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My Great Aunt Bett was known as the Medicine Woman in the mountains of eastern Kentucky where I grew up. She was indeed a formidable woman, even to me, since she could drape that stinking asphidity bag around my neck and get by with it. This is the story of our trek up the mountains on our search for the new shoots of poke, and of all the magic held secretly within the pokeweed plant.
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One of my earliest memories is sitting on the back porch listening to my mother talking with her Aunt Bett about the war in the Pacific while they were breaking green beans straight out of the garden. It was during WWII and I was a 2 or 3 year old who had never seen her daddy, since he was serving our country in the Philippines. But the war was no concern of mine, I was much more interested in the pop of the green beans when they broke, the curly green strings that came from the part that was pulled away from the bean, and the talk that went on between my mother and Great Aunt Bett. There weren't many men in my life during that time. Most of them were with my dad in various places in Europe fighting a war I knew nothing about. Since I was the only grandchild in the family, evesdropping on my elders was an every day pasttime. Aunt Bett was not a typical great aunt. First of all she did not like children. She had none of her own and she pretended I was not there, but we spent a lot of time on that back porch, them talking to the rhythm of beans breaking and June bugs buzzing and me with ears wide open. Years passed, my Dad came home, and Aunt Bett grew older. She was a widow, and she had no job, so she lived off all the treasures of her small farm and the surrounding mountains. I could tell that my mother stood in awe of Aunt Bett. Not so for me; frankly, she scared me to death! We gardened it seemed from daylight till dark. It was my job to follow along after Aunt Bett and drop two seeds into each hole that she dug. That was not a problem, the problem was the stinking asphidity bag that she draped around my neck before we left the house. It was to ward off evil she said, and to keep the bees from stinging. I wasn't a bit afraid of a little evil or a few bees, but I was surely afraid of Aunt Bett, so I wore the ugly stinking piece of jewelry. Maybe it even worked because I lived to tell the story of gathering poke from the mountaintop. 
Pokeweed, (Phytolacca americana) Aunt Bett told me, was a magic plant. It was so magic that it had to be gathered in the early spring just as the sun rose over the mountaintop while the plant was covered with dew. That alone was enough to install a little more dread into my 8 year old heart, because not only was I the child anointed with the task of following along behind her, but we had to start our trek up the mountainside before daylight. Fears aside, off we went in a hurry to beat the rising sun, Aunt Bett carrying a walking stick, and me trudging along behind with an armload of brown paper sacks and wearing the stinking asphidity bag. I might as well tell you now that my magic bag was a simple one made of muslin. I was told to never open it because it would let the power out, and being terrified of bringing the wrath of Aunt Bett down on my head, I never opened the thing. It was not very heavy, but it was very lumpy. I have tried often to think of what might have been inside the mysterious little bag, because it was very small, certainly not much bigger than a silver dollar. It was also lumpy, and smelled of rotten leaves, garlic, probably rosemary, maybe onion, and mint. The combination mixed with sweat and dirt brought tears to my eyes. Those are my grown up thoughts, my little girl thoughts could only recognize the mystery surrounding the bag. After wearing it a few times, it became greasy with sweat, the garlic smashed, and it literally began to ooze. It left its odor on my neck, chest, hands, face, hair and I was sure I could be smelled a mile away. We got to the mountain top on time, and met the sun as it popped up over the edge of the world. And there, directly in its beam, was the light green pokeweed plant. To my surprise, pokeweed didn't look very scary. We gathered the young poke and I was directed to only pick the smallest leaves; into the brown paper sack the leaves went and Aunt Bet pulled from the pocket of her long skirt a big burlap bag into which she dropped the smaller paper sacks as they were filled and after the tops had been folded down twice and clipped with a clothespin. 
