Red Mulberry, Morus rubra

The Red Mulberry, also known as Morus rubra, is a tree species native to North America. It belongs to the mulberry family, Moraceae, which includes over 1000 species of plants. The Red Mulberry is an important tree species in many ways, as it provides a range of ecological, economic, and cultural benefits.

Ecological Benefits

The Red Mulberry is an ecologically important tree species, as it provides various ecological benefits. The tree is well-suited to a wide range of soils, from sandy loam to heavy clay, and can tolerate a range of pH levels. The tree is also tolerant of flooding, making it an important species in riparian zones, floodplains, and other wetland areas.

The Red Mulberry produces large quantities of fruit, which are eaten by a range of wildlife species. The fruit is rich in nutrients, including vitamin C, iron, and calcium, and is an important food source for many bird species, including blue jays, robins, and cedar waxwings. Other animals that feed on the fruit include squirrels, raccoons, opossums, and deer.

The Red Mulberry also provides important habitat for a range of insect species. Many butterfly and moth species rely on the Red Mulberry as a host plant for their caterpillars. The tree also supports a range of other insect species, including beetles, wasps, and ants.

Economic Benefits

The Red Mulberry is an economically important tree species in North America, as it has a range of commercial uses. The tree is grown for its fruit, which is used to make jams, jellies, pies, and other food products. The fruit is also used to make wine and other alcoholic beverages.

The wood of the Red Mulberry is also valuable, as it is hard, dense, and resistant to decay. The wood is used to make furniture, flooring, and other high-quality wood products. The bark of the Red Mulberry is also used in traditional medicine, as it has been shown to have antiviral and antimicrobial properties.

Mulberry trees are easy to propagate and make an excellent fodder source.

Cultural Significance

The Red Mulberry has a rich cultural significance in North America. The tree has been used for centuries by indigenous people for food, medicine, and other purposes. The Cherokee people used the bark of the tree to treat fever, while the Iroquois used the inner bark to make a tea to treat coughs and colds.

The Red Mulberry also played an important role in the Underground Railroad, as it was used by slaves escaping to freedom. The tree provided important cover for escaping slaves, as well as a source of food.

Duck Potato, Sagittaria platyphylla, Delta Arrowhead

     I once stole this plant from a ditch at the community College. No really,  I really did do that. I wasn't arrested either. It almost tops the time I took cattail from the ditch at the hospital. I wasn't arrested then either. 

     Actually I didn't know what this was until it made a pretty white flower, and now I love it. I had wanted to buy duck potato because I had read that it's edible to, well, ducks. Possibly rabbits? Not sure. But now that I have this plant, all I have to do is propagate it, and I will have unlimited duck food! Mwa haha.

     Supposedly the underground tubers are eaten by ducks and snapping turtles. It sounds like a great plant to grow. Supposedly it can be propagated by transplanting the tubers. Also supposedly, it was a major food source for the Native Americans that lived in the Okeechobee area. 

This State Park is the Perfect Zombie Apocalypse Survival Location

      Have you ever considered what you would do to survive the coming zombie apocalypse? That's a loaded question, because it implies that there is going to be a future apocalypse requiring survival. Still, it's a fun thought experiment, and I have often wondered what would happen if there was a societal reset. Who would be the survivors and would they prosper?

     Ellie Schiller State Park in Homosassa Springs is my go-to for a survival situation. Clean water, mostly gated park, with the possibility of growing an abundance of land-based food. In the coldest part of winter, manatees float lazily around. During the warmer months, the place is teeming with fish. Not that I'm saying I would eat the manatees, but in a survival situation who knows what would be on the table.

     I would bring my rabbits with me and some of the water hyacinth. Water hyacinth is a survival food for sure. I would probably bring the cannas too. They grow in water pretty well.

Monarda punctata, Horsemint, Spotted Bee Balm

   I was at the forest garden and snapped a nice picture of an interesting looking flower near the road that I had never seen before. It was growing under the edge of shade from trees but also getting a few hours of sunlight as it was near the road. To me, these are among the harshest conditions known to plants.
     Then later I found an article on social media put out there by the Pasco County UF IFAS office that touted the horn of beebalm. It specifically mentions how the flowers of beebalm herald the beginning of Florida's fall wildflower season. What it neglected to mention in detail was beebalm's edibility and medicinal uses, plus the fact that it's a native that grows with no irrigation!
     Green Deane says it has more thymol than the other mints. It can be used as a cough suppressant, an antihelminthic, anti-inflammatory. He also says that it can make a sedating tea. Which might be good if you have a cough.

