December Gathering
Hey Friends! Our next open house at Bluebird Hill is set for Sunday, December 1st from noon until 4:00 pm. Come on out to tour the homestead, ask questions and have the opportunity to network with folks who share your interests. Folks are always welcome to bring items to barter. We will have food and drinks available as well as plenty of seating and a campfire if conditions allow. General agenda: Noon until 2 pm will be the property walk / tour where we’ll show the no till gardens, our rotational grazing system, the chicken and rabbit set up as well as the solar power system, food forest and some earthworks. From 2:00 until 4:00 folks can enjoy refreshments and conversation and Q&A with your hosts. You may also drop in and head out as you prefer, but a general agenda helps me keep things on schedule. We appreciate a…
Foraging the stinky, but wonderful, ginkgo
Hey friends, Today I wanted to tell you a bit about the ginkgo tree, also known as the maidenhair tree. They’re ancient, often called living fossils. There’s some in Asia that are 3,000 years old. They’re slow growing deciduous trees with a unique fan-shaped leaf and brilliant yellow fall foliage. These trees top out at about 90 feet with about a 30 foot spread. They are hardy in zones 3 through 8 in the US. While it’s native to Northwest China, it’s a fairly common landscape planting in much of the US. The female ginkgo is currently beginning to drop its fruit, but what we’re actually harvesting is the seed contained within the flesh – which, if you didn’t know – has a pretty pungent odor, (some folks say it smells like vomit) so wearing gloves while harvesting is a good idea. It’s also not a bad idea to wait…
Foraging Edible Sumac and Kousa Dogwood Fruit
This post accompanies my foraging segment for The Survival Podcast, which can be located here: https://www.thesurvivalpodcast.com/ The Expert Council episodes always air on Thursday. Hey TSP community, it’s Kerry Brown from Strong Roots Resources and today I’m bringing you two species worth foraging that are currently available in much of the United States. First is the edible sumac – there’s several types available – the one pictured here is winged sumac. These deep red berries can be used to make sumac-ade, a tangy, refreshing drink that’s best brewed like sun tea. When you gather these berries, just clip off the entire cluster and steep for a few hours in the sun or at room temperature. Play around with the amount of berries per gallon of water – I usually go with about 4 clusters per gallon of water for a robust flavor. There’s no need to boil the water –…
The Productive Persimmon
The American persimmon is a common tree in much of the US – it likes old pastures, the edges of wooded areas and is even pretty common in public parks and industrial sites. Here on the farm, we’ve got them coming up all around the pastures here – mainly from seed that the coyotes and deer deposit after eating the fruit. These trees are hardy as far north as zone 5 and aren’t picky about the soil as long as it’s not saturated. They do well in full sun but will tolerate shady edges as well, they just tend to be shorter and more shrub-like if they’re under canopy. The bark has a blocky pattern that’s distinctive if you’re working on your wintertime tree identification. I always like to reference Sam Thayer’s Field Guide to Wild Edible Plants to get the specific ID details. So mostly we know about the…
August Foraging Class
Hey folks, Due to popular demand, I’m adding an additional foraging class to the schedule for August, so let’s get together for a wild medicinal and edible plant foraging class here on the farm in West Knox County. There’s going to be an abundance of useful, medicinal and edible plants in late summer and many of them are all around our farm. Come along for a guided walk on how to ID, harvest and use many of these plants. Well supervised children are welcome, but please no dogs. Afterwards, we’ll break for some Q&A, refreshments and a brief farm tour for those interested. Details: Date: Saturday, August 31st Time: 11 am to 2 pm (or so) Cost: $20 / person Rain or shine, as long as there’s no lightning! Address and Directions: 9528 Middlebrook Pike Knoxville, TN 37931 From Middlebrook Pike, look for the first driveway east of Countryside Center…
Trees with Edible Leaves
For the new forager, identifying and using edible tree leaves is often overlooked. While we’re focused on nuts, berries and early spring greens, many trees offer a source of nutrition. Now there’s a surprising number of trees that have edible leaves – but the catch is that in most cases, you need to harvest the leaves at their earliest stages – often as young shoots or when they’re just starting to unfurl. Mature leaves are generally going to be tough and bitter – so just like your spring greens, harvest early. Here’s a few options that are accessible to much of the continental United States: Hardy hibiscus, aka Rose of Sharon. While technically a shrub, they can grow up to 20 feet. This is a case where even mature leaves are edible, as well as the flowers. Leaves can be an addition for your salads and the flowers, even in…
Fall Gathering and Open House
Hey Friends! Our next open house at Bluebird Hill is set for Sunday, September 8th from noon until 4:00 pm. Come on out to tour the homestead, ask questions and have the opportunity to network with folks who share your interests. Folks are always welcome to bring items to barter. We will have food and drinks available as well as plenty of seating the shade. General agenda: Noon until 2 pm will be the property walk / tour where we’ll show the no till gardens, our rotational grazing system, the chicken and rabbit set up as well as the solar power system and the food forest and some earthworks. From 2:00 until 4:00 folks can enjoy refreshments and conversation. You may also drop in and head out as you prefer, but a general agenda helps me keep things on schedule. We appreciate a $10 donation or a cool barter item:…
Passion Flower Time in Tennessee
Here in early August in East Tennessee, passionflower is flowering and fruiting, depending upon local conditions. This is one of my favorite foraging finds – most parts of the plant are edible, as well as having medicinal benefits. In addition, it’s an incredibly unique flower that captures the eye when exploring the land. Passionflower, also known regionally as Maypop, is a perennial vine that climbs six to eight feet and usually sets a half dozen or so fruit per vine. They’re commonly found in unmaintained areas, old pastures and at sunny forest edges. It’s one of my favorite plants to add into the vining layer of a food forest or pollinator garden. The flowers are edible (make sure there’s no bees hanging out on it!) and should you find the fruit, wait until it’s a bit soft and wrinkled before you harvest it. You can peel off the outer layer…
Summer Foraging Class
Hey folks, Let’s get together for a wild medicinal and edible plant foraging class here on the farm in West Knox County. There’s going to be an abundance of useful, medicinal and edible plants in late summer and many of them are all around our farm. Come along for a guided walk on how to ID, harvest and use many of these plants. Well supervised children are welcome, but please no dogs. Afterwards, we’ll break for some Q&A, refreshments and a brief farm tour for those interested. Details: Date: Saturday, August 17th Time: 11 am to 2 pm (or so) Cost: $20 / person Rain or shine, as long as there’s no lightning! Address and Directions: 9528 Middlebrook Pike Knoxville, TN 37931 From Middlebrook Pike, look for the first driveway east of Countryside Center Way. At the red gate, press any key then hang an immediate left up the…
East Tennessee Homestead Alliance Festival wrap-up
In 2007, I was reading Joel Salatin’s books about farming and improving the family land while dwelling on our urban homestead. He became an immediate inspiration with his dedication to regenerative, sensible techniques in the realm of agriculture and homesteading. Between 2020 and 2023, I was at some gatherings that had Joel as a keynote speaker and while I’m not one to fanboy out about anyone, I was really impressed with Joel’s down to earth approach and his accessibility to the attendees. I also noted how he remained in the audience during other presentations and took notes on what was being taught. Just this past week, at the first East Tennessee Homestead Alliance festival, Joel was the keynote speaker as well as a panel moderator. I was invited to be on a permaculture focused panel along with Grant Scalf, Billy Bond, Alana Bliss, Judith Horvath and Stacy Carr. (Follow all…