Famine

[steev]

I'm just saying: I certainly hope to be sessile on the farm before things can come to such a pass; I think I'll not fear mobs, as the farm is really in the boonies, and all my neighbors are armed to the teeth.

As for passage through the metropolis: if SHTF, I will drive/walk to the farm, not pausing to trade expertise for anything, my route being along creeks (for water), nor taking longer than four days; I've gone without food for days more than once, so that's not a big deal; been there, done that; not often fatal (well, not more than once, in any case).

I assure you that in the absence of SHTF, I believe it is my mission to promote knowledge/understanding that will prevent SHTF in all modes: agricultural; religious; national; cultural; racial; genderal; and economic. I don't advocate anthropophagy, only the understanding that it isn't unthinkable. I think I've mentioned that the only member of the Donner Party to ever admit to such opened a cafe in Sacramento; no woman whose children survived ever admitted to feeding herself or her children on human flesh; I don't blame anyone in that catastrophe, whatever they did. They survived; I think that will be the measure of us, as well; if we can do so decently, not rapaciously, so much the better, but if we don't survive, we will be a historical footnote, like mammoths, only there'll be nothing able to read those footnotes, probably for millions of years, if then.

Does it sound like I'm pessimistic about the chances for Homo saps; that may well be the case; not so much about our chances as animals, but I am far less optimistic about the whole "we're smarter than everything else" thing.

[mskrieger]

No long pig at Miya's so far's I noticed. However, the crispy Japanese knotweed was pretty good.

[prairiegardens]

Well long pig would certainly qualify as an invasive species 😏
What a brilliant idea for a restaurant! Ingredients largely cheap or free for the gathering and menus changing to fit the season, although winter could be a problem. I'd love to see their menus. Was it strictly vegetarian? It would seem possible to make a case for rabbits...perhaps also wild boar, though beef or chicken not so much. Carp is certainly edible, unsure about zebra mussels? The possibilities!

[khoomeizhi]

I have a friend in VT who markets a knotweed chutney that's really good - I need to get the recipe.

[steev]

'Kay; I think it's on the farm, so I'll give it a shot. Your "weedies" may be of marginal value, but one can get a sense of relatively effortless value; "something for nothing" is enticing.

Knotweed chutney; you need to share the recipe, when you get it.

[mskrieger]

Miya's is technically a sushi restaurant, so it does serve fish, but it's vegetarian offerings are diverse and eye-opening. It is not particularly focused on local food. But still intriguing. Here's the menu, prairiegardens: www.miyassushi.com/menu/

[steev]

Good menu; do they deliver?

[prairiegardens]

Quite the menu! Thanks for posting it!

[jocelyn]

One other thing we haven't looked at is nuts, especially tree nuts. For example, Christmas walnuts, aka Juglans regia, grow well here and folks don't recognize them as food in the husks. Plant now, protein crop later in the hard times?
It has been getting hotter and drier here, we were officially in drought stage one till the last rain.
Tap rooted trees can feed you unless it's a multiyear drought.

I did go visit a friend who likes to garden in Town. She's Chinese, so her culture allows a few vegies and fruit in an upscale neighbourhood, where the older cultures don't. Nice to see grapes, squashes, beans etc in Town

[prairiegardens]

Lately I've been learning a lot about weeds. Especially how so many of the persistent weeds are edible. After initially freaking out about the horsetail, I find it is edible in small amounts, if you peel back the skin on the immature form, and the mature form has a multitude of uses. I have not yet tried it, though..

Yesterday learned that red root pigweed is edible, which really shouldn't have been a huge surprise given it's in the amaranth family. It just hadn't occurred to me. Edibilty includes the seed which has been used, among other things, to make a highly nutritious gluten free flour. I have a bumper crop of monster plants which got left largely to keep something in and on the soil, but they're starting to flower and all of them setting seed is not in the plan. So perhaps I need to go bag up the seedheads so all the seed is contained as it ripens....this is new territory. Something else to make the neighbors shake their heads in wonder.

Anyone know of an edible use for yellow sweet clover?

[prairiegardens]

People grow it here possibly as a soil improver, although it's also used as feed. As long as it's not mouldy the coumarin seems to be inoffensive, but as you say, if any mould then it's toxic. It seems it's actually used medicinally or was the basis of things like warfarin, but the ag people here give a cautionary thumbs up as feed. The fresh leaf isn't supposed to have the anticoagulanting effect, although I certainly wouldn't ever feed it to horses.  I'm not much of a fan, even though officially it's supposed to add tons of nitrogen it's annoyingly aggressive and the seed is supposedly viable for 100 years, seems I read somewhere Alaska has tagged it as a noxious weed.

Somehow it found its way into the garden and I want it out, was just wondering if it was edible. It's not hard to get it up dry, unlike some clovers it's sort of scrawny with thin stems and leaves, same amount of stem but stretched to 4 feet plus instead of 2 perhaps. Your  point about it tasting as it smells likely valid. I might try a bit when the sun finally returns just to see though. Isn't there a fruit, durian maybe? which is supposed to combine the most revolting smell with indescribably delicious taste? Though how people get past the smell is a question! I find the smell of canola unpleasant, so can relate.

I'll let you know if and when I try it. Thanks for the info! That book sounds wonderful, will have to see if the library can get it so I can check it out.pun unintended😊 It might be too southern to be very useful up here in the frozen north.

[prairiegardens]

I was thinking about the specific plants he'd have to work with. Southern Cal a very different climate than here. The library is trying to find a copy and bring it in, the library is fairly inadequate unless looking for best sellers and whatever hobby topic the librarians have. Gardening is clearly not one of them, nor off beat topics. But they're good about finding things and bringing them in, got one from the university of Waterloo once.

Im fairly new to the foraging thing and often unsure about plant identification.took a plant into the local coffee group of retired farmers and they couldn't agree on what it was. Some said kinnikinik and others said something different, kinnikinik is edible, the other is not. 

[prairiegardens]

I was listening to a discussion about this and it seems that this technology may be even more disruptive than the normal genetic engineering. Apparently until recently RNA was considered "junk", useless remnants no longer needed, like an extra toe or something. Now, however, scientists have determined that the RNA actually determines which genes get expressed as well as how long they are "turned on" for. Apparently we all have genes which may never get turned on or expressed, many of which predispose us to various diseases.

The new genetic editing which is what the corporations are up to now, apparently can cause havoc with our RNA, messing up not only which genes get manifested but if they can actually get turned off again once turned on. So it could cause huge and more or less random disruption in genetic expression.

[steev]

Hope they find the genes that will give me a prehensile tail.