The Wild Wisdom of Weeds

The Wild Wisdom of Weeds

Author: Katrina Blair

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2014-10-07

Total Pages: 386

ISBN-13: 1603585176

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The Wild Wisdom of Weeds is the only book on foraging and edible weeds to focus on the thirteen weeds found all over the world, each of which represents a complete food source and extensive medical pharmacy and first-aid kit. More than just a field guide to wild edibles, it is a global plan for human survival. When Katrina Blair was eleven she had a life-changing experience where wild plants spoke to her, beckoning her to become a champion of their cause. Since then she has spent months on end taking walkabouts in the wild, eating nothing but what she forages, and has become a wild-foods advocate, community activist, gardener, and chef, teaching and presenting internationally about foraging and the healthful lifestyle it promotes. Katrina Blair’s philosophy in The Wild Wisdom of Weeds is sobering, realistic, and ultimately optimistic. If we can open our eyes to see the wisdom found in these weeds right under our noses, instead of trying to eradicate an “invasive,” we will achieve true food security. The Wild Wisdom of Weeds is about healing ourselves both in body and in spirit, in an age where technology, commodity agriculture, and processed foods dictate the terms of our intelligence. But if we can become familiar with these thirteen edible survival weeds found all over the world, we will never go hungry, and we will become closer to our own wild human instincts—all the while enjoying the freshest, wildest, and most nutritious food there is. For free! The thirteen plants found growing in every region across the world are: dandelion, mallow, purslane, plantain, thistle, amaranth, dock, mustard, grass, chickweed, clover, lambsquarter, and knotweed. These special plants contribute to the regeneration of the earth while supporting the survival of our human species; they grow everywhere where human civilization exists, from the hottest deserts to the Arctic Circle, following the path of human disturbance. Indeed, the more humans disturb the earth and put our food supply at risk, the more these thirteen plants proliferate. It’s a survival plan for the ages. Including over one hundred unique recipes, Katrina Blair’s book teaches us how to prepare these wild plants from root to seed in soups, salads, slaws, crackers, pestos, seed breads, and seed butters; cereals, green powders, sauerkrauts, smoothies, and milks; first-aid concoctions such as tinctures, teas, salves, and soothers; self-care/beauty products including shampoo, mouthwash, toothpaste (and brush), face masks; and a lot more. Whether readers are based at home or traveling, this book aims to empower individuals to maintain a state of optimal health with minimal cost and effort.


Wild Edibles

Wild Edibles

Author: Sergei Boutenko

Publisher: North Atlantic Books

Published: 2013-07-16

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1583946276

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Sergei Boutenko’s groundbreaking field guide to the art and science of foraging and preparing wild edible plants—includes 300+ photos of 60 plants **An Amazon Editors' Pick -- Best Cookbooks, Food & Wine** In Wild Edibles, Sergei Boutenko’s bestselling work on the art and science of live-food wildcrafting, readers will learn how to safely identify 60 delicious trailside weeds, herbs, fruits, and greens growing all around us. It also outlines basic rules for safe wild-food foraging and discusses poisonous plants, plant identification protocols, gathering etiquette, and conservation strategies. But the journey doesn’t end there. Rooted in Boutenko’s robust foraging experience, botanary science, and fresh dietary perspectives, this practical companion gives hikers, backpackers, raw foodists, gardeners, chefs, foodies, DIYers, survivalists, and off-the-grid enthusiasts the necessary tools to transform their simple harvests into safe, delicious, and nutrient-rich recipes. Special features include: 60 edible plant descriptions, most of them found worldwide 300+ color photos that make plant identification easy and safe 67 tasty, high-nutrient plant-based recipes, including green smoothies, salads and salad dressings, spreads and crackers, main courses, juices, and sweets For the wildly adventurous and playfully rebellious, Wild Edibles will expand your food options, providing readers with the inspiration and essential know-how to live more healthy (yet thrifty), more satisfying (yet sustainable) lives.


