wildeyes McCoy

I think it's good to note that past civilizations used many rather incredible systems to cultivate land for grain. The mayans had incredible earthworks and irrigation canals. The terracing of the east seems similar. All of these systems required immense hierarchy and organized labor (i.e. some form of slavery or caste-subordination) to construct and when they were finished they were indeed monocrops. While they look amazing I wonder, what would the forest or meadows on those slopes have looked like without such systems.

I'm a fan of the azada for digging (link below) but that tool looks good for compacted rocky spots.

http://www.easydigging.com/Garden_Tool/Grub_Hoe_Grubbing.html

I should also mention Horizon Herbs (http://www.horizonherbs.com/) and JL Hudson (http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/) as other possible sources of seed.

This is what you're looking for. Joe Hollis has large collection of chinese medicines growing in the appalachians.

http://www.mountaingardensherbs.com/

Sun is very important. Where do the plants get energy to grow and produce leaves, fruits, roots, etc? The sun. More sun means more energy in the system which means more food. You're going to want at least -- at least! -- 6 hours of sunlight a day to grow most veggies.

If you're looking for mass plantings, some of the bigger nurseries may be the way to go. Musser Forests is nice and you can often get trees for about $1 a pop. Well rooted trees too, I might add. The state of NC has nurseries and they sell trees cheap. You can get 1,000 seedlings of all sorts (Locust, Tulip Poplar, Persimmon, Chinese Chestnut, etc.) ready for field plantings for $300 or 100 for $50 (http://www.dfr.state.nc.us/nursery/pdf/Seedling%20Catalog%202010_2011.pdf). Perhaps other states have similar things...

Munin wrote:
I think this could be incredibly useful. There are ~315,000 species of plants identified by botanists; if you have the spiritual insight to identify them all good for you. The rest of us might appreciate a more practical solution. No one will need this for plant they already know and have an understanding of. It is the ones that we haven't seen before or haven't been able to find in guides.

I don't see how this is practically any different from a field guide.

I think it's like when I see folks carrying cameras around with them, wanting to stop to take pictures, to "make memories," and yet they are making memories not with presence but through a device, as if the experience they are having is not enough and requires mediation.

I want to encourage folks to develop their own cognitive abilities because once you do, the world opens up, and you'll quickly be able to get to know plants even when you can't find a name for them. I have severe doubts that hi-tech gizmos will enhance a person's abilities. We're not computers and we don't store databases of information, we're animals and we're trackers. If you don't know how to track, who cares if you can spit out information about something?

don't forget Firefly (www.fireflygathering.org) just outside of asheville. coming up here in about a month.

Looks like a wild lettuce to me.

During a hurricane some 22 years ago, a winesap apple tree was uprooted and fell over near the house I currently live in (I wasn't here then, being only 3 years old at the time). But it continued to live and grow and after years of neglect I pruned off a lot of wood this winter and now there looks to be a large set of fruit getting bigger by the day. Apples seem pretty tough.

That said, it sounds like your tree broke? There are possibilities of bridge grafts if some of the cambium is still attached. If nothing else, get it up and wrapped and staked soon if there is any attachment remaining. If not, I think the tree is lost. Possibly the root system might send up new shoots and you could graft onto those, but after a major loss at this time of year, the roots might be exhausted...