The Most Expensive Escargot in the World!!

Yes, a true story. I almost went to prison for eating from my own garden. And I want to show you how that happens so you don't make the same mistake. I've been living up here in Dad's old camp bus. Trying something a little challenging. Eating only what my garden produces. Fruit, vegetables, berries, herbs, eggs from the girls and the occasional fish from the waterfalls. Pure, simple and beautiful. But the garden has been feeding more than just me. This bloke, the bush turkey. A beautiful native bird and the greatest menace to root vegetables Australia has ever known. He's eaten my pineapples, my sweet potatoes, my cassava, my yacon, my taro. And anything that even thinks about growing underground. As angry as he makes me feel, the bush turkey is protected. So if I eat it, it's a $22,000 fine per turkey, per meal. That's a very expensive roast. The second contender for a meal was this guy, the goanna. A native Australian giant lizard I hardly ever see. And I only saw him now because he got himself trapped in my compost bay. Goannas are also protected. Meaning another $22,000 fine if I turn this one into goanna stew. I didn't. Okay, so you might be thinking, everyone knows not to eat goannas. But guys, I've been living in Denmark. I moved to Denmark when I was in my early 20s. So a lot of things that maybe Australians take for granted or already know, I'm just learning at the moment. And then there were the snails. The big ones, curled up under some pallets in my shed. Beautiful shells, heavy, slow. And I thought, oh, he's cocked. And I was just about to put them in boiling water. And then, right before I boiled them, I thought, Hang on. Maybe I should double check if they're actually edible. Take a photo. Okay, and I'll ask chat what sort of snail it is. Identify. Okay, found. This looks like a panda snail. But it's hard to tell for sure. It could also be a Mitchell's river snail. And that species carries a $333,000 fine and possible prison time if you harm it. Oh my God. So look. Check it out. So the safest choice is simple. Leave it alone. Looks like these snails are going back into the garden. So I let them go. All of them. The turkey, the goanna, the snails. They're all still roaming this little ecosystem on the hill. I've still got eggs, honey, more fruit than I can carry, and enough greens to feed a small Italian village. I don't need to go to jail for garlic butter entree. In today's lesson, every animal has its place in the ecosystem, and some of them also have their place in the legal system. But I totally appreciate the fact that those beautiful animals are protected. Now, you might have thought this video was exciting. You might not have thought it was that exciting. I've got an episode coming up where I'm going to show you what it's like to actually live in the garden and eat only from the garden. Luckily, I was inspired by Massimo that came a few weeks ago, and I've got lots of projects. So I'm going to wrap that video up because I said I'm going to stay here and do it until I get sick of it. Not actually sick of it because it's very healthy, but kind of sick of it as in I kind of miss my chocolate, you know. And the compost video. Last season, I bought my compost. This season, I said, no, I'm going to make it. But what does it really take to make enough compost for the whole weedy garden? And I tell you, it's good training. And if you're still watching, it means you love watching the Weedy Garden channel, which is fantastic. And I really appreciate those people that watch all the way through. That's why I want to remind you that this Weedy Garden giveaway that I'm doing, it's also now including a second prize and a third prize. And you can read about that on my website, but really short. Second prize is a week in the Weedy Garden. The third prize is I come to your place. I almost went to prison. No, I didn't almost go to prison. I almost ate a snail, but I didn't really even almost eat it. I started thinking about it, and I looked into it, and then I found out that I couldn't do it. So really all I wanted to do was just share that experience just in case anyone else was thinking about eating a bush turkey or a goanna or protected or endangered snail and probably lots of other animals in Australia. All right, just Google what you eat before you eat it.