# What wild plants ot trees to plant



## chuckinnc

I have about 20 acers that has grown up in weeds and scrub pines, I don't
plan on farming it and if I did, when disaster hit everyone would flood in looking for food so I want to plant some perenial plants or trees here and there that will produce something to eat in atlerast 3-5 years. 
They must be able to survive in the mid alantic red clay belt without alot of
care, except for watering. I have fully wooded areas and some open areas
and also a small pond but no flowing water.


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## sailaway

Investigate Apple, Peach & Pear Trees. Google Big Horse Creek Farm, they are located somewhere in N.C. They can recommend what to plant of their over 300 varieties of trees.


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## Expeditioner

Muscadines, blueberries, blackberries, and apple trees.


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## The_Blob

I suppose you could ring the property with briar a few yards deep 










then it probably wouldn't matter all that much what you planted as long as it was shorter than the perimeter 'wall' :dunno:

how many people/animals do you need to feed?


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## chuckinnc

*No animals to fee yet*

Don't want to deal with aminals yet and not sure about how many to keep up
If things get that bad than probably only 2, maybe just myself. Mostly just looking for something to plant in between the trees and thickets.


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## The_Blob

*having friends is nice...*

It's been touched upon a lot on the forum that lone-wolf survival @ a homestead in a true :shtf: situation is a near-impossibility due to that whole eating/crapping/sleeping thing we humans have to do. I'm sure it can be done nomadically (on a boat or other vehicle at best, maybe), but anything sustainable enough to provide for your needs is going to be a very large target... :dunno: :surrender:


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## ttruscott

Blackberry hedges work great and give a good crop and don't forget elderberries for immune boosting and virus resistance.


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## Emerald

I'd go with something that is edible but many folks wouldn't know that it is food.. like Pawpaw trees. Maybe some of the big old roses that make huge hips(great dried for vitamins in the winter), maybe some fig trees(they should grow in your area).. Maybe some buckthorn bushes-chinese chestnuts have very good high in protein nuts.
Cornilien cherry trees/bushes-very high in vitamin C.
Persimmon trees make fruit that most are not familiar with.
Goumi is a tree/bush that makes fruit and has been used for other things like improving stomach problems.
Mountain ash trees have some types that are large fruiting and are not well known.
along with all the berrys that have nice thorny briers to make a thicket as a fence. 
Does Kudzu grow there too? it is edible.


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## goshengirl

I was going to suggest the pawpaws, too. And berry bushes (rasp or black). I love the idea of using thorny briars as a perimeter barrier!


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## The_Blob

I didn't suggest anything edible around the perimeter because I assumed it would become a target for 'zombies'...


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## FunnyFarm

Berries, nut trees, fruit trees....The one i would personally focus on is mushrooms. A little research can lead you to what wild mushrooms grow best where you are. The spore plugs aren't all that expensive and the harvests are plentiful and delicious.


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## goodoleboy8205

Emerald said:


> I'd Does Kudzu grow there too? it is edible.


My self I wouldnt plant kudzu. in my experience the only way to get rid of it is to move very far away.


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## stayingthegame

goodoleboy8205 said:


> My self I wouldnt plant kudzu. in my experience the only way to get rid of it is to move very far away.


goats eat kudzu. the problem with that plant is that it is hard to kill and it grows up to t foot a day. it is a BIG problem in parts of the south.


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## *Andi

goodoleboy8205 said:


> My self I wouldnt plant kudzu. in my experience the only way to get rid of it is to move very far away.


Kudzu ... The plant that ate the south. :gaah:

I agree ... if I didn't have it, I would not plant it.


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## Davarm

Dont forget things like Poke, Lambs Quarter, Wild Onions, Cattails and even some species of briars have edible root masses that reach almost 100 pounds. Those types of edible plants would not be recognized as food by most people. 

Try reading the books by Euell Gibbons, find the plants he foraged and plant em. The seeds for most wild edible plants can be found at specialty wesites and the harder the seed are to find, probobly the more obscure they would be to the general public and trespassers looking for a meal.


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## Emerald

goodoleboy8205 said:


> My self I wouldnt plant kudzu. in my experience the only way to get rid of it is to move very far away.


If you can not snip quotes properly then don't quote... 
I never said to plant it. I asked if it grows near the OP!!
As it is edible it should be taken into consideration as a wild harvest food source. 
TO BE CLEAR I NEVER SAID TO PLANT IT..


