I’ve been making chopped salad all day with a weed whacker!
Part of my job as a lawn care professional is using a weed whacker. In the places that the lawn mower cannot go, it is time for the weed whacker to take over. Since I am familiar with some of the local wild edibles, it is amazing to see how much food there can be in the lawn of local businesses.
Today alone I have chopped down Chickweed, Purple Deadnettle, Alfalfa, Wild Chives, Yellow Dock, Wild Lettuce, Dandelion, and Plantain. There may have been more, but I can be sure of those. When I think about potential survival situations in the future, I’d be glad to just walk to the nearest store and eat the lawn.
THIS VIDEO SHOULD GIVE YOU A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT I MEAN.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
A lot of the helpful wild herbs and edibles can often be found in what are called “waste areas.” The reason that so many useful plants can be found in these places is that “waste areas” are often left untouched by humans. No one cuts or fertilizes the lawn there and no one applies weed killer. Many of the wild edible plants are known as “weeds” by the majority of the population.
If you can avoid areas where chemicals are used, you should be able to find some healthy wild food. Avoid manicured and well-maintained lawns of private residences and businesses and stick to those that kept up with minimal effort (like only cutting and trimming the lawn) or are completely abandoned.
In a survival situation, things can get pretty desperate pretty quickly. Many will be looting and robbing, and most likely a lot of animals will also be killed. I believe that a lot of food at the local stores will be looted quickly and the refrigerated and frozen food will spoil. Condiments, however, will most likely still be available, at least near the beginning.
I bring this up because many of the urban weeds that can be used as salad greens can be an acquired taste, especially to those who usually only iceberg lettuce or similar things. Therefore, if you can find some edible weeds outside, and condiments like Salad Dressing may still be available inside. I share a little more about this in this video.
MOVING FORWARD
If things go bad, and the brown stuff hits the whirly thing, prolonged power outages and martial law may suddenly become the reality in which we must operate. High populations of people in smaller areas (cities) will become one of the most desperate situations to be in. In a very short amount of time, it is very likely that there simply will not be enough food to go around.
I think that exploring more of the common plants in our areas that can be used as a food supply is an excellent way to spend your time. The more that we can learn now, the more knowledge we will have at our disposal later. There is a large amount of information on wild edibles available online, and I’ve even been working on a series called THE EDIBLE OUTDOORS which can also be used to help you learn more about the plants growing all around us.
I see so many wild edibles every day, whether I am in the cities or the country. So much food is available all around us, it is just that most people are ignorant. Hopefully this ignorance does not lead to their downfall one day, but I’d rather not risk being ignorant.
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
To check out the previous post in this series, follow the link below.
Until next time…
STEEM ON!
