US Hi from Upstate SC

[EllenH]

Hi,

I'm now in SC having lived in southern New England most of my life mostly on the RI coast. In the 1990s realized a lot of things I'd first believed about health, illness and the medical establishment and the reality of our world were untrue. I eventually realized that beLIEving is one thing, KNOWING based on facts and experience is quite another. Around this time I also had a health scare that resulted in my first visit to a Naturopathic Doctor and converted to veganism for health reasons and ethical reasons and reversed those health issues.

Wanting a change I moved to Charleston, SC. Finding it difficult to adjust to the boiling hot and humid summers where you can't even cool off by going for a swim in the ocean because the water is so warm, and also not liking the idea of living in a hurricane vulnerable spot, I moved inland towards the mountains where the summers are more bearable. While in SC I've been gradually moving towards low fat raw as I've learned that the populations that live to 150+ sometimes but most of the time live well past 100 all eat a low fat, mostly all raw, high fruit and raw veg diet and under 1900 calories while they get a ton of exercise just going about daily chores. Some of them even drink and some smoke. Of course they have little stress. Basically they follow an 80/10/10 lifestyle. Having just finished Dr. Doug Graham's book, I'm working towards implementing this lifestyle too. I'm also growing fruit trees to hopefully provide healthy harvests of luscious fruit but I'm still learning about fruit tree care. But I am a gardener and grow a fair amount of veggies and have had success with some fruit ie melons in the past.

I hope to find others on a similar path - especially if you grow any of your own fruit and veg!

 

[bEt]

Hi, nice to meet you.
I don't do a lot of gardening, but I have some Anredera cordifolia growing which I can harvest once in a while.
I'm not so enthusiastic about "raw" though . . . I prefer a balance of raw and cooked, but really mostly cooked.

 

[Chryssie]

 

[EllenH]

Hi, nice to meet you.
I don't do a lot of gardening, but I have some Anredera cordifolia growing which I can harvest once in a while.
I'm not so enthusiastic about "raw" though . . . I prefer a balance of raw and cooked, but really mostly cooked.

Interesting! You must be in a 9 hardiness zone or higher. I'm only in 8a but we can grow a lot here. I have some spots in my yard that are probably at least a 9a or above What does Andredera Cordifolia taste like?

 

[EllenH]

I forgot to say I'm a cat person (too). My cat doesn't like gardening which is fine with me.

 

[bEt]

It's hard for me to say exactly what it tastes like. It has a texture similar to purslane and Basella alba (aka vinespinach, alugbati)--that is to say, slimy! I've added it to smoothies once or twice, but most often I boil it with other vegetables. It seems to get bitter when the weather is very warm. Also, I've gotten a problem recently with it getting some spots on the leaves which I suspect are from an airborne fungus of some sort that I think it 'caught' from some wild purslane, and I suspect that this also contributes to some bitterness. Today I cut it all back to the ground (can I say 'to the ground' if it's in a pot?), ate the leaves, and destroyed the stems; I have no way of knowing but I'm experimenting in the hope that the fungus lives on the leaves only and won't persist in the rhizomes or roots.

I suspect that other reasons it was susceptible to the fungus are that I was harvesting leaves only, and leaving stems, which I think was stressful for the plant, and I think I also overwatered it.

I've read that you can eat the rhizomes also, and that it's best to cook them to repair the astoundingly slimy texture. I've not tried this, since I don't have too many rhizomes and want to keep them to grow more leaves.

I think you can grow a lot more in an 8a zone. Where I am is probably higher than a 9. The really hot dry summers can be discouraging. I should be growing more while the weather is bearably cool, but I'm not.

What fruit trees have you started? How about your vegetables?

There's a ''home and garden" forum here that you would probably like, but I haven't figured out how to opt in to it.

 

[Emma JC]

welcome to the forum!

jealous of your growing zone.... some day I would like to have a large greenhouse and the sky will be the limit

Emma JC
Find your vegan soulmate or just a friend. www.spiritualmatchmaking.com

 

[Veganite]

Welcome from BC, Canada!

*

 

[EllenH]

It's hard for me to say exactly what it tastes like. It has a texture similar to purslane and Basella alba (aka vinespinach, alugbati)--that is to say, slimy! I've added it to smoothies once or twice, but most often I boil it with other vegetables. It seems to get bitter when the weather is very warm. Also, I've gotten a problem recently with it getting some spots on the leaves which I suspect are from an airborne fungus of some sort that I think it 'caught' from some wild purslane, and I suspect that this also contributes to some bitterness. Today I cut it all back to the ground (can I say 'to the ground' if it's in a pot?), ate the leaves, and destroyed the stems; I have no way of knowing but I'm experimenting in the hope that the fungus lives on the leaves only and won't persist in the rhizomes or roots.