The trek back down the mountainside was always spent with Aunt Bett giving advice, and me trying not to listen. I do remember the directions she gave for cooking pokeweed and those directions will be included at the end of this article. She also told me that I must never eat any part of the pokeweed except those very young leaves because if I did, I would surely die. The stinking asphidity bag would protect me from all harm, though, as long as I wore it while searching for young leaves, but even it could not protect me if I ate any part of the forbidden plant. Time passed and so did the summer days. Early in the summer we again made the early morning trek up the mountain, but this time we were only going to check the growth and the location of the pokeweed so we did not carry multiple paper bags, but again I had to wear the stinking asphidity bag around my neck. Aunt Bett was convinced that evil lurked behind every tree. 
Surprisingly, though the poke had grown, it did not look menacing to me, but it did look interesting. It was in bloom, and the tiny white clusters of flowers had a green center with a pink tint outside. Aunt Bett told me that by this time every part of the poke plant was poison. The stalk was beginning to turn red, and a little later the flowers turned into dark red berries. She told me that the berries could be eaten by birds with no harm to them, but the only thing humans could do with the berries was to turn them into dye. So on the next late summer trip, we gathered poke berries and Aunt Bett used them to turn white muslin feed sacks into a dazzling shade of red. After many washings of the feed sacks to wash away the poison, some of the dyed muslin was made into bright red blouses for me. Early fall came, and again Aunt Bett silently took me up the mountainside. She rarely said a word on the trip up, perhaps because it used up extra energy that she did not have. In fall I noticed that nature takes on a different look and smell. On those fall trips, Aunt Bett again carried the burlap sack, I carried a heavy pickaxe and wore the dreaded asphidity bag, which by this time not only reeked but actually had taken on a life of its own. Nasty, that thing was. On this, the last trip of the season she assured me, we were going to harvest the root of the pokeweed. We took turns with the pickaxe. And more turns. And even more. The pokeweed root was surely growing all the way through the mountain and on to China, I thought. If I thought the asphidity was stinking on the way up the mountain, it was positively reeking with blood, sweat and tears on the way down. 
Aunt Bett carried the chopped up pieces of root, and I had gathered the last of the berries, which she told me were mine to do with what I wanted, but I had to promise not to eat them. That proved to be an easy promise to make, since I had no desire to meet with an early demise. (By this time I had read Sleeping Beauty and I was a firm believer in the power of poisoned fruit.) I was interested in what she had planned for the pokeweed root, the magical plant had taken over my summer, so I might as well learn everything about it. Slowly she revealed her secrets: "Treat the pokeweed plant with respect," she said, "poke root is best dug up after the plant has started dying back for the winter. One small root will be enough to last this family long after I'm gone. First you must wash the root, then chop it into small pieces, enough to fill up a jar. Then you must add enough 100 proof alcohol to cover the roots." Knowing now, what I didn't know then, I am thinking...."Whewwww!" Aunt Bett continued: "Set it in a corner and forget it for a moon and a half (about 6 weeks), then strain out the roots and bury them behind the smoke house. The syrup will taste very light (mild) but don't be fooled. There's magic in that syrup. It will knock you flat in a heartbeat. What I have made for all of us is a medicine that must be taken no more than 1 drop at a time, twicet a day. It will keep us from getting colds and strep throat and lung ailments. Store it away now and don't forget anything I have told you." While the syrup was curing, I made use of the poke berries. With those magic berries in my hands, I became an amazing artist; I drew red designs on every large rock I could find, I painted designs on the white bark of the sycamores that grew along the riverbank near my home. And oh my goodness, I became the very first painter of my own body parts. A real tattoo artist, I was. I only painted the parts that my mom could not see, of course, but I dearly remember the amazing floral design around my belly button. The only problem with that was that pokeberry juice did not wash off very easily and I spent some uneasy moments changing clothes that fall. I never knew when my mother might decide