Free Food. (sell, market)

[BECLAZONE]

My Wife, Daughter, and I, were out in a local park a couple of days ago, and I found that there are a number of Sweet Chestnut trees (Castanea Sativa, that is). There I was picking a few Chestnuts up, and my Wife came over and said to my Daughter, “Oh look, more Conkers” ,(that is, Horse Chestnut, or Aesculus Hippocastanum), “ No they’re Chestnuts” was my reply. With that cleared up, we collected a few to take home to eat.

What seasonal foods are there in your area that are there to be had?

I’m not referring to critters to kill.

[sundrop]

We have been blessed with a hickory nut tree and two english walnut trees.

[jtur88]

My supermarket in Michigan had a couple of plum trees in front among their ornamental plantings. They bore quite good fruit, but they were simply trampled underfoot by shoppers when they fell, because I don't think anyone besides myself ever bothered to taste them. I always filled a bag with them each trip to the store, when they were in season.

There used to be a passenger train across Newfoundland, and during berry season, the train would always stop in the middle of nowhere, and give the passengers a half hour or so to get off and pick berries. The narrow-gauge "Newfie Bullet", so named for its astounding speed of 500 miles in 30 hours.

[Mike From NIU]

I've found some good wild blackberry bushes in my area that produce respectable sized fruit (tip of thumb to joint size). Also, a neighbor has a couple of pear trees. They aren't great for eating raw, but they make some nice baked fruit dishes/desserts.

[Tallysmom]

I've got a great avocado tree in my yard and also kiwi fruit. We have oranges and walnuts but what they produce isn't very good, as it doesn't really get hot enough here.

[chuck_steak]

Pecan trees.

My grandma had a pear tree in her yard.

[leftmyheartintennessee]

City pool property has a few pecan trees that several people stop to gather when they fall, also the laundramat not far from my house has a tree that I have all to myself for the moment (pecans).
Pecan trees are abundant around here so we'll see people stopped along the roads collecting them in the fall especially when there's a good crop.
There are places to take them to sell, or get them cracked/shelled if desired.

[LucyI'mHome]

There's an incredible amount of citrus trees in the Palm Springs/Coachella Valley area. Mostly grapefruit. The cities plant them, the golf courses plant them, home owners plant them. The only folks I see picking them up are the gardeners, tossing them into trash cans. I don't get it. Why plant a tree that produces fruit that large if you aren't going to make use of it?!? Granted, some do, but they seem to be the minority. Sad. What a waste.

[TabulaRasa]

None here, because I'm in the suburbs.

But at home, in the country, where my parents continue to live, the following grows unclaimed in the ditches: wild elderberries, asparagus, black walnuts, wild grapes, rhubarb, etc.

They also have abundant fruit trees in their yard, which, while not "free," per se (they bought and planted the saplings years ago),they've more than paid for themselves at this point.

[leftmyheartintennessee]

I remember as a kid (back in the late 60's) picking wild strawberries along the sides of the road where I lived, not too many of them made it home...there were also raspberry caps and concord grapes growing wild in the area. It was always a race to see who would get to them first...us or the birds.We managed to get just enough to make a few jars of jam.
There also was a big cherry tree right behind the mailbox across the street from our house...the birds usually got to that before us but we did manage to pick some of them. They sure were some sour cherries,though!
Nothing like that around here,other than the pecans.