market this meat, the future for NZ Berkshire meat could be very promising. Happiness The other, perhaps more important part of our concern is about the animal’s welfare. Many people who raise their own pigs for slaughter do so for predominantly ethical reasons. Raising your own pigs allows you to know exactly what the pig has ingested and how happy and healthy the life of the pig is. Ethically, lots of us feel better about eating an animal that has had a good life rather than a harsh, cruel and short life. Many raise their pigs in total harmony with virtuous philosophies, they ensure the pigs are well fed, have good shelter, entertainment, space to roam, dig and root in, a wallow and do everything they can to keep the pig healthy and happy. But then when it comes to slaughter time they load the very nervous pig onto a trailer and transport it to a local home kill butcher for slaughtering. The one time we did this, it was a horrific experience to see this previously calm and happy pig become a shaking, nervous wreck. This went directly against our philosophy of thinking about the animal’s welfare every step of the way. Barriers So why is it so difficult to buy Berkshire pork in New Zealand? It seems that a large portion of blame for this can be attributed to the legislation around home kill. The laws in New Zealand (and most other Western countries) regarding pork meat seem somewhat illogical and inconsistent. The frustration brought about by the legal barriers small-scale pig keepers face is no joke. Anecdotally, we know that there is a high demand for free-range pork and a great possibility to bring many of the rare breeds back into favour. New Zealand is also in a wonderful position to encourage people to eat locally grown, ethical food. But none of this can be stimulated or realised by the small holding or lifestyle block owner due to the current legislation. We’re passionate about everything to do with pigs, including the end of their lives, and also about making free-range pork more accessible to the general public. Profiting from pork The first of our concerns is the near impossibility of sharing or selling home kill pork. The legislation states that it is illegal to trade or sell home kill meat. It may only legally be consumed by people that are direct family, or household and farm employees. Meat that is being sold must go to a registered abattoir for killing, but there are very few registered abattoirs that will kill a ‘backyard’ pig. This is not about the money, although no doubt there are plenty of pig keepers who would love to recoup some of the costs involved by selling meat. For us, this is more about restricting New Zealanders from having easy access to what we believe is better food. The legislation does not encourage the population to have easy access to a variety of rare breeds and hence the downhill slide for many of these breeds is on-going. We totally understand and support the health and safety rationales behind the legislation and don’t dispute these for a moment. New Zealand’s pork industry has done a remarkable job of maintaining a high level of farm biosecurity and remaining fairly disease-free. However, we don’t believe making it difficult for the small pig keeper to share and distribute their product is the answer. Is it really that challenging to have a set-up where the small pig keeper also has access to a rigorous and regulated system to check the meat? It seems inconsistent for legislation to be so restrictive for the purposes of keeping the population safe from potentially unsafe home-grown pork, while at the same time allowing untested raw pork to be imported from various countries, which may or may not be PRRS-free. If we want to bring rare breed pigs and other livestock back into favors and encourage the general public to eat locally, we need to find a way forward that enables a backyard farmer to share and sell meat in a safe and practical manner. 5 things to know about feeding pigs Making sure our pig population is not fed uncooked meat waste is an important part of keeping exotic epidemic diseases such as foot and mouth disease and the swine fevers out of New Zealand, according to the Ministry for Primary Industries. Feeding animals meat risks spreading these diseases if they were ever introduced into New Zealand. 1 All food waste that contains (or has come into contact with) meat must be treated before it is fed to pigs by heating it to 100°C for one hour. This requirement applies to commercial and household food waste. 2 Food waste that you know to be meat-free and that has not come into contact with meat can be fed to pigs without further treatment. 3 A supplier of food waste is required to ensure untreated meat or untreated food waste containing meat is not fed to pigs, either by heat treating it themselves (it’s a good idea to ask for written confirmation that they will treat it), or being satisfied the person it is supplied to will do so. 4 Feeding pigs food waste that doesn’t comply with the rules or allowing such food waste to be fed is an offence that can land individuals a fine of up to $5000, while corporations can be fined up to $15,000. 5 The rules apply to pigs that are destined for the dinner table and pet pigs alike. The frustration brought about by the legal barriers small-scale pig keepers face is no joke. It is about respecting the animal and providing them with the best possible end of life.

