Pep1: Wildcrafting and Guerilla Gardening

Wildcrafting and guerrilla gardening




This is a tough one. I wanted to do a wildcrafting list without going to far down the herbalism road, but the two seem pretty tightly intertwined. Finding a skillset for guerilla gardening also was tricky. Any input is highly appreciated!

A big positive for this category is that this one is easier for someone to start on their own, as its slightly more knowledge and less action based than the other categories.


White Belt-
Identify plants from 10 different families in the local region (mallow family, rose family, nightshade family, allium family, pea family…)
Be able to tell a ponderosa pine from a lodgepole pine
Be able to identify 10 types of “indicator” plants- ex- lots of dandelion or horsetail in a field indicates compacted soil, clover indicates nitrogen poor soil
Be able to identify the main trees of the region
Read Botany in a Day
Know what families 3 different plants on the lab belong to
Make a balm/lotion out of herbs, either wild harvested or grown
Properly harvest dandelion leaves (harvest before they flower)
Harvest weeds and prepare them for a side dish (purslane, dandelion, lamb’s quarters, chickweed…)
Make 100 seed balls

Green Belt-
Name 10 different herbal actions (demulcents, aphrodisiacs, expectorants) and at least one plant from each category
Participate in the premies online seed swap via letter program
Make a poultice out of wild herbs
Know what to look for when picking plants for poultices, tinctures, essential oils
Sell 100 dollars worth of weeds that are harvested from the wild
Make a balm/lotion out of wild harvested herbs
Make an essential oil out of peppermint
Make a tincture out of wild herbs
Make a poultice out of mullein
Properly harvest 10 different herbs in the region
Make 200 seed balls
Make 12 ounces of tea out of wild plants from the local area

Brown Belt-
Name 20 different herbal actions (demulcents, aphrodisiacs, expectorants) and at least two plants from each category
Grow 10 different plants and be able to use and process all parts of the plant (Root, leaves, stem, flower and or fruit)
Be able to identify all plants found on the lab


Black Belt-
Sell 1000 dollars worth of “weeds” from a garden patch smaller than the size of an acre (stinging nettles, dandelion greens, purslane)


Videos-


Resources-
TSP Episode 580- Herbal Actions Part 1
Identifying 50 common plant families
A fun site
mullein

jesse markowitz wrote:Wildcrafting and guerrilla gardening


Black Belt-
Sell 1000 dollars worth of “weeds” from a garden patch smaller than the size of an acre (stinging nettles, dandelion greens, purslane)

I think that's way to easy for the highest position of rank if you live in an area with a developed market.

Thanks for the reply! What would you want for Black Belt then?

Hmmm, I would have to think some one it. I've never been involved in a martial art or anything with an initiation and ranking systems so the idea is a little foreign to me. Perhaps guerilla gardening a plot of land long enough and notoriously enough to obtain real title via possession? Or reclaiming an acre of blacktop parking lot? Or the demolition of a building of at least 3 stories using seed-balls? I'll keep thinkin'

I think the one I made up was easier, but I didn't include a lot for harvesting specific plants/weeds.
This list is an improvement. I like the specific suggestions for medicinal applications.
The only thing I can suggest is guerilla gardening of an unused location like an empty lot in one of the levels.

Oh no! I didn't even see yours!!! Care to combine our lists?

No worries. It was just a starting point. I really don't have much experience with the topic so it was just to get the ball rolling. You're welcome to pull anything you want from it, combine them, etc.