02/17/10

Permalink 10:58:47 am, by wildcrop, 230 words, 86 views   English (US)
Categories: Our Work With Wild Lands and Native Forest Systems in sustainable wild harvests

Hydro distillation class with A Wild Crops Farm at The Ozark Folk Center

We are coming out of the woods for a weekend! It is hard to pry out out of here, especially in the spring when the dogwood, wild plum and red bud start to bloom. But, special people CAN coax us out - Tina Marie Wilcox, the head-gardener and master herbalist at the Ozark Folk Center’s Heritage Herb Garden is one! She invited us to give a class on hyrodo distillation for the home herbalist a year ago. That event is coming right up and we wanted to give people a heads up, and invite them to join us March 26th and 27th - at The Folk Center for An Herbal Field Trip & Medicinal Herb Workshop. We get the fantastic opportunity to partner with some great people including, Susan Belsinger, Karyn Zaremba-Culver and Tina Marie Wilcox, of course.

Certified Organic Wild Crops Farmer Penny Frazier
Time to clean up for spring and come out of the woods, so I can practice being civilized.

George and I are presenting on hydrosol distillation, which is our spring and summer work here in the Ozarks. Albeit, my heart is never far from a pine nut! Please think about joining us at the Ozark Folk Center! There will be a wild spring green harvest on Friday and Susan B. is famous for her cooking. Good eats, good folks, great place - come see us this spring in Mountain View AR.

02/03/10

Permalink 02:45:10 pm, by wildcrop, 245 words, 101 views   English (US)
Categories: Our Work With Wild Lands and Native Forest Systems in sustainable wild harvests

The price of pine nuts sends shoppers on line to Penny's Pine Nuts @ pinenut.com

Things have changed in the world of pine nuts. The price of shelled pine nuts has tripled over the last three years. Like everything else, people go to the internet to find out what is going on or the best deal on pricing.

Note the glaze on the cone- roasted pinyon pine cone are beautiful
Note the glaze on the cone- roasted pinyon pine cone are beautiful and a wonderful addition to any holiday meal or party.

The price hike has hit two markets really hard. One is the small scale food server, the other is the pet market. Food service is already feeling the pinch from the decline in disposable income. People are not eating out the way they did 3 years ago. Rather than dig deep and shell out $20.00 lb for food service pine nuts, cheffs are subsituting other less expensive nuts in their dishes.

Pet owners, on the other hand are going the extra buck. Owners of thick billed birds, like parrots and mccaws will scrimp to give their birds the best they can find. A few of the bird food companies has boycotted imported pine nut products entirely. While pet owners are seeking out alternative sources for pine nuts for their pets, including ebay. Some people have resorted to gathering their own, even in the middle of winter. Others are finally discovering how wonderful in shell American pine are roasted and nibbled like sunflowers. It is not a bad thing, as eating wild American Pine Nuts helps promote forest conservation in the southwestern desert.

01/25/10

Permalink 12:00:00 pm, by wildcrop, 223 words, 134 views   English (US)
Categories: Our Work With Wild Lands and Native Forest Systems in sustainable wild harvests

Super Bowl Party Snack - Eco Friendly Roasted American Jumbo Soft Shell pine nuts - DIY

DO you want to impress your Super Bowl guests with an tasty, healthy, eco-friendly snack? Try DIY roasted inshell pine nuts. It is a traditional food which has been renewed by Goods From The Woods.

Traditional Jumbo Soft Shelled Pine Nuts from Goods From The Woods
Traditional Jumbo Soft Shell pine nuts from the 1930's and 1940's sold by coffee companies in small bags.

