Edible Trees and Plants
Highland Hill Farm just doesn't sell and install "landscaping beauty."
We're
providing you with food and raw materials!
Of course you already know that you can use the wood from your trees
instead
of going to a lumber yard or home supplies center. You've learned about
the
historical use of the Viburnum's straight branches for making arrow
shafts.
Then, the hardwood trees you have planted can provide fruits or nuts.
But did you know you can rub the powder found on the bark of a Quaking
Aspen tree on your skin and it works as
mosquito
repellent. You see, mosquito repellent actually works not because the
mosquitoes are driven away by the offensive smell, but because there
are
chemical compounds whose odor blocks the mosquito's sensory receptors
effectively hiding us. So, you can be invisible to mosquitoes by
buying
mosquito repellent with "DEET," an organic hydrocarbon molecule, or use
the
powder from the bark of your Quaking Aspen tree, an organic molecule
from a
whole 'nuther source.
Edible Wild plants. Yes you can safely eat the
following:
The leaves of the Quaking Aspen also make a tasty tea which will cure
minor
headaches. The Quaking aspen leaves contain salicylic acid, the active
ingredient of (acetylsalicylic) aspirin.
Silver Birch trees' bark makes a tea which has long been considered as
medicinal as chicken soup.
Arborvitae
, the "lifegiving tree," obviously has
made a
superbly beneficial tea for centuries. The leaves and bark both are
boiled
in water to yield Vitamin C along with the tannins, etc. and prevent or
cure
scurvy. Maybe you don't like orange juice, or more likely, have been
given a
dietary restriction for citrus fruit. Just have some tea from a Thuja
Occidentalis, the Eastern Cedar, or Eastern White Cedar, also called
Northern
White Cedar, boy oh boy, the Arborvitae sure has alot of names!
Anyway,
you can check on the value of Arborvitae Tea; Just get a time machine,
go
back to 1536 near Quebec, and ask the explorer Jacques Cartier and his
men.
Burdock is edible. (But it tastes very bitter)
From the popular dogwood tree, you can eat the berries. NOT the plant,
bark,
or leaves, but the Dogwood's fruit, the berries, are edible (sad note,
you
will likely find the berries taste almost as bitter as burdock plant).
The inside bark of a cottonwood tree tastes pretty fair.
The white inside part of a cattail tastes very good. It's like a mild
cucumber.
Watercress is sold as a delicacy in restaurants. It has a strong
flavor,
tasting rather spicy like radishes)
Poplar bark is tolerable.
Anise is truly delicious if you like black licorice.
Dandelion leaves make a great salad, the roots can be roasted and then
ground
to make a kind of coffee or tea drink with boiled water, or you can
even make
dandelion wine.
Any kind of mint can be grown alongside your shrubs and flowers. Be
sure you
harvest it often or some species of mint will become "an invasive" and
take
over your whole yard.
Wild rose hips can be rather expensive to buy, but are high in Vitamin
C, an
ingredient in many teas. Just don't eat the flowers or plant stems.
Thistle is more like a weed, a real weed, but if you'll scrape the
thorns off
(duh!) you can eat the leaf or the inside of the blossom as salad
greens.
Berries. whether strawberries, raspberries, chokecherries (can seem
like too
much pit to be worth it), currants (Tart tasting), serviceberries,
gooseberries (green, "stripy" and very TART!), purple elderberries (red
ones
are poisonous), cranberries, and best of all, blueberries are just
about the
best example of what we can eat that grows wild. Don't eat sumac
berries,
they are poisonous!
Prickly Pear Cactus is indeed a succulent. Scrape off the skin, boil
the
inside, and you'll see why it is botanically classified as "succulent."
Clover can be eaten as a salad green. You can even eat the four-leafed
ones
for extra folic acid to go with your good luck.
Did you know it has been claimed an apple can be more helpful for
waking up
in the morning than a cup of coffee, or the more caffeine-rich
orange-colored
teas? A morning or two, try an apple fresh-picked from your own apple
tree
and see if you feel the lift.
Berry Plants
We stock at least 10 or more varieties of fruit bearing plants at any one time. There are many more varieties available which we sometimes have in stock. If we don't stock the variety you want we will find it for you if possible. The varieties that we usually have on hand are listed below.
Raspberry Plant Seedlings
Gooseberry
Blueberry Liners
Arrowwood Viburnum
Black Chokeberry
Blackhaw Viburnum
Elderberry
We have a wide selection of berry producing plants. We can also get others we don't grow and custom grow and supply them for you.
Growing plants that have berries offers many rewarding benefits besides fresh fruit. You will delight in seeing your children run around the plants and picking the fruit. The berries will be as fresh as one can obtain. Many of the plants will reward you by attracting numerous species of birds. These plants offer a rewarding experience for all ages.
Berry plants produce the best amounts of fruit in full sun conditions. Fruit production is energy intensive. Select a site in your yard where you have all day sunlight. This also helps keep the fruit dry and helps avoid diseases. The faster a plant can dry after a rain will reduce the amount of fungicides needed. If you have less than a full days sunshine, don't plant the berry plants if you don't have morning sun. Plants may have dew in the early morning and morning sunlight helps to quickly dry the plants.
Locate your plants where they have adequate plant spacing. Crowding prevents drying and air circulation. Snow cover in the winter can protect plants from freezing and thawing of the soil.
If you have any comments, please Email Us
If you have any comments, please Email Us
Articles on Trees Plants and Shrubs
About our Arborvitae Shrubs
Free Fencing!
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Highland Hill Farm
Highland Hill Farm