EatTheWeeds: Episode 01: Why Learn About Wild Foods

[@EatTheWeeds]

The survival skill that is the quickest to learn with the biggest pay off is fishing. Hunting requires more skill and a weapon and ammunition, where as one can make their own hooks, line, pole and nets. Foraging for wild plants takes the longest to learn of those three and produces the least food for the work, but it is an essential to survive should every thing fall apart. Also, since it is the hardest to learn you'll have less competition... everyone will be exhausting the fish.

[@hilarywhatley1335]

That's the real issue. Fish and game will go fast if society were to collapse. Foraging? That is a rare skill these days. Combine it with the others, and also gardening, and you can survive.

[@seanbuckmaster]

Keep on spreading the word. Understanding who we are and how we eat is so important. We need fewer Walmarts and more people eating the lawns! I bet we'd apply a lot less poison and buy a lot less food.

[@MrYoyoyoh]

AND ALLLLLL YOUR hard work no one sees behind closed doors and the life you've lived. Thank you for your ancestors!

[@EatTheWeeds]

On my mother's side she foraged, her mother did and my great grandmother did...on my father's side they always foraged and still do. The quickest way to learn now is with someone because they can tell you the essential to look for, what to avoid, build confidence in your skills, and save you time. That why I recommend the Native Plant Society. Good folks, inexpensive.

[@abderrazak6122]

Thank you for numbering the episodes. Great information.

[@manofreedom]

I'm an MD and I have wanted for a long time to research what plants the native americans used for medicines. I have a large idian artifact collection that I have been putting together since I was a child and these were very smart people that where in touch with their environment. I have a great amount of respect for the ancient american cultures and I am going to follow you very closely to increase my knowledge base and pass it on to my sons.

[@EatTheWeeds]

First the back yard, then the world....as for the videos, thanks... when I first started I had no idea what the video software could do...

[@EatTheWeeds]

This is true... It was my first video ever and I had no idea what the camera could do (actually it doesn't do close up well.) Somewhere around video 20 things get better. Also, all of the plants I mention I did videos on later on so one can see them better.

[@mdemory]

I just sold my car and ride my bike everywhere - this is gonna bring me one step closer to being green. Thankz bro

[@EatTheWeeds]

This first episode had to be severely edited to fit the time slot. They will be smoother in the future. Again, always check with a local expert before eating any wild plant. Green Deane

[@EatTheWeeds]

I have an article on finding caloric staples. Those in California should visit the site of Feral Kevin.

[@TheGreatDrAsian]

I hope you're doing well Deane. I hope you know how much you've influenced me and so many other people to see the whole in a whole new way. There is beauty, and utility, in every corner of every yard. Many blessings, brother.

[@greendeane1]

Thank you for your kind words. I'll be doing more videos soon. I am finishing up a book to be published in 2022.

[@abyssquick]

Can't help myself, I'm a fringe gardener. Jackfruits are among my favorite fruits. I now have 6 small trees. My tree survived, albeit a bit damaged. It is rapidly regrowing. I'm in Englewood, so we only dropped to 28 degrees for a few hours. They do survive these freezes if they can be coaxed into establishing. A man in town has a 20' tree planted back in 2003. They are slightly frost-hardy trees. They need a handful of seasons to establish before they can take periodic arctic cold fronts.

[@toddweller]

Dean, I've watched quite a few of your eat the weeds series. It's awesome! I'm looking forward to watching them all as time permits.

[@Psychogenius018]

Ditto. I've gotta get a bow and learn to use it. I have the highest admiration for your knowledge of foraging. It's freer and more beautiful than agriculture...nature does all the cultivating...it's like a return to Eden. This brings to mind the story of Diogenes of Sinope when he said, "When I saw the child drinking water from his hands I broke my cup."

[@PartisonConfederate]

I am going to start at square 1 and watch them all again to get a better grasp and absorb and take it all in. As you have seen from my posts, I am from East Texas and most if not all of the weeds you go over, might be in my back yard. Thanks for your great videos and keep up the great work.

[@AClearDeepBlue]

You and my mother would get along so well. She's always out in her backyard, with her field guide, picking and eating the wild veggies. We live in Jacksonville, FL so we probably have many of the same plants that you talk about. Very informative videos. Thanks!

[@guitardaddy6]

You have my deepest gratitude.