The Soft Shell pine nuts were often roasted and sold by coffee roasters. This vintage pine nut package shows a darling couple having their coffee while nibbling away on their roasted SOFT SHELL pinyon nuts. Pinon Penny has renewed this tradition and are was pleased to announce the product. The Jumbo Soft Shell Great Basin Pine Nut can be purchased pre roasted, 6 oz sample bag for $9.95 and for orders this week - offer free shipping. Also, PINENUT.com will provide a free sample of roasted soft shell for all clients who order or Grade AA Jumbo's 10 lb boxfor in home roasting. The size sorted pine nuts help people roast at home with Goods From The Woods picture guide to pine nut roasting. Using sized pine nuts help the cook achieve a more uniform product - no more burned little nuts! Just perfect jumbo soft shell pine nuts - like they did in the old days. These pine nuts are PERFECT for your super bowl party and a very health snack!

01/17/10

Permalink 07:18:16 pm, by wildcrop, 174 words, 114 views   English (US)
Categories: Our Work With Wild Lands and Native Forest Systems in sustainable wild harvests

Restoration Planting of Ginseng on our wild crops farm

We did a restoration planting of wild gensing on our farm today.The thousand seeds we planted were not certified but that is okay because they were wild and a certified ecotype is not available. Additionally, we have no plans to sell or harvest the ginseng. It is being restored to an area it would have been native to.

We started on our hands and knees - Zeb and I.

We were working under the paw paw restoration planting we did several years ago. As we worked in the dirt, the dogs came over one by one and began to dig. Okay, free labor. So we moved from one patch to another calling the dogs, pointing to the ground and yelling "mouse".

Our pack donkey (right, George's beloved Fanny) watched us keenly for a few minutes.

She then began to paw the ground knocking way leaves and exposing the cold earth. Who would we be to look this "gift horse" in the mouth.

1000 Ginseng babies planted on the north face right above our creek.

12/04/09

Permalink 06:10:37 am, by wildcrop, 125 words, 167 views   English (US)
Categories: Our Work With Wild Lands and Native Forest Systems in sustainable wild harvests

How to save money on pine nuts and beat their rising cost

Prices for pine nuts have risen dramatically in China. FOB China per MT is in excess of $20 USD per pound. With those kinds of prices and the current pressure on U.S. food consumers we thought this was worth posting here:

A person can shell a 1/2 cup in 10 - 15 minutes, they are raw, fresh and the purest of foods, because the shell has keeps the food integrity. When our son was 4 years old, he could shell his own Jumbo soft shell pine nuts. Thank goodness! There are some skills we mothers MUST pass on to our children.

Read more:

http://pinenut.com/blog/index.php?blog=1&title=how_to_save_money_on_pine_nuts_and_beat_&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

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Wild Crops - Eco Friendly, Healthy Wild Foods

Wild crops.com is our wild harvest blog

You can reach us at:
wild@wildcrops.com or penny@pinenut.com
P.O. Box 61
Licking Mo. 65542
This site is the third stage of our work with Native Plant Species of The United States. We do offer consultations for landowners with an interest in certified organic wild crops. It is easy to see we are in love with the Natural World and all of Creation.

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Our Work With Wild Lands and Native Forest Systems in sustainable wild harvests

  • Curious George's strange gardening in a drawer / Community Mushroom Garden Party Favors

    Here it is, about 4 months after Jake led our community mushroom garden training. We have myselium. Lots and lots and lots of it. George had taken it from its hiding place; much of it has been there since the mushroom party. I call it "Curious George's Very Strange Garden." It grows in dark, in a drawer . To visit his garden, George opens a special dining room drawer - where else would one grow myselium and we can see several kinds of mushrooms, seeding before our eyes - in mostly small plastic baggies.

    The small bags
    The small bags from Curious George's garden

    However, George being George,tried his special growing medium of late. He looked the sterile bio mass from a distillation of plant to use as a growing medium. He thought there might be something special in it as feeding ground for helpful mushroom species. The myselium (we are talking giant zip lock baggie, used to store blankets under the bed)took off. Jake inspected our progress on all our species. We all felt completely great and very proud of the second phase of the mushroom garden. We had critical mass for more plugs. Glory be

    Mushroom garden in a drawr
    Another small sample of the mushroom garden in the drawer. I am not including a picture of the MEGA spore.

