Home gardening offers ways to trim grocery costs [Survival Today, an on going thread]

Americans finding soaring food prices hard to stomach can battle back by growing their own food. [Click image for a larger version] Dean Fosdick Dean Fosdick

Home vegetable gardens appear to be booming as a result of the twin movements to eat local and pinch pennies.

At the Southeastern Flower Show in Atlanta this winter, D. Landreth Seed Co. of New Freedom, Pa., sold three to four times more seed packets than last year, says Barb Melera, president. "This is the first time I've ever heard people say, 'I can grow this more cheaply than I can buy it in the supermarket.' That's a 180-degree turn from the norm."

Roger Doiron, a gardener and fresh-food advocate from Scarborough, Maine, said he turned $85 worth of seeds into more than six months of vegetables for his family of five.

A year later, he says, the family still had "several quarts of tomato sauce, bags of mixed vegetables and ice-cube trays of pesto in the freezer; 20 heads of garlic, a five-gallon crock of sauerkraut, more homegrown hot-pepper sauce than one family could comfortably eat in a year and three sorts of squash, which we make into soups, stews and bread."

She compares the current period of market uncertainty with that of the early- to mid-20th century when the concept of victory gardens became popular.

"A lot of companies during the world wars and the Great Depression era encouraged vegetable gardening as a way of addressing layoffs, reduced wages and such," she says. "Some companies, like U.S. Steel, made gardens available at the workplace. Railroads provided easements they'd rent to employees and others for gardening."

http://celticbuttonbox.com/GardenForNutrition/Organic_Insect_Control_With_Beneficial_Insects_Animals_Bacteria_and_Fungus.html

Organic Insect Control With Beneficial Insects, Animals, Bacteria, and Fungus

PREVENTION

PLANTS THAT ATTRACT BENEFICIAL INSECTS
PERENNIALS TO PLANT OUTSIDE THE GARDEN
ANNUALS TO PLANT INSIDE THE GARDEN
BIENNIALS
WEEDY PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS

CONTROLLING INSECTS UNDERGROUND
ORGANIC INSECTICIDE
ATTRACTS INSECT PREDATORS

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PREVENTION

1. Grow plants that are well adapted to the soil and climate of the area. For example, grow fava when and where the climate is cool and moist for a long period.

2. Grow crops at the proper time. For example, grow cole crops in the fall only; except turnip. They are too attractive to insects in the spring and summer.

3. Grow resistant varieties.

4. Use integrated pest management tehniques by getting bacteria, fungus, plants, beneficial insects, and animals to control harmful insects for you. For example, grow plants that attract beneficial insects in and around the garden.

5. Crop rotation. See:

Organic City Garden Crop Rotation

Organic Self Sufficiency Crop Rotation

6. Avoid large monocultures if at all possible.

7. Hogs can be used to eat fallen fruit and interrupt insect breeding cycles.

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PLANTS THAT ATTRACT BENEFICIAL INSECTS

PERENNIALS TO PLANT OUTSIDE THE GARDEN
Yarrow - parasitic wasps, lady beetles, bees, deer resistant
Tansy - parasitic wasps, lady beetles, insidious flower bugs,
lacewings, deer resistant
Daisy - parasitic wasp, nectar
Alfalfa - parasitic wasp, nectar
Seedum - parasitic wasps
Comfrey - spiders
Tree bark not sprayed by oil - predatory wasp nest site
Golden Marguerite (Anthemis tinctoria) - nectar
Butterfly Weed - nectar
Goldenrod(Solidago sp.) - wasps, preying mantis, deer resistant
Hard-leaved Goldenrod - wasps

ANNUALS TO PLANT INSIDE THE GARDEN
Alyssum - parasitic wasps, pollen and nectar
Parsnip - parasitic wasp
Caraway - parasitic wasps, lacewings, hoverflies, insidious flower bugs
, spiders
Amaranth - tachinid fly
Marigolds - pollen and nectar
Buckwheat - hoverflies, minute pirate bugs, predatory wasps,
tachinid flies, lacewings, lady beetles
Hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) - lady beetles
, minute pirate bugs, predatory wasps
Chamomile - predatory wasps
Hyssop - predatory wasps
Celery - predatory wasps
Borage(seed needs light to germinate) - pollen and nectar
Batchelor button - pollen and nectar
Corn flower(Centauren cyanus) - pollen and nectar
Mustard - pollen and nectar
Coriander - pollen and nectar
Nasturtiums - nectar and pollen
Sunflower family - attracts lacewing

BIENNIALS
Parsley - predatory wasps

WEEDY PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS (Best grown in fields around garden)
Sweet fennel - parasitic wasps, predatory wasps
Dill - seed needs light to sproat, predatory wasps
Queen Ann’s Lace - parasitic wasps, nectar
White sweet clover - tachinid flies, bees, predatory wasps
Clover - predatory wasps
Dandelion - nectar
Echinacea - nectar and pollen

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CONTROLLING INSECTS UNDERGROUND

Practice clean culture in the fall. (Work in all crop residue.)
This will also reduce soil insect populations.

Hard wood chips - grows fungus which kill nematodes
Grasshoppers - plowing in the fall can kill eggs
, work in insectidal plants
, growing oats and peas repels grasshoppers
Parasitic nematodes - kills many soil insects
Milky spore - kills grubs

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ORGANIC INSECTICIDE

Bacillus thuringiensis - bacteria which disrupts the disgestive system
of leaf eating worms.
Not necessary for cole crops if they are planted in the fall.

Till into the soil under fruit trees:
tobacco - insecticide
wormwood - insecticide
high camphor lavender - repels everything
walnut (Juglans nigra) - odor of leaves repels insects
rosemary
wild plants with insecticidal properties
listed in Peterson’s
Medicinal Plants Field Guide

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ATTRACTS INSECT AND PEST PREDATORS

bat nest sites.
very small bird (warblers) nest sites.
grow trees for nest sites.
tomato cages for perching in the garden.
snakes, lizards, and frogs -
water and hiding places.
(ie: log pile, rocks)
snakes will breed in a wood chip pile.
wasp boxes
water in gravel pans for wasps
grass or straw mulched areas - spiders
birds - Do not put out bird feeders.
It will only train them to eat your crops,
instead of the insects you want them to eat.
owl nest boxes - owls for mouse control

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BENEFICIAL INSECT LINKS:

www.gardenguides.com
www.gardensalive.com
www.phancypages.com
www.bugladyconsulting.com

Garden For Nutrition Index

http://celticbuttonbox.com/GardenForNutrition/Organic_Soil_How_To_Build_Up_Nutrients.html

Organic Soil - How to Build Up Nutrients

GENERAL RULES

1. Avoid composting or the nitrogen will evaporate.
In the fall, residue should be worked into the soil.
Composting can allow as much as 75% of the nitrogen to
escape into the atmosphere as ammonia.
2. When plowing, do not just flip the soil.
Thoroughly mix the previous crop residue and water.
Also, aerobic decomposition is better than anaerobic.
This will encourage decomposition, which will reduce disease,
and also encourage rapid growth of the next crop, which will help
control weeds.
3. Do not try to do the work all by yourself.
Enlist the help of plants, insects, and animals.
Turn animals onto the stubble to reduce material size.
Hogs can be used in orchards to interupt insect cycles,
interrupt certain parasite cycles, etc.
Encourage dung beetles to spread and bury manure in pastures for you.
4. Grow deep rooted plants in your rotation to break up the soil
and bring nutrients up from deep below:
alfalfa, chicory, parsnip, sunflower, okra, etc.
5. Encourage the proper MYCORRHIZAL FUNGUS to aid in nutrient
absorption and soil mineralization.
Never leave soil without roots in it to encourage the fungus.
6. Encourage the proper RHIZOBIAL BACTERIA
to fixate nitrogen.
7. Worms will drag organic material underground in perennial beds
and pastures from the organic matter on top of the soil.
8. Leaves from trees and grass are best left in place to nourish the
plants that grew them.
Try not to rob organic matter from plants that need it.
9. Only add ORGANIC FERTILIZER AMENDMENTS when necessary.
Try to unlock the local nutrients first.
10. Winter cattle and poultry in row crop areas with portable protection
if possible.
Manure will be automatically distributed.
Locate hay barns next to row crop areas for easy hay distribution.
11. Work manure from winter sheltered animals directly into the garden
during winter. Stop working manure in 6 months before harvest time.
12. Use the best MATERIALS FOR MAKING POTTING MIX.

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MYCORRHIZAL FUNGUS
Mycorrhizal fungi increases uptake of nutrients for most plants,
especially phosphorus.

Mycorrhizal fungi is a free naturally present fungi that has a
mutualistic relationship with most plants except Brassica,
beets, and buckwheat.

Crops which encourage the widest variety:
Sorghum - Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench
Leek - Allium porrum (L.)

Crops which encourage the highest numbers:
Barley
Bean

Grain with the greatest response:
Rye

Okra and corn produced low populations.

Trichoderma viride:
Flax will encourage this fungus.
The cyanide in the roots will encourage Trichoderma viride,
which will suppress other harmful fungus and bacteria.
Must allow to fully mature for the cyanide to leave the seed
and deposit into the roots.

Chitin (shell of crab, lobster, shrimp, snail, fish scale?) -
will encourage Streptomyces actinomycete which will suppress
harmful fungus.

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RHIZOBIAL BACTERIA
Legumes use rhizobium to fixate nitrogen, but sunflower and okra
also benefit because most beneficial rhizobium will suppress
harmful bacteria.

HOST PLANTS:
Rhizobium meliloti - alfalfa
Rhizobium japonicum - soybean
Rhizobium leguminosarum type C - hairy vetch
Rhizobium leguminosarum var. Viceae - pea and fava
Rhizobium leguminosarum lentil - lentil
Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. phaseoli - common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.),
Rhizobium trifolii - Alsike clover, Red clover
Bradyrhizobium japonicum spp. - Kudzu, Peanut
Rhizobium loti - Bird’s-foot trefoil

Native rhizobium are available in most soils,
but at such low numbers that they are not very effective.

Inoculations survive at useful levels for only about 2-3 years,
under good conditions, without the proper leguminous host plants.
Good conditions are high humus, moderate PH, moderate moisture,
and moderate temperature.

Soak seed for 24 hours prior to inoculation.
This will open the pores for easier inoculation.
Plant immediately.

Rye is good for reducing harmful bacteria.

Peat - natural inoculator of Azospirillum brasilense,
a phytostimulator for grains, legumes, and tomatoes

In studies on mass multiplication of rhizobia, wheat bran showed
more rhizobial population per gm of substrate as compared to
saw dust or rice husk.

Annual Alfalfa - highest in nitrogen fixation among annual crops.
Best if plow under.
Vetch - Can overwinter to zone 6.
High fixation if environment allows overwinter with spring growth.
Maximum nitrogen fixation just as it begins to bloom.
Drops rapidly.
Mixing with rye improves overwintering and summer growth.
Must bloom before mow or chop or may regrow.
Soy, pea - food crops, high fixation.
Lentil, common bean - food crops, moderate fixation.
Fava - Best where moist and cool for 2-3 months
and too cool for vetch or peas to actively grow.
Fixation can be high but only in the right environment.
Will continue to fix nitrogen to full plant maturity
as long as the soil is 40-60 F.
Plant will die when temperatore < 10 F.
Perennial Alfalfa, clover - best in pastures

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ORGANIC FERTILIZER AMENDMENTS

Phosphorous sources - for root growth and strong stem
Bone or rock phosphate - needed if soil is alkaline,
plant directly in it
Held in soil by clay.
Protozoa, bacteria, and fungi release via mineralization.

