Powerhouse Plants Every Family Should Grow | Food, Medicine & Self-Sufficiency

Maggie (00:02.582)
Oftentimes when we're thinking about starting a garden, we have one thing in mind, whether it be food, flowers, or medicine. But what if your garden could do it all? And what if there were plants that could do more than just one thing? Welcome to Women at Folk Revival, where we are deeply rooted and wildly intentional. I'm Maggie.

Meara (00:27.895)
And I'm Mira, and happy Mother's Day to you, Maggie.

Maggie (00:30.798)
Happy Mother's Day, Mira.

Meara (00:32.579)
Thank you. Before we start today, it's Mother's Day here in the US, and we just want to say happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers listening, from the moms raising babies, grown children, grandmothers, adoptive mothers, and women nurturing animals, homesteads, and communities, even the women who simply carry nurturing energy into the world around them. Whether you have children or not, we always carry this deep life-giving role through the way that we care for people, the Earth, and each other. So...

Today, we're thinking about all of you listening in here in the US, Canada, Pakistan, Nigeria, and everywhere else around the world. We hope today reminds you how valuable and deeply needed you are. And with that, let's talk about powerhouse plants.

Maggie (01:13.901)
to it.

Okay, we have a lot of information and I get really excited and sometimes I can carry on so feel free to cut me off, Mira. So powerhouse plants are ones that provide multiple purposes. They are food, they are shade, they are good for wildlife.

Meara (01:21.699)
I do. She does. She will. I will.

Meara (01:38.371)
you

Maggie (01:46.136)
good for the soil. They can even provide income for people, especially those who are trying to be self-sufficient on their land.

So I will go ahead and start with one of my most favorites and it's the black walnut tree. Now I realize not everybody lives in a place where they have space for trees, but if you do, the black walnut is one of the best that you can have. Aside from providing a extremely nutrient dense food, the walnut,

Meara (02:26.68)
Okay.

Maggie (02:27.854)
which is high in your good fats, your omega-3s, high in protein, and a great source of many minerals. This tree just goes on and on with what it can do for you. So let's talk about...

what these little these little nuts come inside of. Yes, the holes, which is the outside covering of the nut. Oftentimes they start out green and then they start to brown. Those are medicinal and can be used. They're anti fungal, anti microbial.

Meara (02:54.563)
Well, that can do for you.

Maggie (03:15.116)
and they can be used in part with wormwood and clove as an anti-parasitic, which we will talk about in a future episode. They can also be used for dyes and stains, wood stains. And we here on our property, we have a ton of black walnuts and we created our own stain. My husband did.

that he used for our countertops. We have butcher block countertops and he installed a bunch of open shelving and stained all of them with our with the holes from our from our walnuts and it's it's beautiful.

Meara (03:53.163)
Now, is there a certain part of the year where you can, where you use the hulls for dye? Is it like when, you know, like when the tree matures, like in springtime, for example, like fruit ripens, then the nut is ripen at that point of time for you to be able to use it for dye?

Maggie (04:10.231)
They'll, you'll know, cause they'll fall. They'll just fall to the ground when they are ready. And you can pick them up right away or a lot of times we will, depending on what we're doing, there's just so many of them that will just have them laying around the yard and they'll sit in the yard. This, when my husband was staining everything, we actually ran out of stain.

Meara (04:15.586)
Okay.

Maggie (04:36.661)
and it was winter time and he went outside and dug underneath the snow and got all the ones that were still on the ground, brought them in the house, thawed them out and then just took the holes themselves and rubbed them against the wood so he could finish the job. Yeah, yes. And speaking of hardware, the wood is very valuable lumber and it's beautiful lumber.

Meara (04:36.941)
I remember that.

Meara (04:53.941)
Nature's Hardware Store.

Meara (05:03.969)
Yeah.

Maggie (05:05.997)
So if you have a lot on your property, then you could always harvest the trees for that particular purpose or call on companies and they come and do it for you. And that's another way for you to make an income off of the trees. And not every part of the tree is going to be able to be used for lumber and anything that falls or anything that's left over that's just kind of warped or twisted.

