EatTheWeeds: Episode 02: "ITEMIZING" edible wild plants

[ArizonaAdventures]

interesting show, I really like it.

[insomniacgrace]

This is so wonderful. Thanks!

[bramble3838]

I am a Army Ranger Veteran and only knew of this plants use of Indian Toilet paper, but was surprised to find out about it's other uses.

[EatTheWeeds]

@bramble3838 Then you might say it palys both ends against the middle.

[nephilangel]

Service to humanity = write an e-book for donation?

We need this information and we need to get this manner of thing in full swing for every continent and climate....?

Some one said that you call something a weed when you know not what it is good for.

All around us grows the answer to every need.

Western Australia is a tough climate but.....We need knowledge of native flora, what's left of it....=(

[MickScarborough]

Are there many plants you can eat raw? I dont cook plants. They lose too much beneficial qualities.

[EatTheWeeds]

@MickScarborough There are some several can eat raw but most of them have to be cooked because they are bitter, or have elements that are toxic and need to be removed.

[5tonyvvvv]

@EatTheWeeds Great Vid! People are so ignorant to wild plants! They think food comes from supermarkets and Mcdonalds! The Native Americans were so healthy because they ate wild living food! They had no gluten and dairy!

[digmatology]

very good

[heythisrocks]

are u serious cuz i need somthing to have with me on the go

[EatTheWeeds]

@heythisrocks Quite. I've tried to get some publishers interested in such a book since there isn't one, but...

[DragonBuddah]

@EatTheWeeds why not self-publish it? e.g. lulu com

[Jefferdaughter]

@EatTheWeeds - Write that book! I vote for one for the Northeast first.

- Clear illustrations, photos and/or drawings of details

- ordered or indexed useful season(s)

- habitat,

...along with other issues like polluted soils, etc.

If no publisher will take it on, consider self-publishing. You already have an audience = readershop!

[heythisrocks]

do u know of any books for fla i really need to know this stuff some things are going bad and if i need to i want to be semi perpared

[EatTheWeeds]

@heythisrocks No, there are no good ones for even the southeast. My website is as close as you are going to get.

[TheX111111x]

are they taste good ?????

[carrrrrot]

Hello deane, Im in a bit of a situation. Im going to walk around the world starting may 2nd with a group of people. my problem is im a vegetarian and i have no money to eat. my only hope is the kindness of strangers and whatever edible plants i can find. but thats another problem, I dont know whats edible. Im looking for books that will show me what is but i need a book for every continent since i cant find one that covers them all. I live in arizona. is there some way you can help me...?

[Tpekron]

@carrrrrot Godspeed on your journey.

"If you're in trouble, or hurt, or need- Go to the poor people. They're the only ones that'll help- the only ones."

John Stienbeck

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people cna change the world, Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."

Margaret Mead

[AlexanderandJulie14]

Hey sir you know any good books about what type of animals, bugs, plants I can eat I found a couple but since you have more exprenice you might know more. I am joining the Marine Corps and I will need a lot of knowledge on the wild thanks God bless you.

[EatTheWeeds]

Where, in general terms, do you live?

[Cheuvin]

it seems like ITEM can be reduced to IP - Identify correctly, Prepare correctly

[EatTheWeeds]

Remember it as you like, but environment and time of year are important.

[enyawix]

this is not going to be easy

[EatTheWeeds]

Take it one plant at a time.

[fettkatt87]

Thank you and GOD BLESS YOU!!!!

[DavidandJeannie6]

Cotton isn't edible? I heard that some super models fill their starving stomachs by soaking cotton balls in orange juice and eating them. And in the movie Elf, it sure looks like Will Farrell actually eats a few. I know it's just movies and I know super models are not role models, but I didn't think cotton was particularly harmful. Good to that it is. I grow cotton in my yard for the pretty flowers and for conversation, along with okra and althea. They do well in my dirt (gumbo).

[EatTheWeeds]

Thanks for writing... The cotton plant in the field is not edible like other mallows, except the seed oil after processing. The processed cotten fluff may indeed be non-toxic but I doubt there much nutrition there. With other mallows you can usually eat the leaves, or the roots, or the blossoms. Cotten is not so accommodating without processing. More so, cotten as a fiber crop is one of the most heavily pesticided crops there is since it is not destined for consumption but textiles.