Nitrogen sources:
Bacteria fixate from the atmosphere
and held in soil by clay.
Protozoa also release nitrogen.

Potassium sources - for flowering and fruit
Trees can absorb potassium more easily than most other plants.
Hard wood chips should be worked into the soil for potassium.
Work small amounts into the soil every year so as not to
decrease nitrogen levels too quickly.
Rock potash.
Potassium can be held in soil by clay.

Micro nutrients:
Calcium - dolomite, limestone
causes soil to be fluffy and well aerated
excess may inhibit growth by making soil too alkaline
Silica - granite dust, sand
Zinc - granite dust
Molybdenum - rock phosphate
Trace minerals - granite meal, greensand (glauconite)
, kelp meal
Boron - Borax (only add if known deficiency)
Cobolt -
Manganese -
Sulphur -
Copper -
Magnesium -
Aluminium -
Iron -

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MATERIALS FOR MAKING POTTING MIX
Mix these materials with local soil and allow time to decompose.
Stir regularly.

hard wood chips - grows a fungus which will kill nematodes.
also high in potassium.
willow wood chips - root stimulant
alfalfa will stimulate growth with octacosanol
high in silica - strengthens against fungus
comfrey - cell proliferant
horseradish greens, garlic, mustard seed
- suppresses fungus
thistle - high in silica
if allowed to grow to full maturity
silica strengthens plants against fungus
allow plants to mature, but not seed, before mowing
burdock leaf - oligosacharides
encourage beneficial bacteria
Stinging nettle - growth stimulant, fungicidal

Garden for Nutrition Index

http://celticbuttonbox.com/GardenForNutrition/Organic_Health_Food_Recipes.html

Organic Health Food Recipes

This site is meant to supplement any of the many dozens of full blown recipe books available, with tips you seldom find in other recipe books on using the most nutritious crops fresh from the garden / farm. A few recipes are included, but this site consists mostly of tips on how to use the healthiest of crops which are listed here. Use them to help make substitutions in your favorite recipes.

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Breakfast smoothy:
Use soaked, possibly fermented, and cooked wheat berries,
kamut, or spelt and possibly a small amount of
cooked sweet potato with the skin for flavor.
1 hard boiled egg

Cool

Blend until smooth with:
Fruit peelings
Fennel, coriander, anise, cardamom
Soaked and cooked flax.
Walnut, pecan, and/or sunflower.

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Winter squash soup:
Cook winter squash with the skin

Cool

Blend until smooth with:
Fruit peelings
Fennel, coriander, anise, cardamom
Soaked and cooked flax or flax oil
Walnut, pecan, and/or sunflower.

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Quick Breads:

Soak the whole grain berries of spelt, kamut, wheat, oat, rice, buckwheat, corn, flax, etc. for 24 hours.
Wash and drain.
Boil the berries until fully cooked.
Grind in blender with fruit.
Ferment for at least several hours with a sourdough starter.

Blend with egg yolk.
Whip and fold in egg whites.

Pour onto hot pan or griddle to cook.

The advantage of this method is that the grain is already thoroughly cooked. Most quick breads do not thoroughly cook the grain so they are difficult to digest.

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Mayonaise substitute or butter substitute:
Blend:
Winter squash
Dried fruit - ground

Squash is a good enough butter substitute by itself if you give the palette time to adjust. It is better to eat foods high in omega 3 than to add any kind of oil to the diet. The major source of cholesterol comes from when the liver converts oils and fats into cholesterol.

Yellow summer squash seeds - if yellow summer squash is allowed to ripen more fully than can be found in most grocery stores and yet not so much as to become tough, the seeds will develope a wonderfully buttery flavor.

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Winter Squash Drink:
The cooking water from winter squash makes a delicious sweet beverage.
Serve cold or hot.

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Tips:

Greens:
Greens will taste much better if they are boiled.

Greens are excellant for stuffings, pies, casseroles,
meatloaf, chili, soup, etc.

It is a great way to sneak healthy food into children’s diets.
Healthy kids don’t need much to make a difference and it is
invaluable to start training the palatte and psychology early.

Adding some stewed lentils is also a great way to improve
the flavor. Adding naturally salty fish also enhances flavor.

If greens are boiled, the cooking water will be full of calcium
so either drink it or use it to cook something else.
Unfortunately, the cooking water may also be full of tannins
which may taste too strong to use any further and are slightly
toxic.

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CHICKPEA AND PEA:
Soak for 24 hours, then bake for a very nutty flavor.

****
Winter squash:
When removing the seeds from winter squash, leave as much as
possible of the loose tissue around the seeds. It is extremely
high in nutrients and very flavorful. Use a fork to tease the
seeds out of the surrounding tissue.

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Tartness:
Tartness is a wonderfull flavor which is very appealing
for sauces. Good sources of tart flavor are some of the
more wild fruits sold by One Green World and
St. Lawrence Nursery.

Also, hibiscus.

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Okra:
If you do not want to eat okra raw, then it is often best to
cook it whole. Do not overcook or it will become slimy.
Cutting the okra before cooking makes it especially slimy.
Cooked whole okra is not anywhere near as slimy.
Of course, okra can be intentionally cut open to help
thicken soups like gumbo. The cooking water of okra is also
very soothing to the throat since it is mucilaginous and
high in calcium. Okra eaten raw is the least slimy of all.
But the okra must be very fresh since it does not store well.

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Beets:
Leave on the roots and then soak in water overnight to
reduce bitterness.

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To cook rice:
Soak rice for 24 hours, then drain the water.
Cook at a low boil for at least 25-30 minutes once boiling begins.
Whole rice becomes sticky when the outer shell cracks and the inside
is exposed.
Completely turn off the heat to stop cooking the rice as soon as the
outer shell cracks and allow the rice to soak in the remaining
hot water.
This reduction in heat will also help to prevent the starch from
being activated and becoming sticky.
Pour off extra water as soon as rice reaches desired expansion
before excess exposure of the inside of the kernals.
Use the excess water to cook other foods since it will be high
in vitamins and minerals.
Reducing the heat too soon will prevent the rice from becoming
fully cooked.
Under cooking rice to keep it from becoming sticky makes
it very indigestable.
But if you need to freeze the rice, preventing the kernals from
expanding beyond the initial cracking point, will help to
resist the tendency to become sticky when frozen.
Cooking the rice to unfreeze and reheat it can complete
the expansion process.

****
Rutabaga:
Rutabaga really does not store well. It is best served
freshly harvested and freshly cooked.

****
Eggs:
The key to easily peeling hard boiled eggs is to peel them under cold water
as soon as they are finished cooking while they are still very hot.
Concentrate on peeling the inner membrane instead of the shell.

****
Brains:
Brains are consumed by cultures all over the world.
There are many dozens of recipes available on the Internet.
But if we look at brains from a nutritional viewpoint, brains
are best used like a highly perishable type of butter or oil
(since it is so high in DHA).
From this perspective it is better to clean brains (and eyes),
grind or cut them up, and then freeze them in a way that allows
you to break off small pieces to be used every day to thicken
soups and sauces.
Samll amounts of DHA on a daily basis is the best way to meet ones
daily needs for DHA.

****
NOTE:
One of the most important points to remember about cooking
healthy, is to use low heat; just barely enough heat to
destroy the inhibitors or sterilize if required.
Never use high heat to cook food as this can denaturing proteins.
And never use microwaves.

Water boils at sea level at 212 F at sea level.
Most enzyme inhibitors will be neutralized at that temperature over time.
Most bacteria will also be destroyed at that temperature.

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COOKING LINKS:

Organic Personal Chef

Chef CC’s delicious collection of Organic Pesto, Marinara and Pasta gift baskets are available to order. Send Chef CC an email to find out more about these tasty treats.

AZTEC GARDENS

A guide to the pre-Hispanic plants and foods of Mexico, with ancient recipes from Mesoamerica. A great resource for the teacher, student, amateur ethno botanist, chef, or anyone interested in the plants and foods of Mexico and Mesoamerica.

Back to Garden for Nutrition Index

http://www.earthyfamily.com/arom-recipes.htm

Recipes & Uses

Lavender

Lavender is probably the most versatile essential oil available and therefore one of the absolute “essentials”. Fortunately, it’s also a fairly inexpensive oil and can be obtained for a good price in a pure form. Lavender is one of the very few oils that can be applied directly to skin (for adults and older children) without dilution, but it is also nice in a vaporizer, in a bath, in a spritzer, in a foot bath, through steam inhalation or dry inhalation. It’s the catch-all remedy and is safe even for the youngest family members.

Headaches: Mix 5-6 drops with cool water. Dip clean cotton cloth (a facecloth works fabulously) into solution, wring gently and use as a compress across forehead or around neck. Refresh the cloth in the solution as required. This works even better if you have the opportunity to lay down in a dark place while you apply your compress.

Diaper Wipes: Combine ¼ Cup of Aloe Gel, 1 Cup Water, 3 drops lavender essential oil, 2 drops tea tree oil. Mix well and pour over homemade wipes. Reusable flannel cloths are a roll of paper towel cut in half work well. This is an antibacterial, soothing solution without the harsh chemicals and alcohol often found in commercial wipes. For more info on diapering, click here.

Burns: Apply lavender oil directly to burn area. If burn is severe, contact professional advice immediately.

Linen Spray: Lavender has been used in many societies for its ability to help people relax and unwind at day’s end. Add 10-15 drops to ½ Cup of Water in a small spritz bottle. Spray sheets, pillowcases or bedding with a light mist just before crawling in for the night. Alternatively, try 1-2 drops underneath a pillow. This is great for children’s rooms as well as adults and provides an incredibly relaxing bedtime smell.

Insect Bites: Apply 1 drop directly to insect stings or bites or place 2-3 drops on end of q-tip and dab bite to ease pain and discomfort. If you know or suspect the insect was poisonous, be sure to contact professional help immediately.

Depression or Anxiety: Place 5-6 drops on cotton or linen handkerchief and inhale as needed. This is a wonderfully mobile little trick as it can be tucked into a pocket or purse and is only ever a reach away. For children, this can be a great way to connect to parents when separation is required for a small stretch of time. Let them know that anytime they feel overwhelmed or in need of connection, they can take a whiff of the little cloth and know that you are thinking of them too. (Try this for first days of school, etc.)

recommended reading on aromatherapy

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Room Freshener: Use a diffuser, a spritzer or place a few drops on the vacuum bag before vacuuming to freshen a stale room or to help clear the air after an illness. Dried lavender used to be burnt in hospital wards to clean the air as it contains antiseptic properties and is known for it’s balancing effects. It is also well-known for it’s uplifting and soothing qualities and could help purify the air after an unpleasant discussion or argument.

Lemon

Synthetic lemon scent is often added to chemical cleansers to denote freshness and cleanliness. The real lemon essential oil is a fabulous addition to homemade, non-toxic cleaners as it is an antiseptic and rejuvenating disinfectant (and much better than all that synthetic stuff). Lemon is also known for its ability to stimulate the immune system and neutralize acid (great for heartburn!). All citrus oils are photosensitive which means you need to avoid sunlight if you apply it to your skin – even in a diluted form. To prolong the life of lemon essential oil, store it in the fridge.

