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Opinions on bush tucker please
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Posted by gliese Northeast U.S. (My Page) on Mon, Aug 4, 08 at 1:51
| Hi. Could anyone out there share any opinions on bush tucker foods? Bush tucker is pretty much unknown here in the United States, so I'm hoping to get the opinions of people who have tried them before buying seeds. The ones I've been considering are sweet appleberry (Billardiera cymosa), purple appleberry, Midgen berry, ruby saltbush, and Illawarra pine. Could anyone give an opinion on any of those, or suggest something else? Also, are there any bush tucker that can withstand prolonged snow? Thanks for any info. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Opinions on bush tucker please
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| g'day gliese, not many ozzies visit this site anymore something to do with how it is managed? anyhow i can't comment specifically about the plants you ask about, but if they are plants that you have researched and are edible to the degree you require, then all you need consider beyond that is can you replicate the growing conditions that they need? so look to yor local climate to see if those growing conditions suit the plants is about all i can suggest. as for the eating of the fruits etc.,. that may come down to individual taste? len |
Here is a link that might be useful: len's garden page
RE: Opinions on bush tucker please
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| Gliese, I suspect that your continent's equivalent to Aussie "Bush tucker" might be a lot better. Probably one of the reasons Aussie bush tucker isn't so well known there is just that - not that it's horrible, but some of it is sparce to harvest, bitter, needs treatment etc. There are some interesting fruit-producing rainforest trees, but of course not cold-hardy. Probably some of the better accepted plants here are the native citrus and they have been the subject of some intense cultivation and crossings and becoming more available for home gardeners. Sorry I have little specific to say about the ones you mentioned, the best link I could find for resources is below. Cheers |
Here is a link that might be useful: bush tucker info and links
RE: Opinions on bush tucker please
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| One thing you should be considering is the issue of australian native environmental weeds in the USA. There is potential for something with edible fruits like those of Billardiera scandens to be spread far and wide by birds eating the fruit and depositing the seeds in their droppings. I would be getting some advice on this from your equivalent of Victoria's (my state) Department of Primary Industries and Department of Environment and Sustainability. Having said that another bush tucker plant that has delicious tuberous roots (similar to sweet potato) is Triglochin procera or Water Ribbons. We also have a few native Raspberries, one of which is Rubus parvifolius that is endemic to south eastern Australia. But again seek advice on their weed potentional before blindly importing seeds. There are also quarentine issues, around plant diseases, that you need to be cautious of when importing live plant material. Please don't be one of the smucks who blithly ignore this and create environmental problems in their country as a result. |
RE: Opinions on bush tucker please
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There are parts of Australia where it snows, but there wouldn't be anywhere in Australia that has cold of the sort you get in North-east US.
I'd be pretty sure midyim berry wouldn't even tolerate more than a slight frost for a few days each year, and even then it would look pretty poorly until the summer rains of its native climate came and revived it. (It does like to be dry throughout winter). You might be able to nurse it along indoors, if you want badly enough to eat something that has subtle hints of cinnamon and turpentine in its flavour. Then again, it wouldn't be easy to provide it with the sort of winter day-length to which it is accustomed, unless you had some of those special "daylight" lights.
I've seen ruby saltbush growing near the beach (on almost pure chalk) in South Australia. It gets cold down there - a typical mediterranean-style climate - but I suppose snow on the waterfront is rare. You'd probably need to get seed collected from the right part of Australia to have Buckley's chance (and do look that Australian expression up) of it's surviving the cold. There is enormous variability in the Australian plants gene pool. I think, for instance, that you could be sure of failure with ruby saltbush seed from my area.
Are these plants actually available in the US? You could ask people who have grown them there - or is that what you're trying to do on this site?
I'm inclined to agree with the writers above on the unwisdom of importing plants from another ecosystem when so much damage has been done worldwide by feral weeds already - but I'd be putting my money on your chances of rampant failure with most of our bush tucker species.
I also wonder why you'd go for Australian bush tucker when there must surely be some interesting indigenous north American food plants. Is there a US equivalent of the Australian bush tucker movement?
Trish |
RE: Opinions on bush tucker please
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- Posted by gonow NSW AUST (My Page) on
Sat, Aug 30, 08 at 3:39
The bush tucker I've tried includes Billardiera scandens [Climbing apple berry]and the taste is very like cooked apple, the down side is it is only ripe when it turns black and falls and the myriad of seeds reduces the palatability, easy to grow in Sydney though. Midyem [Austromyrtus dulcis] is also easy to grow and the berries are small, very sweet a little watery and they vary in flavour. Ruby saltbush - [Enchylaena tomentosa] I've regularly nibbled them in passing, they are tiny, and quite palatable but I wouldn't go out of my way to get a feed. Illawarra plum have a pleasant taste but have, to my mouth, an unpleasant slimy texture, it is also a big tree, harvesting could be a problem on mature trees. I doubt any of these would transport or store well.
Of course the thing with bush tucker is if its desirable it becomes a mainstream crop and no longer bush tucker - a lot of our staple foods started out as bush tucker in the Americas. |
RE: Opinions on bush tucker please
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- Posted by cherax Syd NSW Aust (My Page) on
Sat, Aug 30, 08 at 4:04
Hmmmmmmmmm...... snow. I dont think so.
Most australian edible plants do not come from alpine communities.
Either coastal, coastal and/or rainforest or desert/arid zones.
The plants you refer to are all OK. The illawarra plum is very average. you'd have to be hungry to eat them.
My bet is that you unfortunately
y have much luck so I am not going to make any spp selections I am afraid.
As suggested previously, 'when in rome'... stick with your own species.
A |
RE: Opinions on bush tucker please
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| Thanks for the replies. Greg- Yes, I will definitely keep that in mind when/if I move to a place where they can make it outdoors. One nursery here already sells one of the Billardiera, but I don't know if they did their homework and found out if it is invasive. Trish- I don't think most bush tucker is readily available here in the US, but I have found a few Australian sellers on ebay who ship seed to other countries. Also, there are a good number of interesting native edibles here (although the only edible I've managed to find in the woods so far is actually an invasive weed native to China), and I look into those too, but I don't really favor things because they're native/exotic (although if I could plant them outside that might come into play). I guess it's just my thing; some people collect stamps, I collect uncommon plants you can eat (although not necessarily ones you'd actually want to eat). Sorry for the late reply, if anyone else knows anything on the topic I'd enjoy hearing it. |
RE: Opinions on bush tucker please
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Also I am interested on Midyim berry seeds ands other bush tucker fruit.
Maybe we have to much superfruit and we like to get something what another one has not (here)
I support world diversity, as long as it concerns food and fruit.
Hope there is not so much protectionisme in Australia as rumours are spread.
Kind Regards,
Leo |
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