In November my efforts to save seed intensify and deepen my pattern recognition and observational skills as I walk through garden and forest observing what trees and medicine plants have decided they are ready to bestow their ripe seeds upon the fertile Earth. I look upward into the towering reaches of tulip and oak trees to see if they have begun to release their seed bundles, acorns and gently tap echinacea flower heads along the way with an open palm underneath to see if they are ready to gift their seeds to me.
In Early November I forage for edible cold hardy blossoms and fruit on what most people consider to be purely ornamental plants and trees (such as crabapples and dogwood fruit) gathering nutrient dense food for free.
I harvest cold hardy greens, root crops and of course more goji berries and I preserve seasonal abundances by making hearty soups and fermented veggie mixtures.
Ideally, for me, November is also a time of wandering wooded paths and pathless woods. As the trees surrender their life giving leaves back to the soil from once they came I am offered nourishment for the soul painted in radiant colors on the canvas of the moody autumn sky. Walking in the midst of these majestic, learned and selfless beings I am gifted guidance from my elder species on this Earth about how one can live a life of purpose, grace and reciprocity. Bearing witness to the cascading waterfalls of color that gather in breathtaking mosaics on the forest floor, in my back yard and on sidewalks alike, I am nourished on a deeper level than any physical sustenance can provide.
Gingko Tree with sunset behind near our house
looking up at a predominantly maple populated portion of Carolinian Forest in southern Ontario
looking up at a predominantly maple populated portion of Carolinian Forest in southern Ontario with a large and ancient tree in the center that has been struck by lightning and lost it’s top, but is still hanging in there
Sycamore, southern Ontario
After the leaves fall the true beauty of the Sycamore trunk is revealed and emphasized
close up of a fallen Wild Turkey feather resting on some old wood
In October and November I sometimes go foraging in what most people would consider to be purely ornamental gardens and harvest a bounty of edible flowers and fruit (such as what is shown in the pic above). Several of these edible items were perceived as unwanted "weeds" in that landscape and the others were planted just for looking at. Some of these items are actually extremely nutritious (such as the Amarnath, Crabapples, Chrysanthemums, Borage flowers and Dogwood fruit) and in times when many of us are feeling the strain of exponentially increasing grocery store bills, I thought sharing this might help ease the pressure a bit (for those of you motivated enough to go foraging like I did and/or strategize accordingly for a future garden space that someone in your life has designated for "ornamental only plants". If you do go ornamental garden foraging please do leave some of the bounty for the birds and the bees! The flavor of some of these items (such as the crabapples) is tangy and/or bitter, but our while our modern westernized palate (that has been conditioned by the proliferation of homogenized, processed, high sugar foods) may not be accustomed to the bright and intense flavors of the wild cousins of our domesticated staple crops, the nutrients contained within them is far superior to that which is bred for uniformity, shelf life and mass produced which ends up in our grocery stores. Research ( such as https://seedsnsuch.com/blogs/gardeners-greenroom/apples-from-potent-medicine-to-mild-mannered-clones and https://pubag.nal.usda.gov/catalog/7109012 ) shows that wild varieties of apples are vastly more nutritious than cultivated varieties (like you get in a grocery store). In fact, wild apples, depending on the variety, have up to 475 times more phytonutrients than many cultivated varieties. The intense nutrient density of some crabapples is quite visually obvious as the flesh is brightly colored with anthocyanins and carotenoids (as can be discerned if you look closely in the pic below at the cut-open fruit). The same can be said of Amarnath when compared to its closest domesticated equivalents that are used as grain crops to make our bread, pasta etc in the stores.
close up of a ripe halved kousa dogwood berry
These freshly harvested homegrown heirloom carrots may look kind of gnarly but the nutrients and anti-oxidants they offer are amazing (as you will see in the next few pics)
the following 3 pictures show a mixture of homegrown Black Nebula, Pusa Asita and Atomic Red carrots with some homegrown ginger rhizome
this pic shows me chopping up some of the anti-oxidant rich carrots for using in a soup
freshly harvested homegrown Egyptian walking onion bulbs ready to be added to fermented preserves
adding freshly harvested homegrown Egyptian walking onion bulbs for fermenting in jars
a jar full of freshly harvested homegrown Egyptian walking onion bulbs in a salt brine beginning to ferment
This image shows various fermented preserves including freshly harvested homegrown Egyptian walking onion bulbs and Turmeric Rhizome
This pic shows me building an experimental hearty autumn harvest Moroccan Sprouted Split Pea Soup in our slow cooker. Instead of a ham bone I am using chaga chunks and kombu strips (for smoky flavor and unami). Also, as this is a Moroccan themed soup, I included diced fermented turmeric rhizome, home made harissa (a North African spice mix), chopped figs and instead of using raisins (as are often included in Moroccan stews) I added some of our home grown dried Red Goji Berries. The slow simmered Chaga chunks, Kombu strips (thick kelp) and goji berries not only provided rich flavor but also helped to take the nutritional content of this soup off the charts and into the realm of medicinal super foods. Other ingredients include: celery, leeks, onion, parsley, diced kale stems, nettle powder, thyme, carrots, black pepper, a bay leaf, sweet potato and diced Tunisian Baklouti peppers.