Meara (05:11.747)
BLEH

Maggie (05:35.766)
It can be great fuel for, you know, if you have a wood stove as your heating source. It's a great wood to use. It's not going to last as well as your, you know, your hickory and your oak, but it's comparable to cherry and maple. You can also use it to smoke meats. It does have a more intense flavor. It's very deep, earthy type flavor that you'll get from it.

Meara (05:41.239)
Yes.

Meara (06:03.043)
When you say it's not gonna last, meaning that it burns quicker than other wood.

Maggie (06:09.677)
It burns hot and it burns long, but it's not the best. So your hickor and your oak are going to be best for that sort of thing. But it is like second place.

Meara (06:18.253)
Okay. So the nuts were food, the wood was valuable and the wildlife depended on it. Really makes me realize how older generations view trees as a resource to, and not just, you know, for decoration. And for those who might not know, these trees naturally grow much in the Eastern United States, like Midwest, river-ish valleys and places that have really rich forest soils. I did some research on this because this episode is Maggie's.

Maggie (06:33.559)
Yeah.

Meara (06:45.451)
And she is teaching me a lot today that I didn't know, but I did do my homework on, a lot of these because we're growing alongside each other and that's the whole purpose of this. So, I did find that they grow in Ohio, which is where we are, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri. so I thought that was pretty cool how they thrive, especially in the deep fertile soil near streams and woodland areas. So that I just found out. That's pretty cool.

Maggie (07:09.196)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (07:13.485)
And they're a great trade to have on your property too if you are hunters. They attract squirrel, rabbit, deer, and turkey. And those are all great, you know, viable meat sources. So.

Meara (07:20.589)
Yeah.

Meara (07:27.223)
Yeah. So instead of thinking like, I need to go to the grocery store to get some meat today. Where can I find some meat? Let's just grow some of these trees and then a few years, the meat will come to us. Right. Or find a place that has established trees that attract wildlife forest is key. So what's, what's, what's another one of your, what's your next?

Maggie (07:36.638)
Yeah, well, maybe more than a few years for your, for your tree, your walnut trees.

Maggie (07:47.468)
Yeah.

Maggie (07:52.909)
My next one is the apple tree. So if you've got a smaller yard, the apple tree is a great viable option. It tops out at about 30 feet tall and you can get dwarf varieties as well. But your standard 30 foot tall apple tree, if you can do it, is ideal because you'll reap the most benefits from it. A single tree can produce hundreds of pounds of food every year.

Meara (08:00.323)
That's amazing.

Maggie (08:22.254)
That's nuts. That's crazy.

Meara (08:22.307)
Oh, really? Because I have two apple trees. It's, it's, I'm glad we brought this one up. We are on limited area here and we are in search of our forever home in the next, in the next year. We were going to do it this year, but we just, we, we can't. So we have all of our stuff in grow bags and I have a, what was it? A, um, Fiji and a Gala tree now in grow bags. And I want to get a.

Macintosh towards the end of this year, but I just transferred them into 30 gallon bags because the roots were starting to touch the bottom of the grow bag and I I had it in like compost and my leaves were turning green and I'm like, so I had like sand and perilite and all this stuff you have to do but But yeah, we have we have apple trees in our yard in grow bags So you can do grow bags if you're not moving for a couple of years and you're like I want apple trees start now because by the time you move and Those two three years they'll start producing fruit

Maggie (09:11.523)
Yes.

Meara (09:15.627)
in two to three years, I believe. So that would be the perfect time to get them in the ground and they're forever home.

Maggie (09:21.078)
I always forget who said it, but somebody said the best time to plant a fruit tree was 10 years ago. The next best time.

Meara (09:28.929)
I think that was Lena, wasn't it? No, that was you. That was you. We were talking about this yesterday.

Maggie (09:32.885)
no no that was yeah no this is somebody this was this was said many many many years ago the next best time to plant is today so if you can get out and plant a fruit tree all right so the apple tree produces hundreds of pounds of food a year and

The apple itself, it stores very well. And you can do so much with the apple itself and preserving. So you can have like dried apple rings that you can preserve and save, you know, and have for throughout the year. You can make apple sauce, apple butter, canned slices, and all of these things you can can, which we'll keep for...