    The Lion's Mane did not make it, but 5 other species have thrived. We have sort of been talking with Eric about a training for young people. Maybe, we will be able to get it together for the youngsters to make mushroom logs for our market.

    Matt, the scientific glass blower who fabricated the extra large glass still (we use this for major test runs of new materials, or non-certified products - like Lori's Dill) has good myselium as well. Jake had mixed success with his starts and we not sure about Eric and Crystal's yet. But, all told - there is critical mass in George's very curious garden in the buffet drawer.

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  • Retooling for Green, Local Enterprise and our new still

    We went to a program the other night, called "The Well Fed Neighbor" Glen went on sometime about the need to reinvent manufacturing.

    Glen said,"People use to depend on well made tools. If you have to buy a hand crafted tool from a local blacksmith or machine shop and it costs you 10 times as much, do it."

    We could not agree more. Cheaply manufactured tools break and you end up buying ten. There is nothing like having a tool break in the middle of the job. When all of our jobs went overseas, so did the tooling. To rebuild our entrises, we must retool our country.

    Our new, custom, locally made distiller for wild floral water distillation in Missour
    Our new, custom, locally made distiller for wild floral water distillation in Missouri. Locally harvested flowers, locally distilled, in a locally manufactured (HIGH QUALITY) still

    We have been looking at distillation units for years and own several types. We want the best tools money can buy. We want the best product we can produce. I would dare any other regional farm producer to match what we have going with product quality.

    Essential oil of Mondarda Fistulosa distilled today. We have both hydrosol and E.O. to offer from our small farm in the Ozarks

    Hand harvested flowers,handled properly, slow steam distilled in GLASS, no chemical overflow between products, easily sanitized.

    Another of Matt's custom created distillation units for small scale producers.

    Matt at Riverbend worked with George every step of the way to design this custom unit for A Wild Crops Farm. http://www.riverbendglassblowing.com/About_the_Artist.html We are really proud of that. We can tell you, where the flowers were picked, by whom, when and when each and every item was distilled. Where else in the entire world can a aromatherapist or herbal practioner find that kind of information? Matt is an incredible asset to our community and he will build you an awesome still. We chose this type because those copper stills don't have seperate biomass chambers and tossing the water in to the pot didn't work for us. When I ask specific questions about the biomass chamber, I got snooty replies. I never buy anything from people who send snooty replies. Matt is an awesome artist and there is no snooty about him. Thanks Matt

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  • Roasting Nut:s: A do it yourself guide

    Simple steps: (a guide for dumbies)
    Don't get too hot too quick.
    Be sure you washed them, first.
    Know when to stir and turn over.
    Pull them out when they are done.

    Picture Guide to home roasting pine nuts

    http://www.pinenut.com/roast.pdf

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  • Wild Crops Farm Documenting Sustainabilty
    bottom land in the Ozarks
    This is our bottom. The land stair steps up in 3 levels. Most of the time, the bottoms are cleared for grazing. The forest here is pretty young and along the edges of the hollar thick with young stick like trees.

    Its been raining for 4 days and the news is filled with stories of floods in the Ozark. First chance we had, we took off in the woods with our camera.
    We finished our application for wild crops certification on this property. I haven't counted the species on our list, but I used www.ifcae.org data base to research the Non Timber or Special Forest Products that COULD be here. Then, as we harvest we photograph, pre harvest, during harvest and post harvest. This is the only way that an inspector can really monitor the wild crop harvest together with the daily harvest log. The daily harvest log is a journal that show how much was harvested where. This is how an organic certifier can determine that the harvest comes from the property and meets the sustainability criteria.

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  • 100% pure WHOLE persimmon leaves Product of USA.

    There seems to be several resources emerging for persimmon tea blends and we are proud to have been the first in the United States to produce persimmon leaf teas.

    We are a different kind of farm here. Everything we produce has been wild harvested. The persimmon leaves come from our wild lands in the Ozarks. That parcel of land was certified USDA wild crop, but we did not add it to our certification in 2009. It really doesn't matter because, we handle everything the same way, regardless of certification. I have known those trees for 11 years. That land, as well as other lands we work upon is as clean as one person can keep it. You have to start with good land, to have good products.

