Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

Impressive work. That germplasm repository is unfamiliar to me. But that list 
is amazing, and those food sources could become major contributors to local 
food security. And obviously, local food security can't depend on big ag 
monoculture, the short list of common field crops. Thing is, what's available 
from the list and what's practical to grow will vary enormously from place to 
place, and there are so many listed that some should be available in every 
area.

I'm not knowledgeable about most and don't have time to get into this big 
time, with market growing season on top of me. But it's an angle on local 
food security that needs a lot of work.  We have some Serviceberry we call 
Juneberry that refuses to die from neglect, and we've tried gooseberry before 
and should again. I've heard mesquite pod flour sustained the first spanish 
invaders but who's using it today?

We could use a lot more info on unusual food plants of all types from some of 
you.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net


*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 5/31/2010 at 6:12 PM Pego Rice wrote:

>Do you know your local Native American and/or Foraging community?
>Â 
>Really, In the US, we have a dearth of native fruit and veg info just
>because of this.  Can't kill off or diss the natives and still expect to
>have their broad base of indigenous plant knowledge available.
>Â 
>Quite aside from our familiar line-up of berries and the obvious veggies,
>there are a number of American plants that are excellent food and herbal
>plants.  I've a list of plants (to get or that I have) that are more
>suited to home gardens and the assortment that we live with between
>Bog gardens and Xeriscapes, forests to deserts. (sometimes in the same
>yard) that commercial growers seldom concern themselves with.   My list
>is somewhat limited and southern/coastal in  it's inclination. 
>Â 
>I've picked up a copy of "North American Ethnobotany" by Moerman, which is
>a pretty good source of making your own list.  There are also various
>lists for "Under-exploited" plants of north (and south) America that can
>be looked over.  I rather think the Moerman book and many regional
>foraging books are actually more useful, but several plants like Apios
>Americana have been picked up by colleges for "Improvement" to become
>field crops.  Many of these turned out to not be suited to open field
>production (needing shade or wet feet or the like) or didn't get enough of
>a "sell" to take off as a crop and now only reside in the various
>germplasm fields like that in Corvallis, which fortunately is willing to
>share; http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=53-58-15-00Â or
>in rare nurseries.
>Â 
>http://spore.cta.int/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=548
>http://www.underutilized-species.org/species/species.asp
>Â 
>　
>Achiote (Bixa orellana)
>Agave.
>Allspice (Pimenta dioica)
>Amaranth
>American Oil Palm (Elaeis oleifera)
>American spikenard/Indian Root (Aralia racemosa)
>Anona (Annona spp.)
>Birch
>Black sapote (Diospyros digyna)
>Chalahuite (Inga jinicuil)
>Chayote (Sechium edu)
>Chokeberries (Aronia)
>Dragon fruit
>Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis)
>Epazote
>Garlic Vine (Mansoa alliacea)
>Gooseberry (Ribes aureum or Ribes echinellum)
>Guava (Psidium guajava)
>Guayule, Afinador (Parthenium argentatum)
>Indian Potato/Hopniss (Apios americana)
>Indian Potato/Wapato (Sagittaria Latifolia)
>Lambsquarters/Southern Huauzontle, (Chenopodium berlandieri)
>Lomatum (Bisquit root)
>Mamey sapote (Pouteria sapota)
>Maracuya (Passiflora spp)
>Mayhaw (Crataegus opaca or Crataegus aestivalis)
>Mesquite, Honey (Prosopis glandulosa) Actuyally all, but this one's the
>best
>Mexican/Cuban oregano
>Oak/Acorn
>Oxalis
>Pawpaw, Smallflower/Dwarf (Asimina parviflora)
>Peach Palm (Bactris gasipaes)
>Persimmon
>Quelite (Amaranthus palmeri)
>Root Beer Plant/Hoja santa (Piper auritum)
>Rubris (Blaberry boysenberry Raspberry ect.)
>Rumex
>salal (Gaultheria shallon)
>salmonberries (Rubus spectabilis)
>Sand cherry (Prunus pumila)
>Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea)
>Smilax (greenbriar, it grows in deep shade and is scratchy snf takes up
>too but the spring sprouts are the Best thing, even better than asparagus)
>Stellaria
>Squaw-berry/Twinberry (Mitchella repens)
>Sugar-apple/Sweetsop(Annona squamosa)
>Tamarind (Tamarindus indica)
>Tilia (all varieties, Southern Basswood, linden ect.)
>Trandesca
>Typha latifolia, Cattail
>Varegated Canna (orange flowers, yellow Stripes
>Vanilla (Vanilla sp.)
>Yucca Baccata
>Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius)
>Wild Cherry (Prunus serotina)
>Winecup
>White Cinnamon, (Canella alba)
>Zapote (Pouteria sapota)
>　
>Yours, Pego