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Post by caledonian on Jun 21, 2012 13:34:17 GMT -5
'Decorative' plants that are also edible are a good choice. Canna lilies, for example, are edible - and some varieties of them are major agricultural crops in the tropics. (I've eaten a non-improved cultivar that was planted decoratively... it was pleasant enough, but I'd prefer a potato.)
Runner beans (scarlet, black, and white) are common decorative plants. They form tubers, and supposedly these are edible in some varieties - I can't find reliable information on this. I suspect it's a cooking issue at least partly. After all, all beans (esp. kidney) are poisonous to some degree if not cooked properly.
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Post by steev on Jun 21, 2012 23:15:35 GMT -5
Wild boar have become a significant problem in California, having been introduced and breeding with feral pigs; they cause a great deal of damage to both agricultural and native areas.
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Post by circumspice on Jun 21, 2012 23:34:14 GMT -5
Wild boar have become a significant problem in California, having been introduced and breeding with feral pigs; they cause a great deal of damage to both agricultural and native areas. It's much the same in here in Texas, we have Javalina hogs. I say harvest them for meat & make them pay for their transgressions! Yum! ;D
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Post by steev on Jun 22, 2012 1:32:24 GMT -5
At least your javalinas are native, so integrated into the ecosystem and less disruptive. I agree that the proper role for all these piggy critters is to be pork.
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Post by circumspice on Jun 22, 2012 2:30:32 GMT -5
At least your javalinas are native, so integrated into the ecosystem and less disruptive. I agree that the proper role for all these piggy critters is to be pork. Yup! Ham, bacon, sausage... They even supply the casings! ;D
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Post by oxbowfarm on Jun 22, 2012 4:57:40 GMT -5
They are on there way here any time now thanks to all the unfenced "game farms" in PA. I'm planning on relying on fencing, hopefully we'll get it up before they get bad in this area.
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Post by circumspice on Jun 22, 2012 5:09:03 GMT -5
We have lots of feral hogs & 'some' Javalinas in my county. I suspect that we probably also have a good few hybrids as well. You rarely ever see any of them until there is a drought, when they are driven by the need for water & forage into the more populated areas of our sparsely populated rural county. All of the ones I've seen lately are road kill. I think that the feral hogs can be hunted year round, without permits or licenses. One of the stranger sights I have seen was a feral boar hog carrying a road killed raccoon down the road in its mouth. *shudder*
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Post by castanea on Jun 24, 2012 11:11:08 GMT -5
Ipomoea leptophylla - manroot.
"Bush morning glory is related to the sweet potato. It has a large, edible up to 4 feet long, up to 1 foot in diameter taproot that can weigh 20 to 40 lbs. The taproot is bitter when raw. The root is very cold hardy and bush morning glory is very drought-tolerant due to its large root system. The lateral roots can branch out 10 to15 feet. However, this makes the plant difficult to transplant. Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Koways roast it as a food source food when pressed by hunger in emergency situations; however, it is not very palatable nor very nutritious. The roots can be baked, boiled or roasted."
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Post by circumspice on Jun 25, 2012 1:28:34 GMT -5
Ipomoea leptophylla - manroot. "Bush morning glory is related to the sweet potato. It has a large, edible up to 4 feet long, up to 1 foot in diameter taproot that can weigh 20 to 40 lbs. The taproot is bitter when raw. The root is very cold hardy and bush morning glory is very drought-tolerant due to its large root system. The lateral roots can branch out 10 to15 feet. However, this makes the plant difficult to transplant. Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Koways roast it as a food source food when pressed by hunger in emergency situations; however, it is not very palatable nor very nutritious. The roots can be baked, boiled or roasted." hmmm... This sounds like it could be considered to be an 'emergency' stealth crop. We should have a ranking system for stealth crops... Ranging from delicious & nutritious but little known plants, all the way down to marginally nutritious but filling famine foods. One question? Is it pretty? ;D
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jun 25, 2012 9:38:28 GMT -5
One of the goals I have in my permaculture garden is to plant crops to feed the wild animals that I could eat if I got desperate. There are things like sunflowers to attract goldfinches, and millet to attract lots of kinds of birds. Short corn attracts pheasants. I put up bird boxes, and make pack-rat dens, and lay out lizard sunning/hiding rocks. Nut trees attract squirrels. In a previous place turkeys were attracted by oak nuts. Out here in the desert a puddle of water brings lots of wildlife.
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Post by caledonian on Jun 27, 2012 12:07:46 GMT -5
Violets, whether native, European, or hybrids. (Although the fertile blossoms of violets are closed, inconspicuous, and self-pollinating, I am given to understand that there are indeed crosses between the native (scentless) and foreign (scented) plants.)
The leaves are incredibly vitamin-rich, we can harvest the flowers without pangs of conscience (as they're infertile), they make a nice purple food coloring, and most importantly - they can grow and thrive in lawns, even if no special space is set aside for them.
The majority of people will perceive them to be decoration rather than food. And there's really no reason they can't be both.
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Post by steev on Jun 27, 2012 16:29:45 GMT -5
How do you prepare violet leaves?
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Post by castanea on Jun 27, 2012 19:38:09 GMT -5
Ipomoea leptophylla - manroot. "Bush morning glory is related to the sweet potato. It has a large, edible up to 4 feet long, up to 1 foot in diameter taproot that can weigh 20 to 40 lbs. The taproot is bitter when raw. The root is very cold hardy and bush morning glory is very drought-tolerant due to its large root system. The lateral roots can branch out 10 to15 feet. However, this makes the plant difficult to transplant. Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Koways roast it as a food source food when pressed by hunger in emergency situations; however, it is not very palatable nor very nutritious. The roots can be baked, boiled or roasted." hmmm... This sounds like it could be considered to be an 'emergency' stealth crop. We should have a ranking system for stealth crops... Ranging from delicious & nutritious but little known plants, all the way down to marginally nutritious but filling famine foods. One question? Is it pretty? ;D Actually it looks pretty nice: www-museum.unl.edu/research/botany/atlas/gallery/images/ipomoea_leptophylla.jpg
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Post by castanea on Jun 27, 2012 19:40:44 GMT -5
One of the goals I have in my permaculture garden is to plant crops to feed the wild animals that I could eat if I got desperate. There are things like sunflowers to attract goldfinches, and millet to attract lots of kinds of birds. Short corn attracts pheasants. I put up bird boxes, and make pack-rat dens, and lay out lizard sunning/hiding rocks. Nut trees attract squirrels. In a previous place turkeys were attracted by oak nuts. Out here in the desert a puddle of water brings lots of wildlife. My plan too. I want lots of mulberry trees because they attract wildlife. In my garden, everything attracts pheasants. If they don't eat it, they tear it up and nest in it.
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Post by steev on Jun 27, 2012 23:51:34 GMT -5
Mmm, pheasant. Beats the hell out of gopher, in a pinch.
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