Dishwashing: Add 4-6 drops of lemon essential oil to a sink full of soapy water to do dishes. It adds a fabulous scent which makes washing dishes a little sunnier for the dishes, your hands and your mind.

Insect Bites: Like lavender, lemon essential oil can be applied directly to insect bites to relieve itching and reduce or avoid swelling. Be sure to avoid sunlight for at least 6 hours after applying though.

Room Freshener: Use lemon essential oil in a diffuser or spritzer to purify the air. Lemon blends well with lavender for a fresh, light air cleanser.

Orange

Sweet Orange is one of my favourite essential oils and is often favoured by children as well. Like lemon, orange essential oil is a disinfectant and a great addition to homemade cleaning solutions. It is the only citrus oil that is considered relaxing and stimulating and is often recommended for children’s evening baths (no more than one drop in a tub though as it can be rather harsh for young skin). As with all citrus oils, it is photosensitive and should not be exposed to light (especially sunlight when on the skin) and can be stored in the fridge to minimize the light and temperature sensitivity.

Diaper Pail Deodorizer: Add 10 drops to a cotton pad and place in the deodorizer compartment of your diaper pail for fresher smelling change area.

Diaper Spray: Fill a spray bottle with a 1:1 solution of vinegar and water. Add 10-15 drops of orange essential oil, shake well and keep beside the change table. Spray diapers as you throw them into the pail to await wash day. This solution is also a great disinfectant for wiping down the change table area – and it leaves the room smelling so sweet.

Neroli

Neroli essential oil comes from the blossoms of orange trees and is another of my personal favourites. It is best known for it’s relaxation benefits and received it’s name from the 17th century Italian princess Anna Maria de la Tremoille, Princess of Nerole who used the fragrance everywhere from her stationary to her baths. It is often used in treating depression and I used it after the birth of our baby to help ease those “baby blues” as my hormones regulated themselves from pregnant to lactating state. Neroli is quite safe for use during pregnancy and is often recommended for PMS symptoms. Neroli is one of the more expensive oils and is therefore often sold already diluted. Be sure to buy from a reputable source.

Mama Love Bath: Mix 7 drops of Neroli with 3 tablespoons of honey or 1 tablespoon of a carrier oil, add to warm bath, sit back, relax and pamper yourself – you deserve it!

The Pity Party Romp: Place 2-4 drops in a diffuser or aroma lamp when you’re feeling a little sorry for yourself, a bit depressed or just out of sorts. Have a good cry if you need it and breathe the scent of Neroli deeply.

Tea Tree
Tea tree essential oil is probably the most powerful disinfectant of all the essential oils. It is fabulous added to cleaning solutions (for more information on homemade cleaning solutions, read Clean House, Clean Planet) as it has antiseptic, germicidal and antiviral properties. The oil comes from an Australian tree and is often used for treating acne. It has a distinctly disinfectant smell and blends very nicely with lavender.

Toilet Bowl Cleaner: Shake ½ Cup of Borax and 10 drops of tea tree essential oil into toilet, give it a quick scrub with the toilet brush, close the lid and leave for several hours or overnight. Scrub again, flush and delight in your sparkling clean, fresh-smelling bowl.

Diaper Pail Cleanser: As you empty your pail into the wash, pour ½ cup of vinegar and 6-8 drops of tea tree essential oil into the pail. Give it a good swirl and wipedown, then pour the excess into the washing machine with your diapers (sometimes I leave the solution in until it’s time to set the diapers for the second cycle and then add it). For more information on cloth diapers, click here.

Germs BeGone!: Tea tree is fabulous for getting rid of sick germs. Add 3-4 drops to a diffuser during and after an illness in the house to minimize airborne germs.
Soap: Add 25 drops of tea tree oil to 1 cup of neutral liquid soap and mix well for an antibacterial handwash. For a more pleasing scent, replace 10-15 of the drops with an equal amount of lavender essential oil. This is a particularly great soap for after gardening or in the bathroom.

Peppermint

Peppermint is an extremely potent oil that should be used with caution around children and pets and is best avoided during pregnancy and while using homeopathic remedies (it will cancel out the effects of the homeopathics). It has the distinctively cooling mint smell and is a fabulous remedy for nausea, digestive issues, and headaches. Be sure to dilute this oil well and use minimum amounts as it is very powerful.

Cooling Bath: Put 2-3 drops of peppermint essential oil in 1 teaspoon of carrier oil, mix well and add to a lukewarm bath just before getting in. What a great way to cool down on those dog days of summer (unfortunately peppermint’s cooling action is also stimulating so this makes a terrible bedtime bath).

Achy bones massage: When the achy joints phase of an illness overcomes, put 2 drops of peppermint oil in 1 tablespoon of carrier oil and ask a loved one for a nice, easy massage.

Bloated Belly Rub: Put 2-3 drops of peppermint essential oil in 1 tablespoon of carrier oil and rub clockwise onto a belly plagued by indigestion.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus oil is best known for its healing scent as it is an amazing decongestant that has been added to many over-the-counter medications. It’s a must for relieving chest and sinus congestions and is also a great insect repellant and fever reducer. Eucalyptus, though it is smells quite strong, is quite safe for young children as long as it is diffused rather than applied directly. Some asthmatics, however, have reportedly had attacks triggered by the strong smell of eucalyptus and therefore it is not recommended for those suffering from asthma.

Fever reducer: Fevers are a wonderful way for the body to rid itself of infection and though they can be difficult to experience or watch in loved ones, they are actually a wonderful sign that the body has a functioning immune system. When they reach incredibly high temperatures, though, fevers can result in febrile seizures – an experience that can frighten both child and parent. If a fever is becoming extreme it can be brought down a degree or two with the following method. Of course, do not hesitate to contact your health provider should you be concerned and/or other symptoms are present. Add 3-4 drops of eucalyptus essential oil to 2 cups of lukewarm to warm water and mix well. Dip a clean cotton or linen cloth (facecloth works great) into the solution, wring and apply to fevered leg. Repeat as necessary and comfortable.

Congestion unclogger: Place 3-4 drops in a diffuser to help relieve congestion and purify the air when a family member has come down with a stuffed up nose and clogged chest. Alternatively, 3-4 drops can be added to 1 tablespoon of carrier oil. This mixture can be added to a bath or rubbed on the chest of older children and adults.

Insect Repellent: Place 1-2 drops on the brim of a hat, pant hems and/or shirt cuffs to ward off insects. They can’t stand the strong smell of eucalyptus.

http://www.earthyfamily.com/A-herbal.htm

Herbal Medicine Chest In Your Back Yard
Reproduced with permission,
c. 1998, Susun S Weed

Don’t kill, spray, tear up, or destroy the weeds in your garden, yard, and fence rows. Many of them are actually highly-regarded, widely-used, and extremely-valuable medicinal herbs! What could be easier than growing an herb garden with no effort? Of course, you’ll have to harvest your weeds, but you would do that anyhow: it’s called weeding.

Spring is an especially fertile time for harvesting your weeds - roots and all - and turning them into medicines. Here then are some tips on how to find, harvest, prepare, and use a baker’s dozen (13) of common weeds that probably already grow around you.

To make your medicines you’ll need glass jars of various sizes with tight-fitting lids. And at least a pint each of apple cider vinegar (pasteurized), vodka (100 proof is best, but 80 proof will do), and pure olive oil (not extra virgin) or good quality animal fat such as lanolin, lard, or belly fat from a lamb or kid. You will also want a knife, a cutting board, and some rags to mop up spills.

In general, you will fill a jar (of any size) with coarsely-chopped fresh, but dry, plant material. (Do not wash any part of the plant except roots, if you are using them, and be sure to dry those well with a towel before putting them in your jar.) Then you will fill the jar with your menstruum, that is, the vinegar, the oil, or the alcohol. Label well and allow to stand at room temperature, out of the sunlight for at least six weeks before decanting and using. (See my book Healing Wise for more specific information on making preparations.)

A field guide is helpful for positively identifying your weeds. The one I like best is: A Guide to the Identification of New Zealand Common Weeds in Colour, complied by E. A. Upritchard. (Available from the New Zealand Weed And Pest Control Society, P.O. Box 1654, Palmerston North) This book even shows you how the weeds look when they are emerging.

Ready? OK! Let’s go outside and see what we can find.

Shepherds’s purse (Capsella bursa pastoris) is an annual in the mustard family. Cut the top half of the plant when it has formed its little heart-shaped “purses” (seed pods) and make a tincture (with alcohol), which you can use to stop bleeding. Midwives and women who bleed heavily during their period praise its prompt effectiveness. Gypsies claim it works on the stomach and lungs as well. A dose is 1 dropperful (1ml); which may be repeated up to four times a day.

Cleavers (Gallium aparine) is a persistent, sticky plant which grows profusely in abandoned lots and the edges of cultivated land. The entire plant is used to strengthen lymphatic activity. I cut the top two-thirds of each plant while it is in flower (or setting seeds) and use alcohol to make a tincture which relieves tender, swollen breasts, PMS symptoms, and allergic reactions. A dose is 15-25 drops (.5 - 1 ml); repeated as needed.

Chickweed (Stellaria media) has many uses, including delicious salad greens. I cut the entire top of the plant and eat it or use alcohol to make a tincture, which dissolves cysts, tonifies the thyroid, and aids in weight loss. A dose is a dropperful (1 ml), up to three times a day.

Daisy (Bellis perennis) is a common perennial weed of lawns and open areas. Quite different from the native daisy (Lagenifera petiolata), the little English daisy is related to feverfew and has similar abilities. I use the leaves and flowers to make a tincture (with alcohol) or a medicinal vinegar which relieves headaches, muscle pain, and allergy symptoms. A dose is a dropperful of the tincture (1 ml), up to twice a day; or a tablespoon of the vinegar in the morning.

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis) is a persistent perennial of lawns and gardens and one of the best known medicinal herbs in the world. (The native dandelion of New Zealand - Taraxacum magellanicum - is medicinal too.) Those who love a pure green lawn curse the sunny yellow flowers of common dandelion. But those who are willing to see beauty anywhere (such as children and herbalists) treasure this weed. You can use any part of the dandelion - the root, the leaves, the flowers, even the flower stalk - to make a tincture or medicinal vinegar which strengthens the liver. A dose of 10-20 drops of the tincture (.5-1 ml) relieves gas, heartburn, and indigestion, as well as promoting healthy bowel movements. A tablespoon of the vinegar works well, too. More importantly, taken before meals, dandelion increases the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, thus increasing bio-availability of many nutrients, especially calcium. The fresh or cooked green leaves are loaded with carotenes, those anti-cancer, anti-heart disease helpers. And the oil of the flowers is an important massage balm for maintaining healthy breasts. (There’s lots more information on dandelions in Healing Wise.)

Dock, also called yellow dock, curly dock, and broad dock is a perennial plant, which my Native American grandmothers use for “all women’s problems.” The Maori call it paewhenua or runa. It is another plant that disagrees with sheep, especially when the land is overgrazed. I dig the yellow roots of Rumex crispus or R. obtusifolius and tincture them in alcohol to use as an ally when the immune system or the liver needs help. A dose is 15-25 drops (.5-1 ml). I also harvest the leaves and/or seeds throughout the growing season and make a medicinal vinegar, taken a tablespoon at a time, which is used to increase blood-levels of iron, reduce menstrual flooding and cramping, and balance hormone levels. If the chopped roots are soaked in oil for six weeks, the resulting ointment is beneficial for keeping the breasts healthy.

Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) and Ragwort (Senecio jacobea) are hardy perennials that have a reputation for poisoning livestock, like their cousin tansy. Although not good for sheep, these two Senecios are some of the world’s most ancient healing plants, having been found in a grave 60,000 years old. You can use the flowering tops and leaves with your alcohol to make a tincture which acts slowly to tonify the reproductive organs, ease PMS, and stop severe menstrual pain. A dose is 5-10 drops (.2-.5 ml) per day, used only once a day, but for at least 3 months. (A larger dose is used to speed up labor.)

Mallows (Malva neglecta, M. parviflora, M. sylvestres) grow well in neglected gardens and are surprisingly deep-rooted. The flowers, leaves, stalks, seeds, and roots are rich in sticky mucilage which is best extracted by soaking the fresh plant in cold water overnight or longer or by making a medicinal vinegar. The starch is extraordinarily soothing internally (easing sore throats, upset tummies, heart burn, irritable bowel, colic, constipation, and food poisoning) and externally (relieving bug bites, burns, sprains, and sore eyes). The leaves, flowers, and bark (especially) of the native Hohere (Hoheria populnea) are used in exactly the same way by Maori herbalists.

Plantain, also called ribwort, pig’s ear, and the bandaid (?) plant - and kopakopa or parerarera by the Maori - is a common weed of lawns, driveways, parks, and playgrounds. Identify it by the five parallel veins running the length of each leaf. You may find broad leaf plantain (Plantago major) with wide leaves, or narrow leaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata) with lance-thin leaves. Either can be used to make a healing poultice or a soothing oil widely regarded as one of the best wound healers around. Not only does plantain increase the speed of healing, it also relieves pain, stops bleeding, draws out foreign matter, stops itching, prevents and stops allergic reactions from bee stings, kills bacteria, and reduces swelling.

Try a poultice or a generous application of plantain oil or ointment (made by thickening the oil with beeswax) on sprains, cuts, insect bites, rashes, chafed skin, boils, bruises, chapped and cracked lips, rough or sore hands, baby’s diaper area, and burns.

To make a fresh plantain poultice: Pick a leaf, chew it well and put it on the boo-boo. “Like magic” the pain, itching, and swelling disappear, fast! (Yes, you can dry plantain leaves and carry them in your first aid kit. Chew like you would fresh leaves.)

To make plantain ointment: Pick large fresh plantain leaves. Chop coarsely. Fill a clean, dry, glass jar with the chopped leaves. Pour pure olive oil into the leaves, poking about with a chopstick until the jar is completely full of oil and all air bubbles are released. Cap well. Place jar in a small bowl to collect any overflow. Wait six weeks. Then strain oil out of the plant material, squeezing well. Measure the oil. Heat it gently, adding one tablespoon of grated beeswax for every liquid ounce of oil. Pour into jars and allow to cool.

St. Joan’s/John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) This beautiful perennial wildflower may be hated by sheep farmers but herbalists adore it. The flowering tops are harvested after they begin to bloom (traditionally on Solstice, June 21) and prepared with alcohol, and with oil, to make two of the most useful remedies in my first aid kit. Tincture of St. Joan’s wort not only lends one a sunny disposition, it reliably relieves muscle aches, is a powerful anti-viral, and is my first-choice treatment for those with shingles, sciatica, backpain, neuralgia, and headaches including migraines. The usual dose is 1 dropperful (1 ml) as frequently as needed. In extreme pain from a muscle spasm in my thigh, I used a dropperful every twenty minutes for two hours, or until the pain totally subsided. St. Joan’s wort oil stops cold sores in their tracks and can even relieve genital herpes symptoms. I use it as a sunscreen. Contrary to popular belief, St. Joan’s wort does not cause sun sensitivity, it prevents it. It even prevents burn from radiation therapy. Eases sore muscles, too.

Self heal (Prunella vulgaris) This scentless perennial mint is one of the great unsung healers of the world. The leaves and flowers contain more antioxidants - which prevent cancer and heart disease, among other healthy traits - than any other plant tested. And as part of the mint family, self heal is imbued with lots of minerals, especially calcium, making it an especially important ally for pregnant, nursing, menopausal, and post-menopausal women. I put self heal leaves in salads in the spring and fall, make a medicinal vinegar with the flowers during the summer, and cook the flowering tops (fresh or dried) in winter soups.

Usnea (Usnea barbata) is that many-stranded grey lichen hanging out of the branches of your apple trees or the Monterey pines planted in the plantation over there or in almost any native tree in areas of the South Island Alps, where it is known as angiangi to the Maori. If in doubt of your identification: Pull a strand gently apart with your hands, looking for a white fiber inside the fuzzy grey-green outer coat. To prepare usnea, harvest at any time of the year, being careful not to take too much. Usnea grows slowly. Put your harvest in a cooking pan and just cover it with cold water. Boil for about 15-25 minutes, or until the water is orange and reduced by at least half. Pour usnea and water into a jar, filling it to the top with plant material. (Water should be no more than half of the jar.) Add the highest proof alcohol you can buy. After 6 weeks this tincture is ready to work for you as a superb antibacterial, countering infection anywhere in the body. A dose is a dropperful (1 ml) as frequently as every two hours in acute situations.

Yarrow (Achellia millefolium) This lovely perennial weed is grown in many herb gardens for it has a multitude of uses. Cut the flowering tops (use only white-flowering yarrow) and use your alcohol to make a strongly-scented tincture that you can take internally to prevent colds and the flu. (A dose is 10-20 drops, or up to 1 ml). I carry a little spray bottle of yarrow tincture with me when I’m outside and wet my skin every hour or so. A United States Army study showed yarrow tincture to be more effective than DEET at repelling ticks, mosquitoes, and sand flies. You can also make a healing ointment with yarrow flower tops and your oil or fat. Yarrow oil is antibacterial, pain-relieving, and incredibly helpful in healing all types of wounds.

For more information on making preparations and on the uses of specific herbs, consult Susun’s books: Healing Wise, Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year, Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way, and Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way

Susun Weed
PO Box 64
Woodstock, NY 12498
Fax: 1-845-246-8081

Visit Susun Weed at: www.susunweed.com and www.ash-tree-publishing.com

http://www.earthyfamily.com/A-bugBites.htm

Ease Those Bug Bites with Easy Herbs
c. 2000, Susun S Weed

Summertime means insect bites and stings. Ouch! Take a leaf from Susun S. Weed’s storehouse of natural remedies: Soothe, heal, and prevent bites with safe herbal remedies that grow right where you live, north or south, east or west, city or country. The best natural remedies for insect bites are right underfoot.

Plantain, also called ribwort, pig’s ear, and the band-aid plant, is a common weed of lawns, driveways, parks, and playgrounds. Identify it by the five parallel veins running the length of each leaf. (Most leaves have a central vein with smaller ones branching out from it.) You may find broad leaf plantain (Plantago majus), with wide leaves and a tall seed head, or narrow leaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata), with long thin leaves and a small flower head that looks like a flying saucer. Many Plantago species have seeds and leaves that can be used as food or medicine. A South American variety (Plantago psyllium) is used to make Metamucil.(TM)

How to use plantain? Make a fresh leaf poultice. Pick a leaf, chew it well and put it on the bite. “Like magic” the pain, heat, and swelling — even allergic reactions — disappear, fast! (Yes, you can dry plantain leaves and carry them in your first aid kit. Chew like you would fresh leaves.)

Poultices ease pain, reduce swelling, and help heal. No wonder they’re the number one natural choice for treating insect bites, bee and wasp stings.

Mud is the oldest and simplest poultice. Powdered white clay, which should be mixed with a little water or herb tea, can be applied directly to the sting as soon as possible. Clay can be kept on hand at all times and is less likely to contain fungal spores than the real thing. Finely ground grains such as rice or oatmeal, or bland starchy substances like mallow root, grated potato, or arrowroot powder also used as soothing poultices to ease itching and pain from insect bites.

Fresh-herb poultices are a little more complicated, but not by much. Just find a healing leaf, pluck it, chew it, and apply it directly to the sting/bite. If you wish, use a large leaf or an adhesive bandage to hold the poultice in place. Plantain, comfrey (Symphytum uplandica x), yellow dock (Rumex species), wild geranium (Geranium maculatum), wild mallow (Malva neglecta), chickweed (Stellaria media),and yarrow are only a few of the possiblities.

In the woods, you can take a leaf from a tree, chew it and apply that to the bite. Any tree will do in an emergency, but if you have a choice, the best leaves are those from witch hazel, willow, oak, or maple. Play it safe: Learn to recognize witch hazel (Hamamelis virginia) and willow (Salix species) leaves before you chew on them. Maple (Acer) or oak (Quercus) leaves are easier to recognize and safer to chew — unless you live where poison oak grows. If uncertain, avoid all shrubs and any trees with slick or shiny leaves. If the leaf you are chewing tastes extremely bitter or burns your mouth, spit it out at once.

To repel ticks, mosquitoes, and black flies, try a diluted tincture of yarrow (Alchellia millefolium) flowers directly on all exposed skin. A recent US Army study showed yarrow tincture to be more effective than DEET as an insect repellent.

If you’ve spent the day in an area where lyme disease is common, take a shower right away and scrub yourself with a bodybrush. Have a friend check you out for ticks. Also, it takes the tick some time to make up its mind where to bite, so most are unattached and will wash off.

“If the worst happens and I do get a bite, I help my immune system by taking a daily dose of 2-6 dropperfuls of Echinacea tincture. I avoid Goldenseal as I believe it could have adverse effects. If I have symptoms, I use a dropperful of St. Joan’s wort (Hypericum) tincture three times a day to help inactivate the lyme’s organism.”

Susun Weed, green witch and wise woman, is an extraordinary teacher with a joyous spirit, a powerful presence, and an encyclopedic knowledge of herbs and health. She is the voice of the Wise Woman Way, where common weeds, simple ceremony, and compassionate listening support and nourish health/wholeness/holiness. She has opened hearts to the magic and medicine of the green nations for three decades. Ms. Weed’s four herbal medicine books focus on women’s health topics including: menopause, childbearing, and breast health. Visit her site www.susunweed.com for information on her workshops, apprenticeships, correspondence courses and more! Browse the publishing site online at www.ashtreepublishing.com to learn more about her alternative health books. Venture into the NEW Menopause site www.menopause-metamorphosis.com to learn all about the Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way.

http://www.earthyfamily.com/A-planting.htm

Planting by the Moon
May the Force be with you while sowing seeds, mowing the lawn, pruning roses, composting, watering and more!
By Marion Owen, Fearless Weeder for PlanTea, Inc. and Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul

Planting by the MoonMy friend Amy sometimes braces herself before going to work. Amy works at the hospital and when the moon is full, those nights in the emergency room are, as she calls it, “memorable.”

Many scientists insist that the myth that a full moon affects the behavior of humans, animals and plants is a bunch of baloney. But police, bartenders and folks like Amy will tell you otherwise.

Before I go further, let me tease you with a possibility: What if mowing your lawn during certain phases of the moon retarded growth which meant you didn’t have to mow as often? Keep reading. I bet you won’t be shaking your head much longer!

