Chinese Tallow Tree, Triadica sebifera

Uses : Medicinal, Xeriscaping. Native to : Asia.

     The Chinese Tallow tree was introduced to the United States during the 1700's, and since then it has made itself at home throughout the southeast coastal states. It is now considered an invasive species by the state of Florida and is illegal to propagate and transport. In some areas the trees are notoriously difficult to remove, being known to successfully re-sprout from stumps and forgotten seeds. It grows very well on lands that are unsuitable for row agriculture, like, oh, most of Florida. It has naturalized itself in some areas, displacing native plants and animal habitats.
     It was originally introduced for commercial production of natural vegetable oil from the white seed coats, but industry never really took off. Perhaps it is too difficult to remove the seed coats from the fruit. An easy to grow natural vegetable oil would be a great crop for the South if it were viable. Popcorn trees are largely unaffected by pests. It attracts bees and butterflies. Birds and squirrels eat the fruits, reluctantly, if there isn't anything tastier to be found.
     I think the seeds would have a good use in starting campfires as a kindling, if you are a fan of cooking or relaxing with a campfire. Being naturally high in oil, they should work quite well for that purpose. It also will prevent the tree from reseeding all over your yard.
     The leaves change a range of beautiful oranges and reds in the fall, which is one  of the reasons it formerly was planted nationwide as an ornamental. This quality and it's fast-growing nature would make it an excellent specimen for a bonsai practitioner, being mindful that it is illegal to propagate. Then again in Florida gardening is only illegal when it bothers someone else... so a well-maintained bonsai (with prompt fruit removal) from is unlikely to cause trees sprouting in the neighborhood.
     The milky white sap of the tree is toxic, like all other plants with milky saps. Please be careful when handling parts of Popcorn tree, and avoid sap to skin or eyes contamination.
     The seedling problem is largely overstated here in West Florida where we have very distinct dry and wet seasons. There are maybe 10 to 30 Tallow trees here in this town, and they all appear to be about the same age, which leads to the idea that perhaps they all came from one nursery about 25 years ago. There are no seedling trees here to be found, possibly a side effect of frequent urban mowing.

Canna Lily (not really a lily at all)

Uses: Edible, Forage, Xeriscaping. Native to : Southeastern United States.

     This popular ornamental plant can be seen blooming everywhere in midsummer, but it is also a valuable part of a survival garden. The leaves and flowers are showy and tropical, shooting up from a rhizome that is loaded with starch.

     They are closely related to ginger, and will do well in any area that ginger does well in. Like ginger, they will freeze to the ground in wintertime and come back next spring. Cannas can handle full sun if planted in well-drained soil with adequate rainfall. Like taro, they do well in fairly damp areas.
     The roots can be dug and cooked like a potato, usually for at least two to five hours. Traditionally the rhizome was cooked then mashed and strained to remove the fibers. The starch is well known for being easily digestible for infants and elderly. In Vietnam, large amounts of canna are grown to make cellophane noodles. 

     If the rhizomes can be used as a potato, it would logically follow that a very enterprising individual could distill liquor from them much as a vodka is made. Perhaps cannas and taro could be a great source for  a southern alcohol bio-fuel?
     The leaves and stems are used as animal feed in some areas, as cannas can grow well on marginal lands with little soil nutrition. The plants are relatively unaffected by pests, which is no surprise considering how well they do here in Florida.

     Ms. Wildcraft from Backyard Food Production put up a great little video about some plants that are useful and can really take the heat. If you want to skip to the part where she talks about cannas, that would be about five minutes into the video.

The Rabbit Manure Garden

     I didn't believe the claim that rabbit manure was garden gold, so I decided to prove it for myself. After all, if a five gallon bucket of this stuff can go for $10 or more, it must be great, right?

    The patch above was the remains of the first pond hole, the hole that had the cable line running through it. I filled it with rabbit manure and planted some seeds, topped with a bit of mulch. (A sunken garden bed). With the watering and excellent spring weather, the squash plants quickly overgrew the beans and peanuts, with the cannas reaching outrageous proportions faster than the cannas elsewhere. I didn't even expect these squash to do much more than sprout, since I have had such dismal luck elsewhere in the yard. They are even larger than my dad's squash plants, and he's a gardening genius who's fond of fertilizer. It would be pretty nifty to get a squash out of this bed, but if I don't, the squash leaves are good rabbit eats.

