How to make laundry liquid from ivy leaves
... or conkers! Recipes from The Bromley Forager.
Before I started this newsletter, I wrote down a big list of things I could write about throughout the year, then allocated each of them a week. And at first, I stuck rigidly to that list. In April I wrote about wild garlic, dandelions, chiffchaffs and cuckoo flower, just as my Google Doc instructed me. It helped to have prompts and I’d get ahead by writing up a batch of articles and scheduling them to go out in the coming weeks.
But then nature had its way.
I’d be planning a post about spindle trees just as I’d came across a particularly distracting patch of mushrooms. Allowing myself to follow my curiosity, you’d end up with an email about fungi in your inbox instead.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that… wait for it… I’ve let myself notice nature. Groundbreaking, I know. I’ve learnt that there’s only so much you can plan when it comes to nature. You think you’re going to be writing about swifts, but they arrive later than expected. You pick the *optimal* date to plant your onions, but the weather has other ideas. You want to write about plantain but you get distracted by ginkgo leaves…
Then life takes over, and because you no longer pre-write and schedule your newsletters, that post about ginkgo leaves never actually gets written. Neither does the one about the geese. Sorry about that!
Here’s Noushi in the ginkgo leaves to make it up to you…
I told you they were distracting.
Anyway, one thing I definitely didn’t plan, was publishing three separate posts about ivy this year. In fact, I didn’t even plan for one post about ivy, but it’s a plant that just keeps popping up in my life and now, in your inbox.
This weekend I helped Rosanna, aka The Bromley Forager, at a Mottingham Wild event. Rosanna got funding from Mottingham Big Local and the National Lottery Community Fund to deliver free local nature-based walks and workshops to help residents learn about nature’s resources and how to work with them.
This Saturday was the first of several events hosted through the seasons. We walked in Marvels Wood with about 20 locals, pointing out plants, trees and fungi along the way. Some residents visited the woods on a daily basis, others rarely did (incidentally I used to live about 2 miles from the woods myself but had, regrettably, never visited it prior to working with Rosanna). Everyone, including the kids, got involved, sharing facts and questions along the way. It was one of those beautiful early winter days when you’re not used to the cold yet, but if you wrap up warm enough, you can really enjoy the golden leaves underfoot and the bright blue sky bursting through the bare branches above.
The point of this first workshop was to show people how to make laundry liquid using foraged ingredients - namely ivy leaves or conkers. After our walk, we went to a local school where we warmed up with cups of tea and enjoyed some snacks. Everyone sat on blue plastic chairs and listened to Rosanna while she explained how to wash your clothes using ivy or conkers and reeled off a few brilliant facts. Here are some of my favourite ivy facts from the day…
The ancient Greeks and Romans believed that wearing a wreath of ivy leaves around the head would prevent one from getting drunk.
Ivy supports at least 50 species of wildlife. The nectar, pollen and berries of ivy are an essential food source for insects and birds, especially during autumn and winter when little else is about. It’s important for insects as they prepare for hibernation and an important food plant for some butterfly and moth larvae, including rare species like the golden hoverfly.
Ivy can grow to a height of 30m (approx 10 storeys).
Making laundry liquid with ivy leaves can be as simple as picking some leaves, washing them, chopping them up and then popping them in a muslin bag with your clothes! It works because ivy leaves (and conkers) contain saponins - naturally occurring compounds that are a bit like a foaming antibacterial soap.
On Saturday everyone got stuck in, chopping up their ivy leaves and getting to know their neighbours while enjoying a slice of Rosanna’s homemade sourdough spread with three-cornered leek pesto. Maybe next time we’ll teach the Mottingham residents how to make that?
Here are Rosanna’s recipes for natural laundry liquid, made using foraged ivy leaves or conkers (horse chestnuts)…
Follow Rosanna on Instagram at @thebromleyforager and @mottinghamwild
P.S.
I was helping at the event with Luke, who, along with Rosanna is a the trustee of Wild South London (a new biodiversity group of which I am chair). If you’re not local to Mottingham, but you do live in South London, you might be able to join in with nature-based activities, similar to this laundry liquid event, in the future. Follow Wild South London to keep up-to-date about future events, or ask me and I’ll add you to our mailing list!
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