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## Davarm

On the suject of Kudzu, if it would grow around here I would plant it in a heartbeat. I would tend it, harvest it, compost it and work it into my 1/2 acre garden. 

Finding organic material to compost around here that hasn't been drenched with herbicide is next to impossible and it gets expensive to buy soil amendments from garden centers.

People have tried to grow it here for cattle feed but it just withers and dies out.


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## k0xxx

Jerusalem artichoke would be good to have. It's perennial, and a great source of Potassium.

Great Mullein, while not food, has a LOT of very practical uses. Everything from being used as a bow drill for fire starting, toilet paper, respiratory aliments, a "safe" fish paralytic, and more.


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## stand

*trees take years to fruit, guys.*

perhaps you can shorten this time with grafting onto existing trees, tho. Me, I'll take sprouting, like alphalfa and beans, in a little, plastic sheeting "greenhouse", dug below ground in the center of a thicket, on a hill.this gets rid of most of the risk of sun-reflection on the sheeting revealing my "garden" to any enemies. A year's stash of jerky, grains and legumes should be in buried metal drums, tho.


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## lanahi

Dwarf trees will bear sooner than regular trees, but bush fruits are even earlier. I would plant a prickly but edible border. Depending on where you live, Oregon grape is one that people would not know is edible. Wild roses give vitamin C well into the winter. If you have any pines, the needles can be made all winter into high vitamin C tea.

The most important need during survival times is protein and fat. Therefore, I'd plant lots of nut trees and bushes. Most will take a long time to bear nuts, but something like hazelnut (filbert) pruned as bushes would produce more quickly. I'd have some oak trees because most people don't know acorns are edible. Seeds of all kinds are also high in protein and often fats.

I'd have an ornamental but edible garden, with roses, day lilies, camas, Jerusalem artichokes, red amaranth, and many other plants that people just see as flowers and not as food. Starchy root crops give far more calories than greens.

Meadows can be filled in with edible wild plants, such as dock, wild onions and garlic, mint, clovers, salsify, etc. Grains can be planted as tall grasses. Some perennial or self-seeding vegetables will grow in a meadow and not be noticed (asparagus is one)...often you can scatter seeds and they will grow if they can compete with the other weeds.

Learn the wild edible plants and, where practical, transplant them to your acreage. Some do not transplant well, others are easy.


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## timmie

Davarm said:


> On the suject of Kudzu, if it would grow around here I would plant it in a heartbeat. I would tend it, harvest it, compost it and work it into my 1/2 acre garden.
> 
> Finding organic material to compost around here that hasn't been drenched with herbicide is next to impossible and it gets expensive to buy soil amendments from garden centers.
> 
> People have tried to grow it here for cattle feed but it just withers and dies out.


come to alabama. you can have all you want.ha ha...........it's everywhere and you really can't get rid of it.it can lay dormant for years...there is a lady close to me that makes kudzu jelly. to me it leaves an aftertaste that i don't like


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## zombieresponder

Emerald said:


> I'd go with something that is edible but many folks wouldn't know that it is food.. like Pawpaw trees. Maybe some of the big old roses that make huge hips(great dried for vitamins in the winter), maybe some fig trees(they should grow in your area).. Maybe some buckthorn bushes-chinese chestnuts have very good high in protein nuts.
> Cornilien cherry trees/bushes-very high in vitamin C.
> Persimmon trees make fruit that most are not familiar with.
> Goumi is a tree/bush that makes fruit and has been used for other things like improving stomach problems.
> Mountain ash trees have some types that are large fruiting and are not well known.
> along with all the berrys that have nice thorny briers to make a thicket as a fence.
> Does Kudzu grow there too? it is edible.


I've got persimmons growing close to the house. I tried one once and didn't think much of it. I guess I ought to try again.


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## zombieresponder

Why not find someone knowledgeable in your area about edible plants and find out what's already growing there? Might save you $$$, time, and a lot of sweat.


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## *Andi

zombieresponder said:


> I've got persimmons growing close to the house. I tried one once and didn't think much of it. I guess I ought to try again.


Try them after a good frost ...


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## kejmack

zombieresponder said:


> I've got persimmons growing close to the house. I tried one once and didn't think much of it. I guess I ought to try again.