Meara (10:28.361)
need. Ruby you need to get her.

Maggie (10:32.61)
for years to come. You can also make fruit leather with the apples and those also will store for a very long time especially if you can get them in one of those airtight packages.

Also with the apples you can do hard cider, apple cider, apple cider vinegar. Which I know you are, drinks apple cider vinegar daily.

Meara (10:54.509)
Yes.

Meara (11:03.693)
I do. I am sorry, I have a child in the room. Chaos is breaking out. Yes, I do apple cider vinegar in the mornings with my water and it helps aid in weight loss. I did this again years ago and it helped me started losing weight, but I didn't see it until within, like you have to do it for a while, like six months. Anyways, with that being said, the mother, it's a cloudy strand substance that you see in raw unfiltered ACV. So we always get our ACV.

Maggie (11:04.118)
Right?

Meara (11:33.527)
with the mother. It contains natural enzymes, beneficial bacteria, and it has compounds that are created during the fermentation process that are filtered out when it's processed. So if you get your vinegar, apple cider vinegar on the shelf without the mother, it has been filtered and processed. also make.

Maggie (11:43.96)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (11:55.0)
We need to do an episode on how to make it.

Meara (11:58.305)
We should, and also be sure anytime you drink apple cider vinegar and water, first of all, don't ever do it by itself. And second of all, use a straw because it will mess your teeth up. It's very harsh on your teeth and your throat. So always use a straw.

Maggie (12:12.398)
What's that popular brand? Is it Brax?

Meara (12:16.235)
It's Bragg's and it was owned by, who does the Apple guy? Who's the Apple guy? It was owned by like a singer she took over, but at first it was owned by.

Maggie (12:24.776)
no, it was so it was bought by Bill Gates and Katy Perry for whatever, for whatever. Don't yeah, don't buy Bragg's anymore. It's no longer a trusted source.

Meara (12:29.143)
Yes, him, him, him, yep, them. And I stopped, I stopped using that.

Meara (12:38.055)
I don't know what I use, but it's, I use a organic one that I get on Amazon, but I'm not for sure what the brand name is. So yeah.

Maggie (12:46.294)
Yeah, just look for your organic non-GMO and trusted source for that. All right, back to the apple tree. So along with food production, you also have ecology. It's great for your surrounding wildlife. And it's a great...

Meara (12:51.459)
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. Yeah.

Maggie (13:14.038)
a tractor for pollinators, a great source for pollinators. You can also use the wood for woodworking. I think they make spoons and it's just good for general carving and different tools. And then also you can use the apple tree wood for smoking meats as well, maybe in combination with your black walnut wood that would be.

Meara (13:16.6)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (13:44.44)
That would be a nice combo. Yes.

Meara (13:45.101)
Sounds interesting. Okay. We got a lot to cover. What do you want to do next?

Maggie (13:51.151)
We do. Next, let's go. I guess we're just going down in size. So next would be our shrubs. If you don't have room for, you know, trees, maybe you could add in some shrubs and some good varieties for that would be your hazelnut or elderberry or both if you can manage it. Both of them grow about three to 12 feet tall.

and about 10 feet wide. Yeah, and of course this all depends on if you prune them. Hazelnuts respond especially well to pruning. They are considered a coppicing plant variety. If you don't know what coppicing is, that is cutting a plant down to the roots.

Meara (14:20.818)
well, that's pretty tall.

Maggie (14:48.911)
which will then re-sprout. So you can take that wood and harvest it and use it and then the stump will regrow. Now also doing this will provide a lot of sun which will then produce a lot of your native weeds, you might consider them, but a lot of your native herbs and wild flowers that will then grow in place until, you know, the tree fully grows in size again.

Meara (14:59.415)
Regenerate.

