permaculture

["Kathy Evans" <evansdk@earthlink.net>]

I'm new to this list and haven't seen this discussed...I reckon it's
because you all know plenty about wild edibles since I think that is part
of what permaculture is all about....but just on the off chance that
someone out there hasn't delved too deeply into wild edibles...in the
middle zones, wild edibles are rampant now, and it's a good time of year to
pick and freeze your "weeds" for winter. In general I think most of what
comes out of a freezer is dead (in terms of prana/chi/ki), unless it's from
your own land...and now is a great time to pick stuff like violet leaves,
dock, lambsquarters, the clovery looking stuff with little yellow blossoms,
dandelion, plantain, purslane, etc. --all very nutritious. violet leaves
are one of the most nutritious (and ubiquitous, around here) wild greens
there is--if I remember my Euell Gibbons, highest in Vitamin A, maybe. I've
taught classes on wild edibles to homeschoolers a few times, and just
taking a walk around our suburban home and the woods we're next too, very
small area, we found 42 different wild edibles, in late spring. And they
are so full of the earth's energy. I throw random green stuff into soups,
rice dishes, quiche and it's suddenly exotic--"oh, that's a violet leaf
quiche, I'm glad you like it."
        In herbal culture, they say that if you take an herb for a certain
condition that was grown on the other side of the world, it will help you;
but if it was grown in your own region, it will be ten times more effective
for you, and if it was grown on your own property it will be a thousand
times more effective for you. These are metaphorical rather than
statistical numbers, but it makes sense. That's why I make an exception
with eating frozen foods if I grew or found them, plus the
oil-to-transport-food issue. 
        In general, permaculture seems to contribute in a huge way to 
wholeness on
all levels, physical, emotional, spiritual, environmental. I'm sure I'm
stating the obvious here, but I was just out "weeding," in places where the
"weeds" were really too much, and thinking how thankful I was for all those
weeds...don't know how to describe it, but the feeling is what I would call
a minor "samadhi", the wordless sense of oneness.         Kathy in
Missouri, USA