By RB Burton
To The Haldimand Press
DUNNVILLE—Following up on a recent talk about mushrooms, the Dunnville Horticultural Society (DHS) invited Melissa North of Simcoe to give a talk on edible plants.
By-passing the obvious fruits and vegetables found in the produce section of a grocery store, she concentrated instead on those found in the wild, covering the better-known edibles of fiddleheads and wild leeks, both of which should be cut above ground level to preserve the roots, to dandelions, pine, and hickory nuts, including even the cambium of certain trees.
One interesting fact is that all parts of the milkweed plant, better known as the sole food for the Monarch butterfly, during its entire life cycle can be eaten safely by humans.
When the shoots first emerge, they can be boiled like spinach, or cut up for a salad. When the seed pods first start to develop, they can also be boiled or served in a salad.
The presenter didn’t mention whether a steady diet of milkweed would create a tendency to want to fly to Mexico in the fall like the Monarchs, although such a side-effect would not be hard to take.
The Society is co-hosting Seedy Saturday at Cayuga Arena this weekend, from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Speakers for the event are Darren Heimbecker (All About Peonies), Sean James (Looks Good Enough to Eat), Kevin Kavanagh (For the Birds & Bees), and Kerry Royer (Benefits of Native Plants). There will be a large variety of vendors relating to gardening, a pine needle basket-weaving demonstration, a seed swap table, as well as lots of youth activities.
The next DHS meeting is at the Dunnville Optimist Hall on May 18 with a 7 p.m. start. The speaker for the night is Sandy Marr, with a presentation on Fairy Gardens. Everyone is welcome.
