Happy New Year!

Welcome, 2016.  Now, let's have some real winter weather so my apple trees don't bloom in January. Our elderberries have broken dormancy and are leafing out because they heard it was spring.  Yikes!

It was actually cold today, so that felt more normal.  I brought in the new year by making herbal infused oils to use in a batch of skin balm.  When a friend and I made balm recently, we used the basic recipe found here.  The sunny yellow of the dried calendula was so darn cheerful, I couldn't help but be in a good mood.  

Resina calendula

Herbs l to r: comfrey, lemon balm, calendula, chickweed, lavender

To make the oil is fairly simple:

1) Dry fresh herbs (or buy dried herbs)

2)  Wash mason jars with hot, soapy water and dry well.

3) Put dried herb in the jar (you can mix but I like to do a single type of herb in a jar) and cover with oil of your choice.  I have only used extra virgin olive oils, but there are many other options.

4) If it is summer and warm, place in your window sill and infuse for a few months, shaking jars daily (or when you think of it).  If you want a quicker oil, very gently heat the oils (I use my dehydrator set to 115 degrees for 4 hours and then 100 degrees overnight).  I have read of using a slow cooker with a water bath set to warm can work as well.  

5) Your oil is ready when it has taken on the color and aroma of the herb you infused.  Strain out herbs (I use a nylon mesh paint strainer) and store in jars or bottles until ready to use away from heat and direct sunlight.  

Chickweed and Provence lavender

Olive oil added and ready for lids and labels

Herbal Oils

My plan is to make some salves from my beeswax and herbal oils made from garden herbs.  The first batch of oils seems to have come out well.  I covered dried herbs in mason jars with olive oil and then kept in a warm windowsill for a month, with a night spent in the dehydrator set to 100 degrees.  

L to R: calendula, chamomile, yarrow, and comfrey oils

Winter Snow, Willow Water, and Calendula Oil

Woke up this morning to see that a little snow had appeared overnight:

View of the backyard from second story window

Snowy Garden

Chicken Coop

Snowy winter days seem the perfect time for herbal remedies and concoctions.  I don't have much experience making much with herbs and plant material beyond mixing up teas, so I thought I'd try my hand at a few things.  The first attempted item is Calendula Infused Olive Oil.  Calendula has healing properties great for the skin and minor abrasions, so my end goal is to make a salve with the finished oil and my beeswax from my beehives.  The long and the short of it is as follows:  

Calendula Infused Oil

1) Pour olive oil over dried calendula flowers and let steep in a warm place for a month.  I used extra virgin but any grade is ok.

2) Shake occasionally

3) After a month, strain and use in a salve, balm, or straight onto skin in need of a little healing.

I grow Resina calendula is the variety with the highest concentration of resins, and therefore healing properties.  It is a very easy plant to grow from seed, quite hardy to the cold and pretty to boot.  Win-win!  I followed the recipe I found at the rootsimple blog for the oil. 

Calendula oil brewing on radiator

Calendula Oil

Another experimental concoction is Willow water.  Willow (Salix sp) is a very vigorous plant.  It has many wonderful uses as a headache reliever, a source of building material from coppicing, and a rooting hormone, among other things.  It is a very vigorous species and care should be taken to choose an appropriate site that is won't spread out of control.  I know of a few wild stands that I snapped some twigs from for this water.

Willow water is used to encourage rooting for hardwood cutting propagations.  The normal rooting hormones you would purchase in a packet are chemical concoctions and this is a natural alternative.  Willow contains Indolebutyric acid (IBA) a plant hormone that stimulates rooting, as well as Salicylic acid (SA), which keeps the newly rooted plant from succumbing to infection or rot.  More info can be found about uses and properties of willow here at deepgreenpermaculture.  

Willow Water:

1) Take some cuttings from 1 year willow growth.  This will be toward the tips of branches, farther from the trunk, and will have a different bark color than the brown, older growth.  The variety I clipped has red bark but the bark might be yellow or another color, dependent on variety.  You may likely see where old growth turns into the past year's new growth.  

2) Clip cuttings into 1' pieces and cover with boiling water.

3) Steep your "tea" overnight and then strain out the willow bits.  

4) Place your cuttings to root in a vessel with the willow water overnight, then remove them to pots of seed starting medium, or however else you will be starting them (a nursery bed in the garden if it is warm enough).  For the bay laurel I am trying to root, I will give each an indiviual pot of soiless medium, a ziploc bag loosely overtop of the cutting to increase humidity, and a warm, light spot by the radiator.  

5) Label and store leftover willow water for up to 2 months in the fridge.

Left to Right: Cut willow twigs, finished willow water, bay laurel waiting to get rooted 

Bay Laurel soaking in willow water

I appreciate the ease of these experiments and look forward to seeing if the calendula oil heals cuts and the willow water helps my bay laurel cuttings root!

Goldenseal Eye Wash for Canine Eye Boogies

Does your dog ever get minor eye infections, otherwise known as Eye Boogies (or also know by the highly refined term Green Eye Goobies)?  Our dog gets them occasionally and this seems to clear them up.  This concoction is one of many in Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide To Natural Health for Dogs & Cats which I use for medical care for minor canine and feline health problems.

