Forest Farming Workshop on Nov. 9

The University of Missouri Extension is providing a workshop on forest farming at the Land of the Osage Research Farm in central Missouri at Gravois Mills. There are partners like the Center for Agroforestry at MU and the MO Dept. of Conservation.

Highly encourage anyone interested in growing foods and medicines for personal or market use to attend. Forest farming is really simple to do, the entire forest is a garden.

Growing mushrooms can be done on naturally fallen logs and old stumps. The only work done is to inoculate and wait to harvest some food. Nettles are widespread already, and nutritious. Persimmon, pawpaw, elderberry, hazelnut, and most natives largely take care of themselves. A little tending in the beginning and occasional seasonal visits with minimal work are generally sufficient.

A couple of productive chestnut trees can feed a family all winter. Throw in some pecan, hickory, walnut, and acorn to make sure and fatten up real good next winter. The tree nuts can be flash-grazed by livestock to fatten them up. Acorn finished meat is generally more expensive because it tastes so good. Acorns milled into a baking flower leaves people satisfied longer due to it's nutritional content.

Many of the native plants found in the forest offer medicinal value. The Indigenous people tended the medicinal plants so they were numerous and widespread. Many local varieties have been improved by selection over many generations. When an individual plant was found that had superior healing properties, it was nurtured and seed was saved, just as with maize and lambs quarters.

I've been working with goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) lately for its many benefits including digestion, which also leads to improved mood and calmer nervous system. I end up eating less food because the food is digested better. Candida is controlled. Cravings are reduced. The benefits of this one locally wild herb lead to much improved health & resilience. Goldenseal also detoxes the body and improves kidney health. The list of conditions that goldenseal treats is too much to understand in one setting. The more I return to this herb the more I learn about how it supports my well-being.

Growing and consuming these herbs connects us with ancient people as well. Our dna understands goldenseal and goldenseal understands our dna. It's a connection nurtured many generations ago that's so gentle and healing. Time spent under the canopy tending the plants nurtures our mental health and ecosystem health. Plants tended to that are later digested hit the gut differently. They have a unique effect on our physiology and mental clarity that plant material purchased at a store may not offer. It's a never-ending conversation about how native plants have medicinal super powers regarding treating our bodies and minds for good health.

As a thank you to the plants that provide and care, I'm here now to encourage you to grow goldenseal and other native medicinal plants. It's really simple and they take care of themselves for the most part. Go to this workshop.

https://extension.missouri.edu/events/land-of-the-osages-research-farm-workshop-forest-farming-in-the-ozarks

The market for selling many of these herbs, particularly if processed at home, is the best it's ever been. Organic is a premium in the herb market. Growing these herbs for income can be a good side income that grows over the years. A little tending here and there, over the years, leads to widespread gardens throughout the woods.