Bloodroot, Sanguinaria canadensis L., is a member of the Papaveraceae family. It is a native spring wildflower that grows in rich woodlands of North America from Nova Scotia to Florida and west to Alabama, Arkansas, Nebraska, and Manitoba. It can grow in full sun but is more often found in semi-shaded, light-wooded areas with moist, acidic soil. A perennial that grows up to 10 inches tall, the plant has a single basal leaf that can be as wide …
False unicorn or fairy wand [Chamaelirium luteum (L.) A. Gray], member of the Liliaceae family, is native to North America with a natural range stretching from Florida north to New York and west to the Mississippi River. Most of the significant wild populations of this plant exist in the southern portion of its range. An herbaceous perennial, its leaves form a basal rosette with an emerging flower stalk that bears either a male or female flower spike …
Assuming the species in question are ginseng, goldenseal, and black cohosh, look for a stand of mature hardwoods — typically beech, birch, maple, tulip poplar, oak, and cherry located on north- and northeastern-facing slopes. Some pines can be present but shouldn’t predominate. The site should have dabbled shade (70 to 85 percent) and the soils should be well drained and high in organic matter.…
Yes. You would need to confirm that conditions in your shelterbelt agree with growing conditions for the plant(s) you want to grow. Ginseng and ramps, best grown in moist hardwood forests, may not be good choices in a Midwest shelterbelt, especially a new planting without deep shade or if the area does not have rich soils high in organic matter. If you are in a forest type (rich, moist and high in organic matter) where you know ginseng grows (or …
Edible forest products are becoming more popular in the culinary world. Foraging for wild foods is the latest craze among foodies. But this may be putting excessive pressures on natural plant populations, and the long-term conservation of the plants requires sustainable production. Forest landowners may have opportunities to produce edible forest products under the shade of their woodlots. Though this presentation focuses on forest farming wild onions (aka, ramps or leeks) it includes discussions of other edible forest products, as …
Al Robertson and Mike Burns love exploring and experimenting with everything they can find in their forests. Your forest may contain the key ingredients for delicious all-natural beverages. Learn how to tap into some non-traditional forest products to create hot, cold and even adult refreshments. Al Robertson covers the basic steps of creating apple cider, from selecting the right varieties to fermentation and bottling. Mike Burns explains how to use forest ingredients to advance the flavor of beer.
Tired of raking those hardwood leaves in your yard? Maybe you should consider raking pine straw from your forest instead! Pine straw is a non-timber forest product that is produced when southern pine trees such as longleaf, slash, or loblolly pines drop their needles in the fall. The resulting pine straw can be raked by hand or harvested using a mechanical raking machine and turned into bales. Landowners can manage their forest to harvest and then sell the straw on …
Non-timber forest products include plants, lichens and mushrooms used for specialized art and craft practices: basketmaking, fiber dyeing, and more. Artisans who gather and use these species have specialized knowledge of their micro-habitats and require certain qualities in the material they use. This session will focus on northeastern species including black ash, paper birch, red spruce, red osier dogwood, surprise webcap mushroom, and rock tripe lichen, but its concepts can be easily extended to other geographic regions and are informed …
Dr. Joshua Idassi has eighteen years working with Cooperative Extension Program in the USA. Currently, Joshua, is the Natural Resources Specialist at the NCAT- Cooperative Extension Program. His responsibilities are to develop outreach and applied research in agroforestry to assist underserved and limited resources farmers and woodland owners in North Carolina establish sustainable farming practices to enhance their livelihoods. The main focus of this Agroforestry program in 2011-2015, has been to to develop educational tarining materials in agroforestry. Currently, Dr. …
The two practices may produce the same products, but key differences exist between them. Forest farming is more sedentary in that it is practiced through deliberate cultivation under an established forest canopy. It requires planning, inputs, and farming activities like tilling, planting, and management. Wild crafting is more nomadic, requiring the wild crafter to search through the forest for the desired product. Consequently, finding the product, as well as the quantity of the product, is not guaranteed.
The inputs required …
