Eat the Weeds Newsletter 2 June 2015

Eat the Weeds Newsletter 2 June 2015

byGREEN DEANE

Edible Ivy Gourd are not shy about ripening. Photo by Green Deane

The green fruit is usually left untouched but wild denizens of the night like to eat ripe fruit left on the vine. Photo By Green Deane

Fruit is red for a reason. I first spied the Ivy Gourd when its candy-red fruit caught my eye as I drove over a railroad crossing. It was growing on a chain link fence by the tracks. That fall I dug up the root and the plant has been with me since. In fact I recently moved and like that cats, it went with me. Perhaps I should give it a name.

Once in season it is fairly easy to spot because the cucumber-like fruit turns red as it ripens. You can eat it at any stage and it tastes like a slightly tart cucumber with a tougher skin. I don’t peel them, I just crunch away. Young leaves and growing tips are also edible.

An old clothes line is an excellent location for your Ivy Gourd. Photo by Green Deane

The Ivy Gourd is not on this state’s invasive plant list but makes the cut in Hawaii where it escaped cultivation. The vine was introduced to that state as a backyard food crop and is sometimes called “Thai Spinach.” The two plants I have found over the course of several years are about a mile apart. Male and female plants are needed so there has to be guy somewhere around here. That it produces excellent fruit and is virtually maintenance and disease free does not exonerate it with some. I like that it’s a prolific producer ofchunky cukes and takes total care of itself as “weeds” tend to do. It also likes to grow up rather than out thus saving space on my garden floor. This is definitely a permaculture species. To read more about the Ivy Gourd, also called Tindora,go here.

In case you missedreceiving the newsletter last week that’s because there wasn’t one.

EatTheWeeds.comis — for reasons unknown — under regular attacks by hackers, as if there is something secretive or seditious about edible wild plants. Last week’s disruption lasted for a little over week. It was an unintended vacation from the newsletter. Efforts are underway to reduce the frequency and scope of the hacks.

Very young Honey Mushrooms In late May

While teaching inWest Palm Beach this past weekend a rather odd occurrence was observed: Honey Mushrooms in May, the thirty-first to be exact. “Honeys” are among Florida’s more easy to identify edible mushrooms (when well-cooked.) One usually spies them in the winter months starting around November and perhaps as late as February. This particular clump and several others were growing on a Banyan tree root. There are Honey mushrooms nearby on other Banyans in the winter but this is the first time seeing some this time of year. The report is not isolated. On two of my Facebook mushroom pages there have been a couple of other reports about seeing “Honey’s” out of season. To be accurate they are known to fruit anytime of year but it is rare to see them popping up outside of winter. On Facebook I moderate the Florida Mushrooms Identification Forum, Southeastern US Mushroom Identification, and Edible Mushrooms: Florida. To read more about Honey Mushroomsgo here.