Last year we had several poke plants go to seed and enjoyed watching our resident mockingbird eat them !! This year I had one row in the small garden to fill in and I decided to plant Hopi Pumpkins since a few plants produce more than we can eat !! A few days later I saw green things appearing but not Hopi Pumpkin plants !! On closer inspection it turned out to be Poke Salad greens !! Not that I am complaining because we love it !! However I didn`t think one little bird could spread so many seeds !! Think he might have had help from his friends !! Any one else love this southern green ?? Just curious !! Looked at a website that sells wild greens and such and man that stuff is expensive to buy !! $7.00 per pint and $12.00 per gallon bag !! I am sitting on a fortune here !!! LOL
I have never seen seeds for it !! I was talking about the leaves and the stalks that are sold !! I think the site I went to is called "wild things" or something similar !! They have a mail order business that sells poke and other wild items !! $12.00 a gallon and $7.00 per pint is a bit pricey to me !! Sure makes me glad I have plenty of it !!!
I grew up eating Poke about three times each spring. The old ones said it was good to rid the body of impurities, sort of like a tonic. We were told to boil it two or three times, pouring off the water and then cooked it in lard or fatback grease with eggs. I now live in Michigan and was surprised to find it grows here too. I cooked it until we began using creek water to water the area it grows in. We never know what people put in the creek. If I can find some clean Poke, I will cook it again.
Years ago they did boil it several times but not now. I boil mine only once for about 20 minutes, drain, then saute in a bit of canola oil with the eggs added last. It is a southern staple and an excellent variation to our garden greens. The stalks when tender and young can be peeled and fried like okra. They are good as well. Perhaps you should take a drive into the country. I bet you could find it growing somewhere. Here, if you ever burn a brush pile you have poke next year. Not sure why, but we do. It also grows around old barns. You can save the mature berries and plant them for a new start away from the creek.
