Do you know what this is?

[hoodat]

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

Believer it or not I was born in Jersey City. when I was a kid I thought Mayorhague was one word like damyankee.

 

[Wisher1000]

Any similarity to actual persons, living, deceased or participating in this forum, no matter how accurate, is purely incidental - really......



If some of ya'll never been down South too much...

I'm gonna tell you a little bit about this, so that you'll understand

What I'm talking about

Down there we have a plant that grows out in the

woods and the fields,

looks somethin' like a turnip green.

Everybody calls it Polk salad. Polk salad.

Used to know a girl that lived down there and

she'd go out in the evenings and pick a mess of it...

Carry it home and cook it for supper, 'cause that's about all they had to eat,

But they did all right.



Down in Louisiana Where the alligators grow so mean

There lived a girl that I swear to the world Made the alligators look tame



Polk salad Annie polk salad Annie

Everybody said it was a shame

Cause her mama was working on the chain-gang

(a mean, vicious woman)



Everyday 'fore supper time She'd go down by the truck patch

And pick her a mess o' Polk salad And carry it home in a tote sack



Polk salad Annie 'Gators got you granny

Everybody said it was a shame

'Cause her mama was aworkin' on the chain-gang

(a wretched, spiteful, straight-razor totin' woman,

Lord have mercy. Pick a mess of it)



Her daddy was lazy and no count

Claimed he had a bad back

All her brothers were fit for was stealin' watermelons out of my truck patch

Polk salad Annie, the gators got your granny

Everybody said it was a shame

Cause her mama was a working' on the chain gang

(Sock a little polk salad to me, you know I need a mess of it

 

[retiredwith4acres]

Poke is very popular spring green to eat in parts of Tennessee. In fact, a neighboring county has a "Poke Salad Festival" each year.

They are cooked similar to turnip, etc., I think. I have never cooked them.

 

[catjac1975]

Weed-get rid of it fast-don't let the berries drop

 

[AllyRodrigues]

I see this is an older post, but..we had a ton of poke weeds in our yard this year and my Dad told us he remembered eating them growing up and how his mother would boil them several times. The stems on ours looked like this but were a beautiful magenta color (darker than this picture) and they did make beautiful berries that the birds love. Once it got cold, we cut them all down, though.

 

[hoodat]

It's a great plant to grow if you want to encourage birds in your garden.