Muscadine Grapes

      One grapevine planted several years ago now yields more grapes than I can ever harvest. This year I was able to reach four quarts of grapes for eating. They are sweet and crunchy. You know they are ready to harvest when the grapes are soft and springy, if they feel hard then they need more time on the vine. They seem to last quite a while in the refrigerator. Yes Muscadine grapes have seeds in them unless you are able to get a variety without seeds. 

New Side Yard Garden

     After the neighbors put in their new plastic fence, I learned that I had a few more feet on that side of the yard. That would have been helpful to know before they cut down one of my while I was at work. 

     It took a lot of digging to remove the African Honeysuckle from that part of the yard. Months later I am still finding sprouts from buried canes that need to be ripped out.

     These gingers, taro, and the new moringa tree have all survived the winter and are well on their way to providing an excellent shade hedge.

     This picture was taken in December not long after the plants were put into the ground.
 

Found Opuntia

     I feel like it's Christmas in the Springtime. When I was planting the Yucca filamentosa on the easement boundary of the new place I found several beautiful, native Opuntias growing there. I wonder if the previous owner planted them or it was just a fortuitous accident?

Opuntia planted into an unstoppable barrier

     Someone gave me some Prickly Pear cactus, and I took some freshly grown tunas to the new property. I dug a trench in the limestone sand near the easement, and popped the tunas into the ground.

     Exhilarated, snapped a picture to show how the moat around my Firtress is progressing. I have also added a few Yucca Filamentosa to the wall of spikes. I plan on intermittently placing some Agave Americana amongst the wall, which will really deter anyone or anything from stepping onto my property.

     At the other boundary I have been placing Yucca filamentosa and Agave Americana. This part seems to be in direct sunlight, so Prickly Pear might not do as well. I will be adding more plants to my moat as much as I can, limited by supply of free plants from my little yard and time to go out to the property.

    One of my other plans is to dig the low spot on the property deeper, perhaps into a pond. On a previous trip I snagged these plants from the low spot, which I think might be cattail. I potted the little grasses into my backyard pond, successfully as of yet. Neither has created a
cattail flower or any kind of distinguishing mark.
      Digging the low spot deeper isn't a plan to create drinking water at the property. I am still working on that problem.

Opuntia placed using the STUN method, update

  It has been about two months since I planted all those tunas at the new property. They look great considering no rain and no care, right?
     It won't be too long, maybe another 6 months, and I will place them around the border of the new garden. It will be just one layer of fencing around my fortress of solitude.

Fortress of Solitude - Building a Moat

     Other than the Prickly Pear cacti that ai am propagating for my moat, I also have plans to use Yucca filamentosa as an additional barrier. If the yuccas were spaced appropriately it would be enough danger to stop most large animals, in theory. No deer preying on my garden!
    I planted out some of the immature yuccas from my house with enough spacing in between them for a row of prickly pear and then Agave americana on the inside row. Of the three aforementioned species Agave americana is the moat useful to me at the moment, as a leaf from it needs no adulteration in order to feed the rabbits. They like it! So having agave on the inside seems to make sense to me at the moment, even if I am sick from a cold and sleep deprived.
     Here is the beginning of the plant fence near the road.

Opuntia Placed Using the STUN method.

     I may have said before that I am a huge fan of Mark Sheppard's STUN method of gardening, which is short for Sheer Total Utter Neglect.  In short, you plant a whole lot of the thing you want to grow, as many different varieties as you wish, collect the seeds of the survivors, and continue to plant and collect seed of future generations so that you will be growing the best, most adapted plants for your space.
     So I pruned all of my Opuntia, which came out to a lot more than I had thought it would. Filling up an entire bucket! From my postage stamp yard I was impressed. These are not old and large plants, but tiny things I have found in the neighborhood and bought one at the botancal gardens. These are the native Opuntias, be cautious when handling!

     Then I took all the tunas to the new property, which I am going to have to give a name to. I had wanted to make a fortress of solitude out of the place complete with a moat of Cactus all around it, but as yet I dont have enough plant matter for that. So I placed them all in the ground in a protected area. Could always move them later on. I was delighted to find the sand was moist about an inch deep, perfect for these cacti! With any luck, I can STUN these into thousands more plants for my moat.

