permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <venaurafarm@bellsouth.net>]

On 4/20/2011 1:36 PM, DGilsen@aol.com wrote:
> I have had no problem growing cattails any where.  They have to have  lots
> of water but... continuous damp will work perfectly.  That seems to be  all
> that is necessary I find that compost and manure seem to really help.   If
> you have damp soil and manure and cattail seeds you will have a bumper crop
> of cattails.  Good luck on this project.  You do know that the  cattail is
> almost an entire groceries store.  The roots produce an  eatable excellent
> starch.  The new shoots are some what chewie but taste  like asparagus .  The
> seed head as it just starts can be steamed and  tastes like corn.  the
> pollen can be harvested and used in baking  about one half to one quarter in
> flour to get a nuttie buttery taste to  baked goods,  The long leaves can be
> used to weave mats and soft  baskets.

Fantastic information. Thanks. I have cattails growing in the shallows 
of two of my small ponds; they seem to be spreading nicely. I planted 
them from starts someone gave me in a bucket along with papyrus and 
water lilly. I am using them for water purification as many nutrients 
are washed into these ponds from surrounding fields and gardens. I also 
have a lot of duckweed in these same ponds.

I have a huge planting of some volunteer greens that I think are either 
wild lettuce or a cultivated variety of chicory or dandelion that 
returned from seed in the soil seed bank. I will get a few pix of this 
plant and post a link. I have an enormous amount of it and would like to 
eat it in salads if it is safe to do so. Any suggestions about that?

LL