Adding some Chaga chunks to the Split Pea Soup
Adding additional Goji Berries, herbs and spices to the split pea soup.
The finished Chaga and Goji berry infused Moroccan Split Pea Soup (it is addictively delicious. Smoky like a good pot of homemade old fashioned baked beans, and the Harissa added such a depth of flavor that balances out the fruit beautifully with some heat and exotic flavor notes.
Next up on the hearty experimental autumn soup list is Goji Berry infused Sopa de Lima with pan fried wild rice!
adding goji berries and other ingredients to the Cuisinart to blend until it is small pieces (this mixture plus the lime juice added later becoming the backbone and dominant flavor profile in the soup)
pan frying organic wild rice, black rice, barley, diced sweet potatoes, bell pepper, onions and spices (before adding the other ingredients) to become the hearty thickening base of the soup.
after adding the two components of the soup together
after simmering for a while (before adding additional ingredients, veggie broth and lime juice)
home grown Persian Limes for adding vibrant flavor and nutrition to the soup (we take our small trees in during the winter)
I like our lime soup super vibrant and tangy so we add lots of these beauties to ours, but if you like a more subtle flavor experience, you can half (or quarter) the amount of limes suggested in my mom’s recipe and it will still turn out tasting amazing.
this pic shows the soup after adding chopped Goji leaves, Nettle, Spinach and additional veggie broth
The finished soup (before serving and garnishing with avocado and crispy tortilla strips)
the finished soup in a bowl (before garnishing) The good news is, it is amazing like this too if you run out of garnishing ingredients! ;)
after garnishing
time to dig in!
okay that was fun, but now lets get outa the kitchen and head back to the forest and autumn colors where nourishment for the spirit offers itself to satiate the soul !
willow leaves dancing in the autumn winds
blueberry leaves
a hornet fortress in a tree, revealing the genius and sacred geometry in it’s construction
sunset in southern Ontario
(unnatural yet beautiful) sunset in Windsor, southern Ontario
a variety of colorful maple leaves
lots and lots of maple leaves
one very big maple leaf
one very big maple leaf and his smaller friends
the autumn shoreline of Lake Erie in southern Ontario
Phragmites australis silhouetted leaves and seed heads
Speaking of unlocking autumn’s abundance I recently added a new way to do that to my list. The idea was hatched when I was reading Peter McCoy's excellent book (The Mycocultural Revolution) recently and when I got to the section of the book about growing oyster mushrooms (on a straw substrate in buckets) we happened to be driving by an endless sea of Phragmites australis growing in a vacant lot and this got me to thinking. What about using the stalks of Phragmites in the place of straw (or at least as the main bulk of the substrate with some other nutrients added in if need be)?
One could theoretically use either buckets or even something like an old laundry basket (shown in a pic below).
Around here Phragmites australis is seen as an "invasive weed" and people constantly go to battle with the reeds with chemicals and machines but I thought why not instead recognize the many gifts these plants offer us and turn a so called 'problem' into a solution?
Turns out I am not the first person to think of this idea. Below are some research articles that focus on using ground up and hydrated Phragmites australis stems/stalks as a substrate for growing Oyster mushrooms. It seems that the material does indeed work as a suitable substrate. I have experimented with this myself on a small scale with success and will be scaling up this winter (when I have more time to collect and process the stalks for inoculating).
It would of course be worth taking into account that Phragmites australis is good at hyperaccumulating heavy metals like cadmium and lead (and likely takes in other potentially toxic compounds if they are growing in contaminated soil/water) so sourcing the material from a relatively pollution free place would be wise.