Maggie (15:18.807)
and which you can then harvest it again. And hazelnuts respond very well to it. And there's a lot that you can do with the hazelnut wood. You can do the wood is very flexible. So you can do basketry or your garden structures, trellises. You can also use it to make woven fences, woven garden beds. So all different.

Meara (15:37.763)
Okay.

Maggie (15:47.811)
different types of uses and the thicker pieces you can do for like poles and stakes and that sort of thing. So it's very versatile.

Meara (15:57.013)
I do know that you can find them in native. They're native to North America, Europe, and Asia. I did do a little research on that. I'm not too particular about.

Maggie (16:04.449)
Mm-hmm. Yes.

And if you do plant them, it's best to plant more than one because they do better with the cross pollination. always get more than one. Yes, early blooming flowers, which are great for the pollinators, come late winter, early spring. So they're good for hedgerows. there's natural fencing, living fencing.

Meara (16:17.603)
Okay, so they have flowers.

Meara (16:27.383)
did not know that. Okay.

Maggie (16:37.847)
is another great source for them. Hazelnuts provide you, with the hazelnut. And that is also high in healthy fats. It's okay in protein. It's kind of a medium-level protein, but high in vitamin E and copper, manganese, magnesium. So very good food source that stores very well.

Meara (17:05.503)
Sir,

Maggie (17:08.387)
And of course you can make your own homemade Nutella as we do not recommend you buy the Nutella brand because it's full of bad things, but can make your own. And those will attract wild turkey and squirrel. Again, you know, meats, horses. So also a good thing to have in your yard if you hunt.

Meara (17:16.523)
Yeah, it's not good.

Maggie (17:33.168)
Um, what else? Anything else about those? Um, move on. We're moving on. I see Mary shaking her head. Um, so the elderberry shrub is another good variety to have in your yard. Um, and it's both edible and extremely medicinal. However, the berries you do want to cook before you eat them, they will not kill you. They're not like poisonous, but they can provide, um,

Meara (17:41.623)
Hahaha

Maggie (18:01.207)
digestive issues and an upset stomach.

Meara (18:07.021)
You cut out, were talking about elderberries.

Maggie (18:10.305)
Elderberries, yes.

Meara (18:12.375)
Yeah, we use that to make if our kids are sick. We make a syrup out of it.

Maggie (18:16.106)
Yes, you're up. And many people, know, you make that and then it stores all year long and it's great. It's good for immune support, good for cold and flus and it won't eradicate the virus, but it does shorten the amount of time that you have. It's the best option, I think, for you if you do have a cold or the flu.

Meara (18:35.383)
It helps support your system.

Maggie (18:42.287)
And it's good for respiratory support as well. You can also make jelly from it. You can make wine. You can use it in tincture making. I know people have made gummies out of them to give to their kids for the antioxidants and vitamin C. And I know it's, and I need to look this up, flavonoids. Do you know what those are?

Meara (19:07.544)
They do not.

Maggie (19:08.879)
I know that they are high in flavonoids and I know that those are good for you. I just can't remember exactly why. But if you know, go to our Facebook community page and let us know.

Meara (19:21.187)
Please do.

Maggie (19:22.415)
Are you okay, Mira?

Meara (19:24.269)
I'm fine. It's just, you know.

Maggie (19:26.659)
You know, you know, we, it's Mother's Day and we're struggling as mothers because we have had to restart from being barged in on and it's been, it's been a trying day for both of us.

Meara (19:29.827)
It's, I don't know how much of this you hear. It's crazy.

Meara (19:40.705)
Yeah, my four year old is just, she's just on one today and it's like dripping down into everybody else. And then my elder is trying to watch them and she has to do everything for them. anyway, so yeah, so that's why I'm not here, but I'm here. Let's talk about grapevines.

Maggie (19:46.223)
It's my four year old too, yep.

Maggie (19:56.919)
Hahahaha

Do it.

Meara (20:02.421)
Okay, well, they have originated thousands of years ago around like the Mediterranean, I believe. Yeah. And Western parts of Asia. And then they started to spread across Greece and the Middle East from what I remember doing my research on. I do know that they're high in vitamin A, vitamin K fiber. It's an antioxidant and minerals.