[EatTheWeeds]

A cotton ball might not be bad but it is not something I would want to eat. And if I were to do so, it would be organic cotton.

[firebrandsgirl]

@DavidandJeannie6 Hello, I got come cotten seeds one year and didn't get any flowers. Are they worth trying to grow again?

[DavidandJeannie6]

@firebrandsgirl I think so. Just make sure they get plenty of sunlight. Water until it is established and you shouldn't have to water much after that. The blossoms start out pink and fade to white so that you have two colors on one plant. The immature pods have the prettiest, silvery-white cotton packed inside the pod (boll?). It's watery when you pinch the seeds inside, so I use it to clean my fingernails when I've been in the dirt with no gloves.

[EatTheWeeds]

There's about a half a dozen common plants with white say that are comsumable in some way, but the vast majority, many hundreds, are not. The dandelion blossom makes a nice tea. I have a video on You Tube about that. You can use the stem as a glue stick.

[captaincoolness55]

dandelions are completely edible and it's one of the few white milky sap type plants you can eat! :D the roots can be made into coffee, and the leaves cure a stomachache. i don't know what the stem or the flower does though. any help on that?

[2Halifaxion2]

Excellent video. I can see how at the 8 minute mark the need for editing comes in, just to organize the info a little better for the viewer.

Everyone forager should know that the sure fire cure for a lethal ingestion of mushrooms is intravenous lipoic acid, and not many hospitals are aware of this.

[EatTheWeeds]

Generally said I avoid mushrooms. As for editing... in those early videos I had no idea how to use my editing software and had to do things in one take.

[Uhoh2012Productions]

You have great narrating and hosting skills. As a director and a video editor, it's too bad you don't live close because I would edit your video's for free. Just to get them out there and professional. You could make it. I'm taking a backpacking trip through Colorado over the next 6 months, so if you need anything, let me know.

[EatTheWeeds]

Thank you for your kind comments. When I was making those early videos I had never used a video camera or the video software. They're kind of rough. They do get somewhat better (they HAD to get better.) One headache at the time was I only had Sunday mornings free and there was a landing commercial jet about every 10 minutes, so I had to get it done between roars. I have trained speakers and I just view the camera as an interested person. As for DVDs... I haven't a clue as to how to do it.

[Neteru797]

does anyone know if honeysuckle leaves and stems are edible?

[EatTheWeeds]

Honeysuckles are a tough family with plants on the edible side and nonedible side, and quite a few edible but not palatable. Young leaves of L.japonica are parboiled and eaten in Japan. In China the leaves, buds and flowers are made into a tea but it is suspected of being toxic. Several native species have edible berries. Some honeysuckles can stop your heart and kill you. Make sure you have the right honeysuckle and what can and cannot be done with it.

[Neteru797]

wow that crazy how some can kill you.thanks for telling me that.the kind i have are the ones with the white/yellow flower common in kentucky.

[EatTheWeeds]

That is why you have to research plants, and why you should study with someone local. Quite a few deaths are caused by honeysuckles.

[MattSpon]

youre intelligence and love is inspiring. I'm a rough young fool of a man, but i see this world's beauty isn't in the flash ive always been a part of. I'm studying plants and focusing on what I can eat in the woods now, getting out of the money world of control. Thank to your invaluable love and interest, I can study a pro online! and, you're voice is calm and scientific. Good all around. thanx! never stop!

[EatTheWeeds]

Thanks you for your kind words. And of course, be careful. If you have any question, ask. I might not be able to answer them but I'll try.

[1013637]

@MattSpon I didnt realize there were 2 of us... haha.

Man, you pretty much hit the nail on the head ;)

[DreidMusicalX]

My wife was wanting to know about the dandilions and hunsuckles. Are the dandidlions have a white looking milk in the when you break them off? I pulled on today that I thought was one but it had the white milky stuff in the stem? It had no leaves around it but he also just cut the grass around here. Also she wants to know is the honeysuckles eatable?

[EatTheWeeds]

Dandelions do have white sap, but so do many other plants, some edible and man not. It is best to wait for the blossom to make sure. As for honeysuckle, it sits on the cusp of edible/non-edible. The Japanese Honeysuckle is called said because the nectar in the end of the blossom is edible, but that is all.

[DreidMusicalX]

Thanks so much!