Like Andi said, try them after a frost. You can make breads, jelly, lots of stuff with them.


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## goshengirl

We're working on a pawpaw patch here. They're an understory tree, and we have lots of understory.


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## kejmack

No one suggested Dandelions yet. All parts of the plant are edible and it is rich in Vit A and C.


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## *Andi

goshengirl said:


> We're working on a pawpaw patch here. They're an understory tree, and we have lots of understory.


We have two pawpaw patches here, I love the smell ... just remember you need to check them every day once the fruit starts to make.

The wild critters around here love them also. lol


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## Freyadog

Davarm said:


> On the suject of Kudzu, if it would grow around here I would plant it in a heartbeat. I would tend it, harvest it, compost it and work it into my 1/2 acre garden.
> 
> Finding organic material to compost around here that hasn't been drenched with herbicide is next to impossible and it gets expensive to buy soil amendments from garden centers.
> 
> People have tried to grow it here for cattle feed but it just withers and dies out.


My neighbor was thinking of planting Kudzu on his property. I flat out told him that if he did and I found one leaf of it on my property that he would have on hell of a clean up bill on his hands because HE would have it cleaned off my property. Its not here and not gonna be here.


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## goshengirl

*Andi said:


> The wild critters around here love them also. lol


Yeah, I figure with all this edible landscape we're planting, someone's going to get some good out of it, even if it isn't us humans, lol.


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## ONEOLDCHIEF

Emerald said:


> Does Kudzu grow there too? it is edible.


PPPPLLLLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE do NOT plant KUDZU. Even in a SHTF situation you can never eat that much KUDZU...:gaah: It will take over and choke out everything... I have seen the devastion that stuff can cause...

Black Walnuts, Apples, Pears, Peaches, Figs, Cherry. (People)

Sawtooth oak, Hickory, Beach... (Animals)

Good luck...
ps: Emerald, I know you did not say plant it...


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## ONEOLDCHIEF

goodoleboy8205 said:


> My self I wouldnt plant kudzu. in my experience the only way to get rid of it is to move very far away.


You cannot move that far, it will catch you...:surrender:


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## cnsper

For fruit and Berries I would plant

Crabapples
Blueberries
Nanking Cherries
American plum

With the exception of the blueberries, most people would not recognize them as the fruit is smaller and the Nanking cherries are a bush and not a tree. The American plum is the only plum native to north america all the way up into canada. I can tell you that these things are great. Blueberries are obvious but they are also a lure of sorts for bear and deer that you can kill for protein. A lot of people would not even look twice at crab apples and when you slice and dehydrate them, it is like eating candy.

A lot of you seem to thing that people are going to roam the countryside looking for people to rob. Well for the most part this is going to be limited to the cities and suburbs. It will be a long walk for anyone coming here. Even living single can be done, remember all the settlers etc that settled the west with indians and outlaws. They seemed to survive and many of them carving out their place alone. It is going to be like the old west in some instances, known outlaws will be shot. Who the hell wants to live past 80 anyhow?


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## Jimthewagontraveler

Ok it's been mentioned a little bit but lets put the fat on the
fire here.
And all you country folk please forgive me for blowing OUR
cover but let's face it when shtf most doctors will be in town
and I want at least one to make out here.
PERSIMMON.
The very first thing. WHY? well I'm glad ya asked pull up a real
comfy chair.
Acorn, are bitter but with enough boiling you can eat em.
Change the water at least twice.
Fruit yep good stuff high sugar BUT they won't be on the tree
very long.
A persimmon tree will have food almost all winter.
Now when you see that nice firm beautiful fruit,
DO NOT PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH.
It is NASTY.
When it look rotten is soft a squishey nasty brown yuck.
THEN EAT.
Use a forked stick and put the fork near the fruit and quickly
twist.
Then pick up off the ground take off the little cap that might
Stick ( or not).
And use your toung to Waller it around squeezing out the guts
And sort out the seeds.
Spit them seeds in a can and dump them where ya want a tree.
ONLY pick the fruit from 6' or taller.
Cut 1 branch that looks good to hang your coat or flannel jacket
And trade jackets every week.
The dirty one goes on the tree. The fresh washed one goes 
on your back.
The squishy stuff gets canned up.
There may be a residual after taste from the skins that you 
won't be fond of but can get used to.
So be sure to strain out the skin with an old window screen
before you can cook or boil it up.
Now when it's party time ya find a recipe for banana/punkin
or what ever sweet bread.
And use yer canned persimmon squish instead.
Now the bottom of the tree is for critters.
If you have a few trees then there is no reason to 
EVER go hungry.
The tree will hold fruit most of the winter.
This means you have fresh meat most of the winter.
There is no food better for tempting any animal.