In the past I have experimented with using the thick bottom 3-4 foot of the stalks of the tallest grasses as an equivalent/locally sourced alternative for bamboo plant supports and that worked well for pepper plants and young tomato plants. I have also experimented with using the fluffy seed heads as a stuffing for pillows (which has worked out well)
Thus, I imagine a single harvest could yield at least two separate end products (with the spent myceliated reed stalk oyster mushroom blocks being able to be used either to feed animals afterwards or build soil fast).
How to grow oyster mushrooms on straw (Or Phragmites australis stems/stalks?) From Peter McCoy's book titled (The Mycocultural Revolution)
Research and data on the viability of using Phragmites australis stalks/stems as a substrate for growing oyster mushrooms :
aside from those three potential uses Phragmites australis are also just nice to look at! :)
Phragmites australis seed heads in the evening light
The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn. -Ralph Waldo Emerson
I save these for creating new habitat and seeding food forest designs
observe the sacred geometry present in the top of the Acorn, revealing it’s fractal potential to provide exponential abundance and become caring and protecting Mother Trees in future food forest ecosystems
Each seed variety has unique characteristics if you look closely. They speak to us of their many gifts and communicate to use where their gifts would be best received (ideal planting conditions). The seeds in this pic above are heirloom Cannabis seeds saved from our garden (the variety of seeds shown in this pic is called “Purple Ponderosa”). This variety is extremely cold hardy and vigorous (regularly producing 9 foot plus females).
Market Value in Fiat Currency: Approx 50 thousand CAD$ 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 (𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞) : Food security, health sovereignty, potential for gifting, trading and decentralizing the production of a powerful medicine plant in the northern growing regions. These seeds offer immense potential for myself and many others in northern climates to produce powerful medicines and nutrient dense food requiring very little effort in cultivation outdoors. Taking 5 minutes to harvest these seeds from a handful of large flowers (which grew on a self-sown female plant that I did not water once) means having peace of mind, hope and gratitude in the knowing that I have developed an heirloom strain (through co-creating/selectively seed saving along side the forces of nature) that is drought tolerant, disease resistant, produces an excellent spectrum of cannabinoids and terpenes, is capable of germinating outside in march (and continuing to grow) with intermittent minus 4 C temps (which means self sowing and producing effectively in our Canadian climate) and can provide not only powerful medicine (but also nutrient dense food) to many locally and future generations as well.
The heirloom Cannabis seeds (shown in the pic above) are the culmination of 7 years of selectively saving seed and cross breeding, in collaboration with nature to create a variety that grows up to nine feet tall, produces medicinal cannabinoids in abundance, smells nice, is disease resistant and can handle the cold. The original parents were Blueberry and Northern Lights (and I called that combination “Blueberry Permafrost”) and then after 5 generations of a combination of self sowing, selective seed saving and acclimatization in our garden I introduced a variety called Purple Pine Berry into the mix 2 years ago. I have yet to name this new variety yet. I am now offering a limited time offer for anyone residing in Canada. If you buy a digital copy of my book (through this link) and use the discount code 420 I will send you some of these seeds (which are the result of many years of careful observation and hard work). If you reside within Canada, you want the seeds (and after purchasing the ebook using that discount code) send your preferred mailing address to recipesforreciprocity@proton.me and I’ll send you a few of these seeds.
Wild Current Tomato (Solanum pimpinellifolium) seeds. I have noticed quite a bit of variation in the genetic expression of the plants we allowed to self sow over the last couple years. Some produce red fruit, some orange, some super tiny fruit that ripen constantly some slightly larger fruit that ripen once every couple days in big waves. So far, they have all been delicious when ripe and they have great disease resistance (having not succumbed to the blight that a neighboring heirloom variety got). Unlike many of our favorite relatively modern heirloom tomato varieties, this ancient progenitor species (the father of all modern domesticated tomatoes) can also handle a frost and keep on producing. I speculate that this is due these 'wild' progenitor varieties are more 'genetically agile' (possessing a means of accelerated epigenetic adaptation to environmental stimuli) resulting in superior tolerance (as these plants often out live heirloom varieties that were growing along side them that were bred in northern climates when frost hits our garden). This is likely due to the wild species having access to a deeper genetic 'reservoir' which has been enriched by countless generations of cross pollination and varying environmental stimulus in their natural habitat. It just goes to show how much potential is held in these wild seeds.. a vast genetic library waiting to be explored and tapped into by heirloom tomato breeders that would like to co-create new varieties (the natural way) with mother nature.