    We have good food handling processes and storage, we pick plant material cleanly and well away from any roadways, in fact, I cannot think of anything we have harvested, or handled where it wasn't land we knew well.We use essential oils (some we make ourselves) to clean and keep away pests. Our facility is inspected by a USDA representative through certification agent yearly.

    Then, we think about the processing - we think the less the better. Tea leaf chipped up into tea bag and sized serving may look nice and tidy. There is a price for the processing. The finer the herb is ground, the more of the active ingredients are lost. One who drinks with pleasure and purpose drinks freshly prepared tea made from whole leaf, crumbled in the strainer and placed in freshly boiled water, still steaming.

    We sell whole leaf. One crushes it up, wafting the aroma into a the strainer. Immerse leaf into water and plant essenes unfolds. Here with our persimmon magic the phyto chemicals are released in a your cup and the result is a 100 % pure natural product, with a purpose - many purposes.

    Inspecting Recently harvested Persimmon Leaf = Licking Mo 65560
    A harvester inspects the recently harvested wild harvested Native American persimmon leaf. Persimmon Leaf in Licking Mo 65542

    We tell you the persimmon leaf's story and offer the hands which picked it, the places we work, the season of the year, and the manner of picking. We work with a plan and toward a partnership with wild plants in our forests. We try to make it profitable, so other landowners will keep their native plants and value them. In our desire to protect species we look to ways to help make them profitable to people. It makes as much, if not more sense now, than when we started with the idea 14 years ago.

    We are very proud of Persimmon leaf tea, our witch hazels, our wild nuts and other items. We are telling a story in using the land, the native plant systems while producing items that keep ecosystems in tact. We strive to keep it whole and healthy. That is something to be proud of.

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  • 20 lbs of plum flowers for plum flower essence- awesome!!!!!!!!!
    20 lbs of plum flowers ready for the distillation unit and flower essence extraction

    Think 8 foot screen door, think flowers piled 8 inches, think spring and the smells that define the earth as it awakens from winter. It is a beautiful awakening and a beautiful product of love and nature.

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  • 2008 American Pine Nut Harvest - Pinon Nuts

    Its getting to be pine nut harvest time and everyone is getting restless. Yes, there will be a pinon nut harvest in 2008. I am not going to give anything away, on our blog at this time. BUT, look at www.pinonnuts.org for information about viable harvest areas in the Southwestern United States. Looks like there is a good harvest in certain places, like.....oh, almost slipped, see www.pinonnuts.org for info on 2008 harvesting areas.

    Pinon Nuts from Pinon Penny - American Pine nut harvest
    Pinon Penny's pine nuts. These are Nevada Pinon Nuts. THere will be a 2008 harvest. More information available!
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  • 2009 American U.S. PIne Nut Harvest Information

    2009 American (Pinyon / Pinon ) Pine Nut Harvest Information

    Picture Perfect Pine Nut Species - discovering the difference
    See for yourself which American Species of Pine Nuts (Pinyon Pinon, Pinos ) is the best. Pictured P. Monophylla, a cross, P.Edulis


    (Right to harvest) Public Auction for USFS:

    Sealed Bids taken starting 8/4 and the bid opening is 8/14 at the Humboldt - Toiyabe Ely Ranger Station. There are 9 forest areas to bid upon and the estimate on each exceeds 2 tons, total projected wild pine nut crop 20 tons.

    Generally harvesters bid .25 lb to the government for the right to pick pine nuts.

    Questions can be addressed by the Ely Ranger Station 775-289-3031 or the Tonopah Office 7750482-7890

    NV BLM
    50 areas, 1 ton minimum bid .25 lb each unit . Contact Zach Peterson District Forester Ely BLM . Oral auction and bidding 9 am August 11.