to come uninvited into my room. Aunt Bett also taught me to make a salve from the poke root. Instead of the alcohol, we added oils to the poke root, leaving it standing until it became a mush. When the mush was strained and we saved the heavy liquid, we melted into it some beeswax, and it became a balm or a salve. I also remember that she saved some of the poke oil itself and used it to rub on mosquito bites, bruises, lumps, bumps and boils. I remember as well that it always cured whatever ailed me. Indeed the pokeweed was a magic plant. I still have a great respect for it. I was fortunate enough to remember most of what Aunt Bett taught me, and was lucky enough to be given some of her hand written recipes and directions upon her death in the early 70's at the age of 85+. Some of her written comments including her own spelling are in quotations above. We had many adventures, Aunt Bett and I, and I balked at every one of them. But oh, the memories that we made! Maybe next time I will tell you of our great search for the illusive Mouse's Ear, or the secret that lies within the resin of a pine tree, or the satisfying experience of gnawing on a sassafras twig. I might even share with you the exact location of the grave in which I buried that stinking asphidity bag. No doubt it is still there. Here is Aunt Bet's recipe for Poke Sallit, so spelled because poke is not to be eaten in a fresh salad, but should only be eaten as the result of multiple fresh water boilings, at that time it becomes sallit, or sallet: Pick and wash big bag of poke pickings. Bring to a fast boil for 20 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water, bring to a boil again starting with clean cold water and boil again for 20 minutes. 
For the third time, start again with fresh cold from the well water, and boil again for another 20 minutes. This boils the evil out of the pokeweed and it will not poison you. You can add bacon grease to thrice cooked poke, and you can add onions. Eat with hot cornpone and cold butter. Special thanks to Gloria Cole (gloria125) for encouraging me to write about my Aunt Bett. Thanks to Carol Peddle, (Starzz), for enhancing the 108 year old photo, taken when Aunt Bett was about 10 years old. Photo credits belong to DG's own Scutler, to Jennifer Saylor and to the author. In some instances the same photo appeared on more than one website and credit was sought, but the photographer was unknown. Credit would certainly be given if I could find the illusive photographer.
 | I am a retired high school art and humanities teacher. I grew up in the Appalachian mountains of southeast KY and now I live with my two rescued cats, Jazz and Daisy, in far western KY. I love daylilies and perennials, and thanks to my DG friends this year I am adding roses to my gardens.
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Subject: And I thought I knew all about you!!!
Posted by Murmur (from Whidbey Island, WA) on March 25, 2008 at 11:31 PM:Sharon, you are truly a delightful writer - I thoroughly enjoyed your Aunt Bett stories and look forward to more someday! My father was away in World War II when I was born, too, but came home when I was about 14 months old - I had no idea who he was, of course, and he sure didn't know what to do with a little tiny girl!! ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on March 25, 2008 at 11:35 PM: Thank you, Murmur. I think the Aunt Bett stories have brought back memories to all of us. I am glad you had an opportunity to read them, and there are more on the schedule.
I know you have a rough day ahead of you tomorrow, be safe, and be blessed, and I will be thinking of you.
sharon ...
Subject: What memories!
Posted by scottsmom (from Bath, PA) on March 3, 2008 at 9:49 PM:Oh, the war, yes I remember sitting on the stairs watching my mother ironing. She ironed fast and cried faster. "Why are you crying, Mommie"? I said. "Your uncles are coming home"! She said. I had two new uncles to meet and was 4 years old.
No poke salit but dandelion greens hunted with my grandfather and his pocket knife. The sun was barely up and the grass all dewy "Only the small tender ones, not the bitter big ones or Nana will send us back for more. This was only eaten with bacon dressing. The good PA Dutch kind not store-bought. Later we collected the flowers for wine making. No waste for this plant.
Have a cold? No worries about overdosing as the bottles of today warn you. Take 1 part lemon juice, 1 part honey and 1 part glycerin. Put this in a glass with a spoon and have a spoon full whenever the urge to cough comes on.
The worst part about a chest cold was getting your chest rubbed with goose grease. Then a square of itchy wool flannel was pinned inside your undershirt till the cold was better. No complaining about itchin or stinkin!