Historically, they have been used in teas and for pulse, poultices. I always want to say poultices, compresses. Traditionally, they're used in circulation support, inflammation, digestion, and modern day use usually focuses more on the antioxidants and the vitamin K and stuff. And polyphenols, that's not what you just asked me about, was it? No. Polyphenols, polyphenols I think are really cool. They're natural.

Maggie (20:54.305)
No, I asked you about flavonoids.

Meara (21:00.941)
plant compound that helps protect the plant itself, but they're also known that when humans, us humans, eat them as well, researchers believe that they also help us too. So I thought that was pretty neat. The plant helps itself and us. So that's what I know about grapevines.

Maggie (21:19.183)
Grapevines are awesome because they grow very long and you can use them as trellises providing shade either for you or your areas of your garden where plants need more protection from the sun like your greens. They make one of my most favorite things in the whole world and that is grape juice. I cannot get

Meara (21:28.845)
Hmm.

Meara (21:38.87)
Yeah.

Meara (21:46.531)
You and your grape juice.

Maggie (21:48.624)
I love it. It's, you know, it's very high in antioxidants and very good for you, but also very high in sugar, I know. But it's just one of those things that I cannot live without and and I won't. I won't do it, And grapes can be used for dye too. Yeah, the skins. Yes, yeah, and you can make wine, make your own wine.

Meara (22:03.299)
And that's fine. That's fine. I got it. I got it.

Meara (22:11.053)
They can, and the grape leaves can be used for eating.

Meara (22:18.595)
You said that.

Maggie (22:18.701)
If that's, know, if you're into that sort of thing. I am occasionally. OK, so let's move along. OK, so we've already discussed in a previous episode about Comfrey and Yarrow, but those are ones and Dandelion, but those are also powerhouse plants as they provide multiple purposes. So I will just go over quickly about these things.

Meara (22:21.399)
I'm not. I don't drink. Not anymore.

Meara (22:29.111)
Let's do it.

Maggie (22:48.535)
So comfrey is a medicinal herb, let's just say more topical medicinal herb, great for poultices and using for bruises, cuts, sprains, and even broken bones. Of course, if you have a broken bone, don't put it on anything that's bleeding or an open wound because it is such a fast healer. If there is an infection,

Meara (22:58.531)
But cream.

Meara (23:03.617)
Well, I wouldn't put it on anything that's bleeding.

Meara (23:09.919)
Open. Yeah, actively bleeding.

Maggie (23:17.111)
inside of your wound, can actually heal over and create a bigger problem. So use Yarrow. Yarrow is anti-fungal, anti-microbial, and it will stop bleeding. So use Yarrow first, and then once your wound is healthy and it's closing over, then add Comfrey, and whew, it'll be gone in no time at all. It's also Dubnit Bone. So if you have a broken bone or maybe just a minor, minor break, obviously you wanna go

Meara (23:17.804)
It'll get enclosed.

Maggie (23:47.289)
to doctor, but you can use...

Meara (23:50.179)
Please do.

Maggie (23:52.024)
You can use comfrey and it'll heal you. Now some people eat comfrey leaves and some people make pills. Do your own research because it's generally considered unsafe to do so. But you you make your own judgment. It's got deep roots. These roots can reach up to 10 feet deep and they pull up potassium. What?

Meara (23:56.003)
Let's go to the doctor first.

Meara (24:21.313)
What should I become? Should I be concerned about planting that close to things around my house that have like water lines and stuff like that? Should it be planted further away then?

Maggie (24:31.487)
No, I don't think that they necessarily will mess up your power lines. They're not one of those plans like Willows that

Meara (24:36.919)
Water. Water lines.

Maggie (24:42.255)
Yeah, or power, I have power lines that go underneath the ground.

Meara (24:46.701)
You're in the country. What is this again?

Maggie (24:49.183)
We also have them up above too, lots of fun. They're all over. Comfrey. Yeah, but it's not one of those plants like Willow that like sources out that and like goes to it and can be structurally damaging. I'm not sure that Comfrey would. It's a softer root. I don't know. I honestly don't know, Mir. Possibly.