    This is in addition to the areas offered by the Utah BLM notices posted below. For ordering American Pinyon Pine Nuts please contact penny@pinenut.com

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  • 2009 Pinon (P.Edulis) Pine Nuts - YES! A Harvest of fresh pinon nuts

    As I previouosly wrote, the pine cones turned brown and aborted from the trees about 1 month ago in major pine nut producing lands in New Mexico. The Arizona forest especially the Carson National forest had just been devistated by IPS beetles. Yet, there is a harvest coming from Arizona. Goods From The Woods will have hard shelled New Mexico Pinon Pine Nuts in 2009. Yes!!

    Yahoo Arizona comes back. I did not think it would happen, but we have a harvest of P.Edulis

    Other news in the 2009 world of pine nuts. I got this email from Italy about P.Pinea:

    I was doing a research in internet to see if others countries like mine have had or have problems about insects on the pine cones trees.I live in Italy (near Rome) and we have a big problem in all the Italy from about 5-6 years.Happen that an insect called leptoglossus occidentalis damage all the pine cones causing a deficit of crop about 80-90% all the years.In the past we had a big quantity of crop but now the situation it is catastrophic. My question is this:can you help us?Have you had in the past this problem?

    Public Response:

    In the 16th Century one of the popes issued a decree that everyone was to plant pine trees for nut orchards. That is one of the reasons so many pine nuts came from Italy. I request, the Pope and the Church to issue a current decree for all the world to plant the pine tree species that will produce food for humans and animals. We need trees all over the world.They hold in the water and cool the soil. A forest is below the ground, as well as above. I use to make a joke about raising cosmic conscious with nuts from a town in MO called Licking. I thought it was in Tom Robbins words, "the ultimate cosmic goof." It is really no - joke, to tell people -plant trees everywhere that produce food. A forest is a terrible thing to lose.
    On our organic farm in MO we have started planting butter nuts. Of course, our farm is a forest - certified organic wild crop forest and we do our best to show everyone, how to keep their forest. The best way to keep the land, the native plants, is to use them. The pinyon trees are very, very special to us. I was so glad to hear they produced / reproduced (as the pine nut is a seed). I am grateful for this harvest.

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  • 2009 Where to pick Pinyon Pine Nuts for personal use
    Picture Perfect Pine Nut Species - discovering the difference
    See for yourself which American Species of Pine Nuts (Pinyon Pinon, Pinos ) is the best. Pictured P. Monophylla, a cross, P.Edulis

    This was published in the Ely News, http://www.elynews.com/articles/2009/09/17/news/news13.txt#blogcomments Good information on harvesting pinyon nuts this year at Great Basin National Park for personal use. NICE STORY....but, Nevada Pinyon pine nuts, in this expert's opinion are by far the better of the American pine nut species. It is bigger, sweeter, easier to peal. The NM nuts just became better known because there were people who commericalized that harvest and a Trading Post system that got those nuts to market. Nevada has the hidden, food treasure of America, the Jumbo Great Basin Pinyon Pine nut. The best pine nut in the world.

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  • 22,000 tons of wild foods harvest in Alaska yearly

    One thing we stress on a regular basis is the scope of wild harvest. In the American Herbal Association Tonnage report, one sees the amazing amounts of yearly wild harvest for American Wild Botanicals. Rarely, do I ever see documentation of wild food harvests. This article from the Tundra Drums caught my eye

    A supermarket of wild foods out our back door
    Why is it that public land managers continue to think in terms of board feet for our forests?

    The Federal Subsistence Management Program quotes, "Subsistence fishing and hunting provide a large share of the food consumed in rural Alaska." The state’s rural residents harvest about 22,000 tons of wild foods each year – an average of 375 pounds per person.

    A 2004 Report on the Status of Alaska Natives by the University of Alaska Institute for Social and Economic Research indicates that our people in Western Alaska consume 640 pounds of wild food per capita. Fish makes up about 60 percent of this harvest.

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  • 45,000 tons of medicinal plants to Germany alone

    Each year, 45,000 tons of medicinal plants are used in Germany -- more
    than in any other European country. But this booming business also creates
    problems for species preservation.

