Joe Grand

How is the hunt for land going.

Louis Fish wrote:

Malus sylvestris [Rosaceae] (apple).
The seeds contain prussic acid (cyanide). A single cup of seeds is sufficient to be fatal.

This one always tickles the hell out of me when I see it listed as a poison.  While yes, it's true that they do contain prussic acid, the amount of seeds you'd have to eat is just hilariously huge.  Visualize a whole cup of apple seeds, then remember that there's only about 5 tiny seeds to a fruit.  You'd have to be intentionally poisoning yourself to eat enough to kill.

Now stone fruit pits on the other hand do contain amygdalin which breaks down into hydrogen cyanide. It's still stupidly difficult to eat enough to poison yourself with but there was a "health" trend for a while there selling stone fruit pits and their concentrated extracts as a vitamin supplement, even advertising amygdalin as a secret cancer curing miracle "vitamin" (which I suppose is technically true; If you die from cyanide poisoning, you don't have to worry about cancer) with absolutely no warnings about potential risks.  They aren't required to because as a supplement it's not regulated by the FDA. You know the crowd that thinks "natural" means "always healthy with no side effects" has a venn diagram overlapping with the "if some is good, more is better" people and yep, there have been several cases of accidental cyanide poisoning from these "supplements".

I agree.
The stone fuit pit is poisonous & someone crossed a Apicot(poison pit) with a Almond, which the pit is the nut you eat. So now you can eat the fruit(apicot) & the pit(almond) with out any harm.
We should know what is poison & how much it take to harm/kill an child or full grown adult or harm a fetus, human or animals.
Jack-in-the-pulpit/ Indian turnip is poison, but can be eaten after cooking/boiling. It is so small that you would need 25 to 50 plants to get enough roots to save your life, if you where lost in the woods.
But knowing you must cook it is important, but I never hike without a box of granla bars, they are light, ready to eat & the wraper can mark you trail for searcher.
But I digess.

Bryant RedHawk is correct when he says that heat & boiling will break down toxins, Fried Green tomatoes is one exmaple.
Poke greens is another, you boil poke leaves in water like mustard & spinach greens.
You should drain & reboil again, then drain them to remove the toxins in the water.
This may not work with every plant or toxins, but it does work with many different plants.
It is true that all plant will kill you, just like all guns are loaded & all power lines are will shock you.
You should never prepare plants that you DO NOT know for a fact they are safe.
There are tons of books,blog,vlogs & threads in this subject, no one need to wonder what to do.
Then there is Poison Control:  https://www.poison.org/contact-us
https://triage.webpoisoncontrol.org/#!/exclusions

There are so many Venomous Animals & Poisonus Plants, I will never remember them all.
That why when I taught Poisonous plant for BSA in South Carolina, I got Peterson Field Guides "Venomous Animals & Poisonous plants."
I have a list of edable flowers also, knowing what to eat raw & what must be cooked & how to prepare it, is as important as what not to eat.
The main reason for the class was to teach persons who would be in the woods, what would kill them & what was safe to eat.
But today we have to worry about our pets/animals also.
I like your list, Thanks.

Does anyone know the people at Midwestern Permaculture.
They have a giant RMH in a 48 X 30 greenhouse.
https://midwestpermaculture.com/2016/04/epic-greenhouse-rocket-mass-heater/

saving the glass top & the door glass & the insulation for future project.

I just replaced my glass top stove for $600.00 & you said the top replacement is $475?! WOW.

When  my son was 12 or 14 year (2006-2008) he was in BSA & we camped at least once a month.
I bought hand sanitizer so the boys, could wash the hands before meals.
My Dear wife, who believe there is a herb for every ailment, said "You know that stuff does not work & is a waste of money".
I replies " yes, but in the wood there is no bathrooms, so it is better than nothing."
So I do not use sanitizer, no one has tried to make me do it either.
My wife uses "Thieves" which is all natural oils, made cloves,lemon,cinnamon,eucalyptus, rosemary.

I have a tree in the edge of my blueberry row & I have to walk around it to get to all the blueberries growing next to it & have found no seedlings.
No young plants, wonder why my sandy loam pH 0.5 soil does not grow them, the two trees seem happy & full of blooms, maybe they are still young.
I would like a hedge on the two lane road adjacent my land.

Cris Bessette,
Do you have a problem with the seedlings take over, I have heard that it is invasive plant,  but I have had it for several years & it has not spread at all.
I was wondering if anyone else had a problem?
Can you share a recipe with us, thank you.