[kittybumble]

I have a southern cookbook called, "A Love Affair with Southern Cooking" where there is an interesting recipe called "honeysuckle sorbet". The recipe calls for a quart of honeysuckle blossoms to be soaked in water overnight then you mix the strained liquid with a cooled simple syrup and a little bit of cinnamon and then pour it into an ice cream maker and freeze it. She said you're supposed to use ones with the pinkish throats but can also use the ivory colored ones.

[EatTheWeeds]

As mentioned below the greater honeysuckle family (which includes viburnums and eldberberries) includes edibles and non-edibles and taste is not a test of edibility.

[DreidMusicalX]

I am living here in Yantis Yexas and I live on Lake Fork. There are Dew Berries everywhere! When you are talking about cars driving by and they could be bad from that right? What about less traveled road sides on th efarm roads that are not used as much or should I actaully go off in a field area to get them? There are forest area around me but snakes! haha! Also what would be a good book to get for a beginner like me? I really want to know more about plants and what I can eat, when, and how?

[EatTheWeeds]

There is some judgment involved. Plants uphill from a country road would not bother me, or 20 feet from a flat road. It is interstates and parking lots, and ponds fed by street drainage that are serious issues.

[EatTheWeeds]

Plants don't know borders.... Wildman Steve Brill is in New York and Samuel Thayer (The Forager's Harvest) is in the Great Lakes area. The plants they cover you should have. About 75% of the plants on my site are in Canada.

[EatTheWeeds]

Yes, there are some exceptions, about a half dozen, but there are hundreds of plants with white sap that are not edible.

[jduff1986]

Excellent! I just wanted to double check. This summer will be my first time looking for edible plants. It sure beats the grocery store! Do you know of any good websites that discuss edible Canadian plants?

[Khono]

Hey jduff, where abouts in Canada? I live in Southern Ontario and got some good books from MEC: Mountain Engineering Coop. You can also get some at provincial parks which have gift shops. The Pinery has a nice one, it's on the east side of Lake Huron. The more local information you can get the better because the less local a book is the fewer plants in it you'll be likely to find. The Plants for a Future website is a nice source for edible plant info. Also try googling for region specific.

[jduff1986]

Hey Khono, thanks for the info! Im from Newfoundland. Do you collect wild plants very often, and are there many in your area? Ive always know that they were around but have not tired it. It seems like its a healthy alternative. For us and our wallets!

[Khono]

Ahh, jduff, I didn't notice your earlier post where you mentioned you're from Newfoundland. I'm still a beginner and haven't found anyone local to show me the edible plants, so I'm proceeding slowly. Because I'm in such an urban area, the places where I can pick unpolluted/poisoned plants aren't easily accessible. Weeds in your yard are probably the easiest to start with, assuming you don't use pesticides. As Green Deane said, we likely have many of the same edibles, but in different quantit

[Khono]

quantities. While we can get lawns full of dandelions here, they're rare for Green Deane down in Florida. Yes, definitely a nice alternative to store-bought :). I'd much rather spend a couple hours picking wild greens like garlic mustard, dandelion, and Plantago major than work for a few hours to buy similar greens from the grocery store that're who knows how old. But it's a pity, they're continuing to ruin what clean land we have left here.

[jduff1986]

Exactly Khono. Here where I live there are very nice hiking trails that take you through the surrounding hills in my community and i have no doubt in my mind that these will be excellent places to collect some wild plants. And this Plantago major... this grows in the cracks of the sidwalks everywhere here!

[jduff1986]

Hi, I live in Newfoundland Canada. Here there is alot of dandilions. However they produce a white sap when you break then stem. Would this be an exception to the rule you mentioned? Great videos too by the way!

[EatTheWeeds]

I've been told uncooked leaves do, too.

[heavendtrt]

What about white mullberrys?

[EatTheWeeds]

Edible but not esteemed as the red, black or Texas mulberries.

[starshock01]

just thought i'd add that you should be very careful eating white and red mulberries, because unripe fruits contain a hallucinogen

[EatTheWeeds]

Why thank you.... but do try to study with someone local.

[jokertim777]

Green Deane,

This may be a difficult question to answer, because I'm sure it varies from place to place. However, could you give me a rough estimate of what percentage of plants are considered edible. To clarify, if you had a patch of wild (prairie, woods, or swamp) would one out of ten plants be edible?