    Drugs made from medicinal plants have become ever more popular among
    doctors and patients in Germany in recent years. Around 75 percent of
    customers in German pharmacies reach for a natural product when they buy
    non-prescription medications. In 2006, so-called phytopharmaceuticals
    accounted for around 2 billions euros ($2.9 billion) worth of revenue, or
    about a third of the total revenue in non-prescription medications. That
    translates into a high demand for the raw materials for these products --
    medicinal plants and their leaves, flowers, roots, and seeds.
    http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3106747,00.html

    My question- how many of our native plants end up overseas? What would be the value to our wild lands if these were certified wild crop organic harvests?

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  • Absolute Green Wash: "Sustainably Wild Crafted"

    There are any number of herb sellers who label products "Sustainably Wild Crafted". Frankly, I am tried of the deception. Here is how the botanical market works:
    There are a handful of large buyers. Representatives from these companies put out fliers stating that they will be in an area at xyz town square or parking lot to buy.
    The buyers have the harvesters sign a form that says the item is "organic" and sustainably wild crafted. The harvester signs it. END OF STORY.
    These herbs are marketed to wholesale companies that sell herbal products. Many are shipped over seas. The global market for medicinal plants is in excess of 400,000 tons. Somewhere in this blog there is a post about Germany's consumption of herbal products. It is an amazing amount of tonnage to that country alone. Unless an item is certified, who checks? NO ONE. NO ONE. What has me up in arms is the news article below the image.

    Around 15,000 species are under threat from pollution, over-harvesting and habitat loss, including Himalayan Yew, known as a source of anti-cancer drugs. The decimation of the plants is not only leading to a loss of traditional knowledge but could prevent a breakthrough in treating conditions like migraines, fever and even cancer.

    Plantlife have compiled a report on the best way to protect plants for the future, following a three-year study of projects around the world involving medicinal plants. Projects included developing medicinal first aid kits in Uganda, establishing China's first ever community nature reserve for wild medicinal plants and promoting the cultivation of medicinal plants by local farmers in Nepal.

    Alan Hamilton, the author of the report, said protecting medicinal plants is not only important for human health but for the surrounding ecosystem.

    He said: "Focusing on medicinal plants has the potential to be a major motivating force behind nature conservation. Improving health, earning an income and maintaining cultural traditions are important to us all – wherever we live – and all three are involved in motivating people to conserve medicinal plants, and thus the habitats where they grow."

    For full story, please see:

    www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/4162311/Medicinal-plants-in-danger-of-dying-out-according-to-conservationists.html

    I am pretty tired of companies that post terms like "sustainably wild harvested" while they don't have a clue where the material was harvested, by whom, or how. If you happen to buy from a company with such a label, please ask "how do you know?" Certification of Organic Wild Crops, properly preformed will help save these plants by creating better value to landowners than cutting down the forest. There is one noteworthy exception, Moon Branch Botanicals. That is because Robin is passionate about the responsibility we humans have. Don't let the green washers fool you, demand certified herb products.

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  • All Natural Beauty and Sharambrosia

    Origins had invited us to give this distillation and we are excited about certified organic cosmetics entering into the American mainstream. I looked over their website and saw it to be encouraging. Yet, I think there are outstanding pioneers doing work for women in health and beauty. Sharon has been encouraging us and supporting our native plant work for about 2 years. She has a way of finding real people working at creating healthy products for a healthier world. We are very glad to have friends like her! She published this article about our work and made us, stop working to take a good photo for her publication.

    George and Penny Frazier - Goods From The Woods <a href=www.wildcrops.com and www.pinenut.com" title="" width="216" height="192" />
    Thank you Sharon for the wonderful spotlight on our work and our products!
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  • American Herbal Products: Harvester, handler, home : A trip through the wild world of botanicals supply chains

    The United States Forest Service recently requested comments on the fee structure for botanical harvests. The AMERICAN HERBAL PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION prepared excellent comments. Unless a person is engaged in wild harvesting chances are you would not read the comments (23 pages of an adobe file). We support the collection of certified wild crops and found the comments to be excellent. With the permission of the Association, I am posting excerpts.