Opuntia, a revisiting

     I have been rethinking the case for planting spiny Opuntia at the new place. The spiny Prickly Pear still makes a delicious fruit, and it has the added benefit of keeping out people, deer, and anything else soft and fleshy.
There is a very nice overview here.
     I must have at least 20 starts in the front yard ready for transplant. Exciting!

Survival Gardening in Florida, Part 2

     As far as growing carbohydrates, nothing really jumps out at me beyond sweet potatoes, cassava, sugarcane, the safe yams, and coontie, which are all very nutritious and pack a good deal of fiber as well. Also, kids like them. The leaves of all but coontie can be eaten or used as fodder. White potatoes are great too, if you are really good at growing them. Some grains that do well in Florida include amaranth and sorghum. Sorghum can be made into a tasty molasses if a person desired it. There are a ton of fruits that grow very well in Florida, the most well-loved being citrus, which can, with choosing proper varieties, be available for picking fresh about half the year. Canna, carrots, lilies, and cassava roots are all loaded with vitamins and nutrition. Sugarcane grows very well through most of the state. Bees love it here too.
     As far as growing fats, that's going to be a tough one. This might be a good time to mention micro-livestock like rabbits, guinea pigs, or chickens. Quail are great, but need an extremely high-protein feed as they naturally eat insects. Rabbits can live almost completely on grass and weeds. Chickens can live on almost completely grains and bugs. Fish can be raised in ponds or containers and fed things like azolla, duckweed, or garden worms.
     If I had to choose just three plants to grow to survive on, it would be cowpeas, cannas, and sweet potatoes. Cowpeas are a nitrogen-fixing legume that grow very well in poor soil and can be grown twice a year. The beans are high in protein and fiber, while the plant is high in protein for the rabbits. Cannas, aside from being beautiful and able to handle our hot, humid weather, can yield a starchy root and the leaves are high in vitamins for the rabbits. Sweet potatoes are a nutrient-dense starch, with very excellent tasting leaves which are high in protein. The leaves from all three plants can be eaten raw or cooked.
     Areas of the property which are not actively gardened can be, over time, landscaped with perennials that produce nutrition, fodder, or both. My favorite useful perennial is probably the wild rose bush. They don't have much of a smell, but make large, beautiful flowers that turn into rose hips - very nutritious. The leaves are good fodder and the thorns make the plant valuable for fencing. Thorned or thornless prickly pears are also a wonderful perennial, as the leaves are edible and the fruit is delicious. Plant those with an asiatic lily in between each bush and you will have created lush, flowery nutrition.
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Actual Survival Gardening, Part 1

    Survival gardening is a phrase that has been thrown about and equated with permaculture, which it is not. Permaculture is lasting plantings of perennials which give abundantly year after year, while survival gardening is active gardening with a care to provide all of a person's nutritional needs.
     All nutritional needs. Fats, carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, trace minerals, and vitamins.
     There is a lot of debate as to how much land it would take to provide for all nutritional needs. Some people might say one acre per person, others more. Would all nutritional needs include meat and fish? what about the healthy fats that are in avocado and olives? So everyone is going to have their own opinion on land consumption, particularly in regards to climate and use, for example, like bio-intensive agriculture.
     I think as far as growing protein the first thing that jumps to mind is nut trees, and the first one that really jumps to mind is pecans. They grow really well in most parts of Florida, where other nuts fail. The rumors of a pecan blight exist, though I have not seen it for myself yet. Then there are bean plants, which are low-growing, sun-loving herbaceous protein factories. Peanuts, cowpeas, and green beans all do well here. Probably the best part about growing beans is that the plant stalk and leaves make great fodder for livestock once the beans are harvested. Sprouted grains are reputedly high in protein and vitamins.
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Yucca gloriosa, Spanish Dagger

Uses : Fencing, Edible, Forage, Fiber, Wildlife. Native to : Southeastern US.
     There seems to be a lot of confusion over Spanish Bayonet and Spanish Dagger on the internet, and if you search for images of one or the other you will get both plants, some of which are improperly labeled. Here is what IFAS has to say on the subject:

"Spanish bayonet is often confused with Spanish Dagger. Leaf margins on Spanish Dagger (Yucca gloriosa) are smooth, whereas those on Yucca aloifolia (Spanish bayonet) are rough. The outer halves of the leaves on Spanish dagger also bend toward the ground, whereas those on Spanish bayonet do not."