     On Archive, there is actually a book discussing the production of thymiol using beebalm, and breaks down the costs by acre. It's an interesting read. The information from 1916 is still every bit as true today, even if our currency's value has changed over the years.
     I have often thought about the value of creating herbal teas and tisanes to treat some common ailments. Dehydration would be necessary, of course, along with a delivery system such as tea bags. Beebalm would be a great herb to start out with, as it is medicinal, safe, and native.

Wild Coffee, Psychotria Nervosa

     I like to call this plant Psycho Coffee, because it's just more fun to say. I bought this several years ago from the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens, and it has thrived with no care at all. When I planted it back then I heeded the advice of IFAS and put it in the full shade, where it doubled in height and width and produced two seedlings. The seedlings also thrived in the full shade with no care, no watering, nothing.

     Psycho Coffee is native to Florida, and Florida is its only home. It's hardiness is from 10B to 11, but it's growing well in the full shade in my 8A front yard. I happened to be at the Pasco County Earth Day celebration, and there was a gentleman there from the Florida Native Plant Society and he had some for sale, so I picked up another one and supported the Society. I have also spotted it growing as a huge bush at the entrance of the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg.
     Psycho coffee propagates by seed, and I have found that the easiest way to propagate it is to dig up seedlings and put them where you want them.
     The berries are edible, and have a large seed in them. They don't taste good. Flowers attract butterflies and the fruits attract birds. Some say that members of the coffee family contain a hallucinogen called dimethyltryptamine, but it is unknown if Psycho Coffee has that chemical. It's called Psychotria nervosa for the prominent ribbing on the leaves.
     Definitely a keeper because edible fruit, beautiful flowers that bloom for months and attract pollinators, requires no care or watering, and loves full shade.

Tradescantia, Spiderwort 2019

     After several years of encouraging the spread of Spiderwort all over my little place, I have finally achieved sizable plantings. Enough extra Spiderwort that I could sell some at my future nursery, or bring some to the Fortress of Solitude.

     I really like Spiderwort. It sprouts in the Spring and blooms for months. It is one of the few native edible succulents, heck, I can't think of another. I once took the flowers and dyed them onto Easter eggs. There are so many reasons to keep Spiderwort around. Read my original post about Spiderwort HERE.

Chrissy the Scrub Land Baroness

March, 2019

     When I was young, I was bullied. A lot. Things were different then. I have forgiven the chick who was always trying to fight me, because I am a grown up and she, well, she works at a car dealership. I have also forgiven the chick who was always calling me a "scrub" (she thought she was so much better than I was, economically, it seems.) She is a waitress now, and I have come to embrace the term Scrub and all it stands for.

Future Campsite

     When I was younger and trying to understand how the world works I would always ask my father the good questions. Not about dating and romancey stuff, but about science/history/religion/life. I used to spend time with him on the weekends at his repair shop, and sometimes we went out on service calls. I remeber once, as we were driving past the cattle farms on the east side of the county, asking him who owned all this land and how come they didn't do anything with it? His answer was vague, something about rich people that hoarded land from others. That kind of answer was right in character with him, as he grew up on a dairy farm and knew the value of land, or at least, Michigan land. Anyone who has scoped the price of acreage here in Florida knows that you can't buy anything but swampland for less than about 12k an acre. Many estimates are even higher than that number.

Climbing Tree

     When I was a teenager, I really started learning how the world works, and I took an interest in the biosciences and ecology. It was sometime during that time that I had the dream of becoming one of those land barons, so that I could preserve plant and animal habitat. Of course, back then I wanted to buy rainforests so the pretty little parrots and iguanas had their home to live in (thanks a lot, Ferngully!) But now that I am a grown up, I believe in protecting habitat locally. I try to support local parks amd state parks. I try to practice sustainable living ideals - so I have, indeed, turned into the scrub who hangs the laundry on the clothesline.

Rat Snake

     This year I have done something amazing, completed one of my lifelong goals - I have bought some bug out land. I have a piece of the local scrubland for myself, out on the eastside of my county. Though it's only an acre and a half, I am now one of those reviled land barons.
          Scrub Land Baroness.

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 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.