    Bloodroot a wild harvested plant
    Bloodroot - a wild harvested plant, difficult to find. It is a powerful medicine and I know of three people who treated themselves for cancer with it. The root pictured went to treat skin cancer on the face of the person who harvested it.

    It is important in evaluating how the proposed rule may affect the many people who harvest the relevant forest products to know something about standard harvest
    practices for those species that are used by the dietary supplement trade.
    It is AHPA’s understanding that most of the material that comes into trade is harvested by self-employed individuals or small groups of friends or family members who work together but do not have any formal business relationship.

    These self-employed harvesters sell the materials that they collect to local buyers, usually after conducting basic cleaning operations and often, but not necessarily, after dehydrating these harvests. It is at this transaction point that the current value of a harvested commodity to the actual harvesters is established. These local buyers subsequently resell the materials toregional consolidators (who may also serve as “local buyers,” as that term is used here, for harvesters in their immediate vicinity or with whom they have established direct purchase agreements), or may skip this intermediate transaction if they have identified buyers further upstream in the materials’ marketing route. Most relevant forest products obtained by harvest in the wild, however, come into the manufacturing trade, both domestic and foreign, from the regional consolidator point, and are then sold directly to consumers or used in the production of value-added ingredients and finished consumer products.

    So, that is how botanicals move from the forest to your home for consumption. It is a low impact, family styled business for the most part. You tell me, how many people are there that can go out in the woods and find these plants?

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  • American Pine Nut Harvest 2009 More Information

    Jumbo Nevada Soft Shell Pinyon Pine Nuts

    We have been getting emails asking about the 2009 harvest of American Pine Nuts. If you want to place an pre- order, in August and lock in your price, you may do so on our order page,

    http://www.pinenut.com/order-products.htm

    In 2007 there was no soft shell harvest and in 2008, there was a poor harvest and prices reached $18.00 in Nevada grocery stores. (See last year's photo on the blog (12.18.09) from Reno Nevada!!!) There will be no shortage of pinyon nuts in 2009. But, some of our clients seem concerned and that is why we are sending out this email.

    We will be in Nevada and Utah starting late September, there should be a delivery or two to Las Vegas the first week in October. We will have apx 2,500 - 3,000 lbs of orders to ship that first week in the field. We ship all bulk orders (10 – 50 lbs) first in the order in which they were placed.

    We start shipping packaged product the second week less than 10 lbs. Anticipate those deliveries around October 12 - 17th.

    Hard shell New Mexico Pinon

    There are harvestable quantities of the hard shell nuts in Utah and tiny pockets through CO and NM. These will be harder to come by this year, but we have a great relationship with a picker's cooperative and feel sure we can offer about 4,000 lbs for the pre Christmas orders. We have a few pounds on hand, but very few, so do not pre order this species.

    Other Wild Nuts-

    We anticipate having butter nuts, hickory nuts and hazel nuts mid to late October (after we return from the Southwest shipping the pine nut orders).

    Certified Organic Witch Hazel and Wild Floral waters - Check out our new site, http://www.organicwitchhazel.comhttp://www.organicwitchhazel.com . Use the coupon code "Lindee" in the order form and get $3.00 off and order in August. (BE SURE TO "RECALCULATE" on the order processing page.)The code can also be used on any of our sites, including http://www.wildcrops.com for wild teas, to order our popular persimmon leaf tea.

    ,

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  • American Pine Nut Harvest Forecast 2008:

    We forecast pricing to be in the range of $12.50 per pound of 2008 pinon nuts. (Gas and other expenses is forcing pricing upward). The first nuts of the season .... http://www.pinenut.com/pinon_nuts.html

    2008 American Pine Nut Harvest from Pinon Penny
    2008 American Pine Nut Harvest Pinon Penny

    As a producer of wild crops, I understand that forecasting wild harvests yields is a critical part of their management. Using harvest forecasts helps people see the values in their wild systems that would other wise go unnoticed, save timber. It is crucially important that people find economic value in their native plant systems or at least greater biodiversity. I believe that economic data must be collected which will prove to decision makers of large land holding, its profitable to keep wilderness. Case in point, The Pioneer Forest one of our partners in other wild crop harvesting. Its there care of the forest that makes commercial harvest possible, thus saving many thing and creating great opportunity.

