Scrumping was the old art of stealing apples from people’s gardens, back in the day when people had nothing to eat. Of course the same is happening now. But rather than take apples illegally, get involved in scrumping projects. Sheffield’s Abundance Network has a fantastic free handbook to download, to cover all you need to know for safe and legal scrumping!
It’s best not to take dogs with you, as fruit pips and seeds contain natural cyanide, and can even cause alcohol poisoning.
The idea behind legal scrumping is simple: to avoid food waste, and feed people for free. Obviously leave some apples on the tree for birds and native wildlife. But many (especially older and disabled) people have gardens with large apple trees, but neither the fitness nor ladders to reach them, before drop to the ground, and become rotting windfalls.
Scrumping networks get a few fit volunteers together with ladders and tarpaulins, then they climb the trees to harvest the apples (or other fruits) and the surplus is shared. Usually the landowner receives a third, the pickers receive a third – and any extra or mushy fruits go to the community, like making jam and juice to sell at bake sales.
Abundance Network says for it’s good to choose gardens with side gates, so you are not walking through people’s homes to get to their fruit. It’s also good to only pick fruit a few days before it’s going to be used, to ensure it doesn’t spoil.
Also invest in a bit of good equipment like telescopic poles and baskets to drop the ‘shaken apples’. You’ll likely also need liability insurance. You’ll also want comfy bags to carry harvested fruit. And if making juice, invest in a pasteuriser, to make it safe for people to consume (unless sterilising all the containers yourself:
Heat your oven to 160°C, gas mark 3. Then place jars and lids (which have been washed, rinsed and drained in hot soapy water) in the oven for 15 minutes (remove rubber seals and simmer in water for 10 minutes). Turn off the heat and then use the jars, while still warm.