[@ramblingjerry]

You haven't done any videos in a while. I hope you will continue, They are very informative and enjoyable to many many people.

[@EatTheWeeds]

those early videos are from several years ago and cameras were fuzzy then. The newer videos are high def.

[@chasepipes5548]

Just Discovered this channel!!!! SO EXCITED to watch !! Thank you for Sharing your Knowledge!!

[@punkseth1]

Thanks for giving us your knowledge! I'll start watching them all

[@1Ladybuilder]

Great information... and I very much agree on the point of the soil being healthy. I grew up on the Indian River (Central Brevard) and read Rachel Carson's Silent Spring (given to me by my mother) after dead dolphins kept washing up on our river bank. Dad was an Alabama farm boy.. who taught us at a young age the importance of 'good dirt'.

[@FacetsOfTruth]

Cool deal! I had never seen your first episode before. It's great to see when you first got started. Really glad you did, brother.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@ramblingjerry I've been busy getting the new website up and running, and teaching. But I do plan to do more videos.

[@FightUni09]

Takanis! I just found your great videos after posting my dalliances into wild eatery. I am enjoying your website and learning a lot. Thank You

[@RonRay]

Deane, I have now watched all of your videos. As of this date, 120 of them! Thanks to you, I know much more about edible plants (and other things), than I did just a few days ago. (yes, I do need to get a life but no, I have nothing better to do.) I truly believe this was the most enjoyable education (in part) I have ever received! You are an interesting person with very contagious knowledge! I will definitely be watching for your next installment.. and the next... etc. Thank you Mr. Jordan.

[@DecimusAquila]

Thank you for this, I love self sufficiency and this is a great video. I already eat wild strawberries and onions but I didn't know about this other stuff thanks!

[@sessary]

Great series!

[@EatTheWeeds]

Thanks.... the videos get better over time. I just finished #70 today

[@Founderant]

I have leaned a lot from your videos and have linked to them on the" Americans Networking To Survive" website. Great Information!

[@iconcanvas2303]

Dean' Over the years I've learnt so much from you. Thank you sir.

[@greendeane1]

Thank you for your kind words.

[@unicron24]

thanks for the speedy reply,,,hope you travel soon,,,,thanks once again,

[@fossnaomi]

loving your videos... many thanks. am taking a gardening/agrarian skills class... we ate weeds last saturday and they were delicious... caused me to look for more info and wala!!! found you :)

[@certifiedhealthnut]

it essential we learn from this brother, in a pinch we would have to eat the wild weeds...especially the DANDELION & RED CLOVER

[@stevenmichael5606]

Great video! There's alot that can be learned from a guy like Dean.

[@jgfergus]

Thanks for posting this great video. I get Lamb's Quarters, Dandelion and Purslane from my garden up here in Canada. But I need to identify others.

[@AlisaCobriana]

I saw a link to this youtube channel on SurvivalBlog (I like the idea of preparedness and being self sustainable etc) I think it's really neat and very nice of you to put together a project like this! I'll make sure I go through and watch all of the videos, even if I live in a different sort of ecosystem. I'm sure there'll be some overlap! ^-^

[@frithar]

What a WONDERFUL idea for a series! I can't wait to tell friends about this.

[@iconcanvas2303]

He's been here for years. Great vids!

[@17Revolution76]

Much appreciated. I'm eager to see if these plants can effectively treat the symptoms of asthma or if they can open the airways at all as I've read. The pharmaceutical companies make enough money.. Keep up the great work, I'll be recommending these brilliant videos to anyone else with respect for nature.

[@Ludifant]

What a nice insight, we are surrounded by foods, we completely spoil because of the relentless pursuit of progress and an "easy" life.

[@EatTheWeeds]

I hear you loud and clear. I can go 50 miles in any direction and still be bothered by the same noise. It is pollution. One of the things I like about western Crete is at night there is no unnatural sound or light.

[@Thunder6957]

Thank you so very much,you have answered alot of the questions I have had! Very wonderful! :D

[@EatTheWeeds]

Go to my website and type "resources" in the search window. You will come up with a list of foraging teachers in the US and the world. Look for some near your area. Write to them to find out if there is someone local.

[@CuriousGeorgeVHS]

Cool video! I love your channel green dean!

[@STANTHEMAN26682]

Thanks for the video and all the info it was very much appreciated.Please keep up the good work.Warmest regards Stan the Man

[@EatTheWeeds]

@EatTheWeeds It depends on which one you are referring to. For example, the sonchus is an excellent green cooked. It is bitter raw and can upset the tummy.

