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Saturday, May 03, 2003
Well, hidey-ho everyone, long time no see, :
)
Sorry I haven't posted in such a long time, so much to
do and so little time.
Spring work has been progressing
at a fairly nice pace, weather hasn't been cooperating as
much as we'd like, but we get out there when able.
Much
of this time has been spent weeding and getting plots ready.
As for transplanting, first up on the agenda is to move some
mugwort cuttings, the space it's in now does fine for a
month or two, but as soon as the tree leafs out nearby the
mugwort is in the shade too much and goes leggy rapidly so
remember to plant your Mugwort in a nice sunny spot, :
)
We'll be offering fresh-cut flower bouquets roadside
this season so lots of work needs to be done to accomplish
that. DH has been working to get glad bulbs and planting the
seeds for various annuals, me, my heart isn't that in it
yet, LOL but I have been working on the beds that will be
donated to this cause.
Several of our raised beds are
made of stainless steel, I need to get out there and get
them painted OR-better idea, pay the children to do the job,
but then I'd have to worry about the mess/splatter, so
haven't really come to a final decision in that regard yet,
but soon!
The main walkway beds are in a low area and we
think this year we will lay a layer of straw in the paths
first then top with mulch. I need to find a new supplier for
cocoa hulls locally, if anyone knows of any large chains
that offer these, let me know would you? thanks.
Hope you
all are busy gardening, get out there and get dirty!
Out
for now, weeds are calling to me, : )))
posted by Becky Erisch on Saturday, May
03, 2003
Saturday, June 01, 2002
CNN.com
- Food Central - Recipes - Compound Butter - April 25,
2000 Compound Butter
From 'Morning Glories:
Breakfast, Brunch, and Light Fare from an Herb Garden'
by
Sharon Kebschull Barrett (St. Martin's Press)
April 25,
2000
Web posted at: 10:25 a.m. EDT (1425 GMT)
Author
Sharon Kebschull Barrett recommends compound butter for
herbs with a delicate flavor. It can be used in place of
plain butter on biscuits, waffles and breads or stirred into
grits and omelettes.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick)
unsalted butter, softened
2 to 4 tablespoons minced herb
leaves
Coarse salt as desired
Freshly ground black
pepper as desired
With a mixer or wooden spoon, beat
together the butter and 2 tablespoons of herb leaves. Taste
and adjust flavor with more herb leaves and salt and pepper
as desired.
Pack into a small ramekin dish to serve
casually, or form into a log: Place the butter in a line
down a sheet of waxed paper and use the paper as a guide to
shape a log. Roll it up in the waxed paper and chill; slice
into thin pats to serve.
Suggested herb combinations:
Chervil, chives and tarragon
Chives, marjoram and
savory
Chervil and parsley
Basil and rosemary
Basil, marjoram, rosemary and thyme
Rosemary, sage
and marjoram
Savory and thyme
posted by Becky Erisch on Saturday, June
01, 2002
Herb
World News Online · Research Reviews In the first
clinical study of its kind, researchers from the University
of Wisconsin-Madison found that purple grape juice (Vitis
labrusca L., Vitaceae) helps protect heart health in those
affected by coronary artery disease (Stein et al., 1999).
According to the study, two weeks of grape juice therapy
increased vasodilation (relaxed blood vessels) while
decreasing harmful oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Impaired
vasodilation is thought to be one of the earliest
manifestations of heart disease. Previous clinical studies
on red wine have produced similar outcomes, leading some
researchers to speculate that the alcohol content is the
factor that protects against heart disease. The results of
the current study provide support for the theory that
flavonoids (including quercetin, catechins, myricetin,
kaempferol) and tannic acid are the more important
constituents in purple grape juice and red wine. It is also
likely that white grape juice and white wine provide fewer
benefits because they contain mainly juice, without the
healthful components from the grape seeds and skins.
Becky's opinion-This is great news since me loves grape
juice! : )
posted by Becky Erisch on Saturday, June
01, 2002
Herb
World News Online · Research Reviews "The antioxidant
activity of green and black tea (Camellia sinensis (L.)
