Jan272012
INSTANT SURVIVAL TIP: 3 Gifts from the Pine Tree
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PDFby John A. Heatherly, Author of The Survival Template
Photo by Naomi Ibuki
Pine trees are beautiful and abundant, while they offer the following three valuable gifts:
Pine Needle Tea – green pine needles can make a tasty tea that will warm your family’s spirits on a cold day while providing much more Vitamin C than most citrus fruits. To make the tea: simply clean a few handfuls of green pine needles; break them into pieces; simmer for 10 minutes or so; and let the tea steep for another few minutes. Simple, nutritious, and flavorsome!
Edible Cambium – the light colored inner bark of pines is called the cambium layer. It rests underneath outer bark and just above the harder interior of the tree. Cambium can be harvested by cutting a square shape in the side of a tree (please don’t damage standing trees frivolously – this is a survival skill!) with a knife then peeling away the layers. The cambium can be peeled or scraped into strips like bacon, then fried or roasted for consumption.
Nuts – Pine nuts can be harvested in the Fall and provide great taste and a lot of protein. It is best to gather them using a ladder while wearing gloves (the cones that contain the seeds are sticky.) Store the cones in a sack, and place the sack in the sun for a few days so that the cones will dry out and open up. It helps to rotate the sack daily. Cones can also be roasted by a fire or even in an oven. Once dry they will open to reveal the nuts.
Does anyone have any special experience or alternative uses to offer that involve these delicacies?
© 2012, John A. Heatherly. All rights reserved.
(17) Readers Comments
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This is sort of like CSA. Do they only deliver in Phoenix metro area?
Elizabeth
We have several acres of Slash Pine on our property and therefore have an abundant supply of needles. We lease out the pine stand to a gentleman who bales the needles and sells them for mulch. This past year I was wondering what to do with all of the extra needles and began making baskets with them. It's easy to do, you probably have the basic supplies on hand, and can be functional as well as decorative! I checked out a book (Pine Needle Basketry by Judy Mofield Mallow) from my local library and taught myself how to do it in one afternoon. Now, several families in our rural area are making baskets as well as three librarians in town.
PS I didn't know about the tea so I'll be making some today for my hubby!
J.Turner
Pine nuts cost a fortune to buy. They are used in Mediterranean recipes, Italian, Lebanese etc. There are lots of recipes for them on the net.
Bill
The resin from pine trees also makes an outstanding fire starter. Wood from a stump is many times saturated with the stuff. It does not take much, and smokes a little, but works great.
As a side note: If you get the pitch on your skin it can easily be cleaned by rubbing with a little mayonaise (like waterless hand cleaner). I have not found anything else that will remove the pitch without taking skin also.
Ghost95
Try peanut butter rubbed on the sticky area. Then just wash it off.
melabongo
Or just plain oil, both of those items have that ingredient.
Jan
We live in a pine forest, plenty of needles for tea. My kids and I think the tea is a little bitter. Honey sure makes it taste better. My kids also like to put a peppermint candy in it. It melts pretty quick and makes the tea taste better. We have so many pine needles that we use them to cover our garden beds during the winter. We make sure we rake as many of them out in the spring as possible. Too many pine needles mixed in the garden bed dirt causes poor plant growth.
belinda
Also you can take the tree pitch and put it in a jar with some oil ( like cooking oil) let it stand for 2 weeks, strain and you have turpentine .
Chari
is there any way you can get the exact or approximate measurements from your friend? I'd like to try this
John A. Heatherly
Whoa – all of these ideas are awesome. One of my friends melted pine pitch with roasted/ground egg shells to make glue. I haven't tried it yet though.
reklawj9
Can also make glue by mixing melted pitch with ground charcoal
JSW
Shelter; cordage; fire; sap makes good bandage/skin covering, also tastey to chew like gum; bark can be used as shoe soles, glued on with the sap…
rtwaywrongdir
Drinking too much tea can cause kidney damage. Short-term it is a great source of vitamin A and C. Pine sap can be used to treat burns and skin infections.
brescon
so what would you suggest as a safe frequency of drinking pine tea in a case of the SHTF?
Lostfalls
Pine Tar – used for treating roofing material and the bottoms of boats, also still used in veterinary care for hooves and chickens, also still commonly used in cold process soap although it is now not recommended unless you can find "creosote free" pine tar. Tricky, but not impossible to make yourself – care must be taken as all ingredients are very flammable and the process requires heat…
Martha
This reminds me of the 1970's and Euell Gibbons' famous line, "Many parts of a pine tree are edible." I've quoted and chuckled over that line for years. Now it has a whole new dimension. I've come a long way, baby. (I am really dating myself with these quotes!)
Crystal
Does any type of pine work equally well for all these uses?
Gus
Pine bark can be turned into pine oil for torch or lamp use.