According to a National Geographic news article more gardeners today are turning to the moon for sage advice on the best time to plant, prune, weed, and harvest. The practice, known as moon or lunar gardening, centers on the moon’s gravitational effect on the flow of moisture in soil and plants.
Gardening by the moon is as old as time. Long before man (and women!) ever had a watch on his wrist or a calendar on the refrigerator, everything was governed by the phases of the moon.

May the Force be with you!

Moon gardening has been passed down through many generations. “There are firm believers in moon gardening today who will not plant anything unless a favorable moon sign is indicated,” says Ed Hume, one of the Pacific Northwest’s favorite garden gurus and proponent of the moon’s influences on gardening. Hume publishes an annual Garden Almanac which gives month by month moon sign gardening calendar — you can buy your own copy for just $1.49 through my online catalog.

The moon controls ocean tides, influences the groundwater tables beneath our feet and the movement of fluids in plants. Even continental land masses are said to rise 2 to 3 feet in elevation with the passage of the moon. Understanding the effects, and timing your gardening chores accordingly, is the basis of moon gardening.

For example, the best time to turn over garden soil is during the last quarter of the moon (decreasing moon phase) because that’s when the water table has dropped to its lowest point. This means there is less moisture in the soil. Taking your back into consideration, it is easier to turn soil over when there is less moisture in it!

How to garden by moon phases

The moon moves through a complete cycle every 29 days. For moon gardening purposes, this cycle is divided into four quarters or phases. The term phase refers to the moon’s apparent shape as viewed from earth during the month. To plant by the moon phases you will need an almanac or calendar, such as Ed Hume’s Planting Guide, that lists the exact time and date of the moon phases.

The lunar month starts with the new moon, also called “the dark of the moon. From the new moon to the first quarter and from the first quarter to the full moon, the moon appears to grow from nothing to a crescent and then to a full circle at mid-month. These are the increasing or waxing phases.

Increasing Light — New moon to full moon

Examples of garden chores to do by the light of the moon:
(NOTE: These are general guidelines. I highly recommend referring to Ed Hume’s Planting Guide for specific planting tasks):

• Repot and groom houseplants
• Sow seeds of plants that grow above ground
• Fertilize
• Graft fruit trees
• Plant evergreen and deciduous trees

The decreasing or waning phases are when the moon “shrinks” from the full moon down to the new moon (darkness). As the moon wanes during the 3rd and 4th quarters, this is a good time to prune plants, as the water table is diminishing and so less sap will flow out of the cut ends. The plants are said to orient themselves toward their roots, making this a favorable time for planting, transplanting and harvesting root crops in general. The 4th quarter is the most dormant period and is good for chores like weeding.

Decreasing Light — Full moon to dark of the moon

Examples of garden chores to do by the dark of the moon:
(NOTE: These are general guidelines. I highly recommend referring to Ed Hume’s Planting Guide for specific planting tasks).

• Plant bulbs
• Plant crops that grow below the ground, such as potatoes, carrots
• Cultivate weeds
• Plant biennials and perennials because they need strong roots
• Eliminate slugs
• Prune shrubs

How is sowing, transplanting and harvesting linked to phases of the moon? One theory is that during the light (waxing) of the Moon, sap is thought to flow more strongly, filling plants with vitality and energy, favoring the planting and harvesting of crops that mature above ground.
What the moon gardening movement currently lacks is a body of modern scientific work that validates its benefits...

Science or baloney?

John Teasdale, director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Systems Laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, said he is not aware of any research on the lunar influences on agriculture, though he said an experiment could be established.

“We know that the moon influences some natural phenomena such as tides,” he said. “I would guess that a simple hypothesis would be that lunar cycles could influence meteorological cycles which in turn could influence crops.”

RJ Harris, the head gardener at a private estate near Cornwall, England conducts his own experiments. Each year he cultivates a selection of crops in opposition to the best practices of moon-gardening methods. Crops planted according to the lunar cycle fare much better, he said. “I’ve got a large area in potatoes. We’ve got some planted at the right time of the moon and some crops at the wrong time of the moon. The difference is so obvious and there for everybody to see,” he said.

Names of full moons

January: Wolf
February: Snow, Quickening, Storm
March: Worm, Sap, Chaste
April: Seed, Pink, Grass, Sprouting, Wind
May: Flower, Corn Planting, Hare
June: Strong, Rose, Sun, Strawberry
July: Mead, Thunder, Buck
August: Sturgeon, Wort, Corn
September: Barley, Harvest
October: Hunter’s, Blood
November: Mourning, Beaver
December: Cold, Oak, Long Night’s

Now it’s your turn. Test the validity of gardening by the moon in your own garden. Plant some crops by the correct moon sign and others by the wrong moon sign. Experiment with above ground and below ground crops. Try mowing different parts of your lawn according to the moon phases! Send me you results, either by email or, better yet, send me a photograph. I’ll send you a set of my photo note cards and a free box of PlanTea organic fertilizer.

Marion Owen is a master gardener, photographer, entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul. Recently honored with a “Women of Distinction” award by the Soroptimist International of the Americas, she is also a webmother and the creator of PlanTea. (Plant + Tea), the organic fertilizer in pocket sized tea bags.
Check out Marion’s UpBeet Gardener newsletter, which celebrates what is right in this world with upbeat tips, organic gardening tips, photography how-tos, recipes and stories from Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul, which she co-authored. To read the current issue, go to:
www.plantea.com/mailinglist-current-issue.htm

http://www.plantea.com/compost.htm

Compost Happens!
Tips for composting in any climate, especially cool ones

By Marion Owen, Fearless Weeder for PlanTea, Inc. and
Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul

Making compost is like baking a cake!

My neighbor, Mrs. Crayneck, loves to bake. But when her world famous banana bread doesn’t turn out quite right, she doesn’t sweat the small stuff.

“What’s the worst thing that can happen?” she says. “I just put it in the compost pile!”

Sooner or later gardeners come across the word “compost.” As easy as it is to say, compost has a reputation for being difficult to master. Yet nothing could be further from the truth. If I can make hot, 160-degree compost during an Alaska winter (see photo below), you can too—no matter where you grow your tomatoes. It’s easy. In fact, you can compost 163 materials! Here’s how, beginning with a story about my Mom...

“If you can read, you can cook!”

One day, when I was 12 and still climbing trees, Mom came into the kitchen and said, “Honey, how about making dessert for tonight?”

Having just endured months of salad-making for our family of seven, I was ready for a change. Mom picked up an old copy of Gourmet cookbook and started flipping through the pages. It was like watching Wheel of Fortune.

Finally, she pressed her finger to a recipe and said, “Here you go, make this.”

Her finger pointed to a chocolate souffle recipe. I was stunned. “Don’t worry sweetie,” she said. “If you can read, you can cook.”

So began my love affair with cooking. I also learned a valuable lesson: You can do whatever you set your mind to, but if you need help in building a house, installing software, or making compost — follow a recipe!

Let’s begin this lesson by de-mystifying compost. We’ll make it easier by following a recipe. And as you’ll see, making a compost pile is a lot like making a cake. And we can do it in 3 easy steps. 1) Gather up your ingredients, 2) Stir them together, and 3) let it cook. Even Bette Midler knows the value of compost...

Why the Divine “Miss M” loves compost

“My whole life has been spent waiting for an epiphany, a manifestation of God’s presence, the kind of transcendent, magical experience that lets you see your place in the big picture. And that is what I had with my first compost heap. I love compost and I believe that composting can save not the entire world, but a good portion of it.”
—Bette Midler, in a Los Angeles Times interview

I’m sure Bette Midler would agree that making and using compost is not only a life-changing experience, but it’s the world’s best soil conditioner.

* Compost recycles organic materials, from apple cores and coffee grounds, to dried leaves and Shredded Wheat.
* Compost improves any, and all, soil types.
* Compost provides the basic nutrients of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) as well as dozens of micro- and macro nutrients that are vital for healthy plants.
* Compost “gives back” nutrients that flowers, herbs and vegetables remove in their normal growth processes.
* Compost prevents nutrients from leaching away from plant roots.
* Compost protects soil against wind and rain erosion, drought, dust storms, earthquakes and other extreme conditions.
* Compost extends the life of landfills by reducing space needed for food and yard wastes.

The “compost cake” recipe

Did you know you can have finished compost in just 3 to 4 weeks? By combining the right ingredients, your compost pile will not only heat up to 140 degrees (F) or more, but it will “cook down” to a fluffy material that is ready to use in the garden.

Step 1: Collect your compost ingredients

For a hot, active compost pile, you need to build it all at once, not over weeks or months. Imagine making a cake by sifting the flour one day, adding eggs and oil the next and then waiting a week or so before mixing everything together and getting it into the oven. It would be a flop. Start collecting ingredients. Go on organic treasure hunts. Talk to your neighbors, ask your friends, scan the classified ads, and remember to check your own back yard.
Hair for compost
Did you know the hair on your head contains 30 times more nitrogen
than manure? Next time you go to the hairdresser, ask for a few pounds
of this nitrogen gold mine to add to your compost.

You’re looking for a combination of ingredients that will provide the right living conditions for the microorganisms and bacteria that break down the materials in the compost pile. This tiny work force of actimomycetes (act-TIN-OH-my-SEE-tees) must have food, water and oxygen to do their job. They need nitrogen (N) in order to use the carbohydrates or carbon (C) materials as food.

“Without the microorganisms at work in compost, soil would literally be dead.” —Eleanore Perenyi, from “Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden”

Therefore, you want to try for a nitrogen (N) to carbon (C) ratio of about 1 to 3.
Nitrogen (N) materials include: “Stable scraps” such as horse, rabbit, goat, chicken and other manures, green grass clippings (minus any chemical fertilizers and herbicides), fish meal, bloodmeal, cottonseed meal, trimmings from grocery store produce, and garden waste, such as weeds and trimmings.

Produce trimmings are good sources of Nitrogen (N).

What about putting URINE in the compost pile?

Do it. According to wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, urine is sterile and contains large amounts of urea, an excellent source of nitrogen for plants. Recommended dilution: 10-15 parts water to 1 part urine for application growing season. Urine is also a good source of phosphorus and potassium, and is widely considered as good as or better than commercially-available chemical fertilizers. Urine is also used in composting to increase the nitrogen content of the mulch, accelerating the composting process and increasing its final nutrient values.

Carbon (C) materials include: Straw, dried leaves, sawdust (in small amounts), wood chips (also in small amounts), and shredded newspaper, cardboard and brown bags. One of the best and easiest combinations to come by occurs in the fall. Mix 3 parts dried leaves to 1 part green grass clippings to make a compost that is light, airy and fine. Now that’s gourmet!

leaves for compostclippings for compost
Gourmet compost: 3 parts leaves + 1 part grass clippings.

Materials you DON’T want to add to a compost pile include: meat scraps, oily products such as salad dressings, peanut butter and mayonnaise, pet litter and food, branches and other large woody materials, slick magazine pages, and waxed cardboard.

If you live near a coastal community, kelp and seaweed is a must-have ingredient. Here on Kodiak Island, kelp piles on the beaches in long windrows, and is available to anyone with a truck or garbage can. Pound per pound, kelp supplies more minerals than any other material on the planet. In the garden, it also aerates the soil and makes an excellent mulch around potato plants, fruit-bearing shrubs, bulbs and perennials. And, contrary to popular belief, seaweed does not add harmful salts to the garden.