If you wanted a pie, well go take the boat and row over to the swamp and pick some huckleberries (I didn't know they were blueberries till I was grown.) By the way, watch out for the bears, the bushes were taller than our heads and a few time Mr. Bear was right in the area having his lunch.
Pick a couple of quarts extra and Pop would make some wine.
Oh yes, more about colds, elderberry wine was warmed and a full glass was the prescription. Then off to bed, wake up with no more cold, or so they said. I think if you had that full glass, you didn't care if you had a cold or not.
Oh yes, they really were the GOOD OLE DAYS! ...
Subject: polk salad
Posted by karen_cajun (from Deville, LA) on March 3, 2008 at 9:05 PM: I am a native Louisianian & we have had "POLK SALAD" for many years. I have heard that the leaves must be cooked & rinsed @ least 7 times to remove all poisons. Many Cajuns call this the poor mans mustard greens.
-The plant looks very muck like the elderberry plants that also grow wild here.
I was not very knowledgeable with polk salad & one summer proceeded to collect(what I thought was) elderberries & made a case of jam to give for Christmas gifts. It did have a somewhat bitter taste to me but I stored it never the less for future gifts.
My dear friend ...
Subject: Asphidity
Posted by Dollykat (from Lucasville, OH) on March 3, 2008 at 11:14 AM:Aunt Bett's regional, home-made version of asafetida probably worked well because no one could get near you to expose you to any serious bacteria or virus. With no access to antibiotics at that time, people had to use every method possible, valid or not, to protect themselves and their children from what could be fatal ailments, now easily treatable. I hope you will write more vignettes about your childhood. ... Posted by knottthemama (from Duncan, OK) on March 3, 2008 at 1:53 PM: My mother told me about asaphoetida bags, as she spelled it, and that her great aunt wore one, and religiously ate a tiny pill of it every day. She said it smelled like a cross between a skunk and something rotten. She said she also went to school with kids whom she pitied because they had to wear them. She said asaphoetida was some black, tarry substance of unknown (at least to her) origin. Her own mother was a modern, foreward-thinking woman who poo-pooed the idea. She used poke as a treatment for scabies as a poltice, which my mother claimed explained her own allergy to spinach. I never noticed an allergy to spinach though; my mother ate it, she just wasn't fond of it. I am not familiar with the method, but my husband's aunts and his mother canned poke to eat as greens. They insisted it was good for the blood. My foreward-thinking grandmother, on moving from Mississippi and eastern Texas to Oklahoma, worried about what she'd do without white oak bark to use as medicine, but found that the so-called scrub oaks, or blackjacks were just as effective for whatever she used the bark for. My mother also told me of a time that her mother had a bladder infection, and was really sick. One of the Comanche women (my grandfather share-cropped for them) came and picked some weeds out of the yard, brewed a tea for my grandmother, and she got well very quickly. It is really sad that so many of those herbal cures are gone now, in favor of modern medicine, which is not always as effective and frequently produces worse side effects that the original illness. ...
Subject: Shar, you are brilliant!
Posted by flowerhead410 (from Nelson, NH) on March 3, 2008 at 9:03 AM:I would have to say that is the best article I have read on Dave's thus far! The gifts your Aunt Bett gave you are wonderful ,despite your fears of her. You display this so well in your story! Thanks so much for sharing and PLEASE tell us more!-Kath ...
Subject: Enchanting
Posted by herbalbetty (from Middleburgh, NY) on March 3, 2008 at 8:40 AM:Please share more stories of you, Aunt Bett and mountain living. It's like have the Foxfire series come to life. Thanks, Sharon, for sharing.
Betty ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on March 3, 2008 at 11:04 AM: Thank you. I have lots of Aunt Bett stories, so I am sure you will get to hear all of them.
Thank you so much! ... Posted by Fitsy (from Hayesville, NC) on March 7, 2008 at 8:41 PM: More! More!
