About tedmanzer
I grew up in Old Town Maine and got a B.S. at the University of Maine in Plant Sciences/ minor in Botany. From there I moved to West Virginia and earned a M.S. in Agronomy at WVU. I also met my wife there. She grew up in rural WV as the daughter of tenant farmers who raised cattle and hogs. Their lifestyle at times was one of subsistence and I learned a lot from them. I've always been a foraging buff, but combining my formal botanical knowledge with their practical 'Foxfire-type' background opened up my eyes a little more.
I recently retired from teaching high school agriculture after 25 years teaching with my wife. Until recently I wrote a weekly nature/foraging column for the local paper (dailyadvance.com). I also have written several Christian nature/adventure novels that can be purchased on Amazon in paperback and in Kindle format. One is a five book family saga I call the 'Forgotten Virtues' series. In the first book, Never Alone, a young boy comes of age after his father dies in a plane crash, and he has to make it alone. The second book, Strange Courage, takes Carl from his High School graduation to his recovery from a nasty divorce. The third book, Second Chances, takes Carl from his ex-wife's death and the custody of his son to his heroic death at age 59. The fourth book, Promises Kept, depicts how his grandchildren react and adjust to his death (this one is not yet published). In the final book, Grandfather's Way, his youngest and most timid granddaughter emerges from the shadow of her overachieving family and accomplishes more in four months than most do in a lifetime. I use many foraging references with a lot of the plants I profile in these articles in those books. I also wrote a romance novel titled Virginia, set in rural West Virginia in the early 1980s. It is available on Amazon and is a different type of romance from a man's perspective.
In my columns I’ve frequently mentioned antioxidants contained in certain foods. I’m sure this sounds like a foreign language to some people, but at the risk of boring the audience I’ll attempt to explain what antioxidants are and do. When … Continue reading →
Posted in Uncategorized
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Tagged antioxidants, beta carotene, bright colored foods, free radicals, lycopene, mega-doses, raw foods, resveritrol, vitamin c, Vitamin E, VitaminA
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I’m a fan of live Christmas trees. I know they’re messy and can only be used once, but artificial ones just can’t capture the same atmosphere. Finding just the right tree brings out the child in everyone. It’s been years … Continue reading →
Everyone knows the reason we celebrate Christmas. We must never forget Christ is the reason, but every family can make the season personal by enjoying certain foods and activities that make us think of Christmas. What may become a tradition … Continue reading →
I like to try new things. You never know you like or dislike something until you try it, the saying goes. I was perusing Wal-Mart recently and noticed some red spiny looking things in the produce area. They looked like … Continue reading →
Posted in foraging
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Tagged antioxidants, Litchi chinensis, look like sea urchins, lychee, Malaysia, Nephelium lappaceum, polygamo-dioecious, Rambutan, red spiny fruits, texture of peeled grapes, tropical, vitamin c
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It’s so hard to find landscaping with winter interest. Once mid-December hits and freezing temperatures are commonplace, most fall foliage color is gone. Very few flowers and flowering shrubs are blooming either. Carolina jessamine (Gelsemium sempervirens) still manages to display … Continue reading →
Posted in foraging
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Tagged Carolina jessamine, deer resistant, full sun, Gelsemium sempervirens, glossy leaves, ground cover, invasiveness, moist sites, partial shade, perennial woody vine, poisonous, wide variety of soils, yellow flowers
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Few ground covers can fill any area as effectively as periwinkle vine. There are actually two species commonly used and both have prolific bluish purple flowers. Both also have the ability to spread where they aren’t wanted. Lesser periwinkle (Vinca … Continue reading →
Posted in foraging
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Tagged big leaf periwinkle, bluish purple flowers, dogbane family, erosion control, exotic species, invasive, lesser periwinkle, medicinal use, poisonous, running stems, tolerates drought, variegated, Vinca major, Vinca minor
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There were times I’d curse it. When I was growing up I loved to duck hunt on the river behind the house. Huge expanses of wild rice lined the shore in the shallow muddy places. My dog wouldn’t go in … Continue reading →
When gardeners talk about weeds the word vine usually makes them cringe. Their anxiety increases when the word mint is added to the conversation. Ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) is guilty on both counts. Sometimes called creeping Charlie, this perennial can … Continue reading →
Posted in foraging
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Tagged 2 4-D, aggressive weed, catnip, cool-season, dicamba, edible, Florida Betony, Glechoma hederacea, glyphosate, ground ivy, herbaceous vine, medicinal, purple two-lipped mint flowers, Swedish ivy, vine, vitamin c, wild violets
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It used to be called Armistice Day. Celebrated on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, this holiday commemorated the end of World War I in 1918. The actual Treaty of Versailles was signed the following … Continue reading →
Our fall color is beginning to develop and sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) is one of the first to show itself. Trees aren’t large but their unique orange to red leaves stand out gloriously. Their color has been pretty for a couple … Continue reading →
Posted in foraging
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Tagged beautiful fall foliage, blueberry family, border, deeply fissured bark, dense foliage, finely toothed leaves, lily of the valley tree, medicinal use, oxalic acid, Oxydendrum arboreum, sour apples, sourwood, sourwood honey, specimen tree, tree
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tedmanzer 