Kelp is what I call a “neutral” ingredient, in that it doesn’t fit in the nitrogen or the carbon category. Yet, it benefits every compost pile by adding fluff. So, if you live in North Dakota, either make a pilgrimage to the coast or invite your beach buddies to come visit with their suitcases packed with seaweed.
kelp for compost

To learn more about compost ingredients and composting, check out the list of books, websites and other resources listed at the end of this article.

Step #2: Stir your compost ingredients
Once you assemble your ingredients, you’re ready to build your compost pile. Here are some basic guidelines:

* Work with a minimum size of 3x3x5 feet. (If you live in a milder climate, then 3x3x3 feet is large enough). The key is to make a compost pile large enough to retain heat and prevent ingredients from drying out. Expect temperatures of 120 to 160 degrees (F), which is enough to kill most weed seeds and pests.
* Use an enclosure, either ready-built, or one make of heavy wire screen, wood pallets, etc.
* Coarse materials should be chopped or shredded.
* Build the pile in layers, like a cake, alternating nitrogen and carbon materials.
* Hose down the layers with water. The ingredients should feel like a damp sponge.

Step #3: Let your compost cook

Turn the pile every 4 to 7 days to aerate it and to provide the microorganisms with fresh food. With tumblers, simply give it a spin occasionally. For bin enclosures, use a pitchfork to turn the pile, moving the inside materials to the outside, and the outside materials to the inside—just like folding cake batter. This is a good upper body workout.
How do you know when the compost is done?

The compost pile is done cooking when it no longer warms up within a few days of turning it. Incidentally, the pile will shrink to about half of its original size.

Roses are red, violets are blue.
Compost works, so gather the “doo”
—Nursery rhyme from Marion Owen’s organic gardening class

Troubleshooting the compost pile
With a little practice, you’ll be able to read the symptoms and know what to do to correct the problem. Here are some common problems and their solutions:

Problem: The compost pile doesn’t get very hot, even though it has enough materials.
Possible Solution: You might need to add more nitrogen ingredients such as green grass clippings or manure to correct the nitrogen to carbon ratio. Make sure the ingredients are damp. Too dry, and they won’t start cooking.

Problem: The compost heap heats up and cools down like it’s supposed to, but a lot of the materials are large and not broken down.
Possible Solution: Because the materials are big and chunky, they don’t provide enough surface area for the microorganisms to finish their work. Chop the materials as best you can. A Crocodile Dundee knife, or machete, works great for this.

Problem: Whew, the compost pile has a strong odor.
Possible Solution: The pile is undergoing what’s called “anaerobic decomposition.” Anaerobic means “without oxygen” which is why it smells like the beach at low tide. You need to add introduce oxygen back into the pile by turning it at least once a week.

Problem: Animals on the loose!
Possible Solution: If dogs, mice, rats, cats or raccoons are getting into to your compost pile, fence it in, cover it with wire and avoid adding meat scraps, bones, and fish waste to the pile.

Roses are red, violets are blue.
Use compost on your flowers, and they’ll be happy, too.
—Nursery rhyme from Marion Owen’s organic gardening class

How to use compost

* Apply a 4 to 6-inch layer of compost-mulch around woody perennials in the fall to reduce damage from winter winds.
* After the soil has warmed up in the spring, apply compost around warm season vegetable crops such as zucchini and tomatoes.
* Spread compost on the garden a couple weeks before spring tilling.
* Add compost to container gardens, hanging baskets
* During the growing season, side-dress your plants with compost to provide a slow-release source of nutrients.
* Make compost tea. Add a shovelful of compost to a 5-gallon bucket of water and allowing it to steep for a few days. For larger quantities, add compost to a 55-gallon drum. Use the nutrient-rich tea to fertilize lawns, shrubs, perennials, containers, hanging baskets, as well as annual vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Dilute the tea for younger plants.

compost tea
Adding compost tea to raised beds, Juneau, Alaska.

* Apply a 1 to 2-inch thick mulch around flowers, trees and shrubs in the spring to maintain soil moisture and discourage weed growth.
* Use compost as a growing medium for seedlings and potted plants. After screening out large particles, you’ll need to pasteurize it before using it.

For more information about compost, compost bins, and more:

* “The Rodale Book of Composting” by Deborah L. Martin (Editor), Grace Gershuny (Editor)
* “Let It Rot : The Gardener’s Guide to Composting” (Storey’s Down-To-Earth Guides) by Stu Campbell.
* “Easy Composting,” by Vic Sussman, Rodale Press, Inc.
* “39 Easy Composters You Can Build” by Nick Noyes (Paperback) October 1995.
* Innovative Uses for Compost by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
* Master Composter A “master composter” site which includes sources for everything from bins to worms; recycled products and more.
* www.organicgardening.com A place to bookmark for all your organic gardening questions.
* Seattle Public Utilites’ compost page An excellent resource for the home composter.
* Seattle Tilth Organic Gardening—Urban Ecology—Composting—Recycling. Highly Recommended.

compost cake

Thanks for visiting and please stop by again. I’ll put the coffee on!

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Questions or comments? marion@plantea.com Phone: Toll Free: 1-800-253-6331 (US and Canada); 907-486-2500

http://www.plantea.com/compost-materials.htm

163 Things You Can Compost
And the list keeps growing!

By Marion Owen, Fearless Weeder for PlanTea, Inc. and
Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul

Gardening newsletter
Marion’s UpBeet Gardener
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starfish

A young boy and his father were walking along a beach, when suddenly they came upon thousands of starfish left stranded on the sand by the receding tide. The young boy leaned over, picked up a starfish and tossed it, like a Frisbee, back into the ocean. Then he picked up another one, and carried it to the water’s edge.

“Son, what are you doing? You can’t possibly save them all.”

“I guess not. But these uns’ll make it.”

The youngster believed that even when the situation seemed hopeless, he could do his part. Composting is like that, too.

organic gardening newsletterEvery year, tons of organic materials are thrown away, needlessly filling up landfills. By composting these materials, you can lengthen the life of your local landfill. Like tossing a starfish back into the ocean, you can make a difference by composting.

Compost to plants is like a healthy gourmet dinner to us. Compared to preparing a snazzy dinner however, making compost is easy, easy, easy. To learn how to make and use compost, read my Compost Happens! article.

Compost is not limited to tossing leaves and grass clippings into a pile. It’s much more creative than that! Here’s a list of 163 materials (and still counting!) you can add to your compost pile or even bury in your garden. Just think, 163 materials that don’t end up in the landfill. Plus, your plants benefit from the gourmet meal. Such a deal.

If you see something I’ve missed, send me an email so I can add it to the list. Just for fun, scan the whole list. You’ll find more resources, plus a surprise at the end by a letter sent in by Jean Bell, an organic gardener in Scotland...

Paper napkins
Freezer-burned vegetables
Burlap coffee bags
Pet hair
Potash rock
Post-it notes
Freezer-burned fruit
Wood chips
Bee droppings
Lint from behind refrigerator
Hay
Popcorn (unpopped, ‘Old Maids,’ too)
Freezer-burned fish
Old spices
Pine needles
Leaves
Matches (paper or wood)
Seaweed and kelp
Hops
Chicken manure
Leather dust
Old, dried up and faded herbs
Bird cage cleanings
Paper towels
Brewery wastes
Grass clippings
Hoof and horn meal
Molasses residue
Potato peelings
Unpaid bills
Gin trash (wastes from cotton plants)
Weeds
Rabbit manure
Hair clippings from the barber
Stale bread
Coffee grounds
Wood ashes
Sawdust
Tea bags and grounds
Shredded newspapers
Egg shells
Cow manure
Alfalfa
Winter rye
Grapefruit rinds
Pea vines
Houseplant trimmings
Old pasta
Grape wastes
Garden soil
Powdered/ground phosphate rock
Corncobs (takes a long time to decompose)
Jell-o (gelatin)
Blood meal
Winery wastes
Spanish moss
Limestone
Fish meal
Aquarium plants
Beet wastes
Sunday comics
Harbor mud
Felt waste
Wheat straw
Peat moss
Kleenex tissues
Milk (in small amounts)
Soy milk
Tree bark
Starfish (dead ones!)
Melted ice cream
Flower petals
Pumpkin seeds
Q-tips (cotton swabs: cardboard, not plastic sticks)
Expired flower arrangements
Elmer’s glue
BBQ’d fish skin
Bone meal
Citrus wastes
Stale potato chips
Rhubarb stems
Old leather gardening gloves
Tobacco wastes
Bird guano
Hog manure
Dried jellyfish
Wheat bran
Guinea pig cage cleanings
Nut shells
Cattail reeds
Clover
Granite dust
Moldy cheese
Greensand
Straw
Shredded cardboard
Dolomite lime
Cover crops
Quail eggs (OK, I needed a ‘Q’ word)
Rapeseed meal
Bat guano
Fish scraps
Tea bags (black and herbal)
Apple cores
Electric razor trimmings
Kitchen wastes
Outdated yogurt
Toenail clippings
Shrimp shells
Crab shells
Lobster shells
Pie crust
Leather wallets
Onion skins
Bagasse (sugar cane residue)
Watermelon rinds
Date pits
Goat manure
Olive pits
Peanut shells
Burned oatmeal (sorry, Mom)
Lint from clothes dryer
Bread crusts
Cooked rice
River mud
Tofu (it’s only soybeans, man!)
Wine gone bad (what a waste!)
Banana peels
Fingernail and toenail clippings
Chocolate cookies
Wooden toothpicks
Moss from last year’s hanging baskets
Stale breakfast cereal
Pickles
‘Dust bunnies’ from under the bed
Pencil shavings
Wool socks
Artichoke leaves
Leather watch bands
Fruit salad
Tossed salad (now THERE’s tossing it!)
Brown paper bags
Soggy Cheerios
Theater tickets
Lees from making wine
Burned toast
Feathers
Animal fur
Horse manure
Vacuum cleaner bag contents
Coconut hull fiber
Old or outdated seeds
Macaroni and cheese
Liquid from canned vegetables
Liquid from canned fruit
Old beer
Wedding bouquets
Greeting card envelopes
Snow
Dead bees and flies
Horse hair
Peanut butter sandwiches
Dirt from soles of shoes, boots
Fish bones
Ivory soap scraps
Spoiled canned fruits and vegetables
Produce trimmings from grocery store
Cardboard cereal boxes (shredded)
Grocery receipts
Urine (It’s true! Read the letters below)

More “compostable” reading:

The World’s Fastest Compost

How to Compost Dog Waste

Manure Matters: How different manures rate

What about urine? As promised, the letter from Jean in Scotland... [continued]

Many links are the hidden kinds, which I hate........granny

http://www.plantea.com/oat-bean-waffles.htm

Dust Off Your Waffle Iron!
For pennies, you get a million dollars worth of nutrition with these oat-bean waffles!

Hosted by Marion Owen, Fearless Weeder for PlanTea, Inc. and
Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul

waffles, recipes
I love waffles, but I don’t like how I feel after eating them. Then I ate a waffle that changed my life!

While visiting friends in Hawaii they treated my husband and I to homemade Belgian-style waffles. They were light, fluffy and really tasty. “They’re made from soybean and rolled oats,” Carrie explained, smiling.