Meara (25:14.561)
It says concrete roots do not actively destroy water lines.

Maggie (25:21.177)
Comfort Roots? It sounded like you said concrete.

Meara (25:24.731)
That's what it said. You scared me. Concrete roots is what it said. What do mean?

Maggie (25:27.663)
Jesus.

Okay, but those roots pull up potassium, calcium, and other trace minerals. So they're very good to have. It's a massive biomass producer, which means that it's great for chop and drop. If you take off these big, huge leaves and lay them on the ground, it'll keep other weeds from popping up and puts a lot of nutrients back into the soil as it breaks down.

Meara (25:32.835)
All right, moving on.

Meara (25:58.765)
interesting.

Maggie (25:59.661)
Also great for liquid fertilizer. So if you've heard of comfrey tea, it's talking about a fertilizer that you can use for your garden. Yarrow. So yarrow, like we said, is a medicine and it stops bleeding, but also can be used internally for different things. It's great for pollinators. And it's also great for the soil and produces a lot of microbial life.

and it's good for compost. It's great for composting. It can speed up the breaking down of your compost. It can also be eaten and you can make a tea from the flowers. But you want to do so in moderation. It's not a food staple. But let's get into some food staples, Mira.

Meara (26:53.837)
Sunflower is one. I find sunflower intriguing. I was just blown away at the fact that you can eat the actual head of the sunflower. Like people actually grill this on the grill with butter and eat it. And obviously the seeds. But did you know that apparently sunflowers were used in the cleanup efforts after Chernobyl because they absorb certain heavy metals and radioactive particles from contaminated soil and water, which I find incredible.

Maggie (27:04.386)
Yeah. Yeah.

Meara (27:23.565)
But what I found that was really interesting is that a lot of these toxins tend to collect more heavily in the roots and the stems and the leaves of this plant, not always the seeds themself. But this is really important. If sunflowers are grown in heavily contaminated soil, which some people plant to take up that contamination, they shouldn't be eaten at all, including the seeds or the heads of the.

of the sunflower because the contamination levels obviously can become unsafe, which I say obviously now because now I know this, but a lot of people don't know this. So that just blew my mind. Filter. They do. They do. But if you grow it in a spot that is heavily contaminated, obviously it has limits because of the filter and that blew my mind. not only is it

Maggie (27:59.439)
But I thought, I thought sunflowers had their own kind of cleaning system where it prevented...

Maggie (28:10.561)
I see, so it has the limits. Okay, sure.

Meara (28:18.251)
ornamental, helps heal the land and it also feeds pollinators and it provides food and it supports other plants to grow around it. And I thought that was, I it was pretty cool. So now I'm like obsessed with sunflowers.

Maggie (28:24.313)
Yes.

Maggie (28:30.519)
Yeah, and it can act as a living trellis too. And that goes in part with, so if you've ever heard of the three sisters growing, three sisters growing or planting, there's also a four sister variety. And that is what the sunflowers included that act as extra trellises and also to bring in more pollinators.

Meara (28:36.006)
yeah.

Maggie (28:56.515)
But the Three Sisters is a system that Native Americans have used for thousands of years and it involves corn, beans, and squash, all powerhouse annual crop plants. So you plant your corn first and that grows up and then you plant your beans. Which, so as you know, corn need a lot of nitrogen. They're heavy feeders and beans fix the nitrogen in the soil.

So that's what the beans provide for the corn and then the corn provides a living trellis for the beans to grow up. So once the corn is about a foot tall, that's when you plant your beans. And then once the beans start growing up, then you plant your squash and the squash will sprawl out around the ground, providing as living mulch, keeping the soil nice and moist and preventing other weeds from competing with the corn and the beans. And

The squash plant, the entire squash plant is totally edible. You can eat the leaves, can eat the stems, you can eat the fruits and the seeds. Even the rinds on most of these. I know we're typically used to eating the inside of the squash, but the rinds are also edible as well.

