Sumac-ade

Sumac berries soaking in cold water

Two types of sumac berries:

On top is Smooth sumac-Rhus glabra

On bottom is Staghorn sumac-Rhus typhina

Click on the title above and you will be directed to a link with information on the types of sumacs.

My Wild Garden

Wild Plant Sanctuary

Sunflowers and the Bees

The Challenge

I decided that a piece of my herbal project would be education about the uses of herbs. After thinking about it for awhile I noticed that people walking by my front garden didn't really understand it. The nature of the front garden is "wildness". O.K. let me back track for a moment, the size of my front space is approximately 10' x 7'. I have a push mower but an old antique one that is very heavy, so years ago I planted the whole front area in flowering plants, some of which are medicinal herbs. Since this area borders a city street I never harvested from them but they were my "talisman" plants. Jumping to the present, I decided to put up a sign in the space between the street and the sidewalk that reads, "wild plant sanctuary". This I thought would protect my very unkempt looking and weedy area from city officials that want all lawns to be a certain height. I have volunteer sunflowers that moved there so we are well over the height requirement. Next I decided to find some information on the benefits of eliminating my lawn and here is the connection to the website (you can click on the title above and it should get you right to it or you can cut and paste the url. below). I copied the information and bought a sign holder used to sell houses, I spray painted it blue (from red) and laminated the information "A Challenge for the 21st Century" and attached that to the box which I then filled with copies of the challenge information. My neighbor across the street has noticed that people are stopping to read the information and pick up copies from the box. I included the address to this web blog so that interested folks could log on and read about the plants they are seeing.

Caveat: from IT specialist

I don't think my browser allows for comments. I have tried to fix this but I don't know if it is working. All of you that know my email address can comment there or try to become a "follower" and see if that will allow you to post comments.

Frederick Community Garden Article

Cut and paste

file:///Users/andreamccluskey/Desktop/Article - In Frederick, a garden grows a community.webarchive

Comments????

Checking out my settings to see if I can receive comments on my postings. Please try it out by hitting the comments button at the end of this post.

Salves

Kathleen is pouring the medicated oil mixed with beeswax into tins to harden and finish the salve making. In this case the medicated oil was Calendula. In the background Nancy, Leigh and Melissa from Foundations Class 2009.

I put up a Lemon Balm and Plantain oil 6 weeks ago so it is now ready to be strained and combined with beeswax and either a couple of drops of Bezoin or Vitamin E. Plantain is one of the 5 backyard herbs that I am working with throughout the class.

Natural Remedies for the Garden

Adapted from A Year on The Garden Path, by Carolyn Herriot (Earthfuture/Lantern, 2005).

So often the home garden pest control remedies work as well or better than the chemical counterparts, and with the added bonus that with these formulas made of kitchen cupboard ingredients, you don’t need to worry about poisoning yourself, your pets, or your garden!

Print out these five standby remedies for yard and garden, including a natural fungicide for mildew and black spot:

Simple Soap Solution
2 Tbs. soap flakes
2 litre warm water
Dissolve soap flakes in water and apply directly to infested areas every 5-7 days. Note: Too much soap can cause burning on plants.
Pests affected: aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies.

Garlic Oil Spray
10-15 cloves of minced garlic
2 tsp. mineral oil
600 ml water
1 tsp. liquid dish soap
Soak garlic in mineral oil for 24 hours. Strain garlic out and add 600 ml water and 1 tsp. liquid dish soap. Mix thoroughly. Spray plants with this solution.
Pests affected: Aphids, spider ites, and whiteflies

Fungicide for Mildew and Black Spot
1 tsp. baking soda
1 litre water
1 tsp. soap flakes
Dissolve baking soda in 1 litre of warm water.

Add soap flakes to help solution cling to leaves. Remove infected leaves from plant, then spray top and bottom of remaining leaf surfaces to control spread of the disease.