Fitsy ...
Subject: Thank you!
Posted by imapigeon (from Gilroy, CA) on February 27, 2008 at 12:55 PM:Your writing is just wonderful---I was THERE!~ ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on February 27, 2008 at 1:21 PM: Thank you, Imapigeon, believe me, I was there too!
I am so glad you enjoyed the article. ... Posted by tucsonjill (from Tucson, AZ) on February 27, 2008 at 1:37 PM: Thanks for sharing a wonderful family memory! ... Posted by FlowrLady (from Olive Branch, MS) on February 27, 2008 at 4:05 PM: You have a gift for writing, too! I really enjoyed reading this article. I'm printing it to take with my mom down to the home place this weekend. I will read it to my aunt age 91, my mom age 87, and my uncle age 85, all siblings. Maybe they can explain what an asphidity bag is! LOL
Thanks! ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on February 27, 2008 at 4:26 PM: How kind you all are.
Be sure to tell me the responses you get, FlowrLady. With all the comments from this and the other thread on this article, I keep wishing Aunt Bett were here to read it. For her, I hope I did everything right.
Thank you. ... Posted by FlowrLady (from Olive Branch, MS) on February 27, 2008 at 4:56 PM: I recently took a college course on "Finding Your Roots". I love that picture of your Aunt Bett. It is a treasure. ... Posted by roybird (from Santa Fe, NM) on February 27, 2008 at 8:38 PM: I enjoyed your article very much. You write well! Keep doing it. ... Posted by frankford (from East Lansing, MI) on February 27, 2008 at 11:43 PM: Very charming story you wrote.... While reading it I recall American history. In the 1800s most Americans treated themselves homeopathicly with herbs. Your story has the character of Hallmark Hall of Fame movies that we see on TV. Your story is warm, real and genuine. ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on February 28, 2008 at 12:11 AM: Your words are very kind, and I am loving all of them, but I have to give the credit to my Aunt Bett. The homeopathic treatments continued for a very long time in many areas of the states for several reasons....there were few doctors in a lot of areas, and most of the knowledge of the "medicine" men and women was handed down from one generation to the next. My mom's generation was busy with home and family....oh they used all that Aunt Bett had to offer, along with the doctor's advice, but in that generation the handing down of medicinal lore came to a stop. Other progress was being made. Aunt Bett picked me simply because I was there and I was too afraid of her not to listen. I am glad she did though, because her lessons were important to me.
Thank you again. It is good to know there are others who have an interest in this same subject. ... Posted by bivbiv (from Central FL, FL) on February 28, 2008 at 12:23 AM: Charming and, oh, so sweetly evocative! Thank you! ... Posted by terriculture (from london
(United Kingdom)) on April 12, 2008 at 9:40 PM: A very enjoyable artical, Thankyou so much. ...
Subject: So evocative of a lost time
Posted by Zuzu (from Sebastopol, CA) on February 27, 2008 at 7:53 AM:Sharon, that article was a joy to read. I can only hope the remembered odor of the asphidity bag has the same effect as the taste of Proust's madeleine and sends you on a seven-volume excursion into your past. I want to hear more. ... Posted by jadajoy (from Newport News, VA) on February 27, 2008 at 8:17 AM: Loved it! I too want to hear more. ... Posted by Starzz (from Newcastle, ON) on February 27, 2008 at 8:40 AM: What a wonderful story to read as I enjoy my first cup of coffee this morning.
You paint the picture so well with your words. I smiled as I thought about you painting your body with the poke berries ..the artist in you coming out.
Thanks for this "journey" up the mountain..and I hope you will take us on many more.