[@SuzyKabloozy]

Hey Green Deane, awesome video. I've got your website open in one window, and your KZbin videos in another. You've further intensified my perpetual dilemma -- throw the bleepin' computer down and go outside, or keep readin' merrily along while another beautiful day goes by. Regardless of which choice I ultimately make, your knowledge is a boon to me, so thanks. One ruefully ironic note about your video -- the ambient noise(cars, a train, an airplane)sums up our modern predicament perfectly.

[@EatTheWeeds]

The earlly videos are not HD because I did not have a HD camera. More so, the videos are designed to inform one about a plant not to provide photographic quality identification.

[@guidedmisselsn1not]

we love you GREEN Deane!!!

[@EatTheWeeds]

@Themwj Wild carrots are usually quite tough. Cooking helps a little, but not much. When I was a kid we'd just brush off the dirt and chew on them for a few hours.

[@Jefferdaughter]

Wild lettuce tends to be bitter, as does older garden lettuce plants, but lightly sautéed in bacon fat, or olive oil - low temp and just for a moment! - and sprinkled with balsamic vinegar, etc and they are delicious.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Thanks for writing. There are a couple of things you can do regarding native medicinal uses. James A. Duke co-authored a book on the medicinal uses of wild plants (He's a PhD in botany.) It's called: Medicinal Plants. The other thing you can do is see if a book has been written on the ethnobotany of your area. That would focus on medicinal uses by the natives of your area.

[@thrivesurvive]

yay! I made it to your web site. 5th try was the charm. :)

[@2Halifaxion2]

Apparently organizing rock structures against trees, depending on the type of rock (color, density etc.) is a great way of conserving heat for plants. Any rocky area on land is a great place to put a heat loving plant such as a palm.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Thanks for you post. The sap is bitter, but is edible. It makes a good glue. I think it would clump in tea.

[@MrYoyoyoh]

Thank you for your videos

[@gwynedd1]

@BogMonkey53 It depends on how well you know your yard. Some people have no experience with plants. I knew what many weeds were but did not know I could eat them. In other cases I replaced green things that took up space with native shrub edibles I ordered from a nursery which can fast track the process and bring the wild food to me.

[@adolthitler]

Try covering the plant in the evening as the sun is going down with a cloth or tarp. That should help with first season or two and with luck they will be the cold winters.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Thanks.... the videos get better....

[@naturedegree5671]

Fantastic

[@kmexplore]

Im excited to see the rest of your videos and see your web page. Do you have any info on wild plants in Washington State? Thanks

[@EatTheWeeds]

Oxalis corymbosa... there is also locally O. articulata and O. intermedia. They are all the same, just varying in leaf shape.

[@EatTheWeeds]

They all grow there. And the videos do get better as you go along.... somewhere around video 20 I get the format right.

[@EatTheWeeds]

It depends on where you live. Sassafras ranges from Maine to Florida though I have never seen it in Maine and locally I know of only one little patch of it. In between it is more common. Like persimmons it prefers to grow along the edges of things like roads and rivers and paths. Bike trails is a good place to find it.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@leahcimrac Color is not the only identifying charcteristic of plants. There are leaf shape, leaf arrangement, stalk shape, blossom arrangement, taste, environment, time of year. I think it could be done.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@Themwj The flower helps you identify it for certain.

[@questone100]

love your vids. can u plant store bagged potatoes, and get potatoes?

[@DeepSouthExperience]

Excellent. I am just starting out on this endeavor. I am in the FL Panhandle. PCB to be precise ATB - Stan

[@parrotbill]

+Deep South Experience; Me too and this guy is the go-to-guy on wild non-GMO food. Most taste better than store bought, but some don't. So make your list and go out and find the ones that tasted good to you.

[@katherineking3174]

So excited to find the site BUT need close up on what these weeds look like!? Thank you!!!

[@VirtualRealityTV]

you are truly inspiring... can u point me to the Western Australian variety of Cape Weed video since thats out of control here and a valuable resource for our starving community... lol thanks.