[EatTheWeeds]

Actually I can answer your question reasonably accurately. There are about 375,000 difference species of plants and about 20,000 of them edible for a 5.3% rate of edibility, or five out of every 100 different species, world wide. More so only 135 are found in markets world wide, and six of those make up most of the North American diet.

[EatTheWeeds]

I.T.E.M. is a good standby ... identify, time of year, environment, method of preparation. Answer all of those well and you are in safe territory.

[djpoppyt]

I was very pleased with this video it is very informative. I have just(well I've been interested for a while but I have so many hobbies I tend to forget the important ones)recently taken an interest in plants and their uses. Thx for posting you may have saved my life in the future. I liked the idea of using one word with a meaning to each letter to properly ID a plant. It makes life much easier.

[seamonr]

I'm a teacher from NC and have studied native flora on my own as a hobby. I was pleased to come across your series when looking up some herb preparations on the web. Great job! I look forward to more videos. --RS

[EatTheWeeds]

North Carolina is a great place to collect wild edibles, you have quite a variety there and they usually look the way they're supposed to. As for the videos, they get better. I was learning the software and for six weeks was quite ill and it shows in some of them, but I had the time so I made them.

[odin422]

You rule Green Dean!

[sensibilita]

You're great, Deane! Blessings on you!

[wanttobesmall]

your videos are amazing!! thank you _)

[EatTheWeeds]

My pleasures... I'd like to think they get better as time goes on. When I first started I had no idea how to use the video software....

[stargateproductions]

What is the white berry that you can eat?

[kathinspain]

We have a white mulberry tree. It has TONS of berries every year. They aren't nearly as tasty as normal mulberries though.

[VUandChips]

Nice shirt.

[7Row7enn7]

I eat wild garlic mustard seeds all the time.

[EatTheWeeds]

Seeds? That's interesting...should be peppery...

[7Row7enn7]

Yes actually, they are. They have a nice falvor. I've heard you can put the leaves in soup as well.

[7Row7enn7]

Great videos.

[bobnweave64]

Bravo, re Sofo! I really like your series! -Lipon (I was directed here by friends @GSC!)

[EatTheWeeds]

How is the old gang? Are you still playing the sax?

[EatTheWeeds]

In the next videos and on my website of the same name.

[dsunhope]

wow where is the weeds?

[dkistner]

I have been bewildered trying to learn wild plant identification from guidebooks, so this preliminary organization (ITEM) and "if it looks like AND it smells like" approach is very encouraging to me. I'm not sure, but I think I have a huge patch of betony growing in my flowerbed!

I'm looking forward to learning more and venturing out. Thanks, Green Deane!

[EatTheWeeds]

I'm sorry, I didn't know I had a new comment here. ITEM is an approach that helps one organize information. More so, each one has to be answered well. As for Florida Betony, it has square stems and a definite mint-like light lavender flower. More so, as the season progresses it will develop a root that looks like a big white grub. I have a blossom on my web site and as soon as there are larger roots I will post a picture of them as well... have small ones at the moment.

[cutlerylover]

Great video! As for the white sap, I know dandelion is an exception, but any others? I think you cna eat the flower tops of milkweed too, but after you boil them...is that right? I am going from memory of a book I read...Anyway very good video, Thanks!

[Khono]

I've also heard of some milky latexes being edible like bubble gum.

[cutlerylover]

thats very interesting, I have not heard that yet myself, but I am still very new to plants and wild edibles in general...

[Khono]

Same here, I can't really pick much wild stuff where I am right now but I'm preparing for a major 'camping' trip this summer. The gum latex is particularly interesting to me not just because it's edible but because it might be appropriate to compliment non-plastic containers I'd like to try making this summer (I don't trust plastic 'cause it can leach chemicals). I don't recall which plant(s) have edible latex gum. I thought it might be milkweed but I just checked this book and it seems not..

[Khono]

This's from the book by Nancy J. Turner and Adam F. Szczawinski titled Edible Garden Weeds of Canada. Sorry for all the posts :-/

[Khono]

Okay ummm.. it seems one of my comments got eaten up. It turns out milkweed CAN be used as a gum according to this book (there was a little side note I didn't see at first). It's in the book I just mentioned.

[cutlerylover]

Hey, very interesting...

[EatTheWeeds]

If it got eaten I didn't have anything to do with it. Are you looking for a natural glue or covering? Pine pitch with wood ash is an excellent glue.

[templarsoul]

Enjoyed your two videos and am looking forward to more! Thanks!