Goldenseal/Sea Salt Eye Wash

• Warm purified water on the stove.  Measure out 1 cup and dump in 1/4 teaspoon goldenseal powder and stir well.  
• Let steep 15 min, then strain out the goldenseal. (It has usually settled to the bottom, so at this point, I just pour off all the liquid and leave behind the goldenseal sludge).  
• Mix in 1/4 teaspoon pure salt until dissolved (sea salt works).  
• Use to flush the eye by squeezing from a cotton ball as you gently hold the dog's eye (s) open.  Use 2-3 times daily and store in a covered jar.  The mix is good for 2 days, then you need to make fresh.  

Goldenseal was used historically both internally and externally for skin and digestive problems, and eye infections, to name just a few.  Alkaloid compounds in the herb called hydrastine and berberine have been studied in recent times and are found to have astringent, anti-microbial, and anti-inflammatory healing properties.

In any case, this seemed to work.  It caused the eye boogies to get much better almost instantly, and then finally cleared them up completely after about a (half ass) 2 week treatment.  Being "on it" twice daily may have cleared it up even quicker!  

Goldenseal and salt water

Bee Chains, Forgotten Frame and Papalo...The Summer Cilantro

When I extracted honey, I forgot to put a frame back in one of the hives.  I had removed some undrawn frames of foundation to replace with a few combs I had when I removed the honey, and one frame just never got replaced.  A few days later when I discovered my mistake, I had to move the comb the bees had built in the void I had left onto a new frame.  They will have it fixed up in no time.  Also observed, my favorite...a bee chain, also called a festoon.  Bees link together and use their bodies to....actually no one knows for sure.  Measure space?  Help wax production some how? Another delightful bee mystery.

Chain of Bees

Oooops...forgot a frame.

Moving their handiwork

Also in full swing is a new plant we are growing at Garden Dreams this year called Papalo.  It is tall, hardy and delightful.  The flavor is a bit like citrus and cilantro and quite strong...you only need about 1/3 of the amount of cilantro you would use in a salsa for example.  It's great because cilantro is quick to bolt in the summer heat....when this Papalo just seems to keep on growin'.

Papalo...my new fave.

So aromatic...oil glands on papalo leaf underside.

Herbal Preventative Wormers for Backyard Chickens

Molly's Herbals Preventative Wormer Herb Mixes

Drinking kefir with herbs.  

Drinking kefir with herbs

Today I gave the chickens their weekly "herbal supplements".  There is usually great excitement about this because the herbs are delivered in yogurt or kefir,  and they love yogurt and kefir !

Healthy chickens spend time scratching around and eating bugs.  It's what they love to do.  Sometimes they ingest soil that has worm eggs in it or insects or slugs that are hosts to various worms, so unfortunately, chickens getting worms is not completely uncommon.  This time of year I'm guessing they are less likely to get them than warm months but I'm sure it happens.  I'd like to avoid wormy chickens, so last year I spent time looking for was to prevent worms (besides the obvious keeping them in the best health possible).  

At a Garden Dreams we grow wormwood, but since I'm not an herbalist and you need to be really careful with doses of wormwood,  I did some research last year to find someone that makes preventative herbal wormers.  I found Molly's Herbals, which I've used for about 9 months .  The idea is the wormwood blend is only given every 8 weeks, with another blend being given weekly until the next wormwood dose.  They are meant to be used year-round, and the bags I ordered seem like they will last quite a while.  These herbal blends make the inside of your chickens a place where worms just don't want to be, and they make a quick exit if they are present.  

My feeding strategy is 2 rough tablespoons herb blend per 10 hens mixed with yogurt or kefir which they just love.  It's just a once a week treat for them .  I have to make sure the girls at the bottom of the pecking order get some as it becomes a free for all when the dish of "medicine" is set down. 

Powdery Mildew Comes to Visit

Powdery mildew is a fungus that loves warmth, moisture, and lower light. It appears as a greyish dusting on leaves and saps nutrients from its plant host. Whenever I overwinter my rosemary plants inside, they get powdery mildew. Last season at Garden Dreams, we tried out several home remedies and preventions for powdery mildew, and they worked quite well. There are many versions out there, but below are the formulas that worked well for us. Mix in a spray bottle and shake well before each use.

I used a cycle of baking soda spray one week, neem oil spray the next week, and milk spray the next week to control the mildew. Baking soda spray did seem to be a good preventative on suceptable plants such as the cucumber family, rosemary, and tarragon.

1. Baking Soda Preventative Spray: 1 heaping T baking soda, 1 T veg oil, 1 T unscented dishwashing soap (optional), 1 gallon warm water. Shake well and spray. Leaves a white residue.

2. Neem Oil Spray (not a home remedy but it works well)

3. Vinegar Fungicide: 3 T apple cider vinegar, 1 T molasses, 1 gallon water. Shake well and spray when temperatures are cool.