[@Khono]

As I was watching your vid I wanted to ask you which lawns were safe to eat from. How long after the last herb/pesticides were used is it safe? During the last two minutes of your video I found myself nodding as I'd had the same thoughts (though you brought a lot more experience to the ideas than I can yet). I thnk that you made a wonderful, clear, informative video here and I hope you keep up the great work :)

[@EatTheWeeds]

@ninjadude126 Thanks for the suggestion, but the ferns around me do not have edible fiddleheads.

[@mfreda]

thank you..that was quick. BTW my wife makes excellent purslane pies, I'll be happy to get the recepe for you.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Several fern roots were used as medicine, among them polypodium virginianum, polystichum acrostichoides, and pteridium aquilinum.

[@unicron24]

do you have any videos on Chamomile? great job on the videos

[@EatTheWeeds]

Thanks, that would be nice.

[@ckinghydrogen]

Cool Thank You Clay

[@Themwj]

I am loving the videos, and would like you to answer a question for me if it is conveniant. I have identified wild carrots in my backyard, i am posative that it is a wild carrot, it has hair on it so it cant be poisonous hemlock. but i was wondering how i should prepare it.

[@Khono]

Err, I posted this a few hours ago but the comment didn't show up, so here it is again: WOW, 15,873 views! And 99 ratings!! Congratulations, Green Deane!

[@gahoachma]

great website.

[@jokertim777]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, you seem like a gentle and kind soul. Do you have a rule of thumb for how far from a road you should be before eating any plants to avoid the pollution you mentioned? 20 feet? 200 yards?

[@thrivesurvive]

thank you very much. :)

[@Jsimmons67]

@dourcynicbass Dept of the Army's "Guide to Edible Plants" about $9 at bookstores or Amazon.

[@EatTheWeeds]

They will soon be available on DVDs.

[@EatTheWeeds]

@dourcynicbass If you go to my website and click on instructors then scroll down you will find at least one in Texas.

[@EatTheWeeds]

Awe... that's nice, thanks....

[@EatTheWeeds]

@dourcynicbass It depends.... This is a good book but it is not a "guide" in that it has few descriptions or pictures: Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest: A Practical Guide By Delena Tull. If you can ID plants already then it is a good book. If you can't then you'll have to grow into it.

[@EatTheWeeds]

No, it doesn't grow well here, but it does where I grew up in Maine. It was the most common weed in the dirt driveway, had a smell of pineapple. If I visit New England I will make a video of said

[@EatTheWeeds]

@HappyBirthdaySANTA Green Deane... any water you soak amaranth or chinopodium seeds in would work well... or yucca root...

[@EatTheWeeds]

Oxalis corymbosa. Yes, I did a video later on on Oxalises.

[@jamiecomstock6876]

Thanks I like all this cool information.. I am all into eating what God gave me on this earth … Are kids will grow up learning and eating wild plants.. nutritional value is much greater than grocery store. Thanks I been hiking and walking the mountains all my life and have seen most wild plants but did not know what was good to eat and not. Thanks to you and other people like you some people have a chance of a good life.. These wild Plants have taste … grocery store plants do not..

[@JoeSkylynx]

Hey! Like the video :D Recently a good friend of mine was talking to me about native tribes throughout Arizona, and how they survived. One of my questions was, "What natural plants are edible in Arizona?" cause as far as I'm aware of 45-70% of natural plants in Arizona are posinious or have a decent amount of thorns. I was wondering if you have any idea what is ediable in Arizonan dish.

[@moraana582012]

Do you also have a book on the subject? I'm in Georgia and I am trying to learn as much as I can on the subject.

[@thighdude7]

I am also interested in the DVDs. Will you announce these on your KZbin channel?

[@EatTheWeeds]

IF you can identify plants here is one: Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest A Practical Guide By Delena Tull (over the internet) If not I would go with Edible Plants of North America by Elias and Dykeman 2008 edition (2008 edition is important.) Found in most bookstores.

[@deantape2759]

hey mate thanks for all these vids its gona be great watching them but just a question about the boiling of things like wild lettuce. you said you dont eat it raw because its very bitter but is it still safe to eat it raw if i had too?

[@EatTheWeeds]

Great! As far as eating raw foragibles... many can be eaten that way but I suspect they have gone out of favor because they tend to be bitter and that is a flavor least cultivated in our society. And of course, some plants are toxic raw, poke weed, for example.

[@livyrocks101]

I love eat the weeds because of is informative personality nature

[@Lettermark]

I like the message: being aware of wild foods gives you a clearer grasp of whats going on environmentally. i.e. particuarly pollution.