Victor Johanson

Wow, forgot I started this thread; it's been lively! My own landrace efforts have proceeded in fits and starts. I planted a bunch of carrot root to save seed a couple seasons back, but found nothing but chaff in the heads. However, the next spring, volunteers sprouted all around, so apparently I just missed the window and they'd all dropped. I saved the most promising roots from those, which are in the fridge, and will plant them in pots before long to give them a head start. Now I'm interested in propagating carrots that can be successfully fall sown, a technique that's never worked for me here in Fairbanks, Alaska. I do it with parsnips, which are feral in my yard, and they yield much better than spring sown plants, but until these volunteers came up, none of my attempts with fall sown carrots worked out, so hopefully that will change with these.

A few years ago, I started a cucurbit project, and got lots of seed that year. But the next year none produced viable seed, and this year I only got a few to bear, and the ones I've opened so far also didn't produce seed. I've got a few squash left, though, so maybe I'll still get some, which would be great, since the growing conditions were very marginal and these would be true survivors. I still have seed from the first year to work with also.

I'm also trying to get a landrace grinding corn strain going. A couple years ago, I got ears from Gaspé and Saskatchewan White flint corns. I planted seed from those this year. It appears Saskatchewan White cross pollinated with Gaspé, since the kernels were mostly yellow and the plants exhibited apparent heterosis. I also planted Morden, another super early cultivar, and several others, which failed to mature. This year I'll be planting all those, plus Saskatoon White, which didn't mature for me but which is supposedly earlier than Saskatchewan White, and I'm on the lookout for other early bearing cultivars to incorporate.

Consider the offerings of https://greatbasinseeds.com/ . This merchant specializes in seed for plants suitable for a very arid climate, and has an extensive collection of appropriate species that will thrive in those conditions. Check out their selections for xeriscaping and reclamation of land from such activities as strip mining.

Nankings are good, and hardy too. We had a row of them at the hospital in Fairbanks, which yielded gallons every year; I used to scavenge them before they got ripped out for new construction. They're mild and tasty, if small. I've planted some around my place, but found that the voles love to girdle them and they usually are killed before they fruit. I have a couple now, I think, but still small. Well worth growing in the far north.

There's useful info on handling bones beginning on page 316 of this old text:

https://books.google.com/books?id=pDdBAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=young+farmer%27s+manual&hl=en#v=onepage&q=young%20farmer's%20manual&f=false

John Suavecito wrote:Yes, I'm half Norwegian and they're always trying to get us to pay $40 for a dinner of lutefisk.  Cod fish soaked in lye.  "It's a delicacy".  No thanks.  I like fresh herring and salmon, but fermented? I'll pass. The fermenting and soaking in lye was necessary at one time to have enough food to avoid starvation.   And the fresh stuff doesn't cost $40.
John S
PDX OR

We grew up eating Swedish food, but never had lutefisk until I went to a Sons of Norway smorgasbord as an adult and tried some. It was pretty blah. I went with a guy whose wife was from Sweden, and she said it wasn't representative of quality lutefisk, but I doubt it gets too much better. I don't think lutefisk is fermented though, just soaked in the lye. It had a really bland taste and the texture was gelatinous. Nothing to gag on, but palatability is definitely sacrificed for preservation.

John Suavecito wrote:The passage I read sounded like the person couldn't get himself to eat the undigested caribou stomach contents.  Of course, he had more choices than people in the past.

I liked how Weston Price explained that after getting to know some indigenous people, they showed him one of their secrets.  They removed a small organ from the back of one of the animals and it was crucial for their nutrition.  How many people today know about that? What have we lost by mistreating and disrespecting the people who knew how to live well in these places?

