Ginsing, truffels, mushrooms, South Georgia

Hey everyone.. I am writing to see if anyone in south georgia collects food or cooking items from the woods.

I have read some articles about wild truffles around hardwoods and pecan orchards in Georgia but haven't heard of anything specifically about southern Georgia.

I know a wild Ginsing is around the southern Georgia region and grows in the shaded areas... is anyone harvesting this stuff .. how would smoeone learn how to find it?

And my last question is I have a friend from Kentucky that is found of a mushroom called "chicken of the woods"
It has a yellow color and grows on hard wood that has fallen... it has the same stringy consistency and tase of chicken (hints the name) I have found some mushrooms along the little river that look identicle to the pictures but I am wondering outside of picking some and sending them off to be tested does anyone know if they even grow in this area.. or what mushrooms that are wild might be edible?

I am really curious about finding food and medicinals from the wild.. nothing I plan to live on but maybe a treat if i happen to run across something.

interesting topic and I look forward to hearing more.....

Don't pick those around cow pies in pastures.

Go here and do some searching. It's a South Ga based site.

www.morelmushroomhunting.com

I didn't know Ginseng grew that far south?

N. GA Mountain Man will not like my intruding upon his realm, but I would highly recommend the greens of young Poke Weed (better known as "Poke Salat" to those who cater to southern cusine).

Those who know nothing except what they find on Google will tell you that it is highly poisonous. It is toxic as it matures, but when young and tender is a very tasty and nutritious green. They are edible for as long as the stalks are no taller than two feet.

Pick the leaves from the stalks, wash them, then place them in a pot of boiling water that will barely cover the leaves. Boil them for ten minutes or until they completely wilt and become limp.

Drain the water off, and place the greens in a large frying pan (a wok works great). Add several tablespoons of fresh bacon drippings (preferably salt cured streak-o-lean) or olive oil and fry for twenty minutes or until tender, stirring and turning as if you were doing stir fry.

Add one table spoon of apple cider vinegar, then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh baked cornbread.

Poke weed around Loundes County should be moving toward maturity, so best you hurry.

Swamp Cabbage is another dish that can be taken from the wild in South Ga. This comes from the heart (or bud where new growth appears in the top of the palm) of Cabbage Palm. I doubt you will find the palms around Valdosta, but you can pull the bud out of Saw Palmetto which is plentiful. Simply grasp the tender new growth at the tip of each branch of saw palmetto, and tug briskly. The tender shoot will bring out the newly forming bud. It is creamy white and tastes rather like potato. It will take several buds to make a meal, but palmetto is plentiful. Any landowner would be happy to oblige you with a mess.

Here is a recipe: http://www.marshbunny.com/recipes/cabbage.html

North GA Sportsman is correct. Ginseng grows naturally only in the mountains of N GA.

Mr. Holt,
My grandmother always has a patch of greens in her garden she calls poke salat. She always picks them when they are still very short and tender and prepares them much the same way you described with bacon grease. Personally, I like mustard greens myself, but it's all good when granny cooks it.

Dang RG, those are the best ones !!!

This may have been discussed before but my mother used to have us kids go out in the woods and dig for "yellow root". She would boil the roots into a tea. We would drink the tea for kidney infections. Not sure it actually worked but it was sooo bitter we never complained about kidney pains again. I'm pretty sure this is found only in the North GA mountains. Anyone else ever heard of Yellow Root?

my grandma in northern alabama used to make yellow root tea

fradycat said:

I'm pretty sure this is found only in the North GA mountains. Anyone else ever heard of Yellow Root?

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When we were kids, we'd dig yellow root and bundle it up and sell it to a local produce stand. I don't think it's found only here. I'm pretty sure any freestone stream in the Appalachians will have yellow root growing on the banks.

I think I have seen those mushrooms before.

Are there any other harvestable wild foods that you guys know of?

Water crest, ramps, morel mushrooms, polk, blackberrys, mullberrys, Persimmon muskidines dandelion, hickory nuts, are a few I can think of right off that I have eat from time to time. Im sure I'll think of some more. Some of the foxfire books have good info on such as this. I remember another etible wild plant book at the library I checked out years ago had items like queen anns lace root and cattail root.

I dig ginseng in North Carolina dont think it grows that far south. I have seen in it North Georgia but it is illegal to dig it in Ga.To dig it here on forest service youve got to buy a permit. Last time I bought one it was like $30 and you can dig one pound(wet) with it.
It takes aprox 3 lbs wet to dry out to get 1 lb. You get more money for it dry.I wait till the last of the season to sell it last year I got $860 a pound for it The highest ive seen it. It normally grows on the north facing mountain. It requires i think 70% shade for the best gorwing conditions. If youre still interested i can tell you more about it. I know I am going to dig a lot more this year because it might even go higher.

sengdigger said:

I dig ginseng in North Carolina dont think it grows that far south. I have seen in it North Georgia but it is illegal to dig it in Ga.To dig it here on forest service youve got to buy a permit. Last time I bought one it was like $30 and you can dig one pound(wet) with it.
It takes aprox 3 lbs wet to dry out to get 1 lb. You get more money for it dry.I wait till the last of the season to sell it last year I got $860 a pound for it The highest ive seen it. It normally grows on the north facing mountain. It requires i think 70% shade for the best gorwing conditions. If youre still interested i can tell you more about it. I know I am going to dig a lot more this year because it might even go higher.

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I never heard ginseng digging in Ga was illegal, I have known a few folks who did dig it in the past.

Sorry, I meant on forest service,I think. I know its legal on private land

In GA, there's a season on the legal harvest of ginseng. Also, other laws regulating its harvest. GA code 12-6-150 thru 12-6-157.

yes I would enjoy some more information..
I know or atleast I was pretty sure it wasn't native to the south georgia area but I have heard of it being "planted" and harvested from in the wild.

I think I heard of some people that got some and transplanted some of the root and recreated some of the right conditions and was able to grow some for their own use. I often wondered if I found a place near the river bend or near the lake in the really heavily old growth woods if I could plant some of the root and grow a little.

Oh what about that watercrest... how do i spot it and is it the same watercrest that you get ina can and toss in with stirfry ???

I woudl love to get some of that I actually use it in a brown rice dish I cook that goes great with venison.

Oh shoot thats waterchestnut.. what the heck is watercrest?

I found a real good website and it is www.wildgrown.com.Its got everything about seng on it. It has a map that shows it grows in all of georgia. And you can get a permit to dig on Federal land, which I will be doing this year.