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Post by bullfrog on Jul 26, 2023 14:01:31 GMT -5
Some batches of greenbriar taste better than others. The greenbriar that used to grow around our club camp tasted good in its new growth. The greenbriar on my farm doesn’t taste good even when its fresh. Good greenrbriar tastes like green beans. Greenbriar is in the same family as sarsaparilla and greenbriar roots used to be the source of rootbeer in the east. I wonder if smilax tastes different because there's several different types of smilax. Could be. Or it could be different nutrients in the soil. Survivalist types often do a lot of cooking with smilax and its known that its taste varies by location. It could even be different natural cultivars of the same species in different locations.
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Post by cyclist on Jul 26, 2023 14:10:37 GMT -5
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Post by cyclist on Jul 26, 2023 14:13:13 GMT -5
I wonder if smilax tastes different because there's several different types of smilax. Could be. Or it could be different nutrients in the soil. Survivalist types often do a lot of cooking with smilax and its known that its taste varies by location. It could even be different natural cultivars of the same species in different locations. In FL we have 12 Smilaxes. So variation is probably very real. Off topic we had a Smilax auriculata (https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Plant.aspx?id=3157) poking up in a trail and my wife decided to take it out. One stem equaled and entire wheelbarrow of tubers and she didn't get it all!
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Post by bullfrog on Jul 26, 2023 14:40:10 GMT -5
Could be. Or it could be different nutrients in the soil. Survivalist types often do a lot of cooking with smilax and its known that its taste varies by location. It could even be different natural cultivars of the same species in different locations. In FL we have 12 Smilaxes. So variation is probably very real. Off topic we had a Smilax auriculata (https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Plant.aspx?id=3157) poking up in a trail and my wife decided to take it out. One stem equaled and entire wheelbarrow of tubers and she didn't get it all! Smilax is brutal on my blueberries. I don’t use chemicals on my blueberries, and even if I did there is nothing practical to spray on the smilax that won’t also kill the blueberries. I’ve found the best control is to prune the tops out of heavily choked blueberries the let cows have access to the pruned rows. The cows love to eat the smilax and do a better job of keeping it suppressed than I can manually.
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Post by Crkr 23 on Jul 27, 2023 4:03:51 GMT -5
Privet is an invasive species that was used as a hedge plant. I have never found it myself growing wild in NCF but in GA and Al it's pretty common. Normally it's found around ag fields and old home places. Attachments:
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Post by Crkr 23 on Jul 27, 2023 6:47:40 GMT -5
I did an experiment this morning, I tasted 2 different kinds of smilax that I found growing in my yard. The one with the light spots, I think it's saw tooth smilax, was definitely better tasting than the one that I call bamboo vine. The one with the spots on the leaf had the sweet green bean taste that Bullfrog described with no bitter taste. I probably looked pretty stupid to the neighbors while I was out grazing in the azalea bushes this morning.
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Post by JS84 on Jul 27, 2023 6:50:01 GMT -5
I'll look for the trail cam pics of you browsing
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Post by Crkr 23 on Jul 27, 2023 12:14:31 GMT -5
It might be Euell Gibbons or me.😁
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Post by Crkr 23 on Jul 28, 2023 4:42:15 GMT -5
Cabbage (Sabal) Palm berries. I think they get overlooked as a good food source to hunt over. If you hit a year that acorns are scarce check out some cabbage hammocks you might be surprised. Attachments:
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Post by Crkr 23 on Jul 29, 2023 6:45:59 GMT -5
Gallberry, this is a good source that I have not had much luck hunting over as I mostly (99%) bowhunt. There's generally so darn much of it that it's hard to pinpoint a spot that they use consistently. I have done pretty good hunting it as bedding around flat ponds because it's generally thicker there. The guys I know that do well on it during the gun seasons like to hunt it the year or so after a burn. Attachments:
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Post by swampdog on Jul 29, 2023 7:16:43 GMT -5
Good stuff cracker. They will also browse blackberry bushes as well. I don’t have any pics.
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Post by bullfrog on Jul 29, 2023 13:52:16 GMT -5
Gallberry, this is a good source that I have not had much luck hunting over as I mostly (99%) bowhunt. There's generally so darn much of it that it's hard to pinpoint a spot that they use consistently. I have done pretty good hunting it as bedding around flat ponds because it's generally thicker there. The guys I know that do well on it during the gun seasons like to hunt it the year or so after a burn. You hit the nail on the head. Its hard to concentrate their movements on gallberry patches. The patches can be several acres in size. Deer may gravitate towards the patch for thousands of acres around, but ambushing one on a particular trail you are covering at bow range is a game of low odds. I like to rifle hunt galberry patches. I sit on roads or breaks that run along the border of the galberry patch. Its one of the few situations that will make me trade out my airguns for a firearm rifle. You need to be able to reach out and touch one at 300 yards. I’ve had more shot opportunities on legal deer by border/hunting gallberry patches this way than any other setup I can think of.
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Post by Crkr 23 on Jul 30, 2023 5:44:42 GMT -5
Sumac, I've always called it red sumac and the proper name is staghorn sumac. I've never personally seen deer feeding on it or found evidence of them browsing on it. I suspect they may eat the leaves after they turn red because the sugar content goes up like it does in maple leaves. One thing I noticed while hunting Grove Park was that when you found a patch of sumac growing there was probably going to be a buck rub or two in it. Another thing, turkeys love to feed on the seed pods. The largest flock of turkeys I ever saw was feeding on the seed pods of sumac. They would grab the pod and strip it like they do with Bahia seeds. Attachments:
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Post by Crkr 23 on Jul 31, 2023 6:08:47 GMT -5
Florida Maple, deer love to browse the sucker growth coming up from the base of the trunk and the leaves especially when they change colors in the fall. The sugar content goes up with the color change. On private land maples are good choices to hinge cut. By hinge cutting more leaves are available for the deer plus it encourages sucker growth. You may be allowed to do it on timber leases as I don't think the maples have much monetary value. Be sure and check with the land manager before doing it. Attachments:
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Post by cyclist on Jul 31, 2023 11:27:15 GMT -5
Sumac, I've always called it red sumac and the proper name is staghorn sumac. I've never personally seen deer feeding on it or found evidence of them browsing on it. I suspect they may eat the leaves after they turn red because the sugar content goes up like it does in maple leaves. One thing I noticed while hunting Grove Park was that when you found a patch of sumac growing there was probably going to be a buck rub or two in it. Another thing, turkeys love to feed on the seed pods. The largest flock of turkeys I ever saw was feeding on the seed pods of sumac. They would grab the pod and strip it like they do with Bahia seeds. Sumac is delicious, I put it in all sorts of things. Adds a acidic bite.
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