The beautiful edible rose tree. Gorgeous, tasty, hardy, big… what more could you want?
Box Elder, Acer Negundo
The Box Elder tree is a sadly misunderstood and incredible tree. Useful on so many levels, this beautiful, fast-growing tree is well worth considering if you’re trying to grow a food forest.
French Sorrel, Rumex Scutatus
Picture lime-tinted chard or lettuce. It’s Romain meets rhubarb. In other words, you’ve got to try French Sorrel…
Lambsquarters, Chenopodium Album
Probably the wild edible I eat most, Lambsquarters is a delicious green that makes a great spinach substitute. Close relatives include red goosefoot, orach, quinoa, and dozens of other similar-tasting, similarly edible plants.
Goji Berry, Lycium barbarum
AKA Lycium chinense I love goji berries. They’re not the candy-sweet berries you get with raspberries or strawberries. Rather, they’re more like the flavor of a tomato or bell-pepper, but they are perennial and incredibly hardy. I would love to see these little red ‘maters showing up in the produce department, sold by the pound. But for now, I’ll grow […]
Oregon Grape, Mahonia aquifolium
The Oregon grape (alongside the creeping Oregon grape) is a delightful addition to the garden, but it’s a must-have in the food forest. Edible berries grow in the shade of cover story trees.
New Plant Focus
We’re going to start focusing more on plants—their uses as food, medicine, etc. This episode introduces that focus and helps give listeners an idea what to expect for awhile.
How to Garden at Virtually No Cost: part 4
On food stamps (EBT)? You may have more gardening opportunities than you think…
How to Garden at Virtually No Cost: part 3
We’ve discussed grocery store methods (recycled produce, etc), and now we’ll discuss some ideas that don’t involve the store at all…
How to Garden at Virtually No Cost: part 2
Free gardening? Really. Oh, yeah…
How to Garden at Virtually No Cost: Part 1
Is it possible? Yes. Yes it is.
Positive Environmentalism
You know what’s always bugged me about environmentalism? The negativity. Well, I think we can change that…
What’s The Deal With No Till?
If you haven’t heard of no-till gardening yet, you will soon. The concept is raging its way through the world, and changing people’s approach to gardening. And for a good reason…
The Role of Genetics in Designing Your Landscape
If you want to design an effective ecosystem, it helps to understand some of the basics of genetics. Doing so will equip you to speed up the adaptation of the species in your system. A well adapted species will eventually provide for you for the rest of your life with little or no effort at all.
Animals—Just Try It
If you’re seriously considering having animals as part of your system, this is a boost to say—just do it! You can change things later if you need to, but my guess is that you’ll love it.
The Definition of Permaculture
I’ve added a little to my own definition of the word. What do you think? How do you define it?
Plants and Time
Do plants perceive time differently than we do?
Start Teaching NOW!
Being an expert may actually hinder your ability to teach. But if you start teaching what you’ve learned now, the lessons will make more sense to those who are just beginning.
Choice, Agency, and Your Big Ball of Stuff
Scientists debate about whether there really is such thing as free agency, or whether your choices are simply a product of nature and nurture. Here’s my take on the issue.
Don’t Fear Failure
Failure is not something to run or hide from. It’s the key to success.
Harmony in the Garden
The relationship between plants is a little like the relationship between notes. Some work together, others don’t. But when you find several that work together well, the result is awesome.
The Greatest Energy is at the Edge
The edges of ecosystems have the greatest fertility, and this even applies to microsystems. Using this knowledge in your garden can help you get the most out of your system.
What Are We?
Deep down, how different are we than the plants, animals, water, rocks, and bacteria around us?
What is Permaculture?
There’s that word again: permaculture. What exactly is permaculture? What is it for, and what is it seeking to accomplish?
The Divergence and Convergence of Time
Every choice you make has an outcome. Imagine two possible choices, with all their outcomes, then set those two possibilities side-by-side. At what point do those possible outcomes converge back into the same destiny? Or do they ever?