Featured in Lifestyle block Nz Words by Mieke and Simon Couling read time : 5 min part one Pigs are incredibly intelligent, social, clean (yes, very clean!) and useful animals  that can really enhance the pleasure of living on a block. We started keeping pigs the moment we had access to a lifestyle block six  years ago. To this day, we still adore and admire our pigs. We  are very passionate about anything and  everything to do with pigs, even the end of  their lives.   Pigs have been domesticated since  ancient times. Archaeological evidence  suggests that pigs have been managed for  as long as 13,000 years. The domestic pig  ( Sus scrofa domesticus ) was domesticated  somewhere between 5000-7000 years  ago. Although they were not the highest  valued of domestic animals, they were predominantly kept for their meat and they  have been part of the small farm for a long  time. Nowadays schools tend to put scraps   into worm farms or compost heaps, but it  wasn’t unusual in the old days for them to  have a pig bucket.   We moved from the Hawkes Bay to  the Coromandel with two vehicles, three  children, two dogs, a cat, two pigs and a  rooster. We must have made quite a sight   travelling with our menagerie. The pigs we  had were just the standard breed (or more  accurately non-breed) of white pigs. As  our knowledge about pig-keeping grew so  did our awareness of rare breeds, and the  importance of ensuring these breeds will  still be around for future generations.   John Earney from the Rare Breeds  Conservation Society and Avonstour  Heritage Farm once said “the best way  to save a rare breed is to eat it”. We took  this advice to heart and happily became  Berkshire breeders. We mostly sell young,  weaned Berkshires to keen lifestyle  blockers wanting to grow their own meat,  as well as to other Berkshire breeders.   History  The Berkshire is an amazing pig. It is  an historically significant breed and  listed a high priority by the Rare Breed  Conservation Society.  Berkshires are a black pig with six white  points (nose, tail and legs). The origins of  the Berkshire are a bit vague but legend  suggests that around 1640 the pig was  discovered by Oliver Cromwell’s army in  the county seat of the shire of Berks in  England. Supposedly, it soon became a  favorite with the English royal family (for  its divine taste no doubt) and all current  Berkshires are said to be descendants of  the herd maintained by the monarchy.   The Berkshire was first introduced to  New Zealand during the early days of  European settlement.   Attributes The Berkshire is a hardy pig, and the sows  have a docile and lovely disposition. The  boars have superior semen quality and a  respectable libido. They are easy to handle and friendly chaps. The litter sizes (usually  7-14) are sometimes criticised for being  small, but when one takes into account  the quality of the meat and the excellent  mothering skills shown by most Berkshire  sows this argument loses merit.   The Berkshire can require slightly more  food than commercial crossbred pigs as  they are, on average, about 5-10% poorer  in food efficiency then their commercial  cousins.   One of the biggest drawbacks of  growing Berkshires for meat is their black  hair, but this can be dealt with using a  good de-hairing process. Overall the  quality of the meat, the hardiness and the  wonderful nature of the Berkshire pigs outweighs the slight disadvantages.   Care Maintaining the health of pigs is not very  difficult if you approach the whole process  with the pig’s best interests at heart. The  first two or three weeks of a piglet’s life are  known to be critical, but our experience  would suggest that if they make it past the  first three days they stand a good chance  for a long and healthy life.  Healthy pigs are alert and active, with  a tight curly tail and sleek hair coats. Pigs  love food and will do anything for food  so a poor appetite is always a sign of an  unhealthy pig.   Stress is one of the biggest problems for  pigs. Being the intelligent creatures that  they are, stress impacts on them badly. A  new environment, vaccinations, isolation,  boredom, strange surrounding or new  pigs can all serve to stress or scare a pig,  and care must be taken in any of these  situations. A stressed pig is more prone to  sickness and disease.   What can you do to keep a pig healthy  and happy? Feed and shelter would be the  two easiest steps in ensuring your pigs are  well cared for. Pigs are extremely sensitive  to heat and can suffer from sunburn and  heatstroke, or from the cold. Pigs love to  wallow in a mud bath in the hot summer  months to help keep them cool, and it’s  also a method they use to control parasites.  In the winter months a pig hut (preferably  with a raised floor) lined with straw should  keep them cosy and warm. Pigs will not  urinate or defecate in their sleeping huts,  so any straw provided will last some time.   