Cheers,
Carol
... Posted by catmad (from Pelzer, SC) on February 27, 2008 at 8:44 AM: I'm with them....MORE!! My poke should be "poking" up very soon....wonder if I'll have the guts, or the energy, to try the recipe:). I've always just ripped it out where the cows could get to it (useless, they seem to know better, just like with datura and daffodils), or left it alone for the birds. Now I am forced to see it as a resource *G*. Thanks! i think ... Posted by pixie62560 (from South China, ME) on February 27, 2008 at 8:45 AM: Lovely story and memories, you write a fine piece Miss Sharran!! ... Posted by ottoson (from Riley, KS) on February 27, 2008 at 9:39 AM: Great story Sharon...you take us right up the mountain with you! Can't wait to read more of your "adventures" with Great Aunt Bett!!! ... Posted by roadrunner (from Hereford, AZ) on February 27, 2008 at 10:34 AM: I enjoyed reading your artiicle very much...and I have heard my Mom complain about her "asphidity bag" too.
When I was about 5, my cousin and I were digging around in my Mom's flower bed (it was fall and things had died back for the winter)...when we came upon some interesting roots...reminded us of a long white radish.
Being children we decided to try one....HMMM very bland...needs salt...so in the house we go...I remember it like it was yesterday....the old Maytag was going on the back porch...and a big ole wash tub was boiling on the wood stove with the sheets and towels in it.
I asked my Mom for salt and she inquired "what for"? I showed her my "radishes" and she grabbed me and said....HOW MANY OF THESE HAVE YA"|'LL EATEN?"...well....being scared we had gotten into her private stock of radishes I said NONE.
She told us to get on out of there and to never eat those things...so we went out side to play...and started throwing up...our Grandpa came by and saw us...doctor was called...he said an ounce of these Poke roots could be fatal to a child. They poured everything down us...including coffee....
Strange...but today either of us can get sick if we taste coffee!!
But like you....we ate Poke Sallet too....and mixed greens. Jo ... Posted by victorgardener (from Lower Hudson Valley, NY) on February 27, 2008 at 11:11 AM: What a great story, Sharon! Wonderful how the artist was inspired in you from those berries. I imagine there must have been many light colored trees with your name on it! Thank you for sharing one of your treasured memories. ... Posted by dryad57 (from Indianapolis, IN) on February 27, 2008 at 11:12 AM: What a wonderful journey to take with a hot cup of tea in hand!! ... Posted by melody (from Benton, KY) on February 27, 2008 at 11:24 AM: What a great read this morning! thanks Sharon! ... Posted by marieortiz (from Tolleson, AZ) on February 27, 2008 at 11:36 AM: Thank you for sharing some history with us and I second everyone else more please!!
... Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on February 27, 2008 at 11:39 AM: We've got those growing as "brush" on our side yard - and this is no rural mountain, this is a would-be city! It is hilly, though.
I was very curious, though, and glad that you posted the picture, so I could say "I KNOW THOSE!!" In fact at one point, during my single, bed-ridden mother years, one of the kids came in with stains around her mouth and reports of having eaten berries she found in the yard that did NOT taste like blueberries or raspberries or grapes or whatever she'd been expecting! I should have just asked her sister to go fetch me one of the offending berries so I could describe it to 'poison control' (whose number I had memorized at the time), because I know those are 'pokeberries', although until I saw your picture, I had no idea what you were hunting! (Isn't it funny how the mind works, or doesn't?)
Anyway, i wish to add my voice to the chorus of "more" about Aunt Bett! Lovely morning read,,, thank you.
x, Carrie ... Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on February 27, 2008 at 11:40 AM: Your article was mezmorizing - superb!!
... Posted by Dutchlady1 (from Naples, FL) on February 27, 2008 at 11:58 AM: Just wonderful!! Thanks. ... Posted by JasperDale (from Long Beach, CA) on February 27, 2008 at 12:22 PM: Great morning read, Sharran. Your childhood memories are indeed captivating, and I hope you share more of them with us. ... Posted by Bettypauze (from Victoria Harbour, ON) on February 27, 2008 at 1:03 PM: Shar, how well you write, could feel the child in you following Aunt Bett in this adventure..how wonderful to have these memories..thanks for letting us have a glimpse of life with Aunt Bett...had an Aunt called Alice, wow, what a tyrant and not a fond lover of children...loved her anyway!
