Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Note: Post the song video and images of all four. Make a series about them that will encompass about ten posts total.
Quartets work in music and plant families. This group of spice herbs makes the perfect quartet. They serve many purposes together and individually.
Quartets work in music and plant families. This group of spice herbs makes the perfect quartet. They serve many purposes together and individually.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Burdocks make great Velcro
Burdocks are those tall leafy plants with dozens of burrs sticking out from their stems. You know these burrs. They are the ones that stick to your clothes when you run through a patch of burdock plants. Because they stick to your clothes so well, the burrs make great Velcro substitutes.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Nettles have Zing in their Sting
I recently wrote an article about this herb because it is one of my favorite wild medicinal herbs. Stinging Nettles became a close friend to me and my spouse Cephas while we were foraging for edible plants in the mountain forests. My previous article touched on the uses, qualities and some precautions regarding picking wild plants. Now I would like to cover some of the places these nutrient rich edibles grow. Stinging Nettles are considered by many folks to be an invasive weed. If only they would harvest them and utilize these powerful vitamin and mineral rich foods!
As for the zing in their sting, it is the high content of iron and vitamin K which feeds the blood system and regulates the blood clotting factor. The taste is full bodied and earthy rich, hence, the zing. The sting comes from those tiny hairs on the stems and protruding from the cascading seed blossoms. If you are tempted to touch to admire this pretty plants flowers, think twice. The sting will make a grown man cry! Always use gloves whenever handling fresh stinging nettles. My preference is to always dry it before using it for tea or nettle soup, which is a great nourishing wilderness food if you are ever stranded out there in the woods with few supplies. Satiate your hunger with nettles and gain lots of energy from it in the sun soaked tea form. I recommend cooking it into a soup if you are using it fresh and raw. Otherwise, dry it first then sun brew some of the most satisfying herbal tea that you will ever drink.
Where are nettles to be found? Just about anywhere in the forests near water because they grow best where there is moisture. Check along streams, rivers, ponds and in the woods between patches of trees. In the city, stinging nettles grow in vacant lots and unattended fields or your own backyard if you are lucky to have some seeds blow your way. Get a field guide for wild plants and follow the trail on a stinging nettles quest. You will have a blast, I promise you. The energy you gain from walking outdoors in search of edible plants is an invigorating one. I believe it is because the body is moving in fresher outdoor air with the essence of all sorts of plants being breathed in. Then add a concoction of nettle tea and see how stamina you will have. It is an amazing herb!
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Chamomile is suggested to calm the stomach
Chamomile is one of my favorite remedies. I have used it for many years on myself, my children and my grand children. It can be purchased in the tea bag form at most grocery stores. Health food stores carry it in both the tea form and in bulk. If you intend to use it for a large family, I recommend buying it in the bulk form to get more herb for your money.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Blessed Thistle is not a Weed
The name for this lovely plant speaks volumes about its nature. This thistle is indeed blessed. It grows in the wild in every state, I believe. Most people treat this as an invasive weed but historically, it was a well used food source. Every organic garden should have some blessed thistle both for the food and medicinal value of the plant. The flowers are a beautiful rose or purple. The pods are like a delicate artichoke. The leaves make a great medicinal tea that is cleansing to the liver.
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Start your Organic Garden with Comfrey
A patch of comfrey would be a great way to start your organic herb garden. It has so many medicinal uses that are easy to make. Comfrey grows prolifically without giving it much attention. It also is a perennial that will grow and spread for many years. So plant comfrey on the outer edges of your garden and give it room to spread.
So follow the transplanting instructions for setting the space in between the plants. Give comfrey the allotted water and mulch then just step back and watch it grow. Don't worry about those gaps in between the plants because they will fill themselves in very rapidly. Harvest season for the roots comes in the fall but the leaves can be used any time. Of course, the older leaves are tough and almost woody but it doesn't matter if you are using them for a poultice or in a salve.
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Chamomile is one of my favorite remedies. I have used it for many years on myself, my children and my grand children. It can be purchased... -
I recently wrote an article about this herb because it is one of my favorite wild medicinal herbs. Stinging Nettles became a close friend... -
A patch of comfrey would be a great way to start your organic herb garden. It has so many medicinal uses that are easy to make. Comfrey g... -
The name for this lovely plant speaks volumes about its nature. This thistle is indeed blessed. It grows in the wild in every state, I be... -
Burdocks are those tall leafy plants with dozens of burrs sticking out from their stems. You know these burrs. They are the ones that sti... -
Note: Post the song video and images of all four. Make a series about them that will encompass about ten posts total. Quartets work in mus...