4. Milk Spray: 1 part milk to 9 parts water - works best when plants are in sun - spray when sun is shining.

Wild Edibles Walk # 2

On Sunday, April 25, two friends and I went on a second walk with Melissa and David Sokulski of The Birch Center and Food Under Foot (see previous post for links). This time we were on the South Side under the Birmingham Bridge. Some things we saw...


MULBERRY TREE: The berries are edible and ripen around Father's Day. The unripe berries should not be eaten.


MULBERRY


Melissa, David and their canine friend contemplate some pathside edibles.


JAPANESE KNOTWEED: The edible stalk is stringy and fiberous so peeling is definitely advisable.


COMMON MUGWORT: (Artimisia vulgaris) Appears to have many uses in herbal medicine, as an beer flavoring ingredient in the Middle Ages before the widespread use of hops, and as an inducer of more vivid dreams. It contains thujone which is toxic in large amounts and should be avoided by pregnant ladies. It is fragrant when crushed and since it is the second plant, along with burdock, that is absolutely overunning the lot we recently started gardening on, I can't wait to chop it all down and put it to use.

Wild Edibles Walk

Jason and I went on a walk to identify edible plants in Frick Park here in Pittsburgh last Saturday, April 17. The walk was led by Melissa and David Sokulski of The Birch Center and Food Under Foot. They educate people on the potential of weeds and wild plants to provide food and medicine. A lot of wild plants are wicked good for you! We didn't pick the fiddleheads in the park and will wait til we find a patch that will be just fine if we harvest a few. However, things like wild mustard that are invasive can be ripped out wherever they pop up and the parks encourage people to do so. Just make sure you have identified it correctly first, and that goes for eating any of these guys of course! Here are just a few of the things we saw...


PLANTAIN (plantago major): broad leaf plantain is a common weed that inhabits yards alongside dandelions, clover, and other edible weeds. The leaf, root, and seeds can all be eaten and the crushed leaves can be used to alleviate pain from bites, stings, and sunburn.


ONION GRASS: oniony...use it like chives or scallions! Since it is in the family Liliaceae, and some lilys are poisonous, just make sure it smells oniony before you eat it.


VIOLET: Mild flowers and leaves, both edible and pretty in salads.


MAY APPLE: Plants are poisonous but the fruit are edible, if the deer don't get them first.


BURDOCK: We have an infestation of this stuff in one of the lots we are gardening in. The root is most commonly used...grated, pickled like kraut or cooked but the stalks are also edible and can be peeled like celery. Melissa did not recommend eating the leaves and said the roots are best dug on small, first year plants like the one pictured here.


GARLIC MUSTARD is an invasive plant that is everywhere in Pittsburgh right now. The parks encourage people to rip it out wherever they spot it. The leaves and roots are both edible and Food Under Foot lists a Garlic Mustard Horseradish recipe that uses the root. The leaves turn more bitter once the plant flowers but mellow out if you use some vinegar and fat when cooking.


FIDDLEHEADS are unfurled fronds of young ferns that are tender and delicious. This website includes some recipes on pickling extra fiddleheads since they are only available for a brief moment in early spring.

Drying Herbs in a Paper Bag

I hadn't really dried herbs before except by hanging them up in bunches, which totally didn't work. The sunlight drains the flavor from the leaves. So, I found some helpful tidbits online about drying. I like the paper bag technique. Cut some herbs with as long stems as possible. Poke some air holes in a paper grocery bag using a fork. Snip some little slits near the top, big enough for the stems from your herb bunch to fit through. Poke them stems from inside to outside and tape to the bag. The photos show catnip, lemongrass, basil, mint and sage. Oh, and in a day or a few days the stems will shrink as they dry and you'll have to re-tape them to the bag so they don't fall. Let them dry for two weeks. Some sources said to toast them in an oven for a few minutes to make sure there is no moisture left, but they seemed really dry to me after 2 weeks.

Herbs Close By

This year is the first year in many that I have had a proper space to make a garden. While living in Boston last year, I had stashed a few pots of basil and cherry tomatoes on the patio behind our apartment building. Soon after, construction guys and gals put up scaffolding over them and started pounding the mortar out from between the bricks on the wall for some sort of renovation. The tomato plants found a new home with friends and the basil plants were stolen in the night soon after. Happily, here in Wilkinsburg, PA, a lot a few blocks away has let us tuck a few vegetable and herb plants into bed in the rear part of it. However, it is really nice to have some herbs close at hand for when one needs them all of a sudden in the kitchen. For that reason, we have stashed a few in pots and window boxes on the back porch, which also is where I like to live for as much of the summertime as possible! The catnip I keep hacked back to a bare minimum since it has the wish to grow into a tree. I have put it in with the mint for the same reason. I learned that most herbs, especially annuals like basil, grow better and taste better when you pick them real often. Cut a stem right above a leaf pair and a bushier plant will soon make itself known. They also seem to like it rough. That is, not too much water or richness in the soil. The little bitty cilantro I think I planted too late since I know they don't like the heat and they are growing as slow as molasses.


Chives

Basil

Cilantro

Thyme

Oregano

Mexican Tarragon


Sage, Rosemary, and Lemongrass

Catnip