Look forward to hearing more of your adventures..as for the pokeweed, last year I posted photo of something that looked an awful lot like your photo..off to check past threads to see the same...
... Posted by victorgardener (from Lower Hudson Valley, NY) on February 27, 2008 at 1:08 PM: I'm wondering if the stinking bag will deter deer?? ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on February 27, 2008 at 1:20 PM: What beautiful words to wake up to this morning! I am glad that Aunt Bett and I brought smiles to you.
What can I say? Aunt Bett was a great believer in humility, and she would never have allowed me to walk around in the golden glow of your words for very long.
Now that I am the age that Aunt Bett was when I first started going up the mountain with her, I realize how much she taught me on those journeys, and of course I will share those "learnins" with you. (Or maybe it was "larnins".) She was indeed a character, and I am so glad she brightened your day.
Thank you so much for your kind words.
Sharon
edit: author can't spell........
This message was edited Feb 27, 2008 11:43 AM ... Posted by pirl (from Southold, NY) on February 27, 2008 at 1:56 PM: Wonderful piece and great memories, Sharron. You certainly do have a talent for writing. I assume the red poke flower is missing from your belly button by now. ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on February 27, 2008 at 2:07 PM: Easy enough to replace from time to time......thank you, Pirl. ... Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on February 27, 2008 at 3:13 PM: O.K. Sharran. Now to reach down inside those eastern Kentucky socks and tell us more! Your homeplace is really the heart of American ethnobotany. Im looking forward to the next installment.
gloria ... Posted by pirl (from Southold, NY) on February 27, 2008 at 3:49 PM: Me, too. ... Posted by leaflady (from Hughesville, MO) on February 27, 2008 at 4:02 PM: Thank you for the wonderful story. And the additional information about the uses of poke weed. I didn't learn to eat it until I married my DH in the mid '60s. But I always heard the the mature plant, berries, and roots were poison. Please keep the information coming. Much of it can't be found elsewhere very easily.
I deliberately raise a few plants in the yarden but it can be very hard to keep the population down. Stump killer is the only thing I know of that will really kill it out. Cut off the plant to the ground. Chop the root or drill holes in it & pour on the stump killer. It may take more than one treatment.
I only boil the very small leaves once, usually cooking them with very small dandilion, a couple types of dock, and sometimes plantain. Add some onions, garlic, maybe lean ham or bacon and some spinach to cut the tartness of the wild greens & you have a meal in a bowl. If the leaves are larger I will boil them twice in different waters. I rinse in between the boilings. I only boil for a couple minutes for the little leaves, up to 5 for the larger ones.
If someone is on Coumadin for blood clots don't eat many of these greens because they contain vit. K. But they contain a lot of other good nutrients so do be sure to eat a few all thru the season. Just let your doctor know you are eating them and how much you are eating. If your doctor freaks, find a nutritionist and talk to them or your pharmacist. Don't let some modern day doctor scare you out of eating them.
I am glad to hear of the uses for the berries and especially the roots. I will be very careful with them tho as I know how dangerous they can be.
... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on February 27, 2008 at 4:07 PM: Keep your lacy britches on, girls (those are GC's words, not mine)....I am remembering Mouse's Ears right now, and pine tree resin, and cures for croup..........
I'll have to remember the one about "down inside those eastern Kentucky socks", too, GC....thanks, again.
And Zuzu, only you would have mentioned Proust alongside Aunt Bett.
But truthfully, if Aunt Bett were here, she would be grateful for all your words. And maybe she is, I keep hearing this little voice saying, "Finally you did something right."
edit: (the lacy britches comment is for Pirl and Gloria, and in fun only....they are my inspiration, thanks ladies.)
