Cl Robinson

Chickweed and cleavers, white clover, sheep sorrel.  Forgot about those.

I am not skilled like that but I know people that are...thank you for that idea also.

Thank you for that.  I have very small hands so most knives suck for me.

Wild onions, curly dock, and dandelions are our first edibles.  Blackberries and blueberries are blooming as are the cherry trees but fruit wont set until next month at the earliest and more likely may for the blueberries and cherries.  Cattail tubers should be tasty about now.

The round kumquats are good but the oblong ones are very sour and I do not care for them.  Satsumas grow well here.  They are a mandarin that is not too sweet or tart, very easy to peel, some are seedless, some not.  I also like a good blood orange but I have had a lot more yucky ones than good.  

Hi Mary welcome to Permies!  My husband and I are not far from you.  We don't use much ac unless it gets above 95F.  We are in the woods with a lot of shade and we have security screen doors and use fans to direct air around the house.  Screens are very necessary due to mosquitoes and flies.  These past 2 years of la nina weather pattern for our area have been wet and much cooler than normal.  On the years we have heatwaves ac is really nice to have.  Shading, overhangs, lots of greenery, and air flow really help with cooling.  Due to the high humidity swamp coolers and similar things are not very effective.  I would like an attic fan which would vent heat and pull in more cool air than the fans, and if I were to ever build a house it would be in the design.  The house came with the husband and it was almost a deal-breaker, lol.  If you cruise through the historical district downtown you can get an idea of some of the old ways of cooling, transom windows, turret towers for air draw, built on piers for air flow and to prevent heavy rains from intruding, large porches with overhangs, lots of greenery and shady spots.

Hi Joe and welcome to Permies!  I wish you much success in your endeavors.  We are still working on getting moved onto our property but we have sheep and bees.  They are awesome.  This forum is a huge collection of resources for homesteading, it has changed my life.  I do not know anyone in your area, but there are some fb groups for foraging and living off the land specific to Alabama that might have members that are closer.

Hello Mark,

Unfortunately this thread kinda fizzled, and as far as I know there have been no meetups.  There are some really good foraging groups in north Bama on FB, they have meetups, as well as a very active mushroom society.  We had some stuff going down south but Corona has weirded everything up.  Welcome to permies and much luck to you on your journey.  If you are ever down Mobile way do holler and we can at least do lunch!

I see now you said hot and arid.  My advice may not be helpful in that case, but I still wish you good luck!

Hello Yana,

Hot climate is rather broad.  Hot /dry/tropical/wet?  Annual Rainfall?   Coldest it gets?  Are you going to be utilizing greenhouses or will it be outdoors?  

Asparagus growing here https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/asparagus/planting-asparagus-seed.htm

There is a book list and review here https://permies.com/w/book-reviews.  Some of the gardening books should have info.  

David the Good writes for a hot wet climate https://www.amazon.com/s?k=david+the+good&ref=nb_sb_noss_2.

Good luck to you in your endeavors!