A Feast of Weeds

A Feast of Weeds

Author: Luigi Ballerini

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2012-10-29

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 0520270347

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"A dazzling display of humanistic erudition, wit, and practical culinary advice. Ballerini's living herbarium reinitiates modern readers living in the concrete manswarm into the joys of foraging, gathering, and savoring herbs, flowers, and berries. Its wide-ranging historical context, a veritable documentary of poets and chroniclers of past and present, is a learned celebration of nature's bounty. Practical and flavorful recipes for each plant transport the 'weeds' from the field to the palate and enhance a narrative enriched by splendid complementary footnotes."—Albert Sonnenfeld, Series Director, Arts of the Table "Weeds indeed. A guide as witty as he is erudite, Luigi Ballerini has given us a remarkable compendium of the wild greens, along with their flowers and fruits, that people have foraged and eaten for millennia. Once the food of the poor, such ingredients are now in high demand. Gathering greens both familiar—such as mint or borage—and obscure—milk thistle and wallrocket—Ballerini draws upon a diverse cast of authors to attest or dispute their real or alleged medicinal powers. Just as important, he never neglects to suggest how they taste or to present fine recipes so that we can savor them for ourselves."—Carol Field, author of The Italian Baker "The scholar and poet Luigi Ballerini has given us a mouthwatering treasure of inventive Italian recipes for foraged wild plants adapted for the American locavore kitchen (including ten for borage alone, as well as nettle and purslane frittatas, and prickly pear risotto). This elegantly illustrated volume is peppered with humor and tastefully seasoned with a wealth of cultural, historical, and scientific sources and information. A Feast of Weeds is food for both the palate and the mind."—Jean-Claude Carron, University of California, Los Angeles


Weeds and Wild Flowers

Weeds and Wild Flowers

Author: Alice Oswald

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Published: 2011-04-21

Total Pages: 84

ISBN-13: 057126395X

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Weeds and Wild Flowers is a magical meeting of the poems of Alice Oswald and the etchings of Jessica Greenman. Within its pages everyday flora take on an extraordinary life, jostling tragically at times, at times comically, for a foothold in a busying world. Stunningly visualised and skilfully animated, this imaginative collaboration beckons us toward a landscape of botanical characters, and invites us to see ourselves among them.


The Humane Gardener

The Humane Gardener

Author: Nancy Lawson

Publisher: Chronicle Books

Published: 2017-04-18

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 1616896175

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In this eloquent plea for compassion and respect for all species, journalist and gardener Nancy Lawson describes why and how to welcome wildlife to our backyards. Through engaging anecdotes and inspired advice, profiles of home gardeners throughout the country, and interviews with scientists and horticulturalists, Lawson applies the broader lessons of ecology to our own outdoor spaces. Detailed chapters address planting for wildlife by choosing native species; providing habitats that shelter baby animals, as well as birds, bees, and butterflies; creating safe zones in the garden; cohabiting with creatures often regarded as pests; letting nature be your garden designer; and encouraging natural processes and evolution in the garden. The Humane Gardener fills a unique niche in describing simple principles for both attracting wildlife and peacefully resolving conflicts with all the creatures that share our world.


All About Weeds

All About Weeds

Author: Edwin R. Spencer

Publisher: Courier Corporation

Published: 2013-07-24

Total Pages: 370

ISBN-13: 0486144429

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This book might be called a Who's Who among Weeds as it covers 102 of the most common weeds found throughout the United States. Weeds of lawn and yard, weeds that are sometimes used for food, weeds that are the bane of hayfever sufferers, weeds that can ruin cow's milk, poisonous weeds, and even the real desperadoes that can totally overtake a field in one season are all covered. The author, Edwin R. Spencer, was a farmer and biology professor; his text is both a practical and an authoritative guide to weeds, able to speak to nature lovers, farmers, and scientists alike. Pigweed … Dogbane … Carpet Weed … Crab Grass … Wild Garlic … Spiderwort … Chicory … Ragweed … Poison Ivy … Yellow Dock … each weed is listed under its most common name, but since one man's Moneywort is another man's Creeping Jenny, its scientific and alternative common names are also given. Then follows a delightful description of each weed, full of information and good humor as well. Details for controlling the weed are given in this section. To aid in identification each weed is multiply keyed at the front of the text as to its place and season of growth, the type of soil it prefers, and physical characteristics. Even if you know nothing about botany, you will most likely be able to identify your find through these keys or just by flipping through the 102 first-rate illustrations. To the gardener and farmer weeds are something to be hoed out and plowed under, but weeds are also a fascinating group of plants, as this thoroughly readable book will point out. They are the plants you are most likely to come upon in nature jaunts and the ones you are going to have to come to terms with if you do any gardening of your own. "A most fascinating book." — Garden Club of America.