Same squash plants planted at the same time lacking manure.

     There are wild claims on the internet that rabbit manure is wonderful because it contains no weed seeds. That is true, but only if you feed your rabbits commercially prepared pellet diets and no other food. My rabbit manure has weed seeds from their favorite weeds, and seeds from some of their other foods like strawberries and blackberries. So they poop out more food to eat. Awesome.
     An interesting, but unrelated paper about phosphate.

Rosary Pea, Precatory Bean, Abrus precatorius

Native to : India. Uses : Xeriscaping, Jewelrymaking (if you're brave).
    While camping at Oscar Scherer State Park last fall, our campsite had a beautiful climbing vine at the end of it. When I pointed it out, everyone in my family said, "Is that a fern?" Well, it turns out that it is a non-native, naturalized vine, that is listed on the Florida Invasive Plant List as a Category I.
     This particular vine was about 15 feet tall, it climbed from the ground into an oak tree very dramatically. It had 4 or 5 stems which were intertwined (growing up an older vine?) and many, many clumps of pods that looked like this one. I regret not having my camera for a photo of it!
     Historically it was cultivated for ornamental value. Both the vines and beans are attractive. The beans were formerly used to make jewelry, particularly necklaces, hence the name Rosary Pea.
     It is also known to be one of the most toxic plants on the planet, even more toxic than castor bean, because it contains a chemical called abrin, which halts all cellular protein synthesis. That sounds like a relatively painless way to go, is it any wonder that Rosary Pea had been used historically as a suicide agent? Most poisoning occurs unintentionally when children and animals eat the beans.
     It was featured in this National Institute of Health paper about death by mail-order. Among the natural toxins in this study, it is ranked fourth, while castor bean came in at a lowly twelve.
     Why are beans so toxic? Why are brightly colored things so poisonous?

Best Beer Bread Recipe

Best Beer Bread Recipe, Ever!


Four cups of flour
12 ounces of beer
1/4 cup sugar
Two tablespoons baking powder
Two teaspoons salt
Two eggs, slightly beaten

Technique: Mix the beer and flour together hours before so the flour can absorb the liquid. When ready to bake, add the rest of the ingredients and mix for about a minute, then pour into an oiled baking pan. Pop into the cold, unpreheated oven, uncovered, and bake at 350 F for 50 minutes. The first ten or so of that will be your oven getting up to temperature. Very fast and simple bread, so you can fake being a knowledgeable baker. I prefer to use one of my favorite beers, Blue Moon, as it comes out flavorful. Homebrew beer is always a better choice.

Can Permaculture sustain us?

     Toby Hemenway is one of the best-known Permaculture advocates available. He is quite knowledgeable on the subject, and gives talks and teaches courses over there on the west coast. An article from his website was probably the best gardening article ever written, which is to say most horticultural information is content-milled. That article really inspired me to find out what is native and useful here, and I can't imagine living anywhere else.

     But can Permaculture really sustain us? Some people think of it as more of a religion rather than an agricultural technique, which is definitely a problem. And the answer, which Mr. Hemenway sidestepped a bit, is that it cannot. Unless we change every aspect of our lives to really coexist with the planet. That would include less future children, and not more. Less fossil fuels, not more. Less air conditioning and heating, and not more. Less can be more with proper design, hence, permaculture.

      It really comes into perspective when you attempt to figure out the acreage it would take for a family to feed itself. More than one acre, for sure. At least one adult working  full-time on that acreage to plant, harvest, and maintain production. Families would be forced to to move to be spread out in order to have that land for use. The surface area of the arable parts of the planet is known and can be calculated. The calculations do not add up to the population numbers that we have now.

     That's sad, right? Not really. I can't even tell you all the people that I've met that never want to have kids. They are a product of our industrial society, and they don't want to give up the luxury they would miss out on  if they had to raise children. Then there is also the fear that this industrial society isn't worth living in, that it would be a shame to bring a child into this. Personally I think that's why zombie flicks are so popular, because people secretly long for a less complicated life where the threats to your welfare are clearly visible. Children are an investment no matter what your ethics and religion, of time, energy, even patience.