John S
PDX OR

I read that the plains natives liked the ruminated greens, and would hold contests where two people would eat the small intestine and its contents from each end; whoever reached the middle first won. They weren't forced by arctic conditions to resort to eating that. Human tastes are pretty malleable (hence the term "acquired taste"). I heard an account of George Attla, a musher from Huslia, who recalled having to travel to Anchorage as a boy for medical care. His mom fixed him his favorite dish upon his return--beaver tail. He was looking forward to it, but after eating city food for weeks, gagged on the first bite and spat it out. "Stinkhead" is also eaten up here, which is salmon heads wrapped in grass and buried in the sand until they naturally ferment. I doubt most people would find that palatable. I asked a native from Bristol Bay if he ever ate that and if he liked it; he told me he grew up eating it and liked it as a kid. Not sure he still would, though. Scandinavians still eat surströmming, which is fermented herring. I'm half Swedish and it's on my bucket list. Here's a hilarious clip of William Shatner introducing it to some western palates (some of which don't react well):



Often superficial observations are coupled with unwarranted assumptions, leading to inaccurate reports. Wide cultural differences render confusion likely. The lady who wrote "Plants That We Eat" got sick of hearing the trope that arctic people are almost exclusively carnivorous, and wanted to correct the popular opinion.

John Suavecito wrote:Many of the Arctic peoples had to eat partially digested Caribou food, extracted from their stomachs, or they couldn't get enough vitamin C, which is required by humans.
That wouldn't be an abundance of plant materials.

I don't know that they had to--I've read that partially digested Caribou fodder was considered a delicacy, as many fermented foods are. So they weren't necessarily eating it out of desperation. Berries in particular, high in vitamin C, are and have long been easily kept frozen all winter up here, where they occur in ridiculous abundance. I have a bunch outside right now. "Plants That We Eat" documents all that, among other ancient strategies employed by Arctic Alaskans for preserving plant foods through the winter. It's still in print and interesting reading; well worth checking out.

John Suavecito wrote:There are small amounts of fruits and vegetables that can be preserved. When they are covered by feet of snow, it's tougher. But most people in more temperate areas wouldn't consider partially digested caribou food removed from their stomachs to be vegetables.   The point is, it's way tougher to eat an optimal mix of fruits and vegetables in the Arctic.

John S
PDX OR

The book to which I referred is silent regarding recycled stomach greens. Its subject matter is confined to actual plants widely consumed for most of the year by Arctic peoples, contrary to what is commonly believed. Whether their diet is optimal hasn't been established, but Weston A. Price noted that the Inupiat displayed the most robust health and constitution among all the indigenous peoples he studied worldwide.

John Suavecito wrote:For some people in Arctic areas, they have little choice. Many of them got really good omega 3's, fresh air, no toxins, good exercise, and community connections, which is excellent, but not the whole picture. It might be the best diet if you live there, but hardly any of us live in the Arctic Circle. There are no vegetables or fruits available for most of the year.

John S
PDX OR

According to this book:

https://www.amazon.com/Plants-That-Eat-Nigi%C3%B1aqtaut-traditional/dp/1602230749

there are many plants available in the Arctic which are used widely by the Inupiat, both in and out of season (they have long employed various primitive preservation techniques). Part of the book's purpose is to dispel the widely reported narrative that native Alaskans living a subsistence lifestyle are almost exclusively carnivorous. They may consume a higher percentage of meat and fish than most, but roots, leaves, and berries are important foods that are eaten regularly.

Brody Ekberg wrote:That ice bath would be a lot warmer than the -20 degree air!

No, it wouldn't. Water is far denser than air, and thus a better conductor of heat. It's why you can stick your hand in a 450 degree oven for a good while without getting burned, but immersing it in a pot of boiling water even for a few seconds will result in serious injury, despite being less than half that temperature. I've walked around naked in -20 degree air before. I've also jumped into a swimming pool in the fall down in Texas, after some nights in the 20s, and there was no comparison--water instantaneously sucks the heat right out, way more than the 38 degree showers I take, even though the pool water may have been warmer than that (I doubt it was colder). Cryotherapy chambers  are set at -230 degrees for a reason.