Anyone here ever looked realllllly closely at their tomato seeds ? Thanks to an amazing gift I received from my thoughtful wife (a macro lens) I am now able to perceive a whole new side of nature. One of these explorations recently led me to learn that those little 'hairs' on the seeds are in fact trichomes which serve many important purposes for the seed. The trichomes secrete a clear, mucusy membrane at the edge of the seed, which contains potent alkaloids that help the plant adapt to excessive light, pathogen attacks, repel insects, and give the tomato fruit its signature taste.
ultra close up of tomato seeds revealing healthy trichomes
This image shows a cluster of Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) seeds still attached to the stem of what used to be a flower. These seeds are released on the wind much like maple keys yet they seem to move through the air in a more expedited and intentional manner due to the different shape of their seed wing.
Tulip Tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) seeds
FYI - just incase you missed the annoucement or subscribed more recently, just wanted to let you know that if you sign up for a paid subscription I will send out several of my favorite heirloom seed varieties to you in the mail as a one time thank you for your kind donation to my work. If you sign up to be a paid subscriber and want seeds for any of the medicinal herb varieties shown below I have extra seeds at this time and can include those in your sign up bonus gift seeds package :)
All Annual Paid Subscriptions and Founding Member Paid Subscriptions will also include the bonus of one digital copy of Stacking Functions in the Garden, Food Forest and Medicine Cabinet : The Regenerative Way From Seed To Apothecary at the time of its completion (along with the bonus seeds gift described in this post).
Lemon Balm ( Melissa officinalis ) seeds. This plant is also amazing for pollinators and has a long list of medicinal gifts to offer humans.
wild Anise Hyssop ( Agastache foeniculum ) seeds. This plant is especially amazing for attracting beneficial insects (pollinators and predator insects) and also offers medicinal gifts to humans.
echinacea purpurea seed head
echinacea purpurea seeds
lots of echinacea purpurea seeds
This time of year offers a double harvest as I harvest not only seeds from our self sowing (and perpetually expanding) echinacea purpurea patch but also roots for propagating new echinacea patches and for making powerful medicines (such as tinctures, salves and teas).
carefully digging up a dormant 4 year old echinacea purpurea plant (which had started to spread into the little section of lawn we have left in our yard).
I first carefully dig up and divide the root ball into several sections.
reserving sections of echinacea purpurea root like this with a live bud on them allows me to re-plant several new plants in areas where they are not taking over what little lawn we have and they will have room to spread out and flourish
I then harvest the rest of the roots for making tinctures, herbal teas and adding to broths or fermented medicinal preserves.
macerating washed and chopped echinacea purpurea roots (using a mortar and pestle) before adding to a jar with alcohol to make a tincture.
I wash, chop and macerate some of the roots (using a mortar and pestle) and then put them in a jar to soak in alcohol in order to extract the beneficial compounds into a shelf stable medium.
macerated echinacea root soaking in alcohol for making a tincture. (it doesn’t look very appealing but this simple process creates a very powerful and versatile shelf stable medicine)
I also sometimes simmered some of the roots to make a herbal tea (sometimes referred to in herbalism as a "decoction") which surprisingly turns out to be a beautiful forest/emerald green color and tasted pleasant to me).
This is the echinacea root herbal tea I made (also sometimes referred to as a "decoction"). I was surprised by the color and flavor which was quite pleasant.
I sometimes prepare half of the tincture I make each year in a more advanced form called a "spagyric tincture". This is a process of medicinal alchemy where the mineral constituents of the plant/fungi are isolated/concentrated (from the plant/fungi material typically discarded after the solvent extraction process in modern tincture making) and re-combined with the phytochemicals that are extracted via alcohol into a final product so that the medicine carries the full essence of the plant or fungi.
Okay lets get out of the medicine cabinet and head back out into exploring what the brisk autumn landscape looks like in the latter half of November in Ontario
In the north the crisp autumn forest landscape has few leaves remaining on the deciduous species in November. Often, in the latter half of November snow has already begun to blanket the landscape in places like Algonquin Provincial Park. The trails are quiet and often devoid of humans and yet the cold air is filled with the whispers of the wind moving through the white pine needles and the sighing of the birch and the fir trees gracefully swaying back and forth. The leaves are all over the ground and beginning to reveal their sacred geometrical patterns as they go back to the earth from once they came and thus I find that this is an ideal time of year for listening to the language of the trees and learning for our forest elders in the north of Ontario.
first snow beginning to gather on the moss and leaves in Algonquin Provincial Park
snow beginning to gather on ferns, moss and leaves in Algonquin Provincial Park
Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia purpurea) thriving even amidst the snow
close up of Pitcher Plants (Sarracenia purpurea) in the snow, northern Ontario
When I gazed into the mirror reflection that was gifted to me in the northern forest of Ontario (captured in the image above) I was able to directly perceive and truly understand that trees are generous and caring beings. They are the lungs that inhale what we exhale, breathing life into countless species. They are the thoughtful soil builders and protectors, spreading their leaves far and wide every year to enrich the living soil beneath them and holding that soil together with their strong roots, protecting the ecology of the soil from mudslides and erosion. They provide the scaffolding for a living internet to facilitate communication and cooperation through the mycorrhizae networks that link their root systems together in what has been called the 'wood wide web'.