Meara (30:14.091)
Interesting. Now, when you talk about corn, we're not talking about your store bought average corn. We're talking about heirloom corn because modern store bought corn today has been bred heavily with sweeteners. It is mass produced and processed and processed and it doesn't have nutrients. It's not. Where your heirloom corn varieties are grown for generations, specifically things

Maggie (30:19.076)
no, don't eat that stuff. Yes.

Maggie (30:33.708)
And it's not very nutrient dense, no.

Maggie (30:41.432)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (30:42.579)
specifically for this, cornmeal, grinding into cornmeal, long-term storage, and replanting the seeds year after year, and it is nutrient dense. So make sure you get heirloom corn.

Maggie (30:49.144)
Yeah.

Maggie (30:55.052)
Yeah. And the silks, the silks that come out the top, those can be used in different teas and that sort of thing, but just really.

Meara (31:03.787)
Yeah. So I, so if you want to start looking and exploring for heirloom varieties, I would suggest seed swaps and small farms, farmer markets, Amish communities.

Maggie (31:17.262)
There's also, I go to strictlymedicinals.com and he's got a lot of great varieties and a lot of information on that website too. Yeah.

Meara (31:21.111)
heirloom and seed companies.

Yeah.

Meara (31:30.409)
Speaking of which you were talking about beans also, we're heavy on garbanzo here. I, I remember you told me that we could take our garbanzo beans from the shelf and just plant them. And I did some more research and it says that they recommend soaking it. Obviously these are not processed and these are not like halved beans. it's the whole bean unprocessed and you soak it and then you plant it and they're bush beans. So.

I very late to the game. should have planted it earlier this month or a month before, but I planted my pole beans way before the last frost and they are thriving now. So I'm going to try it. I'm going to, I'm going to get some of those today and I'm going to soak it overnight and then I'm going to plant it and see what comes of it because we love garbanzo beans, not split lentils.

Maggie (32:09.432)
Yeah.

Maggie (32:14.606)
Mm-hmm.

Yeah, those and lentils and any of your dry beans, are seeds essentially. So you can plant them and grow plants from them. And that's what makes them a powerhouse plant because it produces you with so much food, nutrient dense food, and it stores for such a long time. You can also eat the flowers off of the...

Meara (32:24.227)
Yeah.

Meara (32:29.687)
Yes. Yes.

Meara (32:44.225)
Yes.

Maggie (32:44.332)
Most of them. There's some varieties that you cannot eat the flowers off of. I think those are your... What are they called? I can't remember. But we'll mention it in another episode.

Meara (32:53.761)
I'm not for sure. But let's touch on sunchokes real quick. I know that Indigenous communities use them for more than just food. I just was doing some research on these and

Maggie (33:04.014)
What are sunchokes? Does everyone know what sunchokes are? If you've heard of Jerusalem artichokes, they're a tuber similar to potato. They are also called Jerusalem artichokes. They're not artichokes. They are, like I said, more like a potato. And we found them growing naturally on our land. No.

Meara (33:08.255)
I don't know what a sun choke is. That's what I'm gonna ask you.

Meara (33:22.189)
Do they look like artichokes?

Maggie (33:28.662)
No, they look like skinny, twisty little potatoes.

Meara (33:28.813)
sounds like it would look like an artichoke.

Meara (33:33.795)
I did do research and saw that they were traditionally used in healing practices and they used it in things like poultices and digestive support because apparently of the inulin content that it has in it. I'm doing more research on it. It's a pretty interesting plant.

Maggie (33:42.254)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (33:46.232)
Yes, hi, Inielin. Uh-huh.

And they will they will grow and grow and grow and they will come back and it will spread. Like I said, we found them growing naturally on our property and we're going to we're going to grow them in raised beds and different areas in their garden for food purposes and eventually medicinal ones. I get a little more informed about that, but they'll grow. The plant itself grows very tall so we can use it also to create shade.

Meara (33:59.331)
Bye.

Maggie (34:20.526)
know, sun breaks in different parts of our garden as well.

Meara (34:26.199)
me out.

