Farming Poke Weed with Youngblood

[George Collins]

I live in South Mississippi and we have bumper crops of poke weed every year. Summer before last, I harvested some, cooked it up by boiling it three times, and finished it off by cookin it like a messa mustard greens.  Knowing that my daddy grew up in the post-depression era South, I figgered he et poke weed on a furly reglar basis.  Curious about this newest culinary concoction, I invited him to come see if I was able to make it taste as good as "Sister Jule" (a locally famous cook AND my great aunt). 

Twent like this: 

"Youngblood (my father's nick name but that's a whole other topic), you wanna come over and eat a messa poke sallet?" 

"HELL NAW I DON'T WANNA EAT NO DAMN POKE SALLET. HELL, I WAS RAISED ON THAT SHIT!" 

"A'ight then." 

I thought it tasted purt good. So good in fact that I went out and gathered a second mess, boiled it three times, and again cooked it like mustard greens. I was planning on having it for Sunday dinner after church along with a bunch of other stuff. Since I lived at the time right across from the church, after services was over I approached m'pappy and asked, "Youngun (a corruption of my father's nick name), come on over t'the house fer a spell whilst the women talk. I gots sumpthin I wanna get you to sound off on." 

He walked over, I tore a hunk of corn bread off'n the pone, put it in a bowl and spooned a big helping of poke sallet on top with PLENTY of pot likker.  

I'm guessing he had one of them moments like that food critic dude did in that movie Ratatouille when he toke that first bite of ratatouille. 

I had to choke the old fool out t'pot.

He likes it so much he starts gathering hell outta ever clump he saw. The poke weed didn't stand a chance that year. It never could get started good fore there he was, like a goat, getting it all. He et s'much that he ran out of poke on our place and started ranging out; going onto the neighbors' places, stopping side the good road, and generally bugging everyone in each of his social circles about their respective poke crops. 

And that whole thing about poke having to be eaten when it first sprouts or it's poisonous - well, m'daddy et the stuff all summer long. 

And that whole thing about boiling it three times or it's poisonous - well, . . . he didn't do that neither. He simply picked it irrespective of its maturity, wilted it down in a little water and a bunch of bacon grease, added more water and some salt and cooked till tender. 

I told him that you had t'pick it young and boils it three times or it'd make ya sick. 

He told me matter of factly, "That ain't how Jessie Pearl cooks it. She don't get sick. And I been eating it all th'year like she cooks it and I ain't got sick nary a time."

He also raised a fine crop of t'maters under a black walnut tree. Go figger. 

So summer wanes, the poke dies back and he's collected a WHOLE BUNCH of seeds. Then I happen along needing a bucket and there set his bucket of poke seeds. Y'all ever seen a bucket o'poke seeds? Not very appetizing. Looked like something that someone ought to throw away. Figgerin I was helpin out, I dumped em, washed the bucket and thought, "Damn, that looked like a bunch of damn poke berries. Dang younguns (what I call my kids when I'm put out), always effin something up." I then used the bucket to slop the hogs. 

Fortunately I washed the bucket out before I returned it because pops don't like when someone other than himself uses a bucket without washing it out when done. 

Unfortunately, those seeds were to be his seed crop the following year as he was intent on raising poke along side th rest of his greens. More unfortunately still, he asked what happened to his seeds and out of pure innocence, I admitted my guilt as it related to the destruction of his new, old-favorite green. 

I toted a good cussin for that one (an a many more both before and since). 

So he climbed in Ol'Huldie (the name of his farm truck) and scoured South Mississippi looking to replace his seed crop. 

Fall faded to winter and then winter became spring and twas time for the earth to awaken with all its glory and there was m'daddy as he's done lo these many years, sloggin through the mud, planting his spring garden and cussing Boweevil (the name of his plow horse) for "actin as bone headed as them two sons o'mine!" One particularly long row was reserved for the planting of poke. 

Spring came and went, eventually turning into the heat of summer when one day he shows up on my porch with Tadpole (the name of his coon dog) by his side. I spied him through the screen-wire door and noticed he was smiling. I knew then he wanted something. 

"Junior! How you doin today?" 

I'm thinking, "Yep, he definitely wants something." 

I said, "I'm good Youngun. What you got in the pot? 

"You wanta look somethin up for me on that 'puter of yourn?" 

I thought to myself, "I knew it. He does want something." 

I replied, "A'ight, what ya got?" 

"I want you to find out why not a damn one of them poke seeds I planted come up." 

I thought to myself, "After the cussing I toted for pouring that disgusting looking shit out, I ought not to do a DAMN thing for you, you old Massey Ferguson!" 

I said, "Yessir." 

So I did a little research and, if I remember rightly, poke will only germinate iffn a bird shits it out. (Since this is in Mississippi it might have t'be a Mocking bird but I aint sure). 

He cussed a little when I told him.

[Lollykoko]

Great story, George!

Poke grows like crazy around here, but I've never tried eating it. I did "chop and drop" some poke here at the house, so it's good to know that a bird has to be involved in the germination process.

[matt walker]

Great read George. I'm not familiar with Poke, aside from what I learned from Tony Joe White. Not sure if it grows here, but I noted in the Robert Hart video that he included it in his food forest as understory. I loved the cultural contrast, the refined English gentleman, and the staple of the U.S. deep south.

[pa_friendly_guy]

I do not even know what poke is George, never even heard of it except in the song Poke Sally, but I enjoyed the read.

[Lollykoko]

Here's a photo culled from the pages of Photobucket.

This picture was taken at the farm in late October. Poke or elderberry? I'm not sure.

[pa_friendly_guy]

Oh my Goodness, That looks like what we call Indian Ink Berry. Birds eat it and poop out nasty blue purpley stuff on your windshild. [ It always lands on your windshield ] Always thought it was poisonous. Never tried to eat the berries or the leaves. The 2nd picture isnt elderberry I don't think, most likely the poke you were talking about. Last year I had a ton of the stuff growing wild in the woods along a path after I had logged off a bit. I kept stepping on the stems trying to kill it off. It has so many berrys I didn't want it to spread every where. So I have a Food forest here and didn't even know it.

[George Collins]

[Lollykoko]

Last spring the new county surveyor was at the farm about some drainage issues. As we were walking across a field he pointed out a patch of greenery and said it was elderberry. Well, I watched the stuff begin to grow up and thought it was poke, so when the mowing was done in late May, that patch of greenery went along with the nettles and Queen Anne's Lace.

The picture taken in October was in that wild patch across the ditch and I was reasonably sure it was poke. Well, sure enough that I bought a "black lace" elderberry plant last fall and put it in the ground near the house. I don't want to take it to the farm until we can protect it from the deer.

Well, come spring I'll have to give some poke salat a try, at least once. Probably not on the same day that I cook up some nettles to go in an omelet.

[eeldip]

[paulbee]

Poke Salad indeed can be poisonous if you don't cook it correctly. It has to be cooked and drained repetitively.

It grows here like a crazy weed and we routinely whack it down. I let it grow 6 foot then chop and drop it.

My African American neighbors with roots from down south love the stuff. One of these days I'll get around to trying it, but all those cook cycles means that will have to wait until my outdoor wood burning cook area is done.