Carrie handed me a tattered copy of “Oats, Peas, Beans and Barley Cookbook.” As I flipped through the pages, timed rolled back to the mid 1970s when I made a lot of dishes with lentils, rice, soy and beans. “That’s hippie food!” my Mom used to say.

Today, we know better. These aren’t just food for hippies because the more plant-based foods we consume, the better.

Back in Alaska, I bought a used copy of the cookbook for $2.00. The waffle recipes in the book call for simple ingredients like pinto beans, garbanzo beans or soybeans, rolled oats, lentils, millet, rice, cashews and buckwheat. No eggs, milk or baking powder. Wheat-free, too.

For pennies you get a million dollars worth of nutrition and health. “One soy-oat waffle has protein equal in quantity and quality to that in a serving of steak,” says author Edyth Young Cottrel.

Since my first experiment with the original recipe, I’ve found it to be quite forgiving. You can add wheat germ, ground flax seeds, sesame seeds and so on. Below is the recipe... when I first posted it in my UpBeet Gardener newsletter, it generated the largest response from anything else I’ve written!

Oats, Peas, Beans & Barley Cookbook

PINTO BEAN-OAT WAFFLES

These just might be the best waffles you’ve ever eaten...
2 1/4 cups water
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup soaked pinto beans (approximately 1/2 cup dry)
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Waring Pro waffle iron, waffle recipeSoak beans several hours or overnight. Drain. Combine and blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender until light and foamy, about 30 seconds. [TIP: if you don’t have room for all the water, then mix the batter with half the water and add the other half to your bowl of batter.]

Let stand while waffle iron is heating. The batter thickens on standing. Grease waffle iron (we like the Waring Pro waffle iron, shown here) with a cooking spray or high-quality solid shortening. Bake in hot waffle iron for a full 8 minutes. (Very important!).

Top with fruit and yogurt, bananas and peanut butter, stewed apples, rhubarb sauce, or creamed broccoli and chicken or smoked salmon (my favorite) . Makes 3 to 4 waffles. TIP: Soak extra beans, measure and freeze them for later. The waffles can be made and frozen, too. Just pop them in the microwave or toaster oven.

Thanks for visiting! You can find more fun recipes here. Cheers to you!

garden newsletter, recipes, booksMarion Owen, organic gardener

How to grow beets

As you can tell, it’s worth it to add beets to your gardening repertoire. Even if it’s just a single row. Here are some beet growing tips to help you get started:
Jewel-toned beet seeds

* Beets perform best in full sun, but do fine in partial shade.
* Light, sandy loam permits rapid, uninterrupted growth for tender roots. Moist, fertile, well-drained soil with a neutral pH of around 6.5 is ideal.
* Beet seeds are actually fruits, producing a cluster of seedlings. So you’ll need to thin these when they emerge. When plants are 2 to 3 inches tall, thin again to 4 to 6 inches apart.
* A tip for northern gardeners: I’ve had good luck sowing seeds in flats and transplant outside when the soil warms.
* Keep the soil evenly moist but not soggy. Lack of moisture causes tough, stringy roots.
* To harvest, pull up roots when they are 1.5 to 3 inches wide. Remove any dirt, then cut the tops off, leaving at least 1 inch of stem to prevent the roots from bleeding. Refrigerate for several weeks, or layer in a box filled with sand and store in a cool spot for up to 5 months. Freeze, can or pickle the extras.

chocolate beet brownies

Chocolate Beet Brownies

These brownies are rich, chewy and secretly nutritious!

1/2 cup butter (or 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup applesauce)
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
4 eggs
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1 15 oz. can beets packed in water, drained and mashed; or 1 cup cooked beets
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds
1/2 cup wheat germ

Melt butter and chocolate over low heat. Set aside to cool.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs until light in color and foamy.

Add sugar and vanilla and continue beating until well creamed.

Stir in chocolate mixture, followed by applesauce and beets.

Sift together flour, salt, spices and baking powder and stir into creamed mixture.

Fold in wheat germ and almonds.

Turn into greased 9x13-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes.

While I had fun developing the chocolate beet recipe, it’s a treat to see the expression on people’s faces when I tell them what’s in the recipe. While watching the movie Chocolat, I couldn’t see my friends’ faces in the dark, but I could tell by their chuckles and giggles that Chocolate Beet Brownies were an Oscar-winning hit!

http://www.plantea.com/chocolatebeetbrownies.htm

[There are so many important articles here and I have not even peeked at most of them...granny]

http://www.plantea.com/carrot-recipes.htm

How to get the most from carrots
Try these great recipes and tips!

By Marion Owen, Fearless Weeder for PlanTea, Inc. and
Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul

Organic carrots

Carrots are the world’s favorite vegetable. No kidding. Carrots boast more carotene than any fruit or vegetable, and they’re recipe-friendly — adapting to a wide assortment of foods and recipes (as you’ll see below). In the garden, carrots are an all-around favorite, along with tomatoes, corn, and lettuce.

But what do you do with a bumper crop of carrots? Give them away to your neighbors when they’re not looking? Dry them and hang them on your Christmas tree? As with a zucchini, too many carrots can be a challenge. Here are eight ways to make the best out of a bounty of carrots:

Let’s start with how to ‘put carrots by’...

How to harvest and store carrots

In the refrigerator, carrots will keep for several months. Just wash, pat them dry and store them in containers or bags with some holes added. For long-term storage, hand-pull the carrots from the soil, but don’t wash them. Twist or cut off the green tops. Layer undamaged roots with sand, dry soil, or a 50:50 combination of sand and (low sap) wood shavings — like the kind used in hamster cages. Make sure the carrots aren’t touching each other and keep them in a cool, dark place.
Carrots

Invest in your health:
Dried and frozen carrots are like money in the bank

Dried carrots keep well and reconstitute nicely for use in breads, salads, and soups. To dry raw carrots: Slice washed, tender carrots 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick or coarsely shred or grate them. Toss with some lemon juice. Arrange on dryer racks and dry until crisp.

To dry cooked carrots (which keep their color better): Select crisp, tender carrots. Trim the green tops, leaving a 1/2-inch tip. Steam until cooked through,but not mushy — about 20 minutes, depending on size. Trim off the tails, the crowns, and the green tops. Slice 1/8-inch thick or shred. Dry until crisp. Cool and store.

Frozen carrots are one of my favorite ways to store them. Slice fresh and washed carrots into 1/4 to 1/2-inch slices. Steam them until they are still a little solid when poked with a fork. Not quite tender. Then plunge them into cold water. Store them in quart-size, zip-lock, freezer bags, squeezing out as much air as possible. Or vacuum seal them.

Bring out a bag of carrots on a cold, blustery day and steam them up. Serve as a side dish, in rice or mash and add them to a cake recipe, muffins, pancakes, etc. Their sweet flavor and bright color will cheer up your world.

Go ahead, juice ‘em

The foundation for juiced recipes, carrot juice mixes well with many fruits and can be added to soups, salad dressings, and muffins.
Beautiful carrots

Create a designer necklace from carrot beads. It’s fun!

Nordstroms and Saks Fifth Avenue may never carry these 14-karat beauties, but here’s your chance to make a vegetable fashion statement. Wash a few carrots and cut them into 1/4-inch round slices. Thread a heavy duty needle with dental floss and slip the slices onto the floss by pushing the needle through the core. Once you’ve strung enough carrots, tie the ends together to form a necklace. Lay it on paper in a dark, well-ventilated place, making sure the slices don’t touch each other. As they dry, they turn into wrinkled beads. Drying takes a couple weeks.

Go beyond carrot cake with these recipes

I heard that Will Rogers once said, “Some guy invented Vitamin A out of a carrot. I’ll bet he can’t invent a good meal out of one.” If Will had only sampled some of the following recipes! Since carrots pack such a healthy dose of goodness and fuse with so many different recipes, their highest calling might be as nutritional undercover agents. What a great — and sneaky — way to get more healthy food into your diet. If YOU have a favorite (and unusual) carrot recipe, please let me know (marion@ptialaska.net).

Carrot Marmalade

This marmalade is adapted from an Alaskan homestead recipe.
6 medium-sized carrots
2 lemons
2 large oranges (preferably Valencias or another tasty variety)
11 cups water
8 cups sugar
Scrub lemons and oranges well and cut them into quarters. Remove any seeds. Soak the fruit chunks in the 11 cups of water for 24 hours. Remove the fruit and cut into very small shreds. Wash, peel, and grate carrots. Add fruit and shredded carrots to the water in which the lemons and oranges were soaked. Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 hour. Add the sugar and boil the marmalade until the juice reaches the jelly stage (8 degrees above the boiling point of water — 212 degrees at sea level —for your area). Pour into hot, sterile jelly glasses. Fill to within 1/8-inch of the top. Screw on the tops, then invert the jars for about 5 seconds to seal completely.

Carrot Orange Hummus

Hummus is the Swiss Army Knife of spreads and dips. Smear it on toast and bagels in place of butter, put a dollop on steamed vegetables or potatoes, or spread it on broiled salmon. To jazz up salads, add a couple tablespoons to your favorite oil and vinegar-based dressing.
5 large carrots
2 cans (15 oz each) garbanzo beans, drained
2/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
3 cloves garlic, squashed
1/2 cup orange juice
2 TBL cider vinegar
1 TBL soy sauce
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
3 green onions (white and green tops)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tsp grated orange rind (optional)
Chop carrots into cubes and steam or microwave them until until they mash easily. Drain and add to a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Whirl until smooth. Store in the fridge or put in smaller containers and freeze.

Carrot Spice Pancakes
These pancakes are smaller versions of a carrot cake dessert, only you get to eat them for breakfast! To two cups of your favorite pancake batter, fold in the following ingredients:
3/4 cup grated carrots
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom (good, but optional)
1 tsp. ground cinnamon.
1/2 tsp. ground ginger or 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
Cook batter on a hot skillet and serve with yogurt, maple syrup or your favorite fresh fruit, jam or jelly.

Carrot Milkshake
Believe it or not, this one tasty treat!
3 to 4 carrots
1/4 cup brown sugar or 1/8 cup honey
Assorted spices, as for pumpkin pie
Pinch of salt
1 cup vanilla or plain yogurt
1 cup milk or soy milk
Wash unpeeled carrots thoroughly. Cut into 1-inch chunks, place in a saucepan and steam until soft. Mash with a potato masher or puree in a blender or food processer. Add all ingredients to a blender or processer and blend well. Chill before serving.

The Best Pickled Carrots
These pickles provide a unique way to serve carrots, especially if you have a bountiful harvest. Try them as an appetizer, salad garnish, with rice or as a side dish with soups, stews or hearty sandwiches.
2 lbs. carrots, peeled, thinly sliced
3/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. mixed whole pickling spices
Bring vinegar, water, sugar and spices to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes. In a separate pan, cook carrots in boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain the carrots and pack them in hot, sterilized pint jars, leaving 1/2-inch of headroom. Cover with the hot pickling liquid, seal and process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. If you don’t want to process them, pour in the hot pickling liquid and let the jars cool to room temperature. Keep them in the refrigerator. Makes 4 pints.