     But that's just one aspect of how lives must be changed to have a future for our race. Toby Hemenway  forsees a potential future for us that he describes well in this video. What do you forsee?

Chicken Rules for Hernando

"A divided county commission voted Tuesday to allow chickens in residential areas but tacked on several restrictions that call for neighbor buy-in and assured residents the new ordinance doesn’t supersede existing deed restrictions.

They also capped the number of backyard chickens to four per household and required the owner keep the coop out of view from neighbors."

      According to my source (the chicken lady herself), the permits are $100 with an additional $25 inspection fee. Safe to say the people already keeping chickens illegally will probably not be wasting their time and money on the permits.

Easter Eggs Done Right

Technique 1: Get Some Eggs from some chickens.

     Boil the eggs in with your dye solution, generally with vinegar added to mordant the colors to the eggshell.  Let the eggs cool in the dye solution, overnight is ok. Wrapping onion skin around the egg will make a marbling effect. Secure any stickers or flowers by wrapping the individual egg in nylon or cheesecloth. Speckle eggs by adding oil to the dye bath.
     Pictured here from left to right: orange marbling with yellow onion skins, wrapped and boiled, yellow egg dye made with celery and Bidens alba / Tradescantia flowers, blue egg dye made with purple cabbage and Tradescantia flowers, orange and purple marbling with yellow and red onion skins, wrapped and boiled.

• Red Cabbage - Bright Blue
• Beets - Pink
• Yellow Onion Skins - Orange
• Turmeric/Saffron, Celery Leaves - Yellow
• Grape Juice - Bluish Purple
• Grass/Sedge Leaves - Green
• Cranberries - Pale Pink
• Blackberries - Pale Purple

Technique 2: Get your eggs from some rabbits.

Technique 3: After the rabbits hides your eggs, send the kids out to find them and then prepare Die Eier von Satan (Deviled Eggs).

Citrus in Florida

     Back when people first started moving to Florida in the late 1800's (No AC, what were they thinking?), they tried planting groves of the different trees over the entire state. I'm pretty sure Swingle and Dancy cultivars were created here. Since then, years with freezes have slowly been driving the industry to the areas south of Tampa and Orlando. It's still a multi-billion dollar a year industry, employing thousands of workers.
     Pest pressures, like fungi and insects, make our oranges unsightly, so bland eating oranges usually come from California or Arizona, while Florida's tasty oranges usually go to make juice.
     Here in west central Florida, just north of Tampa, I have been having a lot of success with loquat (sort of a citrus). The other varieties of less cold sensitive citrus are Meyer lemon and tangerine/mandarin. Key limes can't handle the cold. Ugli fruits are even more tender, Americans sometimes import them from Puerto Rico and further south.

     Over the years I have watched my father struggle with trying to grow citrus here. He's tried every variety, all different kinds of planting situations. He's tried planting on slopes. He's tried planting near a pool (heat sink). He's tried planting near a south-facing wall. We've agreed to give up on oranges, particularly since the price of trees has gone up over the last few years to usually at least $35 per tree. Could it have something to do with this?
     The state was found to be at fault for the forced removal of 865,000 residential, dooryard citrus across the southern counties. They have been paying approximate $30 million in damages, to replace the removed trees.

"[Judge Robin Rosenberg] wrote that “exposed citrus trees, which were not determined to be infected with citrus canker but were located within 1,900 feet of another citrus tree determined to be infected with citrus canker, do not present an imminent threat to the public health, safety or welfare, or constitute a public nuisance.”

    There is something to be said for planting the trees in the appropriate microclimate. Sepp Holzer, farming genius, can supposedly grow them in snow. If you use blankets and Christmas lights to keep your tree warm, do be sure they are the old fashioned incandescent type, as LEDs won't make heat for you. My father has used the blankets and lights trick successfully, but in my not-so-humble opinion, it's really not worth the effort. There are so many other kinds of good fruit trees to plant, why try to baby one to keep it alive? Spend electricity on plants? What?
     Always beware that due to pest pressures a lot of citrus are grafted onto root stocks, and a particularly tough freeze cycle may kill your citrus but the root stock may survive to provide you a less than desirable fruit. One of the most common is sour orange, which is actually a pretty nice fruit. Tart like a lemon, but orange flavored. I made sour orange meringue pie one year with it.