    Regardless, of work in the Ozarks, I was very excited to work on a project that pulled together information for the American Pinon Pine Nut Harvest. Together with the BLM, The Colorado Wood Utilization Team, Institute for Culture and Ecology, Goods From The Woods assisted in creating a page for forecasting the 2008 pinon pine nut harvest potential. We would love feedback that will help support the project. I think it is a very important step forward in creating better pinyon pine tree understanding and values. Here is the link. http://www.pinonnuts.org/forecast2008.htm and also see www.pinenut.com/pinon_nuts.html for ordering information.

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  • Ancestors - Those who lived on this land before us

    Some of the first settlers came in 1829,mostly to the Meramec, Spring Creek and Dry Fork valleys. Land could be purchased for five cents or less an acre. William Thornton, Daniel Troutman and Daniel W. Wooliver were among the 1829 settlers, followed by William
    Blackwell, Lewis Dent, Wilson Craddock and Silas Hamby.

    Silas Hamby 1811 - 1901 Texas County Mo

    George and I stopped at a tiny grave yard near our old home in Licking. I walked through the cemetery thinking that these people were my ancestors, too. They lived on this land. They raised families, earned what they needed with their hands. They knew this land, the seasons, the plants, the trees. They saw it before industrialization, before tractors, before chainsaws, before feller bunchers and fescue.

    As I walk in the forest, I often wonder what this land was like before the settlers came. We saw Silas'stone and he was oldest person in the cemetery. So, Silas saw this land before the changes. At some point in time, the last person with 1st hand knowledge passed away. I wonder if that was Silas.

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  • Another View of The "Low Value Forest"

    This is mostlikely going to be a topic of this blog for its life time. The average return on agriculture acreage is $500.00. There is a huge push to turn forests into fuels. I understand that the corn ethonal plants can process "low value forest plants now"
    In Missouri there are 405 species of forest plants know for the food, medicinal and ornimental values. 38 species of medicine plants are harvested by the ton in Missouri. 99.999% via illegal harvest. Forest Managers don't have the man power to manage, so they don't and don't know the value of our "whole forest" just the trees they do manage.

    There is another a way to look at a forest, besides its timber value.
    Low value forest plants do not exisit. Our forests do not belong in gas tanks.

    Let's take another native plant Echinacea 6lbs of fresh plant material = 1 gallon of hydrosol value $250.00 wholesale market (and up!). That same plant's raw botanical value freshly harvested is .75 lb. $40.00lb value added, $1.50 lb dried and sold to broker.
    The point is the LOW VALUE forest is one of the stupidest things I have ever heard. Our forests do not belong in our gas tanks and we have to show value if we are going to keep them safe from post oil mania.

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  • Aromahead's Contribution: free online aromatherpay class

    I have been looking for possible clients for our witch hazel distillations and in a quandary about where to market the product. Three larger companies have stated they will take the entire inventory. BUT, I would really like to see it go to smaller companies who have been ethical about organic ingredients. I looked around the web and found some real jewels. One company I really liked was aromahead.

    Translating from the natural world to the human world. A story for people who consume

    They put out a free online class in aromatherapy,http://www.aromahead.com/online-classes.php Also several online classes that are very affordable. I can tell from their pages and Andrea Butje's reply to my email that there is a passion for the medicine of creation. I got such a great feel from our exchange.

    I don't know if we can find a way to do business. I do know these woman are working, teaching, sharing and developing tools for people to understand the plants and their healing ways. In doing healing work, for people, for plants,for the planet it is about sharing the tools we have and teaching each other ways of being another kind of human being.

    Maybe, I figured out what I want to do. Maybe, I want our product to go to those are willing to tell its story.

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