Now, whenever you grow too many carrots, or get the urge to buy 30 pounds of them when they go on sale, you’ll know just what to do with your bounty!

http://www.plantea.com/milk-jug.htm

35+ Uses for Plastic Milk Jugs
You’ll love these clever ideas for plastic containers

By Marion Owen, Fearless Weeder for PlanTea, Inc. and
Co-author of Chicken Soup for the Gardener’s Soul

Uh, oh. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that plastic milk jugs deposited in landfills will never degrade. Yet each year, millions of plastic milk jugs are thrown away. In fact, milk jugs (and water bottles) represent one of the largest volume of plastic that end up in landfills and make up the corner-stone of almost all plastic recycling efforts. Fortunately, many people accept the challenge to re-use household items.

Reusing plastic milk jugs is no exception. Along with the plastic milk jug cloche (below) which protects seedlings and bedding plants, here are 34 more uses for your home, garden, yard, garage and boat. And, if you know of another way to use them, don’t be shy! Email me your idea.

recycled plastic milk jug
Plastic milk jugs, minus their bottoms, make excellent cloches by protecting tender plants against frost, heavy rain, scorching sun and so on. To keep it from blowing away, poke a hole at the top of the handle and thread a piece of heavy wire so it reaches down into the soil. Photo by Marion Owen

In the yard and garden

Bird Feeder
Cut a hole in two or three sides of the jug. The holes should be 2 or 4 inches in diameter, depending on the type of birds you want to attract. For perches, make smaller holes below the feeding holes. Push wooden dowel rods through the holes so they poke through the opposite side. Fill the feeder with seed and hang it in a nearby tree. You may want to poke a few small holes in the bottom for rainwater drainage.

recycled plastic milk jug

Easier bird feeder
Cut a strip out of the side opposite the handle. Fill with birdseed and hang in a tree or set on a stump or protected spot. Protect young seedlings Place a plastic milk jug, minus its bottom, over a seedling. To keep the cloche (sounds like gauche) cover in place, poke a hole on the top of the handle and run a 14 to 16-inch piece of coat hanger or wire through the hole and down into the soil.

Tea for two?
Put diluted PlanTea concentrate, liquid fish fertilizer or compost tea in a plastic milk jug. Use the fortified water within a few days, giving the containers a shake each day. Water seedlings, annuals, perennials and shrubs.

Going to a plant sale?
Take a few 4-inch tall bottoms from plastic milk cartons with you to haul away plants.

Seed starting container
Cut 3 inches off the bottom of a milk jug. Poke a few small holes in the bottom for drainage. Fill with seed-starting mix or potting soil and sow with seeds. For complete, easy to follow seed-starting tips, see my Seeding is Believing article.

Plant propagator: Start new plants successfully!
From Lynn Proctor, of Petersburg, Florida: I use both 1/2 and 1 gallon cartons as planters for propagation with cuttings. Leaving the handle intact, cut down through the threaded top beside the handle to just below the curve, go all the way around to where you are on the other side of the handle, cut up to the top of the handle, completely removing the screw top and leaving the handle intact. Poke a few small holes in the bottom.

Fill the container 2/3 to full with planting medium, depending on your use. This provides a top hole big enough to put in some cuttings, small plants or seeds. Since the hole is relatively small, the planter holds its moisture well. It is protected somewhat from insects, and the carton can be cut off for transplanting. It is easy to carry and move around. You can see root growth progress through the plastic. If you have some green algae growth on the inside of the plastic by the soil, it won’t hurt anything. You can paint the carton if you want, or put contact paper on it to the soil level. I just use it the way it is and have had great success.

Mark it or lose it
Cut the sides into long strips or triangles and mark with a waterproof “Sharpie” pen for plant markers.

ecospout recycle plasticMake a watering can or sprinkler
Turn your plastic milk jugs into a sprinkler, funnel or watering can with a few, simple attachments onto the threaded opening. I discovered these great gadgets about 10 years ago and now offer them through this site. They are a great problem solver. You can find them and buy them on my online store.

Soil scoop
Make a scoop by cutting the bottom (and part of the handle side) off. Replace the screw-top and use it to scoop up dry potting soil, vermiculite, grass seed and so on.

Watering hole
Cut the bottoms off 2 or 3 inches from the base and use it for toad and bird watering holes. Did I already say it also makes a great watering bowl for your dog when going on a hike or trip? Speaking of water...

Swimming “floaters” for kids
This one was sent in by Ruth: When my kids were young we didn’t have a lot of money. When we went to the pool swimming we used milk jugs for floaters. Tie a sting to each handle. You may use one or two on each side. Place them near under arm and tie string around the child. Now he can float. May want to super glue the lids on. Have a blessed day, Ruth

You can also have your child simply hold a plastic jug in each hand (lids are screwed on to make an airtight seal, right?). This is a great way for them to practice their kicking and swimming. Remember: Always keep an eye on your children in the water.

Slug watering hole
Cut the bottoms off 2 or 3 inches from the base. Sink the base into the soil so the top rim is level with the soil. Fill (bait) with beer (this Bud’s for you) or your own sugar-water-yeast solution (a pinch of yeast is all you need).

Make a Wall-o-Water
Fill jugs with water and arrange them in a ring around plants. Cover the ring at night to preserve heat absorbed during the day. When the danger of frost and cold has passed, use the warmed water to water your plants. For warmer water, paint the containers black before filling them. This is a good way to regulate heat in cold frames and greenhouses.

Weighty water
Use water-filled jugs as weights to secure floating row covers, plastic, tarps, netting or frost covers over beds.

Around the house
Potted plant bases
Cut the bottoms off and use them as plant saucers.

Hanging clothes on the line?
Here’s a handy way to hold the clothespins. Cut a hole in a plastic milk jug in the side opposite the handle. Then cut through the handle about a half-inch from the bottom of the handle to make a “hook” for hanging it on the clothes line. Fill the jug with pins and use the handle to hang it on the line.

Light your way
Make luminaries by cutting off the top of a milk jug, filling the bottom with 2 or 3 inches of sand, then placing a votive candle in the sand. Line a walkway or garden path with the lights.

Organize your picnics
Cut the tops off several plastic milk jugs and use the bases to keep fruit, cheese, sandwiches, napkins, and spreads separate—and dry—in your cooler or picnic basket.

recycled plastic milk jug

Organize your fridge
Cut the tops off several plastic milk jugs and use the bases to conveniently store grapes, kiwis, pear tomatoes, cheese, lunch meats and other small items in the fridge. Make shorter containers for the storage drawers and trays.

Multi-purpose funnel
Cut the bottom from a plastic milk jug and use as a funnel for liquids, powdered dry goods, flour and more. It couldn’t be easier.

Jelly-making helper
Make a funnel (as above) and line it with a jelly bag or damp piece of muslim. Secure the jelly bag at the top with clips or clothespins if necessary. Pour fruit juice into the funnel and let it drip.

Organize your life!
From a 1/2 to 1-gallon container, cut a hole out of the top corner opposite the handle. Use the easy-access container to sort and store everything from golf balls and dog biscuits; to nails and rubber bands. This same design makes a great container for cleaning paint brushes or as a berry picker (see below).

Organize your car and mini-van
Sent by a reader: Again, from a 1/2 to 1-gallon container, cut a hole out of the top corner opposite the handle. Use the container to as a small garbage can to collect bits of trash that otherwise find their way under seats and on the floor of your car. Got kids? Well, then you can appreciate this one!

Keep your tire chairs clean and ready for use
Hi Marion, I stumbled onto your site and read the milk carton uses with interest. I cut an opening opposite the handle and store tire chains, to keep in the car trunk in the winter. They get wet and rusty and this is a perfect solution. — From Gaye, in California

No-spill measuring
Store uncooked rice and other small grains, nuts, popcorn and seeds in a 1/2 or 1-gallon milk carton and it will be easier to measure out. Be sure to thoroughly clean the carton first.

Storage container
Tired of flimsy plastic bags? Use a 1-2 or 1-gallon plastic milk jug for storing everything from coffee beans, sugar, lentils, split peas and jelly beans.

Poor man’s blender
Add yogurt, soy milk, fruit juice, nutritional powders, crushed berries or jam to a 1/2 to 1-gallon plastic milk. Replace the lid and shake like crazy. Store extra in the fridge.

Clean sweep
A gallon milk jug can also be turned into a dustpan. Set the jug, handle side up, on a table and cut the top off at an angle, leaving the bottom as a flat dustpan.

Where to put the toilet bowl brush?
Cut a hole out from the top corner opposite the handle. Voila, problem solved.

All-purpose scoop
Here’s a great way to scoop up kitty litter (new or used) de-icer, etc. Make a scoop by cutting the bottom (and part of the handle side) off. Replace the screw-top and scoop away.

Toys, berry-picking, giant igloos...

Berry picker
Cut a hole out of the top corner opposite the handle to use for a berry picker. Slip your belt through the handle to free up your hands for picking.

Giant igloos
Collect enough milk jugs and you can make a giant igloo—a favorite project for schools, churches and day care centers. The main trick is connecting them together. Here’s a suggestion from Terri Kaszynski, a Brownie Troup leader in Oconto, Wisconsin: We used 5 packages of glue stick and hot-glued them together. Of course this took adult supervision but it worked like a charm. We anchored them to a large piece of (round) cardboard. We did have to cheat little with 1/2 gallon jugs between some of the gallon ones. It’s a great craft to do late in the fall of the year and have it standing by for when it does actually snow!

Let’s play ball!
Here’s one to use at school for field day and just for play, sent in by M. Lundin of Orlando, Florida. You can use 1/2 gallon or gallon jugs work; even large detergent jugs, etc. INSTRUCTIONS: Cut off the bottom of the jug along the line (that’s about 1.5 inches around the bottom of most milk jugs.) Decorate the jug with peel n’ stick stickers or markers, or whatever! Using old tennis balls, you now have a ball catcher game for yard or beach. The larger jugs make it easier for younger kids to catch the ball. Smaller jugs are more challenging!

Milk jug Jack-O-Lantern
This Jack-O-Lantern is easy for kids to make, plus, it’s weather proof! Draw Jack-O-Lantern facial features onto the milk jug. Cut out the eyes, nose and mouth shapes. Paint the jug with orange acrylic paint. It might take a couple coats for a nice thick finish. Once the paint has dried, draw details with a black, permanent marker or black acrylic paint. For the inner glow, insert a small flashlight to the inside of the jug lid or in a hole cut below the handle and tape it into place.

Gone fishin’?
Reader David Scammon sent us this tip:
“Empty milk jugs with the lid attached make great floaters to drop in the lake for fishing. Tie fishing line, with hook and bait, to the jug handle, toss in the lake and check later. This allowing fishing at all levels of the lake.” (Email your tip!)

A penny saved...
Make a simple piggy bank by cutting a slit near the top of a 1/2 or 1-gallon (if you’re really ambitious) plastic milk jug. Glue or tape the lid closed, if desired. Paint the jug or attach a bow on the handle for a personalized touch.

Bail that boat!
Make a bailer for your boat by cutting the bottom (and part of the handle side) off.

Wait, there’s more!
Plastic milk jugs can also be made into Easter baskets, used for making wine, or stacked into an igloo (minus the chill!).

Hopefully I’ve inspired you to use your imagination to create new ways to use old stuff. Remember, And hey, if you know of another way to use them, don’t by shy! Email me your thoughts so I can add them to the list.

Happy gardening and recycling—everywhere!

Thanks for visiting and please stop by again. I’ll put the coffee on!

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