Mieke and Simon Couling with their beloved Berkshires. Their pigs live happily in a free-range paddock, and are very much part of the family, even though some are killed and processed each year for their delicious  and beautifully marbled meat. How to add even more value You can put additives into your silage when packaging it. Molasses will increase the sugar content, kick starting the whole fermentation process, or you can purchase inoculants which are the lactic acid bacteria itself. You can also add acids like formic and sulphuric acid (be careful with these - they can also cause harm) to immediately lower the pH. Next year, whenever my dry matter is over 30% (which it was on some of our hot, dry days) I will experiment with spraying on diluted molasses or cider vinegar. Mieke’s perfect hairless pig tip We use the hot-bath method. A critical component of success with this is that the water temperature is exactly 63 o C. After bathing the pig’s carcase, swift work  with a good scraper gets  the hair off easily and cleanly. It is not unheard of  that any left-over hairs are  simply shaved off with a razor!   Feed  Pig are non-ruminant animals (they have  a single stomach) who adore food. We  would go as far as to say that they will do  anything, and sacrifice anything, for food!   Farm grains are the best source of  energy for pigs. Corn is an excellent  contribution to pig feed as it is high  in digestible carbohydrates. On its  own it is not enough and needs to  be supplemented with protein. Milk  products are great and popular with the  pigs. Aside from free ranging our pigs, we  also feed sugar beet and pig nuggets as  supplements. Clean, fresh water is also important.  One half to two-thirds of a pig’s body is  made of water and unlimited access to  clean drinking water is an absolute must. When checking the water troughs ask if you would be happy to drink from it. If  not, it is time for a clean out.   Playing  Pigs are playful creatures. Observe some  young piglets and you will notice a lot of  the time is spent in play, running circles  around each other, grunting and barking   with delight. Pigs enjoy toys such as plastic  buckets, cardboard boxes or a feed sack but  their interest doesn’t last long and they will   tire of a toy that is left with them too long.  Next to food, our pigs love a good  scratch. We have a very large boar who will  happily lie down for our children as long  as it means a tummy scratch! The children  have also taught him to sit for treats.  Pigs will rub up against fences   and posts for a good scratch, so it is  worthwhile making sure you have a very  sturdy scratching post or two.   Rooting  Many people ring their pigs for fear of  having their entire property rooted up. Pigs  do love to root, but the amount of damage  done is manageable. Pigs will root lightly  as part of their daily scavenging around for  food, but given enough space and freedom  the effect of any of such light rooting, or  scuffing, is minimal. The rooting becomes  a problem if pigs are confined to a small  space, are hungry or bored.   You can use this knowledge to your  advantage too. It is very satisfying to get  your pigs to plough the land in preparation  for planting crops. They root up the soil,  composting as they go along. Fence an area  using hot wires and spread kibbled maize  across the area you want ploughed. It is  all about input, output and respecting the pig’s natural ways of being - it’s a win-win  situation.   We adore our pigs and they seem  to accept us as part of their herd. It is  interesting to note their reaction to  strangers on the property (let’s just say  we wouldn’t recommend going into  the paddock with them). They trust us  implicitly, even though at times we cull one  or two from the herd, and they guard the  property well. They are intelligent, clean  and delightful creatures, akin to primates,  dolphins and whales in intelligence.   They are also the best escape artists we  have ever known (much to the dismay of  our farming neighbours). They provide us  with pleasure, entertainment, and meat for  the table.   Pigs are really chatty too. It is delightful  to hear the snorts and grunts as they  communicate with each other. The  mums have specific sounds for gathering  the troops if they get too spread out.  The pigs also have distinctive ways of  communicating with us.   We could not imagine a lifestyle block  without pigs. The best way to save a rare breed is to eat it, they provide us with pleasure, entertainment as well as meat for the table Next month: when pigs  are ready to eat

Finding food and eating it can be a great pleasure in life. While it is satisfying to grow and nurture vegetables in the well-tended garden bed, there is an excitement about finding plant food that has similarities with a successful hunt. Reconnect with the hunter-gather in yourself and gain some knowledge about plant foods unique to New Zealand.  Gathering naturally growing wild plant foods can be a rewarding hobby, provide real health benefits, and also be a great tool to add to your ‘survival preparedness’ toolbox. While it is said that there are close to 200 native edible plants in New Zealand, many of these are unpalatable or require extensive preparation.  Nevertheless the usefulness of New Zealand native plants goes beyond their edibility and while in a survival situation some of them can be deemed as significant survival food, their medicinal purposes are also good to know when you are out in the bush.  