This message was edited Feb 27, 2008 2:11 PM ... Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on February 27, 2008 at 4:14 PM: And don't forget the gensing! ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on February 27, 2008 at 4:23 PM: Coming right up, Gloria.
Leaflady, thank you, great advice from you, too.
Lots of good advice from all of you from across the country. I am interested in knowing what Catmad decides to do with hers. Whatever decision you make about poke, please don't treat it lightly. The things that Aunt Bett taught me, were taught at a time when not a lot was known about plants and their dangers or cures. She was indeed a wise medicine woman for her time, and her knowledge was from her ancestors. She had a great respect for the earth and for all of nature. I want always to retain that same respect.
... Posted by leaflady (from Hughesville, MO) on February 27, 2008 at 4:59 PM: I hope you do one on Comfrey. At this time I only know how to make a salve and oil from the leaves of comfrey and plantain.
And dandelion. Wonderful plant. I love them. Mowing the lawn is forbidden when the dandelions are in bloom. I deliberately raise some in my flower beds. But I have to be careful or they will take over the beds. I dug out dozens of them last season.
This message was edited Feb 27, 2008 3:00 PM ... Posted by victorgardener (from Lower Hudson Valley, NY) on February 27, 2008 at 5:02 PM: I love dandelions in my salad. ... Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on February 27, 2008 at 5:16 PM: I think there are 'domesticated' dandelions you can grow for your salad garden, Victor. ... Posted by victorgardener (from Lower Hudson Valley, NY) on February 27, 2008 at 5:32 PM: That's cheating! I like weeding and eating. ... Posted by gloria125 (from Greensboro, AL) on February 27, 2008 at 5:51 PM: Kinda like the olden' times when people lived in pastures! ... Posted by oriole (from Mifflintown, PA) on February 27, 2008 at 7:42 PM: Wonderful read! Please keep them coming. ... Posted by bluekat76 (from Ijamsville, MD) on March 1, 2008 at 2:04 PM: Thank you Sharon! I forwarded this to my mom and grandmother and there was a lot of reminiscing going on!
My mom just love poke. She did think she was immune to its evil ways though. Years ago she decided to make a wilted salad with poke and not cook it at all, just pour the hot dressing over. Well, after 3 days in the hospital let's just say she has learned her lesson and now always cooks poke, although not three times. Still a rebel - LOL
-Kim ... Posted by concretephil (from Osprey, FL) on May 10, 2008 at 10:49 PM: As a student at Eastern Kentucky State College (now Eastern Kentucky University) during the early 60s I read a wonderful story either in the Lexington or Louisville newspaper about the annual Poke Sallit Festival somewhere in Eastern Ky. It had a recepe for Poke that had one cook and rinse the Poke several times but with the final cooking period you would add a rubber boot and cook for one half hour. At the end of that period you would dump the Poke and eat the rubber boot! This is true, I'm not making it up-honest. I about fell off a chair laughing when I read the story.
Being from Cincinnati, I had a hard time when I first started at Eastern understanding some of the students from the far hollers of Eastern Ky because of he distinct dialects they spoke. I tried to tell poeple of this but until the movie "Nell" with Jodie Foster came out no one would believe, that in the 60s, that this was possible.
I was in the class of 66, I wonder if you, being a teacher had attended Eastern? ... Posted by Sharran (from Calvert City, KY) on May 10, 2008 at 11:04 PM: Hi,
I was at Georgetown College from 60 to 64, then at UK till 66. I had a ton of friends at Eastern, and you probably met most of them. One of my very best friends was there and he ended up staying and teaching at the University until he retired. I did come to Eastern to visit him several times whenever I could grab a car or somebody who had a car, so I spent a lot of weekend time there. Georgetown is not very far from Richmond, so it wasn't difficult to get there whenever I could. Small world, isn't it?
I have written several Aunt Bett articles and just finished one today that mentions the language barrier....I bet you did have a tough time.
I have heard the thing about Poke Sallit and the boot, I loved it.
Thanks for writing, it is fun to talk with you.
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