Greenfest 2014

     Greenfest 2014, a fundraising event held by the gardener's at Plant Park, at the campus of University of Tampa, will be Saturday March 29th and Sunday March 30th, from 9:00 AM to 4 PM. They will feature hundreds of plant vendors, guest speakers, and a children's activity area.

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." 

   

Innovative Intensive Farming for the Humid Tropics

     I really enjoy this diagram for a self-sufficient farm in the semi-tropics. This particular plan calls for a large crop of sugar cane, which is processed into juice to feed the ducks and pigs. Perennial nitrogen-fixing forage trees are chopped to feed sheep, and azolla is cultivated to feed fish, sheep, ducks, and pigs.
     All the wastes are managed and recycled into the system to fertilize and prevent erosion. When done on a large enough scale, the meat and vegetable production could be great enough to take to market.
     This particular system could easily be modified for Florida by not changing a thing. Sugar cane grows well in most parts of the state, as does azolla and duckweed. The system might slow down in our cool winter, but should restart without any troubles in our warm spring. The daily chores would involve collecting food for the animals and managing livestock and manures. Like on any farm or homestead, the family's vegetable garden would need periodic tending. Overall, it looks like a balanced system with minimal outside inputs.
     The full description can be found here.
   

Spring is Coming

     With the weather finally warming, I have high hopes that we will get no more cold weather this winter. It has been the wettest winter that I can remember, with rain coming almost every week. Most of the neighborhood's plants have not really achieved dormancy, including the grasses and weeds.

     In celebration of the upcoming warmth I have planted some more banana trees. These were soon-to-be homeless plants that were rescued from some property renovation my mother was performing at her place at Myakka River. With any luck, these small trees will root and thrive along my path to the rabbit cages. Even if the trees bear no fruit, the leaves are a welcome change from the rabbits' usual diet of grass clippings and alfalfa pellets.

     My plans for this spring's plantings are minimal. We are six months pregnant with our second child as I'm posting this, resting from planting those bare-root bananas with some hibiscus flower and strawberry leaf tisane. It was surprisingly tiring! For the most part, we will be focusing on family and readying the household for the baby. Perhaps I will get some more chances during naptime to slip out and divide some of my favorite perennials, the cannas, and propagate. This spring I most likely will not be doing much with seeds, even the cowpeas. Kind of a shame, but it's not as much of a priority right now as it was last year. Distributing the parrot and rabbit manures, plus a layer of mulch, will be more than enough outside work to keep us busy this spring.

     There are a few events we will probably be attending... please join us!

• Bay Area Renaissance Fair - It looks like the bloodmobile will be there, giving away free tickets for donations. Also discounts by city/date seem to be new this year. Tickets available at Walgreens and Circle K. Coupons available from Subway?
• Nature Coast Botanical Gardens Annual Spring Sale - Does not yet have the date posted on their site.
• USF Botanical Gardens Annual Spring Sale - April 12th and 13th.

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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Unsweetened Kool Aid

     There have to be dozens of off label uses for Kool-Aid and other food additives, one of the most well known being a temporary hair color. I suspect it could easily be used to color handmade lye soap, particularly the hot process variety. I would rather have Kool-Aid in my soap than crayons or other non-food-grade additives, since what goes on your skin readily gets absorbed in.

     I'm going to have to make a test bar on the next small batch I create. In the meantime, Lowes has discontinued carrying the Roebics 100 percent sodium hydroxide crystals, so I would have to purchase future supplies online. I will check the Tractor Supply here in Polk County, but since the area is known for its high domestic consumption of some of the other off label uses for sodium hydroxide, there's some low expectations.

     After dyeing the kids hair, and your hair, and the cat's fur, why not try hand-dyeing some white yarn with Kool-Aid for the kids and the cat to enjoy? Or tie-dyed clothing using Kool-Aid and alum? That plain white shirt from the blood donation place could surely use a face-lift.

Crock Pot Hot Process Salt Soap Bar Recipe

     According to this site, historically lye was made from washing rainwater through wood ashes (potash). This is clearly a survival project for another day. The resulting soap was liquid, which was fine for home use, but when bar soap became more popular, salt was added to solidify the bars, making them more marketable than bottles of soap. Salt soap, now made with sodium instead of potassium, is in bar form and the salt is used as a gentle exfoliant, giving it the name Salt Spa Soap. It is known to be good for acne and dry skin, so I figured it might be a good holiday gift for the men in the family.

     It would be really interesting to solar distill ocean water at home and use the salt for soap making. The water would be probably safer than some tap waters, too.

     I used 'hot process' method of preparing this soap. Most soapers use cold process with salt, because the salt makes the soap 'seize'. This is only my second time using crock pot hot process, but I love it because the lye visibly saponifies and the soap cures almost instantly. Just before the soap was at the "mashed potato" stage, I dumped all the salt in at once and stirred furiously. The salt tried settling to the bottom. Once I had it all mixed in, I glopped it into the mold. It cooled enough to turn out and cut in about half an hour. This method might not have worked well for a larger batch, and I have a huge crock pot, so be aware.

     Before you start, remember what Mother always said; "Never throw salt in your eyes."

Here's the recipe.

Detergent-Free, Natural, Unscented Handmade Vegan Salt Lye Soap.
80% Coconut
10% Olive
10% Soybean
Water as a percent of oil weight 35%
Superfat 15%
Salt 80% of oil weight


For 880g of oils
Lye - 137g
Water - 334g
Coconut Oil - 704g
Olive Oil - 88g
Soybean Oil - 88g
Salt - 660g

Hibiscus and Lemongrass Soap

     This unscented soap was my first attempt at using the technique of soaping known as 'crockpot hot process', which I have decided is so easy it is the method that I want to use for all future batches. Not only does it help me actually visualize the ephemeral 'trace' which other soapers discuss, but the batch is ready for use shortly after slicing, usually the same day.

     The hibiscus and lemongrass came from perennials in the garden, and I have cooked them into a tea-like fluid after observing the advice of the lady soapers over at Homesteading Today. In short, they advised that fresh herbs tend to brown and look unsightly if put directly into the soap. The tea, however, lacks the pungent lemongrass scent. Both hibiscus and lemongrass are known to have healing properties, and at the very least, the tea has more vitamins in it than regular, filtered water.

     Here is the recipe:

Detergent free, Natural, Unscented Lemongrass and Hibiscus Handmade Castile-Mix Vegan Lye Soap.
Water 38%, Superfat 5%, for 1100g of oils.

Water/Tea - 418g
Lye - 151g
Olive Oil - 715g
Coconut Oil - 220g
Soybean Oil - 165g

     One chunk had a large glob of undissolved oil, which I was not pleased to find. Other than that, they came out very well, and smell like the castile base with a faint herbal scent.

     Here they are decorated and labeled for the ladies in the family for gifts for the holidays.

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.