does anyone have a good website bookmarked you can send me on common wild plant identification , im on the wet northwest coast and there is bumpercrops of all sorts of things growing around the farm here

id love to try juicing some of them but need to know what they are or should i try and find pics of them on the internet to show you?

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Jgunn Wrote:
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> id love to try juicing some of them but need to
> know what they are or should i try and find pics
> of them on the internet to show you?
I'd guess all the Grasses are safe, but
anything with a leaf is not....WY

P.S. I remember working in Georgia when Kudzu was
planted to contain soil erosion. It soon took over the whole
State. I never tried it as a food source, but it was said it
could be eaten. Here's a picture of how it grew.....WY

[en.wikipedia.org]

Jodi,

I started doing this here in northeastern PA a few years ago...At that time, I purchased a book that gave all the info. you are looking for, it was specific to my region. Today, I would probably just use google, although the book is helpful to carry into the field.

Type in something like; "edible weeds and flowers" for your region, state, town, etc. You can also contact your local conservation district office, they helped me out with some good info.

I haven't harvested anything for a couple years, but when I did I got;

Bull Thistle - makes a nice tea
Different types of mint (yum! makes the most awesome mint tea - 4 apples juiced with mint leaves)
Marsh mallow
Watercress
Wild Onions
Raspberries
Blackberries
May Apple
Goats Beard
Milkweed

A lot more I can't remember right now. It is amazing what is growing in the wild that could sustain a person without any grocery purchasing at all! It is a lot of fun, I really enjoyed it. You catch on pretty quickly at identifying, it is not as hard as you think with a good field guide book.

In fact, a book with color pics may be your best bet, as I carried mine along when I was picking them so I could i.d. the plants on the spot.


Now the caution;

Along with proper identifying, you must also make sure that the plants are not in a sprayed area. The state/county takes great pains to kill everything in site, so their chemical trucks of death poisons rumble along the roads to seek out & destroy all these fine delicious plants that they call "weeds".

Some fields are sprayed as well. I don't know how it is done in your neck of the woods, but it is something to be on the lookout for. Many people in my are put signs in the ground along their property - "Please don't spray this area".

Where are you exactly? And what is your growing season/climate like?

Have fun, let us know how you make out!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/11/2009 07:06PM by juicerkatz.

juicerkatz Wrote:
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> Have fun, let us know how you make out!
Nice post Katz....you really put yourself into it....WY

Wheatgrass Yogi Wrote:
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> juicerkatz Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Have fun, let us know how you make out!
> Nice post Katz....you really put yourself into
> it....WY


Yeah, spelling errors & all, lol!

thatz ohkay eye amm gewd aht lurning typo

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

i jumped on my bicycle tonight for the first time in too long and had a good long look around the neighborhood looking at plants and its like a light has gone to this wild supermarket around me

i really need to get a book like you suggest and start reaping some of the wildness around here

juicerkatz most of the plants im curious about are around and about my hubbys dads 300 acre farm where they dont spray thank god (dads to cheap to spend money on fertz or pesticides ) so there is a bounty of things growing wild i just dont know what it all is

more research for sure

and ps. the bike ride wasw awesome i forgot how much i love to spin around the neighborhood wheeee !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

This is so cool - In a local morning newspaper there is an article on wild plants & they did the entire article on a fellow that I went to school with over 20 years ago! Folks that gather wild edibles are known as "foragers".

I plan on contacting him sometime soon about the article & to catch up on old times. Wow, talk about coincidence, or maybe serendipity!

I was going to link to the article, but the site doesn't have the story on the 'net for some reason...

Anyway, "Thank You" jodi, for rekindling my desire to do this. I am going out on a "field trip" today & will most likely return with some edible wild goodies!

I will take pics & list the foods to further inspire you! BTW, this is the book I purchased a few years ago, just to give you an idea...

[www.amazon.com]

Oh yeah, & congrats on the bike ride!