The Misty Mushroom

The Misty Mushroom

Have a website now with my blog articles!

themistymushroom.farm

Self-heal (Prunella vulgaris) is a widely distributed native plant across the USA and can make a delightful ground covering around walkways and garden borders. It is a host plant for the Clouded Sulphur butterfly and is often sought out by pollinators including bumblebees.

A batch of pumpkin pretzels I made. Just the right touch of pumpkin with spices. Went beautiful with a sweet/hot mustard with juniper berries. #themistymushroom #bread #pretzels #breadmaking #homesteading

Libytheana carinenta hosts on Hackberry trees, a keystone species that supports countless insects. By including keystone species, native wildflowers, shrubs, trees and grasses we support the gorgeous creatures in our ecosystems.

Libytheana carinenta hosts on Hackberry trees, a keystone species that supports countless insects. By including keystone species, native wildflowers, shrubs, trees and grasses we support the gorgeous creatures in our ecosystems.

Really excited to see an American Snout butterfly for the first time in our garden. Look at that SNOOT! Snootie cutie!

Snoot.

#themistymushroom #nativeplants #pollinatorgarden #ProtectPollinators #butterflies #butterflies_lovers

American Basswood trees have seeds that when roasted can serve as a raw dark chocolate flavor substitute. Smell of roasted is very coffee, and I am interested in flavor. #themistymushroom #forage #foraging #nativeplants #self-sufficiency

Rose/Swamp Milkweed in bloom! #themistymushroom #nativeplants #flowers

Lovely Monarch butterfly female laying eggs on my Showy Milkweed! #themistymushroom #butterflies #monarchbutterflies #nativeplants

Wild Indigo I picked up a while ago from a straight native grower. It is a natural hybrid created from a cross pollinated plant between the Blue and White indigo. #themistymushroom #nativeplants #flowers

This cutie wouldn't let me go. First toad of the season I have seen! #themistymushroom #toads

Virginia spiderwort sending out first blooms! #themistymushroom #nativeplants #growyourownfood

Got to see the endangered Lakeside Daisy in bloom! Castalia Ohio. #themistymushroom #endangered #conservation #nativeplants #flowers #patriotsprotect #ohio

Spotted an Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma) today going for our plum blooms. They rarely drink nectar and prefer sap and rotting fruit, but this one must have just woken up from hibernation. #themistymushroom #butterflies

Mine are planted alone, but I will try this out! The ground nuts do fix up their own nitrogen and then can twirl around the sunchoke stalks. Thanks for the idea!

My Toadshade Triliums are coming back! Trillium cuneatum is my favorite out of Ohio's native trilium species. #themistymushroom #nativeplants #springflowers #trilium

Sunchokes for dinner! Sustainable farming. #nativeplants #sustainable #growyourownfood #themistymushroom #gardening

Virginia Bluebells, cultivated from seed last year and delighted to see sprouts.

Tall Yellow Hyssop, grown from seed last year.

Tall Anemone, grown from seed last year.

Jacob's Ladder grown from seed last year.

Have had some cold days where I haven't had much drive to work outside, but it is a blessing to see many native plants coming up that I grew from seed last year. #themistymushroom #nativeplants #nativeplantnursery

Started a sweet potato in early February, and it is finally sending out slips. These slips are used to propagate new plants. Got a few more I started this week and looking forward to growing these this year! #themistymushroom #gardening #vegetables #zone6b #growyourownfood #sweetpotatoes

Transplanted beets, carrots, kale, onions, and a couple pak choi to test out my raised bed covers this week. Temps will go below freezing, so seeing how they fair. #themistymushroom #zone6b #gardening #vegetables #raisedbeds

The polyethylene was a decent price, and I was able to tape both sides like a tube and pull over. The red stripe is a stick on zipper. So far this has held up to the wind.

Here is a peek of the garlic in the covered bed. The ground is void of snow, and the shoots are about an inch and a half tall.

I was able to dig my fingers into at least an inch of soil; showing that it was warmer by use of the cover.

Here is the uncovered raised bed showing a layer of snow on the surface. The soil was frozen still, and I wasn't able to break the surface in spots that were melted. The garlic is growing but not as tall.

Update on using a cover during February for my raised bed. It works! More info in the photos.

#themistymushroom #raisedbeds #growyourownfood #gardening #zone6b #raisedgardenbeds #vegetablegardens

Dogbane aka Indian Hemp (Apocynum cannabinum) and Rattlesnake Master (Eryngium yuccifolium). Dogbane is very easy to find in the wild, often growing in disturbed areas and spreads by rhizome. It often is mistaken for a milkweed due to the similarities of leaf, stalk, and flower. Dogbane also will milk sap when crushed like milkweed. Dogbane grows more as a messy shrub and does not have hairy stems. (learnyourland.com has a good video on identification) Rattlesnake Master is more common in prairies and often not seen in the wild due to loss of habitat. It has leathery leaves with spikes along them that seems out of place in Ohio and more as a desert species. The flowering stalks are 4-5ft in height. Both plants are harvested usually in late fall, using Dogbane stalks and Rattlesnake Master leaves. They are processed by crushing and separation of the fibers. (fibershed.org discusses land management of dogbane) Dogbane fiber is similar to flax with long continuous fibers and require less processing compared to hemp. (The Urban Aboriginal on youtube has a good video on spinning fibers) Rattlesnake Master leaves are stripped and soaked before working. I grow both of these plants and can readily give away dogbane root shoots by late May if interested in cultivation or closeft inspection and familiarity. Dogbane is toxic to dogs and livestock, but most animals leave it alone. Rattlesnake Master is one I will be cultivating to sell, but also have it on site for inspection & building familiarity. Both species are deeply important for our ecosystem; supplying pollinators, attracting beneficial insects, being host plants for moths, and having intricate relationships with other native plants. Dogbane is easy to farm, where more harvested does better for the plant long term. I highly recommend the following site to view woodland indigenous textiles with the style and methods used. http://www.woodlandindianedu.com/textileandfiberarts.html

Shoes made from Rattlesnake Master, from Tennessee

Potawotomi bag from dogbane fiber

Dogbane

Natural foraged fibers. In Ohio there are two plants that were commonly used by indigenous for their usage in cordage, nets, bags, and clothing...

#themistymushroom #nativeplants #nativeplantnursery #sustainableliving #sustainablefarming #workwiththeland #fiber #naturalfibers #indigenouspeople

Smoked shallots on bacon with a homemade keto biscuit. Topped with cream cheese and smoked salt. Wonderful decadence. #themistymushroom #keto #cooking #smoked #food

That is cool!

Tis the reason for the season.

Red Osier Dogwood is an easy to landscape and propagate shrub. Gorgeous in the winter! #themistymushroom #nativeplants #grownative #pollinators #pollinatorgarden

Thank you for the insight. Currently testing how it goes with the weather. Last year I took milk jugs and removed the bottom and pinned them over broccoli starts in the ground. They did ok, but the wind would pick them up. I like cold frames, but trying to work with my current setup is a trial.

Going to test out a cover for my raised bed to try and plant earlier. I will test the soil temperature and compare it to a non covered bed. If this holds and works, I will make more.

#themistymushroom #garden #growyourownfood #raisedbed #vegetablegardening #coldframe

Thank you! I am making schnitzel right now in our air fryer.

Recipe???

Carrot seedlings trucking along. #themistymushroom #seedlings #growyourownfood #carrots #homesteading

Finally finished this painting for my son. It is of the god Frey. I do 1 painting per child per year. #themistymushroom #painting #oilpainting #Norse #Frey #pagan