Maggie (34:27.534)
That's a great one. I also want to bring up nasturtiums. Nasturtiums are a vining flower and they are edible. I believe the leaves and flowers are edible, but I know at least the flowers are. But these are a great thing to grow in your garden with your vegetables and other plants. They are what is considered a trap crop. And what they do is they attract

Meara (34:36.771)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (34:54.754)
you your bugs that you don't want on your food crops. Yes. to them and that protects them. They also attract your, you know, your ladybugs and lace wings, hoverflies, as does Yoro. So Yoro is a great one to have as well. Your parasitic insects that will eat, you know, aphids and other insects that you don't want on your caterpillars and that sort of thing that you don't want on your food crops.

Meara (35:24.545)
The last thing I wanted to bring up real quick is garlic and strawberries. We've talked a bit about companion planting, and I'm not gonna lie, when I first heard about planting garlic with the strawberries, I literally thought, wait a minute, are these strawberries gonna be garlicky? But apparently, companion planting does not work like that, Mira. So I'm actually kind of interested in this idea now. My strawberries we have in hanging baskets.

Maggie (35:27.736)
Yes.

Meara (35:54.323)
my husband built a thing to hang them on. So we're not doing that, but we do eat the heck out of garlic. So I'm thinking that when we get our place, that that would be something that I would like to do. You start realizing that plants actually support and protect each other naturally when doing this, which feels like such a different mindset than just modern gardening, because now you're actually putting things together and making things happen in these unique ways. Right. So.

Maggie (36:06.7)
Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Maggie (36:21.971)
way nature intended. It all works together.

Meara (36:23.907)
the way nature intended. And you know what keeps hitting me through this whole conversation is older generations, they didn't separate life the way we do now. Like you have medicine and pharmacies and then you have pollinators and then you have privacy and food and one plant that we discussed today, powerhouse plants can do it all. And I think that modern people are starting to crave this connection again. So, you know,

Meara (36:55.747)
I lost my turn of thought. What's hitting me the most lately is realizing how much wisdom humanity has lost in just these past few generations.

Maggie (37:08.013)
And it hasn't just been lost. It's been ripped from us. They did this on purpose. The powers that be. They wanted to weaken us and dumb us down so we become their slaves. You know, as free as you think you are, regardless of where you are in the world, we are slaves to the system, to society. So the more we can break away and we can learn to live on our own, support ourselves and our families and our communities and the environment.

Meara (37:12.245)
It has separated.

Meara (37:25.111)
Yeah.

Meara (37:34.851)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Maggie (37:37.185)
then that is when we will truly be free, because we will just be living in our creator's world the way he intended, you know?

Meara (37:45.313)
Yeah. And that's why we're building this community because we need you all just as much as you might need some people like, you know, us that are just chatting about it on a, daily basis. And I think people are craving the slower lifestyle, not because it's trendy. think that we're all exhausted. We're disconnected. we're exhausted from overconsumption and just everything being artificial. And, know, and reconnection starts.

Maggie (37:47.938)
Yes.

Maggie (38:08.173)
our health of suffering, our mental health, yeah.

Meara (38:15.081)
smaller than we think, just one plant, one seed, a moment just outside paying attention to nature. And once you start seeing that differently, then you can't unsee it at all. And the world stops feeling so random and you just start feeling really connected like today, how we were super connected with these plants in this episode. So we'd love to hear from you. What's one powerhouse plant you think every family should know about? What's one powerhouse plant that you've been growing that we need to know about?

Maggie (38:18.465)
Mm-hmm.

Maggie (38:32.845)
Mm-hmm.

Meara (38:43.395)
no matter what part of the world you're from. And if it's fascinating enough, I will try to grow it here. I don't care if it's, you know, the conditions are right or not. So with that being said, next week, we're gonna dive into building a self-sustained medicine cabinet, turning powerhouse plants into usable everyday remedies and reconnecting with the healing knowledge many generations once relied on daily. So until next time.

Maggie (39:09.037)
Stay rooted and stay wild.

Meara (39:11.777)
Yes, stay wild.