what are y'all saving from the wild to deal with coming crisis?

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

I am one who is interested in reaping the benefits of native plants. Probably the only one I’m extremely familiar with is Polk salad. As a kid that stuff grew like crazy in...where else but my granddaddy’s beagle lot. But nonetheless, we ate that stuff scrambled with eggs all.the.time!

One thing I’ve learned after keeping up with this thread is I want to learn more about comfrey.

Now what I would like to find out more about is the Passion flower/fruit. Passiflora Incarnata or Maypop, I believe, is the cultivar that grows wild around my place. The ripe fruit is very, very delicious. That I already know. What I’m interested in knowing more about is its medicinal properties that would help ease my pain and aid in sleep.

Even though I deeply love them, I am no spring chick. My aches and pains are growing exponentially due to my lovely friend, Arthur. Good old arthritis will be the death of me. Most nights my sleep is inhibited by pain. I am able to continue with whatever I choose every day but it has slowed me down quite a bit.

I read several years ago that the Native Americans used this plant for pain relief and I want to know how. I am not a fan of taking pain meds and getting hooked. That’s not my cup of tea. However, I am all over making a cup of tea using the leaves or whatnot from the Passion flower plant to help with my pain, which really ramps up when I lay down at night.

This plant is also loved by the Gulf Fritillary butterfly and it won’t be long before the larvae will have the leaves devoured. I want to get my pickings first.

Can anyone help me with this?

You can get a lot of information from the internet or go to your local library and look for medicinal herbs. Please remember to check out side effects because there are a number of medicinal herbs that can interact badly with any prescription medicine you may be taken.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

This has not been my experience.

Sour you must admit you spent a lot of money the Generac generator plus the cost of the plumbers to attach all the lines. Then there is the expense of installing a transfer switch. Ideally this is an awesome setup, however, I repeat, the average household can't afford this. A portable propane generator is nice for short term power outages. They run close to a gasoline powered generator on a full tank - that is 20lb LP vs 5 gallons of gasoline. The average cost to refill your LP tank around here is $18. That equals about $3.60 per gallon whereas the average cost of gasoline right now is about $2.65 per gallon. This is why I stated that gasoline generators are more economical than propane. If you don't have the space to keep your gas generator 25 feet from your house to avoid the fumes, then a propane system makes more sense. Yes I kind of envy the set-up you have, however after I researched that I couldn't justify that expense for a situation that might happen or not. For those of you who can afford it, go for it.

 

[perchie.girl]

There are those of us who Power outages happen frequently.... Weather Related or not. Here in the desert I am at the end of the line... second to last one on the power poles. Wind can cause the power to go out, Rain, and snow as well. OR sometimes it just goes out for no reason... or An As@hat neighbor comes home drunk and bounces off one of the poles...

Then there are high Fire warnings and the whole grid my be shut down because of wind. To keep the grid from actually starting a fire. To be honest Id rather be without power than have to leave everything in a fire storm.

Couple of hours or a couple of days its not uncommon. So I would like something reliable to keep things running.... I am a tinkerer with art... and if I am working on an art project I want to be able to keep going... I also need to sleep with a Bipap machine going.... Need the freezer and refrigerator .... and of course the Coffee pot.... hate percolated over the pot belly.

I also need to not have to worry about it starting or mess with connections when the lights are out.... so having a generator or power source prewired and ready to go is optiomal. Wether I go with Diesel back up or Power wall... will depend on the price at the time. Though now that I think about it I like the thought of a power wall.

You can just use them as power storage no matter the source... even on or off the grid. No fuel to store, No fumes to worry about, Cost of a system is about the same as a whole house.... Maybe a bit more...

The inverter is a killer I know but it comes with the power wall. I would investigate the efficiency of each... There is another option as well. Go DC throughout the house.

deb

 

[clembone]

Be careful with lilies if you have or like cats. Every bit of the lily, including the pollen, is deadly toxic to them.

Are you referring to the Day Lily family [Hemerocallis] or the Oriental, or True Lily family [Lilium]? I do not think the two plants are closely related. Post 504 was talking about Daylily.