Weeds of North America

Weeds of North America

Author: Richard Dickinson

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2014-09-08

Total Pages: 830

ISBN-13: 022607658X

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American Horticultural Society Book Award Winner: “An essential reference for all who wish to understand the science of the all-powerful weed.” —Better Homes and Gardens “What is a weed,” opined Emerson, “but a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered?” While that may be a worthy notion in theory, these plants of undiscovered virtue cause endless hours of toil for backyard gardeners. Wherever they take root, weeds compete for resources, and most often win. They also wreak havoc on industry—from agriculture to golf courses to civic landscape projects, vast amounts of money are spent to eradicate these virile and versatile invaders. With so much at stake, reliable information on weeds and their characteristics is crucial. Richard Dickinson and France Royer shed light on this complex world with Weeds of North America. Organized by plant family, this encyclopedic volume features over five hundred species in two-page spreads with images and text identification keys. Species are arranged within family alphabetically by scientific name, and entries include vital information on seed viability and germination requirements. No matter what your philosophy on weeds, this guide provides much-needed background on these intrusive organisms. In the battle with weeds, knowledge truly is power, and Weeds of North America is perfect for gardeners, botanists, nature lovers, or anyone working in the business of weed ecology and control. “Royer’s photographs are almost perversely alluring. . . . How can you not be ensnared by a book populated by prostrate pigweed, tansy ragwort and dog-strangling vine?” —New York Times Book Review


Weeds

Weeds

Author: Zachary J. S. Falck

Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Pre

Published: 2011-03-15

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0822977729

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As long as humans have existed, they've worked and competed with plants to shape their surroundings. As cities developed and expanded, their diverse spaces were covered with and colored by weeds. In Weeds, Zachary J. S. Falck presents a comprehensive history of "happenstance plants" in American urban environments. Beginning in the late nineteenth century and continuing to the present, he examines the proliferation, perception, and treatment of weeds in metropolitan centers from Boston to Los Angeles. In dynamic city ecosystems, population movements and economic cycles establish and transform habitats where vegetation continuously changes. Americans came to associate weeds with infectious diseases and allergies, illegal dumping, vagrants, drug dealers, and decreased property values. Local governments and citizens' groups attempted to eliminate unwanted plants to better their urban environments and improve the health and safety of inhabitants. Over time, a growing understanding of the natural environment made "happenstance plants" more tolerable and even desirable. In the twenty-first century, scientists have warned that the effects of global warming and the heat-trapping properties of cities are producing more robust strains of weeds. Falck shows that nature continues to flourish where humans have struggled: in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, in the abandoned homes of the California housing bust, and alongside crumbling infrastructure. Weeds are here to stay.


Brilliant and Wild

Brilliant and Wild

Author: L. Bellamy

Publisher: Pimpernel Press

Published: 2018-03

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781910258637

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"From back-of-an-envelope list to flower-filled paradise - Brilliant and Wild: A Garden from Scratch in a Year gives even the most inexperienced gardener the chance to create a beautiful and wildlife-friendly outdoor space - from nothing - in just twelve months. This highly practical book shows how satisfying and surprisingly simple growing a garden from scratch can be, by: Providing clear step-by-step instructions for making a low-maintenance garden that will flourish within months and be fully established within a year. Focusing on perennial plants that are easy to grow, loved by wildlife and look more beautiful every year. Illustrating the text with photographs showing the author making her new perennial garden in just one year"--Publisher's description