Reaching out with their branches and allowing the leaves to catch silt and seeds on the wind, depositing them onto the ground below, increasing fertility and biodiversity. They even nurture the ocean creatures for as the leaves break down and those minerals flow down the rivers they then feed the plankton which also do an essential job maintaining the balance on this World.
Trees even help to stabilize and shape the weather of entire geographic regions by taking in water from the ground, breathing it out through transpiration (helping to form clouds) and then seeding the rain drops with their leaf litter particles. Thus trees even help to ensure that the clouds give their life giving rains to the patch of earth the trees call home.
Watchful, silent guardians of the Earth... they have sculpted and enriched countless landscapes and given homes to a myriad of species as they found their place in the world.
Even after the trees themselves fall back to the earth, the soil that their leaves created will stay for millennia acting like a shadow of the love and life that the tree shared. An echo of love that whispers for eons to come telling the story of sunshine, wind, rain along with the strength and beauty of the tree that shared all that it was with the earth.
and as the ebbs and flow of the daily temperature fluctuations comes the snow becomes flowing water, moving through the forest, helping accelerate the decomposition of leaves and fallen logs to become earth again
anomalous ice formations on the surface of a lake in Algonquin Provincial park
more anomalous ice formations on the surface of a lake in Algonquin Provincial park
As the sacred waters are gathered and filtered by the forest they begin to be channeled into creeks and streams which can bring the gift of life to lower elevations
ice incrusted branches over hanging a place where two forest creeks join to form a river
and then when those waters find their way further south they enter into great rivers such as this one
and even further south in Ontario (where we live) the Christmas decorations begin to come out in our neighborhood at the end of November (and we often get a first dusting of snow that sticks around then too).
and when the light snow and frost mornings arrive I like to have big camp fires like this, staying cozy while watching the sparks dance into the night sky and appreciating the crisp air
Red Russian Kale leaf covered in frost (this only makes it taste better and it will keep growing even in the snow)
Red Russian Kale won`t only survive the frost, it can survive minus 25 Celsius and keep on growing! The resilience of life is unbounded, and as such the abundance of life in this universe is also unbounded. The day when humanity reaches past arrogance, fear, malice, and short sightedness is the day when this world will be ready to be introduced to the thriving interstellar community that is all around us.
snow beginning to gather on the autumn leaves in Southern Ontario in late November
snow beginning to gather on the autumn leaves and cedar foliage in Southern Ontario in late November
snow beginning to gather on the autumn leaves in Southern Ontario in late November
Okay that is it for me today! Whew! I certainty went on a few tangents there :) Hopefully there are some aspiring mushroom cultivators and leaf enthusiasts out there in the crowd! :) I hope you all enjoyed that little window into the beauty I perceive (and strive to co-create) in the month of November.
Now that our exploration of the nourishment for the soul that is offered in the month of November has come to an end I hope you will take some time to go out and experience similar moments of magic in your local area. Each moment we spend in nature opening our heart, our eyes and our other senses to what she is communicating to us offers us a chance to gather spiritual sustenance and enrich the eternal part of one’s Being.
I hope you all take time to get out in that crisp winter air, exploring nature and enjoy all the nourishment for the soul, mind and body that December has to offer.
Wishing you all many majestic, serene and refreshing moments outside and many heartwarming, cozy and joyful moments spent in the kitchen and with loved ones in the month ahead.
If you feel this post would resonate with and serve to bring joy to those in your circles please feel free to share it.
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Gavin, I am so happy that I found you on this platform. You are an incredible inspiration. Do you cover in a any previous posts how you care for, grow, and over-winter your lime tree or could you share some brief details here?
Amazing photographs, essay and recipes and growing tips! Thanks again for sharing the beauty and bounty of Nature. Much appreciated.
Gavin, I am so happy that I found you on this platform. You are an incredible inspiration. Do you cover in a any previous posts how you care for, grow, and over-winter your lime tree or could you share some brief details here?