polk and hostas

[Diane]

can i feed polk greens? they are ok for human consumption, just not the berries. anyone know if they are ok for iggies? also, what about the blooms from hostas?

[Merlin]

I don't know about hostas, but I would avoid the polk greens. Yes they are fine for human consumption IF gathered the right way and they are prepared properly. This consists of bringing them to a boil a couple of times and draining off the water.

I have seen wild polk growing in horse corrals and the horses wouldn't touch them.

[Marie]

During my time in Mississippi, I had polk salad a few times. They would boil them over and over and even after all the boiling, they would have to be fried to make them digestible. I was told they could really upset the stomach if not properly cooked--that they were extremely strong greens. My Dad grew up eating them often but he grew up in the 20's and 30's when jobs and money were extremely scarce--those greens were free since they grew everywhere wild. They tasted ok to me once cooked properly but I still perfer the standard greens the best. They definitely IMO should not be fed to an iguana.

[Diane]

Yes, everything i have found on polk claims it must be boiled several times, etc. I definitely don't want to try and feed it to him raw!! ok, guess i will just keep yanking them up and tossing them aside. Thanks for the advise.
by the way, my outdoor collard garden is growing nicely. I have actually gotten a couple of small harvests of garden fresh greens for Narcy. . . .do you think he appreciates it?

[SurvivorSteph]

diane said:

I have actually gotten a couple of small harvests of garden fresh greens for Narcy. . . .do you think he appreciates it?

Of course he does!