I suspect that other reasons it was susceptible to the fungus are that I was harvesting leaves only, and leaving stems, which I think was stressful for the plant, and I think I also overwatered it.

I've read that you can eat the rhizomes also, and that it's best to cook them to repair the astoundingly slimy texture. I've not tried this, since I don't have too many rhizomes and want to keep them to grow more leaves.

I think you can grow a lot more in an 8a zone. Where I am is probably higher than a 9. The really hot dry summers can be discouraging. I should be growing more while the weather is bearably cool, but I'm not.

What fruit trees have you started? How about your vegetables?

There's a ''home and garden" forum here that you would probably like, but I haven't figured out how to opt in to it.

You sound like quite the forager/herbalist! I would love to be able to identify what is growing around here. Or even finding a book on what grows around here. They seem to have them for the northeast and the west coast and Florida and NC but not much if anything for this area. I have a feeling a lot more is edible than I realize .Clemson University is the agriculture extension for SC and they are very conservative about offering info about wild edibles in the area. After they identify something for me, I usually then need to research whether I can eat it or not. One thing I know about the muscilaginous (slimy) herbs is that they are very healing to the GI tract and everything that it comes in contact with as well as for external use for soothing and drawing out itchy acids from infected area.. Slippery Elm Bark is an old stand by I've been using for cats with digestive issues and for human friends with similar complaints. But in a pinch, I would try any edible mucilaginous herb and probably derive similar benefits.

 

[Lou]

You sound like quite the forager/herbalist! I would love to be able to identify what is growing around here. Or even finding a book on what grows around here.

Amazon.com

Field Guide To Edible and Medicinal Plants of Eastern North America · iNaturalist

Check your library - they probably have a shelf for local field guides.
the local colleges and universities may even sell in the bookstores some specific field guides.

A lot of field guides have become obsolete because of apps.

Plant Identification Apps
I like #5 and #7
I use iNatrualist on my hikes.

10 Best Plant Identification Apps for Gardeners, Hikers, and Plant Lovers - Brightly

 

[EllenH]

Amazon.com

Field Guide To Edible and Medicinal Plants of Eastern North America · iNaturalist

Check your library - they probably have a shelf for local field guides.
the local colleges and universities may even sell in the bookstores some specific field guides.

A lot of field guides have become obsolete because of apps.

Plant Identification Apps
I like #5 and #7
I use iNatrualist on my hikes.

10 Best Plant Identification Apps for Gardeners, Hikers, and Plant Lovers - Brightly

Thanks but I'm not in the Carolina "forest area" I'm in the foothills area.

 

[alleycat]

G'day and welcome

 

[KLS52]

Hello and welcome!

 

[EllenH]

Amazon.com

Field Guide To Edible and Medicinal Plants of Eastern North America · iNaturalist

Check your library - they probably have a shelf for local field guides.
the local colleges and universities may even sell in the bookstores some specific field guides.

A lot of field guides have become obsolete because of apps.

Plant Identification Apps
I like #5 and #7
I use iNatrualist on my hikes.

10 Best Plant Identification Apps for Gardeners, Hikers, and Plant Lovers - Brightly

I'm old school and don't carry a smart phone (don't like being tracked nor do I like the dirty electricity they create). My computer/ internet is all wired.

 

[Lou]

I'm old school and don't carry a smart phone (don't like being tracked nor do I like the dirty electricity they create). My computer/ internet is all wired.

Then let me reiterate and emphasize a trip to the local library and if you can get to a college or university bookstore.
They have sort of gone obsolete because of smart phones but I'm sure you can still get one.
A decent field guide will fit in your back pocket. A good one goes into your back pack.
My favorite one was self published by an instructor at a university. Just for this area.

Another good idea is to find a docent led hike in a nearby park.

 

[PTree15]

Welcome to VF, EllenH. Native Rhode Islander here now living in CT.

 

[bEt]

Clemson University is the agriculture extension for SC

That's great that they at least id things for you. The few plants I've learned about have taken me months of digging around the internet to id, since I don't have those apps nor a device to support them, plus some of them require a flower, and you can't always have that. Once you have a name, the researching is easier.