The medicinal value of many wild plant foods has been known to humanity for eons. Many of our current pharmaceutical products stem from the beneficial properties first identified in wild plants. For example in the early 1800s scientists discovered that the abundance of salicylic acid in willow bark meant that an infusion of this is good for reducing fever and also functions as a pain reliever, this directly led to the development of what we now commonly refer to as Aspirin.  Medicinal uses of plants in a survival situation.  The salicylic acid in willow bark is good for reducing fever, pain relief and as an anti-inflammatory aid.  The best method is to brew a tea from the inner bark, but if the situation is urgent chewing a few small green twigs and swallowing the (rather revolting tasting) resulting saliva-juice should yield similar results. Just don’t eat too much, high doses are toxic and can cause stomach pains and diarrhoea. It is not recommended for those under the age of 16.   To support your immune system and keep your spirits up drink some pine needle tea. All pine needles are suitable, although the tastes do vary by species and location. Pine needles are packed with vitamins, especially C and A, as well as antioxidants. Simply adding hot water to a handful of pine needles makes a refreshing tea.  For stomach cramps and diarrhoea the Mānuka seed balls can come to the rescue. Chewing the seed balls supposedly stops diarrhoea. Infusions made from the leaves or bark can also ease the discomfort of diarrhoea. Tea from the leaves is also a useful mouthwash and can even reduce fevers. If you wish to drink the tea merely for its pleasant taste, ensure you use young leaves and don’t steep it too long.  Kawakawa can be taken to ease digestion problems and also functions as a mild analgesic. Perhaps most importantly it is said that consuming Kawakawa provides one with strength and rejuvenation to face extreme physical and psychological stress situations. The slightly crushed leaves can simply be brewed into a tea. In large quantities the leaves are thought to be toxic, but one or two leaves for a cup of tea won’t be problematic. The berries are amongst the more pleasant tasting berries in New Zealand bush, as long as you don’t bite into the tiny hard seeds!  For toothache one can chew on Kawakawa leaves, which won’t taste great but will certainly numb out the pain of the toothache. Application of a poultice of Kawakawa leaves is also useful for wounds.  Alternatively you can apply the sticky sap found inside flax (Harakeke) leaves. This is said to have an antiseptic quality as well as purgative qualities. Of course as an added bonus the seeds of Harakeke are edible and quite sweet when in their green or white state. Simply snap the pod and squeeze the seeds out. And don’t forget about the delicious nectar provided in abundance by the flax. A real energy boost in a survival situation!  Plant food for nourishment in a survival situation.  Food is not as high on the list of survival priorities as many people believe it is. Nor are you likely to easily gather enough nourishing wild foods to thrive on for longer periods of time. Needlessly to say you’d be a bit silly to enter the bush unprepared to face unfortunate circumstances. However, if you ever do find yourself having to survive in the wild, it will only aid your situation if you have at least some basic knowledge about edible wild plants.  While surviving on native edible plants in the New Zealand bush is unlikely to maintain the weight you started with, they should provide you with the energy and sustenance to survive. The average person can survive around 30 days without food but only 3 days without water. So gathering food should not be your priority in a survival situation. But if the situation is somewhat longer term then energy levels need to be maintained and boredom and depression need to be avoided. For these reasons gathering wild plant foods can be extremely beneficial.  The easiest and most recognisable for most people would be the New Zealand Ferns. Some caution is required here as only a few of the many hundreds of fern species are edible, although it appears none are highly poisonous. Even the edible ones are likely to have some carcinogenic qualities but as a survival food this may not be avoidable.  Māori commonly ate the roots of Bracken fern (Rārahu) and although their preparation methods were quite complex, in a survival situation you could roast them and chew them to obtain the juices. The fibres part of the root is edible but according to Elsdon Best (author of Forest Lore of the Maori ) not terrible pleasant to swallow. The young fronds (the koru shaped fiddleheads) have historically been eaten but are now known to be carcinogenic. Although the carcinogenic compound appears to be destroyed with cooking. It is best to avoid this plant unless absolutely necessary and then only consume after cooking.  It is preferable to obtain the young shoots, or fiddle heads, of the Hen and Chickens Fern (Mouku), the Common Shield Fern (PikoPiko), the Gully Fern (Pākau) or the Hound’s Tongue Fern (Kōwaowao). All of these young fronds are quite palatable when steamed or boiled until just tender.  The easily recognised Mamaku (Black Tree Fern) is a useful survival food to know. Māori steamed the Mamaku pith taken from the trunk.  