Eat Your Sand, beautiful edibles for the front yard

Announcing the official opening of project Eat Your Sand

After two grueling years of college, I have finally emerged. Hopefully the headaches will be over, and I will have more time to do the things that I love to do, like teach the little ones about nature and growing plants. I have also been cultivating a minimalist lifestyle, and this spring I have been potting and propagating, in hopes to find other permits to trade with, or just interested gardeners. Its not about selling plants and rabbits, its about sharing, getting, and producing bounty. Care of people and all.
So this spring I have more growies than I know what to do with. It has inspired me to create a trading page with a listing of everything that I have a lot of success with, including rabbits and premium plants.
Come check it out
EatYourSand
Don't hesitate to shoot me an email or use the form to contact me. I love to trade! Eat Your Sand will be updated frequently with what is currently being offered, and I am willing to travel to trade.

Chrissy Hibiscus'seed?

     As an aside, I am secretly envious of David's home nursery. I definitely have decided I want to do that with some of my not-so-spare time. There needs to be more permaculture nurseries, and I want to grow and maybe market edible plants and their cousins, edible ornamental plants. I'd like to grow it from the roots up, slowly, potting up my extras and offshoots.

     It's just so fun propagating plants, and so useful if the plants can be used as a survival food source. I even have family support on this kind of endeavor.
     And when I think about how much it would cost to turn my tiny yard into a food forest with plants from the big box stores, I shudder in horror. I have no access to that kind of money at the moment, and wouldn't choose to blow that much on plants anyway. Even if a person had the money, there is no place selling all the varieties of edible plants that grow well in this area, a place where freezes do occasionally happen but there are so many plants that can tolerate it. Much more possibilities than up north, even more possibilities than north Florida.
     To be a public figure in the plant world, I would have to specialize. I would make myself known, preferably by propagating and growing out many many hibiscus' and taking them all over the state like Johnny Appleseed. Chrissy Hibiscus'seed? Awesome!  Chrissy the mad hibiscus maven. What would I name my nursery? Maybe Sandy's Edible Yard. or Sandlot Plants. Sandy (the Hibiscus Maven)'s Edible Plants.  Hmmm...

Vitamin C for the Survivalist

     Have you ever thought about what your diet would be like if you had to fend for yourself? Have you found a solution to the problems of vitamin insufficiency in restricted diets? Most of our modern, processed foods have been vitamin-enriched to prevent scurvy, rickets, and folate deficiency. If you were trying to supply your whole diet from what you can grow or forage, would you be safe?

     Interestingly, capybaras and guinea pigs (cuys) also lack the ability to synthesize ascorbic acid just like humans, bats, and some other apes. If cuys are one of your survival protein sources or urban farming animal, this is a problem you will have to address.

     Lack of vitamin C results in scurvy, with significant symptoms appearing in as little as three months. Foods naturally high in ascorbic acid are cruciferous vegetables, all kinds of peppers, kiwi, seabuckthorn, acerola, goji berry, persimmon, and citrus. Also found in oysters and animal liver. Heat (cooking or canning) significantly reduces available vitamin C in foods. One trick for canning is to add lemon juice to foods which are lacking, increasing the vitamins, preventing oxidation, and lowering the pH.

     Although I have no real proof, I suspect that the leaves of many of our edible plants that produce high-vitamin crops probably have a higher than average concentration of those vitamins, particularly before flowering and fruiting. I suspect strawberry, rose, and hibiscus leaves to be higher in vitamin C, banana leaves to be higher in potassium, citrus leaves high in both. With our soils naturally being magnesium-deficient, I suspect that to be lacking in a person living on a native Floridian diet (in the absence of shellfish and other seafoods). The more research I have done to prove or disprove this hypothesis, the more I notice there is a lack of study in this area, though I did find here that purslane and plantain are very high in vitamin A precursor. This study finds that ascorbic acid is higher in lemon leaves than in the bark, roots, and juice, partially confirming my hypothesis.

Debunking the paleo diet: Christina Warinner at TEDxOU

     I have decided that every once in a while I will be sharing some videos of interesting, probably nerdy topics. Not all will be related to the food supply, but many will, since we all need to eat.
     This video espouses the common claims that it is even possible to approximate Paleolithic humankind's diet in our modern world. She points out many interesting facts, the most remarkable being the severe hybridization of our modern agricultural system. Our fruits and vegetables aren't what they once were. The end wraps up with a concise summary and plan for those who want to eat in a more paleolithic style.
     What is your opinion?