Kuntze, Theaceae) in the body (in vivo) is well established,
but an important question remains: Does the addition of milk
to tea inhibit the bioavailability of antioxidant tea
polyphenols? Not according to the results of this Dutch
study, which showed that a single dose of either black or
green tea with or without milk caused a significant rise in
plasma antioxidant activity (Leenan et al., 2000)."
Not
sure why anyone would think milk would inhibit antioxidants,
but hey! now we know it doesn't, : )
posted by Becky Erisch on Saturday, June
01, 2002
Friday, May 31, 2002
Michigan
Wildflowers
Very cool site, a must see if only to
view the gorgeous pics of Calypso bulbosa!
posted by Becky Erisch on Friday, May 31,
2002
Wildflowers
Another good identification site by color. I finally
found what I was looking for here after putting 2 hours of
research into it. Obviously, this plant grew from a dropped
seed (from a bird) and we knew it was something we hadn't
seen in our garden before, turned out to be a Yellow Goat's
Beard, I kind of like it so I'm going to save seed from it,
: )
posted by Becky Erisch on Friday, May 31,
2002
Missouri
Wildflowers
This is a terrific site for wildflower
identification, by color or genus and species.
posted by Becky Erisch on Friday, May 31,
2002
Thursday, May 30, 2002
As you can see, I've added some links to my
Blog, which I will continue to do as I come across
interesting sites.....
The weather has finally warmed up
here, so we've been very grateful for the oppurtunity to get
to some of the back beds. Spring rains leave that area quite
soggy which is good for the marsh mallows and mint, but bad
for working in it, LOL!
We are still planting, but have been also getting ready
for infusing herbs which will be ready soon, so purchased a
few new boxes of canning jars for that job, hoping for a
better crop of St. John's Wort this year than last, I think
I ended up with approximately 8 ounces of oil last year,
good grief! I better mention that if you've tried infusing
SJW before and your oil did not turn that pretty red you've
heard/read about, you must use fresh flowers only, dried
won't do and when you purchase SJW as a dried herb c/s (cut
and sifted), it's usually the whole plant, stems and all,
not very beneficial IMO. I believe of all herbal infused
oils, SJW is the most fun, picking individual flowers as
some people do, or whole tops like I do, I always leave some
flowers on each plant to re-seed. Pick in the morning after
the dew has dried but before the sun gets too high, rub your
fingers across the flowers and you should see streaks of
purple/red, that means they are ready, if you don't see
this, wait a day and try again. I let my flowers wilt for
about an hour or so, then place in oil.......the oil starts
to take on a red tint after about a week, continuing to
darken as it ages, I refresh the herb after 2 weeks to
create a stronger oil, but you need to do this at exactly
the right time in order to get it accomplished, they only
bloom for a short period......more on this later, forgot to
make dinner!
posted by Becky Erisch on Thursday, May
30, 2002
Herbal
Home Remedies
Interesting site, keep in mind, that when you come across
information on the net, always cross-reference what you
read, just to be safe, : )
posted by Becky Erisch on Thursday, May
30, 2002
The Herbal
Encyclopedia - Main Page for Herbs The Herbal
Encyclopedia
Loads of info, but do read the copyright info please,
many people have *borrowed* work from this site without
permission, : (
*NOTE* this is the new link, should take
you to the right place.
posted by Becky Erisch on Thursday, May
30, 2002
Saturday, May 25, 2002
Well, work in the herb beds has progressed
nicely since I last wrote, however, there still remains much
more to be done! Alas, a gardener's work is never done, if
it is, then you are either the most talented gardener in the
world or looking through rose-colored glasses, LOL!
We
now have over 200 herbs to be planted, new seedlings to
replace old, worn out plants and those annuals that must be
replenished each year like Basil.
The old sage plants are
ready to be harvested, some are starting to form buds
already, so one cutting will have to be done and hopefully
we will get 2 or 3 more during the harvest months to come.
We decided to move all of the yarrows out of their bed in
order to use that bed for Cilantro and Marjoram. That meant
creating a new bed which we placed right next to the
sidewalk to be easily enjoyed, but backbreaking work to dig.
