Spring in South Texas: Quickie Visual Backyard Tour

Here's a snapshot tour of things I wanted to share this morning. Let me show you a few things growing in my backyard here in San Antonio!

This is Plantain, a wild plant that has, as I understand it, a LOT of medicinal values. It's also just plain good green food. If you're a northerner, your plantain will look similar but will have much broader leaves.

This is Wood Sorrel (looks a lot like clover). This too is a wild edible (not sure about medicinal value), and in fact is one of the tastiest edibles I've sampled so far! Tastes zesty and tangy, like it was dipped in lemon juice kind of. I know for a fact this grows EVERYWHERE, because as a kid we used to nibble on it up in Missouri. Good stuff. Remember, there are no weeds, just misunderstood plants!

This is a mature buckwheat plant. Not a native plant, I put some seeds out a few weeks back. Each of those white flowers will turn into a single buckwheat kernel. Buckwheat is a gluten-free grain that is pretty tasty. The flowers are also great for bees to drink from. :)

This is a lesson in patience for all of us. On January 7th, my family and I went to IHOP after church and the lemons they used for our waters were very unique and tasty. So, we kept the seeds and planted them after we got home. The guy in this picture just sprouted a WEEK AGO. I had given up on it ever growing, and then TADA! There it was. Tree seeds do not necessarily germinate quickly, so if you plant a tree seed, be ready to wait at LEAST 6 months before you totally give up on it. I've had them sprout much faster, but i've also commonly seen them sprout this slowly as well.

These are a few of the clusters of Concord grapes growing on our grape arbor. We have two 6 or 7 year old vines that love to produce grapes every spring for us.

This is one of two volunteer sunflowers that I let grow (didn't mow). It is growing in what used to be our chicken pen, and is most certainly a product of the food I used to feed them. I've had all KINDS of things sprout up voluntarily in the chicken pen! Tomatoes, corn, milo, wheat, and millet.

Thanks for taking a quick tour with me! I hope it inspires you to do some of your own homesteading experiments as well, regardless of how "in town" or small or limited your environment may be. You really CAN do a lot with a little if you get creative and have the desire!