 

Urban Homesteading: Quail

     Quail are probably the niftiest native but domesticated backyard birds available. I have been tossing around the idea of getting quail versus chickens, but considering I will need to buy 100% of their feed, quail seem like the best choice. They are quieter and take up very little space, and even more prolific than chickens in terms of meat and eggs.
     Quail could also serve as cat and dog food with hardly any preparation in the event that we were unable to buy pet food. If that day seemed close on the horizon, rabbits, quail,  and chickens would be raised in every back yard. Quail are insectivores beyond par, it would behoove all of us to raise insects (mealworms, black soldier fly, cockroaches, grasshoppers) to feed our microlivestock healthfully. Although there is not much common knowledge on the topic, cockroaches would probably be the easiest to raise, since they can live on cardboard and mulch, right?

     The young man over at Florida Hillbilly has written a number of articles featuring knowledge he has learned from raising quail in his backyard. This kind of secondhand experience is priceless, and makes for interesting reading even if you aren't interested in quail...yet. Florida Hillbilly's Quail

Florida's Department of Making Water Gardeners Sad

On this list, all the plants are illegal.

These species can only be grown in licensed, permitted, and inspected nurseries which have taken measures to ensure no possibility of escape for these plants.

     While some of these plants are unfamiliar, others are sources of human and animal nutrition that should not be disallowed in non-tender areas. For example, non-native water hyacinth is a favorite food of manatees and is reported to be well-received by cattle, goats, and rabbits. It's one of the main plants that I wanted for my pond, since it has beautiful tropical flowers and is edible. A few other plants of making people sad are water chestnuts, water spinach, and water lettuce.

Spiderwort, Tradescantia spp., Asparagus of the South

Uses : Edible, Forage, Xeriscaping. Native to : Eastern North America.
     There are several Tradescantia members that look similar, notably T. virginiana and T. ohiensis. The good news is that they are both edible. The bad news is that when anyone thinks of Tradescantia, they usually think of the striped (Wandering Jew) or purple (Purple Heart, Moses in a Boat), which are inedible.
     These purple beauties will bloom all spring, but each flower  is only open for a day or so. They are very successful, some might even say invasive, and can survive some mowing. The best practice is to relocate these hardy perennials to a flower bed in the full sun.
     Rabbits do enjoy eating them, along with some humans. Green Deane says:

     "Its leaves do not change in flavor as the plant ages. The leaves are good for salads as well, or in soup and stews but they are mucilaginous. The stems can be braised like asparagus. The flowers, at one time favorites for candying, make very pretty blue additions to back yard salads." 

   

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.

Perennial Vegetables for the South

     Ever since I found this list I have been returning to it whenever I might be going to a plant sale or nursery. There are many plant sales in the spring and fall, so here's a great list of plants that produce food and grow well here in Florida.
     Most, if not all, of these plants can also be fed to the rabbits, except for maybe taro.                                        

Perennial in all of the Hot and Humid zone:

Allium ampeloprasum perennial sweet leek

Allium cepa aggregatum shallot

Allium cepa aggregatum potato onion

Allium cepa proliferum walking onion

Allium fistulosum Welsh onion

Allium tuberosum garlic chives

Apios americana groundnut

Aralia cordata udo

Arundinaria gigantean canebrake bamboo

Asparagus officinalis asparagus

Asphodeline lutea yellow asphodel

Atriplex halimus saltbush

Bambusa spp. clumping bamboos

Brassica oleracea acephala tropical tree kale

Bunias orientalis Turkish rocket

Camassia scillioides wild hyacinth

Canna edulis achira

Cedrella sinensis fragrant spring tree

Cnidoscolus spp. bull nettles

Colocasia esculenta ‘Celery Stem’ taro

Colocasia esculenta taro, cocoyam, eddo, dasheen

Cynara cardunculus cardoon

Cynara scolymus ‘Purple Sicilian’ globe artichoke

Cyperus esculentus sativa chufa

Dioscorea bulbifera air potato

Dioscorea japonica jinenjo

Dioscorea opposita Chinese yam

Diplotaxis spp. sylvetta arugula

Helianthus tuberosa sunchoke

Hemerocallis daylily

Malva moschata musk mallow

Nasturtium officinale watercress

Nelumbo nucifera water lotus

Oenanthe javanica water celery

Opuntia spp. spineless nopale cactus

Petasites japonicus fuki

Phyllostachys spp. running bamboos

Phytolacca americana pokeweed

Polygonatum biflorum canaliculatum giant Solomon’s seal

Qiongzhuea tumidissinoda running bamboo

Rumex acetosa French sorrel

Rumex acetosa ‘Profusion’ sorrel

Rumex acetosella sheep sorrel

Rumex scutatus silver shield sorrel

Sagittaria latifolia arrowhead

Sagittaria sinensis Chinese arrowhead

Sasa kurilensis chishima-zasa bamboo

Scorzonera hispanica scorzonera

Semiarundinaria fastuosa temple bamboo

Stachys sieboldii Chinese artichoke

Taraxacum officinale dandelion

Tilia spp. linden

Perennial in colder parts of the Hot and Humid zone:

