anyone into wildharvesting & using the wild weeds for food & medicine? right now there is chickweed everywhere, dandelions & cleavers too. i've been eating chickweed salads & was thinking of making a tincture with cleavers
it's takin it the next step to implement particular weeds into organic gardens as natural "pest" inhibitors and soil conditioners(dandy-lions ), as well as hemp, lavender, wild flowers, ect ect...which attract the right type of insects such as lady bugs and beetles, also give caterpillars less reason to climb up on your crops when they got a good lil layer of yummy dandielion leaf to munch on. i am starting to really get into how marvelous organic gardening really can be, and beautiful. Also, you are doubling your intake of rad stuff at harvest time, cause most "weeds" actually are Mother Natures show of affection after all. but i reckon i'm talkin bout the other side of the coin 'ere, a de ire
yeah....i'm an organic gardener & companion planting is a marvelous way to help keep things in balance, but here in the south, our winters are so mild that the bugs never seem to die off they just multiply & fatten up! when i first began veggie gardening, i used to take the big caterpillars & grasshoppers & move them, but of course they'd just go away, multiply, & bring back the new family to much away at the veggie patch! lesson learned....sometime we just have to kill the darn things -unfortunately but actually in my post i was thinking about ways to harvest & utilize those plants that we don't cultivate....those that the Mother just grants us....like the dandelions, they are everywhere all over the world & they hold such potent medicine (& good food vitamins too) but sadly they are the poster child for round-up & other evil 'weed' killers! i think weeds are wonderful & am looking for more ways to incorporate them into my daily diet & medicine making btw...i LOVE your posts painting james...thanks for sharing
What about the addition of bat boxes and small birdhouses (to attract sweet singing non invasive ((to the garden)) birds loooking for them juicy caterpillars around your yard and a few of those crazy praying mantises to guard your bounty? Of course maybe you don't have the luxury of being surrounded by treees? Pine straw is slightly acidic and also deters pests. There are also many herbal tonics to keep bugs away in the garden (since killing them is killing you) I'm sure you know about horsetail and wild mint used to make medicinal teas. WIld violet blossoms are rich in vitamin C. For greens there's wild lettuce, lamb's quartrers, dandies of course, dock, purslane, and cattails. Break off young shoots of greenbrier which resemble asparagus and eat em raw. Sasafrass tea is a wonder drink, a muscle toner, astrigent, and good for your skin. Also tastes great. Add a lil burdock root and ginsing now and feel invigorated later. Pennyroyal is great for insect bites and poisen ivy, also aloe (what isn't aloe good for?). ALso a blend of eucalyptis and witch hazel dulls the pain and clears things up. Jewel weed is another. Smoking mullien leaves releives sinus congestion. Sweet Mary this is only the beginning! NOTE-WHile veered slightly, i was using the wild plants/herbs of Alabma as a general theme
yeah...now this is what i was thinking about....great info painting james! now why can't i find burdock anywhere around here? i REALLY REALLY want to find some burdock. i've been communing with the sweet little violets lately though....such good gentle medicine & what a gorgeous addition to those chickweed salads! got some jewelweed in my yard that i rescued from a soon to be developed area....it grows right near the poison ivy (you know it's a remedy right!) sassafras grows near me as well as dent-de-lions (dandelions) & dock i've also got aloe inside & pennyroyal bordering my paths & i planted a eucalyptus tree last summer too. i am smack in the middle of the city & can't grow all i want but i sure love tryin' hoping to eventually have NO grass & LOTS more garden space i will definately lok into attracting more birds & beneficial insects....i did notice lots of ladybugs last spring/summer & we found a beehive nearby so we had lots of little pollinators.......ain't this planet BeAuTiFuL!!!!
ohhhh yes mah dear chile, it truely is no matter how ugly people are trying to make it, people like you make it shine. the Old World i.e. Woods are still here even though for now a building is built on top of it. It will never forgive and submit to this presence and seees thesee measly fabricatiions as grave markers for the life that once partook there. Yes i mentioned the jewel weed in my previous post. Speaking of which, go back to that field where you found it and look closley for burdock root, because it grows in looser soil associated with cleared lots. In other words, in your terracotta paradise, anywhere where the soil was churned up a bit, or amongst heavy vegitation where the root structure makes it so the soil drains easily. A member of the thistle family, burdock is a stout, common weed with hooked bracts (leaf-like part of the plant) or burrs that adhere to clothing or animal fur. The burdock plant grows to a maximum height of approximately three to four feet. It has purple flowers that bloom between the months of June and October. Burdock has alternate (meaning that the leaves grow on both sides of the stem at alternating levels), wavy, heart-shaped leaves that are green on the top and whitish on the bottom. The deep roots (used primarily for medicinal purposes) are brownish-green, or nearly black on the outside. Burdock grows well in the wild. It thrives in light, well-drained soil. Herbalists usually collect burdock leaves during the first year of growth, and harvest the roots in the fall of the first year after planting (or during the following spring before the flowers bloom).
Woah when i was looking through this great book "the enclypodeia of medicinal plants" by andrew chevallier, i had an epiphamy looking at comfrey and how it bows. and in realizing how all things live for a purpose. to me anyway, comfrey is the Seal of the divine Mother and divine love incarnate. The beautiful flowers should be on display for all to partake of their healing beauty and strength as an aroused peacock. Instead however, they bow before us and our aquainted animal friends and, storing all their healing energy inside, save it up withins it's vast benevolence to heal all wounds of war, mend broken bones with rebar, and all aroundly effecting the body in miraculous ways! the flowers bow before those who bow before them. god that is so beautiful to me; comfrey.
man yall need to come teach me these things,, i enjoy learning bout them n wanna use them more but readin it in a book just doesnt cut it for this dummy... i have to have it hands on learning or i just forget it,,,
is that an invitation? i love the north ga mountains!!!! a sacred wonderland, the belly of appalachia, one of the most medicine plant infested regions of the world. btw dilly, ol flame here
billygoat! bahahaha damn it feels like a reunion up in here! i will be walking barefoot through your forest strumming my sitar till i'm gazing at stars !!!!!! that is the first day so don't mind me the second day we will talk about the herbs
well dang brother,,, sounds to me like ya need a spell out in our weird lil world....,, sip some tea (herbal...... maybe ) play yer sitar,,, make some noise wif drums,,, chase down herbs n all that good stuff...
yes, i am...i'll pm you and hope the intergalactic cespool we have created in *josai*'s thread will return to normal from the gaping oblivion of coincidences it's in now, and mesh into an aesthetic representation of the multitude of threads spun in the fabric of pure geometic form from which all things grow.
that's right sister...not far at all! i would *LOVE* to come see ya miss dilli! aren't ya'll having a gathering in april? the woods will be abounding by then & it sounds like painting james has quite a bit of knowledge to share! i've been a 'book reader' too for years now & herbs are my true love! i would love to meet the green ones in those beautiful north GA mtns. & it's been a few years since i've been to those parts....what BeAuTiFuL land that is! i've seen your site & had been meaning to say 'hi' for quite awhile now so let's keep in touch
