A constantly expanding website designed to assist novice and expert growers and harvesters alike in their identification, culture, harvest, and preparation of the freshest, most local foods available. Our focus here is on wild and cultivated plant foods and medicines, mushrooms, freshly-caught fish, and other local resources - all with an emphasis on you yourself doing the growing and gathering as much as possible. Our databases on
Plants,
Mushrooms, and
Animals are continually growing and contain highly-detailed pictures and descriptions of each species - including harvest times, edible and medicinal uses, recipes, habitat, culture, and more.
Think of this site as an amalgam of Florida plant and animal field guides, trial and error taste-testing, and botanical encyclopedia all tossed together with countless field notes, input from multiple experts, and whimsy. We are quite proud of our advanced search option for plants as well as an extensive and searchable
Monthly Harvest Calendar. This website includes detailed information and
Articles from many Florida-based experts, including botanists, pomologists, fishermen, wildcrafters, herbalists, mycologists, et al. You will find profiles of these exceptionally knowledgeable people under our
Experts section. We have also included a
Map of Florida with searchable categories to aid you in finding local resources when you travel around our beautiful state. Don't forget to check out our
Events section for upcoming events in your area!
We are extremely concerned about the ever-quickening pace of the destruction of habitats and species around us. In that vein, we are including conservation notes on most of the native species profiled within. Those of us who spend great amounts of time outdoors witness first-hand the effects of pollution, habitat destruction, over-harvesting, and more. It is therefore our duty and responsibility to respect and walk gently on the Earth. We pay great respect and often refer to such organizations as the Florida Native Plant Society and Regional Conservation and highly recommend that you do the same to aid in leaving our home more green than we found it.
Please remember that this site is for information purposes – Consult an expert before consuming any plant, mushroom, or animal. We have included many cautions on applicable profile pages, in red, atop each page - however, we are bound to make some mistakes. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.
Please enjoy this website and feel free to contact me via email should you have questions or constructive comments.
Thanks,
Andy Firk
About Me – Hi, nice to meet you… I am Andy Firk, the compiler of information within this website. I am based out of Arcadia, Florida, where I steward a two acre homestead with a dense food forest named Bamboo Grove. To date, through garden tours and garden events, we have hosted over 13,000 different visitors.
Plant walks and workshops – 30,000 folks have attended my wild edible plant walks across the state, something I enjoy immensely. Upcoming classes, slideshows, garden tours, and plant walks will be posted in our “Events” section. Look for our info booth at large events such as the Florida Herbal Conference, Florida Permaculture Gathering, and Florida Earthskills Gathering.
Upcoming Book – I have almost completed a photo-filled book on Florida Wild Edible Plants. It will be out in 2018.
Statewide Slideshows – Feel free to attend, or request, one of my slideshow presentations. Topics are all Florida specific, and include: Wild Edible Plants, Asian Food Plants, Understanding a Beach, 50 Clumping Bamboos, 40 Culinary Gingers, and Frugal Homesteading Ideas. I post my upcoming slideshows under our “Events” section.
Enjoy - Please enjoy this website. Feel free to contact me via email, should you have questions or constructive comments.
Thanks,
Andy Firk