Allium tricoccum ramps

Chenopodium bonus-henricus good king Henry

Cicorium intybus chicory

Crambe maritima sea kale

Laportaea canadensis wood nettle

Levisticum officinale lovage

Matteuccia struthiopteris ostrich fern

Urtica dioica nettles

Perennial in warmer parts of the Hot and Humid zone, or perennial with protection. Most of these species can also be grown as annuals in the colder parts of this zone.

Abelmoschus manihot edible hibiscus (as dieback perennial)

Alternanthera sissoo sissoo spinach

Arracacia xanthorhiza arracacha

Basella alba Malabar spinach

Brassica oleracea wild cabbage

Brassica oleracea acephala ‘Western Front’ perennial kale

Brassica oleracea acephala ‘Tree Collards’, ‘Walking Stick Kale’

Brassica oleracea alboglabra gai lon

Brassica oleracea botrytis perennial broccoli, including ‘9 Star’

Brassica oleracea ramosa branching bush kale, including ‘Dorbentons’

Capsicum annum ‘Perennial Capsicum’ sweet pepper

Carica papaya papaya

Coccinia grandis ‘Sterile’ perennial cucumber (probably as dieback perennial in colder parts)

Cnodoscilus chayamansa chaya (as dieback perennial)

Cucurbita ficifolia Malabar gourd

Dendrocalamus spp. clumping bamboos (probably as dieback perennial even in warmest parts)

Dioscorea alata white yam

Dioscorea esculenta asiatic lesser yam

Dioscorea trifida cush cush yam

Dolichos lablab hyacinth bean

Eleocharis dulcis water chestnut

Gigantochloa spp. clumping bamboos (probably as dieback perennial in bad winters)

Gynura crepioides Okinawa spinach

Hibiscus acetosella cranberry hibiscus

Ipomoea aquatica water spinach

Ipomoea batatas sweet potato

Momordica charantia bitter gourd

Manihot esculenta cassava

Moringa spp. moringa (as dieback perennial)

Musa x paradisica ‘Rajapuri’ banana (warmest parts, with long season protection)

Nastus elatus clumping bamboo

Oxalis tuberosa oca

Phaseolus coccineus runner bean

Phaseolus lunatus Lima bean

Phaseolus polysantus cache bean

Physalis pruinosa ground cherry

Psophocarpus tetragonobolus ‘Day Length Neutral’ winged bean

Psophocarpus tetragonobolus winged bean

Saccharum edule pitpit

Sauropus androgynous katuk (as dieback perennial)

Sechium edule chayote

Smallianthus sonchifolia yacon

Solanum tuberosum & spp. potato

Tetragonia tetragonioides New Zealand spinach

Trichostigma octandrum basket vine (as dieback perennial)

Xanthosoma brasiliense belembe

Xanthosoma saggitifolium tannier, yautia, malanga (roots need long season)

Xanthosoma violaceum violet-stem taro (roots need long season)

Benefits vs. Arguments for Guerrilla Gardening

     Guerilla gardening is in full swing during the warmer months all across the United States. Likely a reaction to cooped-up urbanites retaliation against metropolitan space waste, guerrilla gardeners plant flowers and vegetables in areas that are otherwise laying fallow or abandoned.
     Some people aren't happy with guerrilla gardeners. Recently in Washington DC, the city removed hundreds of red, white, and blue flowering plants that had been placed by a guerrilla gardener on a sloping embankment, claiming that his climbing could lead to falling, which would incur liability for the taxpayers. They also claimed that there was no money in their budget for the upkeep of the plantings.
     Another recent article in the New York Times paints urban guerrilla gardeners in a negative light by supposing that a landscape of nothing but edibles will be a landscape without pollinators. This, of course, is untrue. I also emailed the author, Mariellé Anzelone, about her error concerning sassafrass. Her solution is not to avoid planting up the urban landscape, but to plant native wildflowers to promote diverse pollinators.