     Finally, we have a clear ruling. I had thought my plants were Spanish Bayonet for the last few years in error, they were actually the less painful Spanish Dagger - although still quite painful! The leaves are rigid and spiky, and because the leaves point in every single direction it makes that plants as difficult to handle as a porcupine rolled in peanut oil. The spiky painfulness is probably why this plant is almost never commercially propagated, sad because it is a disease-free, sun-and-sand-loving, pest-resistant plant.
     It is a native in the yucca/agave family, and the flowers and fruit are edible. The white flowers attract bees. It is very easy to propagate, just dig any runners from the base of the plant and move to a sunny spot of the landscape. Very attractive and easy to care for in containers. The leaves are edible to rabbits. Can tolerate beach conditions. The roots contain saponins, but can be cooked to become edible. Or, perhaps, to yield soap? Like Century Plant, the leaves can be made into fibers for ropes, basketry, and clothing.
     It may get 15-20 feet high, then break off during a violent storm, as happened here. These leaves are going to become rabbit manure over the next few weeks.

Spanish Bayonet, Highways and Byways of Florida,  1918.

Scrub Trees for Survival Fodder

     There has been a growing movement for farmers to seek additional feed sources for drought seasons and winter. Traditionally farmers would set aside dry feed or silage for the winter, but many have found themselves unprepared for warm seasons of extreme drought. This, like everything else, makes pastured meat more expensive.

     The Australians have really been looking into this problem, and they have suggested planting trees for fodder during drought. If done with alley-cropping techniques, this can actually increase pasture production thanks to the windbreaks and shade the trees will produce.

     If your animals are having trouble accepting the survival fodder, or you aren't sure what to feed them, more information is here. Rabbits can eat anything horses can eat, and I think goats and cattle as well. 

     Some of the best agricultural information is coming from the tropics these days.

Once fodder trees began to be planted on-farm, the 

technology spread rapidly throughout the region, as

farmers quickly realized the nutritional benefits of 

feeding fresh leaves to their cows.

Bamboo

Native to: Asia.  Uses: Edible, Forage, Xeriscaping, Fencing, Fuel, Building Material, Clothing Textile.
     I love bamboo. It's got a very tropical, Asian feel to it, indeed, it is the definition plant for Japanese-style gardens. It grows very quickly thanks to it's unique rhizomial adaptations. It has a million and one uses. And rabbits love it.
     I think most people should understand before they plant bamboo that it is a giant grass. And think of how hard it is to get rid of grass in Florida once it is established! So extreme care should be taken before a planting of bamboo is placed anywhere. It should probably not be planted over sewer lines, electrical lines, water pipes, etc.
     My large bamboo is in a pot, while my dwarf bamboo hides underneath a palmetto bush. Hopefully that will be good enough to keep my yard safe.
     This pile of bamboo was laying by the curb at a neighbor's house. Silly people.

Maypop Passionflower

Uses : Edible, Medicinal. Native to : Southeastern United States, possibly originally from Central America.
     This attractive flowering vine, which resembles a southern version of clematis, is a scourge of the southern landscape. It is banned in Hawaii and on the Florida Invasive list. I can't say it is as invasive as the non-native kudzu though, since passionflower doesn't seem to be taking over whole forests at the moment.
     A good deal of thought and research should be done before allowing this plant into your area. According to legend, about twenty years ago my mother wanted some passionflower vine for a side fence in our yard. Against my father's protestations (supposedly). Since that time the passion vine has never left our block, it comes up from seed in different places every year and in the neighbor's yards. Since the majority of my neighbors are retirees and renters, they just leave the vine to do as it will - spread and seed. The vine forms an underground tuber which goes quite deep for a vine, and if the foliage is removed it will be able to return.
     The best way to control passion vine is to pull out the young shoots every week in the spring. It is very easy to spot with its conspicuous triple-lobed or penta-lobed leaves. After the foliage is removed several times the tuber won't have energy to try again. This can be a bit labor intensive. Once the vine is larger later in the season it is nearly impossible to remove, so removing the flowers before seed setting can help.
     It does completely freeze to the ground every winter here in West Florida, even in mild winters. I usually pull out the shoots that come up in undesirable places in the spring and leave the ones that are hard to pull. If a passionflower wants to grow into the cherry laurel trees then good luck, it's not hurting anything there.
     The name 'maypop' comes from the sounds the fruits make when children throw them on the ground or jump on them. In late summer the fruit will set, making apricot-sized green globes with many seeds inside. The fruits are so seedy they are more like tiny pomegranates.    
     The 'passion' in the name comes from a symbolic representation of the Christian trinity some say they can see in the sex organs of the flower. In my opinion it should be renamed Maypop Zombie-flower as it has an unattractive smell and the plant returns from the dead every spring.
     When grown from seed passionflowers make beautiful houseplants. Their long, trailing vines and beautiful flowers are quite amazing. Vining plants tend to be forgiving in watering requirements as well. Do grow from seed in a pot if growing for indoor use as they do not take transplanting well and do not root in water as easily as many other vines.