That’s Your Crop
That thing you’re getting too much of–the thing you have an excess of, that’s your crop. And if it’s not something that adds something to your own self-reliance or wallet, then find the thing that requires that crop in order to live. For example, if you have a terrible excess of wild unusable grass, get geese. Grass was your crop, […]
Alfalfa, medicago sativa
Alfalfa is a perennial of the Fabaceae (beans and peas) family, and it was introduced into North America from (probably) the Mediterranean around 1850. Uses: Primary use: eating raw sprouts from seed. Raw alfalfa sprouts are a favorite on salads, in sandwiches, and in soups, or anywhere fresh green peas, lettuce, or spinach might be used. The young leaves and branches (light […]
Yellow Alyssum, Alyssum alyssoides
Also known as pale madwort, (madwort is the common name for all alyssum) Desert Alyssum is a reseeding annual native to Eurasia, introduced into North America. As with other plants, the word wort means medicine, and mad-wort essentially meant, “medicine to treat madness.” Uses: Primary use: Eating the raw leaves. All parts are edible raw or cooked. Yellow alyssum has a rather mild […]
Desert Alyssum, Alyssum Desertorum
Also known as desert madwort, (madwort is the common name for all alyssum), or dwarf alyssum Desert Alyssum is a reseeding annual native to Europe (Italy)[1]http://www.abc.botanic.hr/index.php/abc/article/view/1331 and Asia, introduced into North America[2]USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=ALDED for medicinal purposes.[3]http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/112171 — a rather in depth article on alyssum desertorum, which compiles all the research sources listed below As with other plants, the word wort means […]
Why the World Wild Food Project?
Why did I start the World Wild Food Project? What was I thinking? What led up to it?
The Choice is Yours
The clock is ticking. You’re only here for a short time. What are you doing with your life, and what will you change today? It’s your life, and it’s your choice. Only you can make that choice.
GMO Follow Up
Because one episode on GMO just wasn’t enough…
No More Ordinary People
Our suggestion that we are ordinary people doing extraordinary things is a lie. There is no such thing as an ordinary person.
GMO vs. Hybrid vs. Heirloom: What’s the Difference?
This is a borrowed podcast episode–from my personal Overtones podcast. You’ll have to excuse the extra stuff like the intro and ending song… they’re traditions surrounding that podcast. But the content of this episode is so important I decided to just include the whole thing here. The pros and cons of GMO, Hybrid, and Heirloom plants. Spoiler alert: they all have both–and […]
Know Thy System
There is great power in observation and identification. Learn what you have, and you’ll have SO much more understanding of the potential of your system. And here are the links to the Facebook groups I mentioned: https://www.facebook.com/groups/planteducation/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/623997204362467/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/utahplantidentification/ And al Utah, I suspect there are plant identification groups wherever you are. Just do a Facebook search for them, or […]
The Incredible Edible Mustard Family
The mustard family, officially called brassicaceae, is one of the star players in the wild food game, because every species in the mustard family is edible. That means that as long as you can positively identify a wild plant as a brassica (a nickname for members of the mustard family), you know you can eat it. And for most families […]
The Problem is the Solution
When there is a problem, before you change things, change your mindset, because the problem in one context may be the solution to another.
Exercising Compassion
We all have the mental/emotional muscles we call kindness and compassion, but it must be exercised or they will atrophy. And those who exercise them well will find greater ability to recognize the needs of others, and meet them.
The Science of Ecology
A basic knowledge of environmental science and ecology can turn a garden into a natural food production system by helping nature do what it’s been wanting to do all along.
Welcome to Wild Tater Podcast
Wild Tater Podcast is a show that explores the whole wild world of food plants, our relationship to the earth, nature, and the environment, and seeks to educate starving nations on the potential they have to become aware of food they may not know they’ve had all along.