Cultivating Wild Edibles

So this is not a new idea but I would like to pose the idea of not only eating what grows in your lawn but actually encouraging it. There is a farmucopia of wild edible, herbal plants growing all around us waiting to be remembered and honored for their abundant number of uses. Many of these plants, roots, flowers, leaves, seeds etc are already being consumed by a large population of people in expensive teas, daily-multis, skin care,  and many more products. Why not gather some info and make your own creations, fused with your intention, and picked locally by you.  Just outside my back door I can readily pick dandelions, plantain, burdock, lambs-quarter, sheep sorrel, chickweed, red clover, raspberry leaves, birch bark, barberry, rose petals, forsythia, salomon's and false salomon's seal, purslane, pigweed, japanese knotweed, arborvitae, juniper berries, plus more.

When you begin to identify these plants why not cater to them and encourage their growth. If they are spotted in your lawn don't mow over them. Mark them with sticks, let them grow and seed, spread thin layers of compost over them. STOP Spraying weed killers and using chemical fertilizers!! These substances not only destroy incredibly useful plants but these practices are contaminating wildlife creating a shockwave (ripple effect) only increasing in size, transcending down to future generations in a way we wouldn't even want to imagine. LET THESE PLANTS LIVE and lets rekindle an old relationship with them. Our ancestors had a great deal of knowledge on how to locate, responsibly and respectfully harvest, prepare and administer these plants. It should be our duty to retain and pass on this information to others.

If you are interested in learning more about different wild edibles and possibly setting up a weed identification walk please show interest and I will make every attempt to set up a time and place. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Bliss and Blessings

Fungus Among Us

Spotted this cedar apple rust (CAR) gall hanging out in the red cedar trees behind our house. This "dready" looking formation you see in (Fig. 1), called telia, emerges out of the galls (Fig. 2) and is capable of releasing tons of little spores. If these spores find their way onto the leaves of your apple trees, it is here, where they will complete their life cycle and ultimately damage your apple crop. Below the pictures is a link that will provide more in depth information as to how the cycle takes place and possible control methods. I am a strong advocate of compost teas as they have a great potential to guard against infection and disease. Check back for more on compost teas and their applications.

Fig. 2

Fig. 1

        

Cedar Apple Rust Fact Sheet 

Invasive Plants

With the mist lolling in and the fog sitting low today presented the perfect opportunity to sit and gather some thoughts while pulling up a large patch of Garlic Mustard. During my meditative weeding session I decided to do a small write-up on invasive plants, their threat, and possible uses.

Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is native to Europe and was intentionally introduced into northeastern U.S. as a source of food, erosion control, and medicinal herb. High in vitamins A and C and the ability to treat gangrene and ulcers made this a prized species with many benefits. Unfortunately after being first sighted in Long Island, New York around 1868 its population went rampant. With no natural predators, high seed count, rapid growth and ideal conditions it spread throughout the States. Out-competing native plants garlic mustard poses a threat to plant and animal species.

Garlic mustard is a cool season biennial herb in the mustard family developing a long stalk, triangular heart-shaped, coarsely-toothed alternating leaves topped with four petaled white flowers. Similar in appearance and usually growing in the same region can be mistaken as sweet cicely, early saxifrage, and toothworts. Spends the first year as a low growth (2-4 in.) rosette, staying green through the winter, and shooting up a flower stalk the following year by mid-spring, producing shiny black seeds.

If spotted pull up making sure to get roots.


Following are a few pictures for identification and a couple recipes to prepare garlic mustard.

Wild Recipe

Welcome

Thank you for joining us here at the new Roots blogspot.  ROOTS -what is it? who are we? why here? why now?

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."  ~Anne Frank

The idea of Roots came to surface through the combined passion of two individuals (in addition to the inspiration of many others) with the notion that we, humans, have to "Get back to our Roots!" Remembrance of our past to open the doors for our future. Rethinking the way we utilize resources, land, labor, technology and adopting a cradle-to-cradle approach. Through the observation of nature we can begin to understand and design our lives in a manner that is synchronized with the perfect harmony that weaves ITS way through all of LIFE.