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## JasonLee

It’s better if you can plant both fruits and vegetables in mix. Apple and dragon fruit are better from fruits. Sweet corns are easy to plant as a vegitable.


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## Magus

Jimthewagontraveler said:


> Ok it's been mentioned a little bit but lets put the fat on the
> fire here.
> And all you country folk please forgive me for blowing OUR
> cover but let's face it when shtf most doctors will be in town
> and I want at least one to make out here.
> PERSIMMON.
> The very first thing. WHY? well I'm glad ya asked pull up a real
> comfy chair.
> Acorn, are bitter but with enough boiling you can eat em.
> Change the water at least twice.
> Fruit yep good stuff high sugar BUT they won't be on the tree
> very long.
> A persimmon tree will have food almost all winter.
> Now when you see that nice firm beautiful fruit,
> DO NOT PUT IT IN YOUR MOUTH.
> It is NASTY.
> When it look rotten is soft a squishey nasty brown yuck.
> THEN EAT.
> Use a forked stick and put the fork near the fruit and quickly
> twist.
> Then pick up off the ground take off the little cap that might
> Stick ( or not).
> And use your toung to Waller it around squeezing out the guts
> And sort out the seeds.
> Spit them seeds in a can and dump them where ya want a tree.
> ONLY pick the fruit from 6' or taller.
> Cut 1 branch that looks good to hang your coat or flannel jacket
> And trade jackets every week.
> The dirty one goes on the tree. The fresh washed one goes
> on your back.
> The squishy stuff gets canned up.
> There may be a residual after taste from the skins that you
> won't be fond of but can get used to.
> So be sure to strain out the skin with an old window screen
> before you can cook or boil it up.
> Now when it's party time ya find a recipe for banana/punkin
> or what ever sweet bread.
> And use yer canned persimmon squish instead.
> Now the bottom of the tree is for critters.
> If you have a few trees then there is no reason to
> EVER go hungry.
> The tree will hold fruit most of the winter.
> This means you have fresh meat most of the winter.
> There is no food better for tempting any animal.


Let me add crabapples, black walnuts, hard pears and PINES.
Pine trees have a white inner bark that is edible, the needles make a vitamin C rich tea and the green cones make a gin flavored syrup not unlike a healthy karo when gently heated.I'd also look into sewing blackberry briars around my hedges,added security and yummy fried pies/wine!:cheers:


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## goshengirl

There's a company called Cold Stream Farm that sells a number of the more unusual native-type trees and shrubs. Trees like wild cherry and plum, hawthorne, witch hazel, hazelnut, and shrubs like elderberry, spicebush, and blackhaw viburnum. You might consider planting such natives, as they are more of a plant-em-and-leave-em-alone type thing. And they don't scream FOOD SOURCE.


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## GrinnanBarrett

If it were me I would go to the local Nurseryman (a real horticulturalist) and seek their advice. take a few soil samples in to let them see what you have and what you might need to prepare the soil with. Stick with areas to the center of your property so you don't put out a sign FOOD HERE! I know that things like Blackberries should do fine. Look for native plants and trees so you don't have to spend all your time fending off bugs and disease. GB


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## 101airborne

Didn't read all the answers so sorry if repeating.

Wild ginsing
bloodroot
black cohosh
jewelweed
goldenseal
all of which are prolific growers they have lots of medicinal uses.

Wild blackberry
sassafrass
wild onion/garlic
indian turnip

are a few food source plants along with chickory that can be used as a coffee sub.


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## kappydell

white oaks. acorns are edibled if you leach the tannin from them, and white oaks have less tannin and bear annually, where red ones don't (Im told). Acorns have many recipes. Not immediately recognized as food. Then some scrub apples, some raspberries to spread themselves, gooseberries, currants, anything not recognizable as food by untrained forages. Linden trees, wild grapes (tart but versatile), juneberries, (also known as saskatoons - very popular as edible landscaping), mountain ash, seaberry bushes, highbush cranberries, etc.


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