   "Urban activists should celebrate the indigenous wildflowers that sustain our pollinators beyond the short life span of fruit tree blossoms. In addition, we should incorporate native edibles into the planting palette. Blueberries, Juneberries and beach plums feed more species than just us humans."

     Anzelone and I agree on one thing, which is that native plants should be incorporated into any plan for regreening an urban zone. All too often city planners try to beautify by planting non-useful non-natives, like crepe myrtle and oleander. WE, the citizens, should be greening with natives and edibles like oak trees and others that were once found here in a time before pretty little homes.
     She neglects to point out that done properly, a neighborhood or area planted with nothing but edibles would still attract pollinators because the garden planners would want great diversity in their plantings. Anyone with a bit of gardening knowledge knows to plant more than one type of vegetable, or a time will come when you will be hungry. Does she think guerrilla gardeners are greening their cities with nothing but Irish potatoes, the nation's most popular vegetable? Or nothing but red delicious apples?
     As any permie can tell you, diversity in plantings is what promotes resistance to disease and pests. Planting a good deal of wildflowers will bring in butterflies and bees, but also bring in caterpillars and grasshoppers. You have to pick and choose your battles, and better to have a wide variety of edible or useful plantings than a lot of space wasted on toxics that attract plant-eaters. With the internet making distant knowledge available, and international shipping being how it is, there is no reason every abandoned easement can't be planted with useful edibles, or native edibles, or just native plants. Sweet potatoes from Japan, climbing beans from Germany, sugarcane from the Dominican Republic, the possibilities are endless. For some ideas for diverse edibles for Florida, check out my site and this site.
     For example, a maple tree might be useful in several ways, and is native. Native cottage roses are the same way. Both can be edible to humans and urban livestock and provide beauty. Roses attract pollinators. Maples provide shade and windbreaks, and can provide firewood. Almost any plant can be rated according to some simple points like these, and as long as plantings remain diverse, urban gardeners will do well with it.

     Eight Points for Identifying Useful Plants

     Edible to humans

     Edible to urban livestock

     Edible to urban wildlife

     Attract pollinators

     Provide beauty

     Provide shade and windbreaks

     Provide textiles or firewood for humans

     Provide habitat for urban animals

Covert Urban Homesteading, Part 2: Animals

   Without animals, your urban homestead is really just a super-nice garden. To really maximize your land use, you will want to get some small herbivores to convert your kitchen waste and yard refuse into instant fertilizer and protein. It should be noted that since you have a homestead here, and not an urban farm, you should be trying to provide as much of your animal feed as possible yourself. Buying feed is not what homesteaders do, it's what urbanites do, right?
     Every one of these animals will need their human caregivers to protect them from human and animal threats in addition to providing quality feed and water, and a clean living environment. Urban homesteaders here in Florida will have numerous pests such as weasels, hawks, cranes, cats, dogs, snakes, raccoons, teenagers, homeless, and the odd code enforcement official to contend with.

     Rabbits are by far my favorite outside animal. They can live on a completely home-grown diet of grasses and weeds, or planted vegetation. Larger operations will probably appreciate he convenience of pellet, which is not prohibitively expensive. The meat and manure are high quality, and extra stock can be sold as pets.

     Chickens are hilarious little birds. I've read that a combination of cat food and day-old bread, supplemented with egg shells, can be enough food for them, though I've never tried it.

     Quail need an extremely high protein diet as naturally they would eat nothing but insects. I've heard that they thrive in areas high in cockroaches, so...

     Guinea Pigs, also called cuys, are good eats in parts of South America. Think of them as slightly smaller rabbits.

     Mice/Hamsters. I'm considering raising them just for their cat and dog food value, since they will eat rabbit pellet and kitchen scraps and be fine with that. Maybe ground hamster could become the next big chicken or fish feed additive?

     Pigeons, especially homing pigeons, are popular outdoor pets in West Florida. I've heard that they can free-range and return home very well. They eat similar feed as chickens.

     Fish can be kept in aquariums as pets, raised for meat value, or raised for their plant fertilization value (think Aquaponics). Crawdads, catfish, and tilapia are all raised successfully here in Florida. Perhaps one of the most covert urban animal operations could involve a decorative "koi" pond filled with catfish or tilapia (Guess what I'm building in my back yard!).

     Bees live very well here in Florida, the main consideration being the location and disguise of your hive(s). After all, no one can complain you have bees if they can't see the hives. Most urban and suburban areas of Florida have decorative flowering plants and trees, that produce year-round blooms.