The oregano beds are producing oodles already this year,
that needs to be harvested soon. I had planted left-over
seedlings of Oregano in other spots in the flower beds, but
it is doing so well that they will need to be removed,
crowding out babies.....
We had a first this year in the beds. 5 baby sparrows
right smack dab between the stems of a Marguerite Daisy,
never saw a sparrow build a nest directly on the ground
before, so we are working around them, placing food (worms
and bread) right next to the plant and the parents come and
grab it to feed the hungry mouthes.
Hopefully we have seen the last hard frost, the last one
damaged the mulberry trees, maples and oak and I lost a few
marigolds that I had put in to add color, but such is life,
the trees will produce new leaves and just be a bit behind
leafing out.
I am waiting to be safe to plant the rosemary, but those
will go in soon. If I had only three herbs to content myself
with, those three would be Rosemary, Sage and Thyme. I
cannot imagine life without any of my herbs, but it would be
very tasteless and bleak without those three!
I took a final tally on the mints, if you are counting
horehound and catnip, then we are up to 11 different
varities, adding orange mint this year since I have no idea
where that one went to.......
Well, that's enough for now, waiting for it to warm up
some so I can get out there and get dirty!
posted by Becky Erisch on Saturday, May
25, 2002
Friday, May 10, 2002
I know, like I don't have enough things to do
already this time of year, I had to start something new, ;
)
This journal is basically for keeping notes on what my
herbs are doing in my gardens at different times of the
year.
Last night, we transplanted numerous catnip seedlings and
thinned the larger patches out a bit, they should fill in
their spot nicely over the coming weeks.
It's May and
the Elecampanes have shown themselves, little sleepy heads
wait for warm weather before popping up and it looks like I
am going to have to move some around. I just love these
plants, they are very impressive when presented properly,
they grow huge so you won't want to plant these just
anywhere, : ) last year they reached heights over my head
(I'm 5'5 btw). Equally as impressive are the leaves on this
plant, mammoth! I planted 'bloom-the-same-season-as-planted'
hollyhocks under them last year (duh!) and had to constantly
cut the lower leaves back just so some sun could get to
them. I'm talking some leaf sizes 3 feet long and a good 6
inches wide. A bonus of growing this plant among it's
medicinal uses are the flower heads, when dried, they can be
cut and used in boquets, but the birds also flock to the
seed fluff once it's ready. Most books recommend damp soil
for growing, but I have to say, I've planted them in several
areas of the yard and I only water when absolutely necessary
since we have so many gardens and they do wonderful.
The horehound and mints (can't recall off hand how many
varieties I have, but I'd guess at least 10) are taking off
with a good start.
The cool spring with moderate rain
has made them very happy, just hope they continue that way.
An amazing find yesterday. I normally have Clary Sage in
my garden every year, but for some reason, last year I had
none (I let them re-seed), well..........a little seed must
have lay dormant and is now 3 inches high, so I will be
assured of seed for next year at least, but knowing me, I'll
have to buy a few more "to keep her company" : )
The Sweet Annie is of course doing grand. I can't recall
just when I bought that ONE plant, but in subsequent years,
we've had at one time hundreds (and I do mean hundreds) of
them.....did some radical pulling in the past couple of
years because this stuff is so tenacious and has an attitude
that it was covering our drive, but I do so love it and
would never be without it's scent, after it rains, there is
something so uplifting to pick up that sweet odor. (Be
cautioned however, many are allergic to this plant) but it
is an odorific addition to a garden if you can handle it
(both the allergen potential and the babies, goodness!).
Why did I ever plant Tansy? who's bright idea was that?
I've been attempting to erradicate this plant for several
years, it's a never-ending battle, but I'll still carry on
with the brigade this year, I keep hopes that one year in
the future I will be Tansy Free!
I'll close for now, : ) so much to talk about, I better
save something for later, don't want to bore you all. If
you've read this far, pat yourself on the back from me, : )
You must really like herbs! Happy herbing!!
posted by Becky Erisch on Friday, May 10,
2002
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