Perhaps both are harmful to cats, but I bet it is just the trues ... [edit: I would have lost that bet if I made it. Even tho not related, both true and day lily are very bad for cats. See below.]
Day lily is pretty tasty. Buds are prime now [early summer], really nice steamed or stir fried, still crisp. True lily is not edible for people.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

or An As@hat neighbor comes home drunk and bounces off one of the poles...

I've had the same problem. What is it about drunk drivers and telephone poles? It's like tornadoes and mobile home parks.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

There are those of us who Power outages happen frequently.... Weather Related or not. Here in the desert I am at the end of the line... second to last one on the power poles. Wind can cause the power to go out, Rain, and snow as well. OR sometimes it just goes out for no reason... or An As@hat neighbor comes home drunk and bounces off one of the poles...

Then there are high Fire warnings and the whole grid my be shut down because of wind. To keep the grid from actually starting a fire. To be honest Id rather be without power than have to leave everything in a fire storm.

Couple of hours or a couple of days its not uncommon. So I would like something reliable to keep things running.... I am a tinkerer with art... and if I am working on an art project I want to be able to keep going... I also need to sleep with a Bipap machine going.... Need the freezer and refrigerator .... and of course the Coffee pot.... hate percolated over the pot belly.

I also need to not have to worry about it starting or mess with connections when the lights are out.... so having a generator or power source prewired and ready to go is optiomal. Wether I go with Diesel back up or Power wall... will depend on the price at the time. Though now that I think about it I like the thought of a power wall.

You can just use them as power storage no matter the source... even on or off the grid. No fuel to store, No fumes to worry about, Cost of a system is about the same as a whole house.... Maybe a bit more...

The inverter is a killer I know but it comes with the power wall. I would investigate the efficiency of each... There is another option as well. Go DC throughout the house.

deb

In your situation it would make sense. Although if I lived in that environment I would be putting in solar panels. Battery storage technology is improving so considering available area for panel siting in the high dessert seems like a no brainer.

 

[DellaMyDarling]

Most Lily, although the actual genus name is important here as noted above, is toxic for most animals.


Is there any good use for Catalpa tree parts?
I think it's a hideous tree personally, not native to my region either, but someone planted it here and now I must stare at it. Be nice if it was at least useful somehow. I won't cut it down unless it dies however.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Though now that I think about it I like the thought of a power wall.

Just checking to make sure you are aware what a fire hazard Lithium-ion batteries are. I haven't heard about a Powerwall spontaneously combusting (maybe because there really aren't that many in service), but Tesla cars self-combust frequently. I would never park one in an attached garage, nor have a Powerwall not in a separate building.

 

[sourland]

Sour you must admit you spent a lot of money the Generac generator plus the cost of the plumbers to attach all the lines. Then there is the expense of installing a transfer switch. Ideally this is an awesome setup, however, I repeat, the average household can't afford this. I couldn't justify that expense for a situation that might happen or not. For those of you who can afford it, go for it.

Absolute truth there, but increased the value of the property incrementally. After 10 days without power the year before Sandy (Early fall snow storm with much tree damage) and 14 days without power after Hurricane Sandy it seemed like the only way to go. Gasoline availability was limited, and keeping a supply was a hassle. Given the high water table here I have 3 sump pumps in my cellar. Power for them is a necessity. I'm a tight wad, but had no problem justifying this installation.

 

[Wee Farmer Sarah]

Just checking to make sure you are aware what a fire hazard Lithium-ion batteries are. I haven't heard about a Powerwall spontaneously combusting (maybe because there really aren't that many in service), but Tesla cars self-combust frequently. I would never park one in an attached garage, nor have a Powerwall not in a separate building.

Just what part of the world are you in? Different regions have different environments. Areas with lots of trees run the risk of trees falling on them, flat, dry regions can experience dust storms or Haboobs. Every environmental area has it's own natural risk hazards. Fearing all the possible negative outcomes really kind of sucks the joy out of everyday living. Life is short enough, embrace it and enjoy. If adversity comes your way, you do what you can to survive and move on. Having a wealth of knowledge is great as long as it doesn't fuel your fears and keep you from stopping to smell the roses without worrying if there will be a bee in there waiting to sting you.