Chrissy Speaks at Chicken Meeting

     First, I would like to thank all the county workers for the excellent job they are doing in light of the decreased property tax revenue. County services do not seem to be diminished in the least.
     I would like to remind everyone present that not every household in Hernando County is going to be keeping chickens. I estimate that it will be less than one household per block, especially considering the high numbers of vacant houses and rentals.
      I would like to publicly remind everyone that the City of Tampa and the City of St. Petersburg have had chicken ordinances for years and years, without causing any additional noise or pollution.
      My family and I would ask that the requirements and restrictions for the chicken coops be left deliberately vague, providing that no existing building codes are violated. We would like to creatively confine our hens to promote the best health and sanitation practices. Confinement is absolutely necessary to protect hens from predators, but it does not mean hens should be disallowed from exercise and sunlight. Creativity in coop building is key.
     I feel that if a community wants to restrict chickens then they should come together to form a homeowners association.
      We are also wondering why only four hens are allowed? In addition to my husband and daughter I have two sets of elderly parents and many elderly neighbors here in Spring Hill who will not be able to care for chickens, but I can. Perhaps a special permit could be possible to allow more hens.
     Fresh, locally produced eggs are a gateway to good nutrition for our most vulnerable populations - small children and the elderly.

   I was also wondering if the commissioners would be opposed to a gardening group planting young trees to beautify our public schools? Some of our schools are decidedly devoid of shade and beauty.

Board of County Commissioners Regular Meeting 2/26/13 09:00 am Scroll to 33:00.

Follow-up email:

To the Hernando County Florida Board of County Commissioners,

I was shocked to hear the disapproving comments of the construction and realty interests regarding the decision to allow chickens in residential areas of Herrnando. They could bring no proof whatsoever that chickens will, in fact, be detrimental to property values in Hernando County.

I, on the other hand, can absolutely prove that chickens will be a boon to Hernando County. Rural King will be moving into a vacant eyesore of a building, and renovating it, and providing jobs to 60-80 employees. That's about 70 people who will be able to provide for their families, something West Hernando desperately needs. The business will be generating sales taxes to fund our critical infrastructure. It will also be drawing business from West Pasco and West Citrus, as these areas are underserved by feed and supply stores.

The Hernando County farmer's market is a wild success, and it is a place where locals can come together to sell home-grown products. There are many booths there selling home-baked or crafted goods, again, good for our economy and providing income for the unemployed.

Perhaps the construction industry could view the new ordinance as a revenue source. There will, no doubt, be many households that will want hens for nutrition reasons but will be unable to build an appropriate structure.

Some of the realtor's concerns focused on deed-restricted communities. I do not live in a deed-restricted community, but if I did, I would insist on having a Home Owner's Association to protect my property from any neighbor who might want to build an ugly structure. But, I say again, there is no evidence that a few well-tended chickens lower property values.

Again, the city of St. Petersburg, Tampa, Ocala, Orlando, Melbourne, Jacksonville, Fernandina Beach, Escambia County and many other areas allow backyard chickens. These areas do not have issues with vermin, odor, or noise. All require the chickens to be confined at all times.

The cost-to-feed ratio: Assuming the hens are mature and laying, and assuming one egg per 6 ounces of feed, you can get approximately 133 organic eggs from one 50-pound bag or chicken feed, which is approximately $15 from Rural King. 133 organic eggs will cost you at least $35, if not more. And the eggs will not be fresh; time does degrade the quality of the nutrition.

Texas A & M fact sheet about Backyard Chickens shows that backyard eggs have more  poly-unsaturated fat (healhy fats like Omega-3s) and anti-oxidants than regular eggs.

Cambridge Study about Organic Egg Nutrition Content.

It was mentioned in the meeting that there are places in the county to buy farm-fresh eggs, and that is true. However, the locations mentioned by the woman do not exist. There are no farmer's markets on County Line Road that sell eggs. There are no farmer's markets, farm stands, or CSA locations at or near grocery stores serviced by THE BUS. There are no grocery stores in the county that sell farm-fresh, local, organic eggs. Auro community gardens is not near any residential areas with a high population. Most of the population of Hernando County lives in greater Spring Hill and Brooksville, outside of gated communities.

Thank you for your consideration and open-mindedness in this matter. We plan on coming to the next meeting to hear what you decide.