Do you know what this is?

[boggybranch]

Poke salad Annie......Gators got your granny..........................

 

[digitS']

There seems to be some "poetic license" taken with that song. Well, of course there is . . . but I mean the lyrics.

Do people somewhere say "polk" - or would one even hear the "l" - just write it that way?

Steve

you can click the image, but the choice of decaf for your morning coffee won't help

 

[boggybranch]

There seems to be some "poetic license" taken with that song. Well, of course there is . . . but I mean the lyrics.

Do people somewhere say "polk" - or would one even hear the "l" - just write it that way?

Steve

you can click the image, but the choice of decaf for your morning coffee won't help


[url]http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/uploads/thumbs/4989_elvis-2.jpg[/url]

LOL.....yep, Steve.......It's a deep south southern thang (like that). Kinda like "car" is kaaaaa in Boston.

 

[hoodat]

We always pronounced it poke. In most of the South it's the first greens of the year and considered a Spring tonic.

 

[gypsyfarm123]

Welp, I'm from N.J. And I have only known it as being called poLkweed. When the pics were put up,I instantly knew what it was,but I wanted to make sure on the spelling..the older book I have spells it poLkweed and the newer book spell's it poKeweed (so I went with the newer version) Maybe one writer was a yankee and the other a southerner,IDK But to me, it will always be poLkweed..we also used to call it 'ink berry' when we were kid's because we used to get into 'ink berry' fights, throwing them at each other..and trust me when I say 'ink',because the mature berries stain your clothes just like an ink PEN exploded in your pocket. I think I also read somewhere that the american indians used to use the berries to dye their clothes and paint their face's..but don't hold me to that because I'm not sure where I got that from..I DO know that if you squash the mature berries in your hands..you will have purple/red hands for DAYS

 

[digitS']

I guess this "westerner" is spreading it around here in the "empty quarter" . . .

Seed for that plant was not planted this year. It is a volunteer but not from last year. Yep, it has been 2 years and I thought we used all those stems with berries for bouquets . . .

I do know that Dad pronounces "salad" as "sallet" - unless he is being very deliberate. We've already talked about the old fellow (soon to be 94) but he was born in Oklahoma. His family left soon after he was born for the Rio Grande in New Mexico. I don't believe that he knows what poke sallet is. He was always talking about eating alfalfa in the spring and making a meal out of potatoes and gravy during the Depression :/.

He'd already left OK pre-Dust Bowl and the Model T broke down before it could make it to California . Otherwise, I suppose he could have been a character in the Grapes of Wrath.

Steve

 

[Wisher1000]

Okay, the southern girl wants to put in her two cents worth. I grew up eating polk salad (which is NOT a salad) "fixed" by my aunt (Mom was scared of it) with the cooked young greens and scrambled eggs mixed in. It is very much like turnip greens or collards, only not as good, sorta' bitter. The main draw is that it is free and can be collected easily in early spring as it grows all over the place. ONLY the knowledgable person should attempt to cook and eat it, it is poinsonous. In the south, poor people sometimes had little else to eat but what they could find and make themselves. My Dad always liked it but I think it was just to remember that leaner time and to appreciate the present. The berries will stain your fingers and clothes and it is almost impossible to get out. I always thought it was pleasant to look at, but I pull it up anyway because of those messy berries.

 

[hoodat]

Interesting to bring up the alternate name of inkberry. I've read that in the Civil War when soldiers couldn't get ink they'd write letters home using the pokeberries. It's also a good dye for those weaving and spinning yarn.

 

[gypsyfarm123]

Wisher..(Maybe the bitter taste is the reason for changing the water out..?In digitS link I think it says 2 change's of water,,but I was brought up to do 3 change's..and you could be right, it could a nostalgic sort of thing (for me at least) because it reminds me of the day's when I was a kid,picking through the woods w/my gran,aunt and uncle.(Who are all gone now..RIP) But it also made me into a backwoods forager..I am constantly in the woods looking for edible plants and mushrooms..(For me,there is nothing better than finding a new edible that mother nature put right into our hand's,and I think more people should do it..When I am finally blessed with a child,you can bet your butt I'll be passing my knowledge on to him or her (hopefully HIM lol)<J/K doesn't matter..Really. I just want to be able to pass something on that I am passionate about. And 'Hoodat's' info about the civil war soldiers using the berries as ink, just make's me MORE interested into finding out what other treasure's are out there that have been long forgot about. I wish 'Hoodat' was my neighbor *sigh* Hoodat,,if you ever want to visit Jersey, you are welcome to stay here as long as you like..as long as you can take my constant questioning about "back in the day" Take care all<<craig

 

[fireweed]

It's okay.

We needed a guy with some experience with it. My experience: lookin' at it.

(Also, I remember that Elvis song about Annie .)

Steve

Y'mean "Poke salad Annie"? "The devil's got yer granny?