But due to the slow regeneration of the tree it was only used in times of scarcity or by travellers. Removing the pith from the trunk prevents the tree from renewing and should only be attempted in a genuine survival situation. According to Andrew Crowe from A Field Guide to the Native Edible Plants of New Zealand , it is possible to remove some of the pith from the frond stems without damaging the tree. These can then be sundried, steamed, baked or boiled.  Another tree that grows in abundance in New Zealand is the Cabbage Tree (Tī Kōuka). The tender shoots of all types of cabbage trees can be eaten and can be eaten raw or cooked. The trick is to get the new shoots growing out of the top of the stem, peel away the outer leaves and eat the tender white part, which looks a bit like a leek and tastes a bit like cabbage. Depending on the season and the age of the shoots the taste can be fairly bitter but this does improve somewhat with cooking. Due to the year around availability of this plant it truly is a great survival food.  A great survival food to keep in mind is the Supple Jack (Kareao). The new growth at the end of the vine have a mild similarity to asparagus or green beans and are at their best in summer and eaten cooked. The berries are little red ones and can be found throughout the year. They don’t taste brilliant but do provide some good protein and energy. The tubers and leaves of Supple jack are all purportedly edible but not known to have been consumed by anyone on a regular basis.  The well-known Nīkau palm is not only beautiful it also supposedly provides one of the best bush meals in New Zealand. The tender heart or cabbage is a delicacy but sadly removing it will kill the tree and as these special palms take around 20 -200 years to grow it is highly unethical to remove the heart simply to eat it unless you are facing an absolute dire emergency. This delicate heart of the palm is commonly referred to as the millionaire’s salad. The good news is that there are parts of the palm you can eat which are not a death sentence for the plant. You can eat the cooked immature flowers (before they open) and the berries while still green (before they mature and turn red) without killing the plant.  Cautions regarding eating native wild plant foods.  While it is undoubtedly useful to have sound knowledge of at least some native edible wild food plants that you may find in New Zealand bush, this knowledge comes with great responsibility and very little practice! Many of the most edible native plants foods (such as the Nīkau palm or the Mamaku) place the plant itself in great jeopardy when harvested for food.  And it is not only humans that threaten many of New Zealand’s native plants. We must heed this caution and deeply respect and honour the wonderful native plants that our beautiful country has to offer. Often this means that we can’t simply go out into the bush to ‘experiment’ with eating the various plants we may have learned about. Often it may be a case of gaining a lot of theoretical knowledge and possibly trying a little in practice.  Aside from being unethical it is also illegal to harvest living plants from New Zealand’s national parks and reserves. So during non-emergency situations it is not okay to remove edible wild plants from the forest. However, there are many other places where many of the plants, such as ferns and flaxes, grow. You might even already have some in your own backyard. Removing some of the plant to strengthen your knowledge of wild foods is quite acceptable if it will not harm the plant and if the location is not a protected one.  A surprisingly useful non-native invader A surprisingly wonderful survival food to keep in mind is the much despised Gorse. Gorse is sadly found invading many areas of New Zealand and depending on your particular survival situation you may just be able to find gorse within your reach. The well-known bright yellow flowers are quite edible and are simply eaten raw or steeped into a tea. They have some resemblance to the taste of almonds. Although slightly toxic due to containing alkaloids the small level of toxicity is not something to be concerned about in a survival situation. Neither the seeds nor pods are edible.  Another interesting note about gorse flowers is that Bach practitioners often prescribe their essence for individuals who have given up hope, those that have lost motivation and given up. This negative state is something that you want to avoid in a survival situation, so a tea from the bright little yellow flowers wouldn’t go astray.  And finally this invasive and obnoxious weed has been found to serve a purpose in the reestablishment of native forest. In places of abandoned land, gorse has been found to be a useful nursery for native bush regeneration. The newly growing native seedlings grow through the gorse and as they get bigger they compete for the light, nourishment and water usually at the demise of the gorse.  So while you are unlikely to locate a delicious five course menu of New Zealand native wild plants, there are many that will provide you with energy, nourishment and medicinal benefits in a survival situation. Combined with the many edible introduced species, it is not impossible to gather enough wild plants food for a reasonable meal in the amazing New Zealand bush.