     Much like the sweet potato, if properly trained the vines could make a very excellent natural privacy screen if you happen to live close to your neighbors. The vine does die down in the winter, which could make it useful for a shade-producing screen or for a pergola.
     The flowers are like bee and butterfly kryptonite. They are hopelessly attracted to the huge, smelly purple blossoms. I've personally seen the rare and mysterious zebra butterfly in my yard thanks to this vine.
     There are over 500 different varieties of passion vine available, the vines are able to hybridize with one another easily so proper identification of your cultivar can be intimidating.
     Passionflower is grown the world over in tropical areas. The most common eating variety comes from Peru and Central America. The fruit is eaten fresh, juiced, jammed, canned, fermented into wine, baked into desserts, etc.
     Remains of seeds have been found in Incan and Aztec ruins. After reading This Paper I have no doubts that the spread of passionflower throughout eastern North America was aided by human hands.
     Extractions from the plant are known to have sedative and analgesic properties. Native Americans made teas with the leaves to help treat insomnia. Since then it has been used to help with seizure disorders, substance abuse programs, and organic brain syndromes. The fruit is high in lycopene and Vitamin C.
     I was unable to find any research about whether it would be safe to use the foliage as a fodder, but I highly suspect it would not be safe in any significant quantities. After the first frost just remove the frozen vines and place in your compost heap.
     

Michael Pollan - The Omnivore's Next Dilemma

Michael Pollan about Sustainable Agriculture

      Michael Pollan is one of the foremost speakers about the national food situation currently facing us. His non-threatening persona and charming eloquence make him a popular choice. Most importantly, he advocates many of the same ideals that I advocate, the least of which are that people need to get back to producing healthful food and eating locally.
     This video is an exerpt from a larger one that he made as a follow-up to his book and documentary, an Omnivore's Dilemma and the Botany of Desire. This interview piece specifically describes Joel Salatin's Polyface Farms, a sustainable protein production operation in Virginia. Please comment, criticize.

Prickly Pear, Opuntia vulgaris

Newly  planted rooted leaf pad.

Uses : Food, Liquor, Forage, Firewood, Fencing. Native to Mexico.
     The prickly pear cactus is an amazing little survivor. It is a true cactus and is grown all over the world in dry climates for the leaves and fruit. It has naturalized itself to the scrub forests of West Florida and is as good as native. Ever so slowly it can grow with no care on your part whatsoever.
     Spreading prickly pear (Opuntia humufusa), has many, if not all of the same good qualities as the more common prickly pear, but is a native of the pine forests here in Florida. It is a low-growing perennial, bane of hikers not watching their footing. It rarely gets even half a meter in height, and is able to reproduce vegetatively when leaf pads that become detached from the parent root themselves.
     The leaf pads can be eaten by people once the spines are removed. Typically the young pads are selected for human consumption before the spines harden. It is usually sliced into strips and cooked as you would a green bean.
     Later, the leaf pads can be used as cattle forage if the spines are burned away or otherwise removed. This has helped farmers in Mexico when lack of rainfall browns the fields. The leaf pads are quite high in moisture which will also help sustain cattle. Prickly pear can be used to create a natural hedge which will keep cattle fenced, as they do not wander through the thick spiny pads.
     The little red fruits can be eaten raw after skinning and are usually served chilled. Many cultures worldwide distill prickly pear fruit juice into a liquor. The juice can also be used to ferment into a wine, known as colonche.
     The process for making colonche has changed very little over the centuries. The fruit is harvested, peeled, crushed, the juice collected and boiled for two or three hours. Then the juice is allowed to ferment for several days. Sometimes other colonche is added as a starter. After primary fermentation it can be served.
     In Mexico the cactus are raised as a fodder for an insect known as cochineals, which create a natural red dye that has some trade value.
     Four Ways to Preserve Prickly Pear Pads