I'm an idiot and have been for 30 years. Camas Bulbs!

Siglvr · Nov 9, 2016

Lived in the same house for over 30 years and have taken to "prepping". Those Natgeo preppers would laugh at our minimal preparations, but we do have a nice supply of freeze dryed foods and water. Yet I recently just realized that the easiest and best prep we could have done was totally and 100% overlooked.

It's always disturbed me that our little yearly garden efforts, while fun and tasty, would not come close to feeding a single starving person for a month. I'm watching the business park folks recently dig up the cattails that have been there for the 10 years to replace them with some stupid non-useful ornamentals. I've always thought they could have been an emergency food source and I realized: "instead of planting flowers, why not plant something useful in the flower beds?". A quick search and I see Camas bulbs were a critical staple in native diets. They would be close to perfect to plant not just in our flower beds, but in the environmental zone next to the park a half block away where Iris and tulips grow wild, in the business park, anywhere there is a spot of land. It would be like a self propagating food bank for when or if the SHTF. Most folks wouldn't recognize them as a food source and leave them be, and they would not need but minimal effort to spread. DOHHH! I'll be looking for additional things to plant, but for now have 50 Blue flower Camas bulbs coming from the nursery. I've seen these plants all over out there outside of town (Camas, Washington is named for them of course) but don't want to dig them up. White camas is poison and you don't know unless you see the flowers. I'm not waiting and miss the planting season this year so best to just order them. More info for anyone interested.

Native American Food: Camas | Native American Netroots

Cooking and Eating Blue Camas Bulbs

Are any of you doing something like this and if so, can you share what you've been planting or what has been working?

PaulB47 · Nov 9, 2016

I have seen fields in Idaho that were completely blue with camas, very pretty. Great idea to plant it, I will give it a try.

rdt · Nov 15, 2016

Iirc there is a specific way camas must be prepared or collected to avoid poisoning. Or maybe it was differentiating between two species… well the info is out there.

I'm not trying to discourage you by any means. Husbanding wild native foods is a great idea.

I don't know if you are in an urban area or not, but planting trees and whatnot that attract game animals is also an oldie-but-a-Goldie.

AMProducts · Nov 15, 2016

I buy the little trees they sell at home improvement stores when the season is starting to close on "closeout" and then take them with me on trips and plant them in places where I think they will take root. I've put a few dozen random fruit trees up at the ranch, and a few dozen more at various friend's houses. Pear, apple, avocado, fig, pom, lemon, grapefruit, etc, I've planted these things anywhere that I thought they would do well, 4 out of 5 are doing well and fruiting, a few have died, some will probably not bear fruit because they were planted too far north/south. I'm optimistic to see if the Haas avocados do well on the dry side of WA (one of my most recent plantings). Pommes seem to do well anywhere they don't get too much water, same with grapefruit.

Caveman Jim · Nov 15, 2016

There is an excellent pamphlet that is a wealth of knowledge on how to identify poisonous plants. I used it to do a team book report presentation while re-training. It's called "Wild and Poisonous Plants of Alaska". Almost all of the plants listed are indigenous to the PNW so it can be a lifesaver!!!

Lilhigbee · Nov 15, 2016

I have a grove of Jerusalem Artichokes growing. These are a tuber like potatoes, not a thistle relative. They require no attention, replenish themselves hardily, will grow just from planting some peelings, over-winter in the ground well and aren't recognized as food by most people. They have a unique flavor that isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I like them. They can be used like potatoes, though they contain more water, or mixed with potatoes for extra flavor and to extend your supply. They make a great soup or an excellent addition to a roast in the crock pot. Hmmm, maybe I'll dig some for dinner!!

Kid@Heart · Nov 15, 2016

Plant potatoes...

Hop Sing · Nov 29, 2016

Typically East and West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation Districts have native plant sales and have native camas on hand. Same for SWCDs in almost all NW Oregon counties. Check their web sites for details.