Sticky Traps
1-2 Tbsp. Vaseline or preferably, Unpetroleum Jelly
4”x8” plastic cards or cardboard
Waterproof yellow paint
Apply paint onto both sides of the card and let it dry. Once the paint is dry, apply
Unpetroleum Jelly liberally over both sides of the card. Place the card just above the plant canopy.
Pests controlled:Flying pests, such as fungus gnats, and whiteflies.

Sowbug Traps
1 small plastic container with lid
2 Tbsp. cornmeal
Cut a small hole at the base of the container, large enough and close enough to the bottom to allow sowbugs to climb in. Place cornmeal in container. Place container into area infested with sowbugs. After feeding on the cornmeal, the bugs will drink and then explode! (Replace cornmeal frequently.)

Prayer to Live with Paradox by Rose Flint

I want to be young in wonder again,

to hold a single seed to the sky and marvel

that it owns the energy of a star. I want to

be grown big enough for my vast protective arms

to encompass whole rainforest miracles

of tree-dazzle, life-power. I want to be light

as a leaf on the earth. I want to be the weight

that carries promise-flowers to fruit, greens

Darfur to peace and nurtures Lebanon's vineyards

through all four seasons gift to eye and tongue.

I want to learn the use of grief that honours those

creature-spirits who leave us, that long, on-going

shadow-procession: Nightjar and Loggerhead,

Gold-ringed Tanager, Arabian Gazelle,

Yellow-shouldered Blackbird, howler monkey,

Hyacinth Macaw, and salamander, sea mink

forever swimming to horizons beyond the blue-

I want to learn the use of joy in those who stay,

somehow still keeping faith

in the family of humankind:

cranes and sweet horses, rainfrogs and mountain lizards,

Bald Eagles, elk and caracal, Mexican Spotted Owls

thriving on the rooftops of Los Alamos, chaffinch

in the lilacs, coyote, otter, Golden Jackal, huge herds

of shining white-eared kob running on the sands

of South Sudan, parakeets thriving wild in London-

So much I want, a whole world I want.

Eclipse

Solar Eclipse Tomorrow But Not For Those In The Americas.

The solar eclipse that will take place on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 will be a total eclipse of the Sun with a magnitude of 1.080 that will be visible from a narrow corridor through northern India, eastern Nepal, northern Bangladesh, Bhutan, the northern tip of Myanmar, central China and the Pacific Ocean, including the Ryukyu Islands, Marshall Islands and Kiribati.

China will be the only country where this solar eclipse can be seen in its totality. Totality will last for up to 6 minutes and 39 seconds. It will not be seen in the U.S.. This solar eclipse is the longest total solar eclipse that will occur in the twenty-first century and will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132.

According to online sources, the time in Beijing is 24 hours ahead of the U.S. EDT. We wonder if this eclipse will take place tomorrow Wednesday or if it has already taken place due to the time difference. If anyone knows the correct answer, we'd like to know. This is second in the series of three eclipses in a month, according to world meteorologists. The first was the lunar eclipse last July 7 and now the solar eclipse on July 22. The third will be a lunar eclipse on August 6.

Robbie's Knowledge

Stringing up Mugwort to dry and scraping down Slippery Elm.

Foundations at Robbie Wooding's

All the wise teachers, the kids, Robbie Wooding holding Goldenseal, Kathleen Maier, Our Classmates and The Male Buddha Energies at Solstice

Relaxing down on the Farm-Solstice 2009

After learning about the herbs around the farm and hiking, it was time to dive in or kick back and enjoy the weekend. Splendid weather, good food, friends and families. Swimming by day and night. Down by the river and watching the kids...

Solstice 2009

What a great party!

Hoedown on the farm

Summer Solstice at Robbie Woodings Farm

Deep Green Nourishing Nettles

Nettles (Urtica dioca) are a deeply nourishing food, containing high levels of vitamins C, A, calcium and potassium. It's deep rich green color hints at the abundance of chlorophyll it possesses. I have it planted in the yard so I gathered some, steamed it and added it to a soup base. I don't remember the exact recipe but I'm sure you can come up with your own. This soup was so rich and satisfying. Wild food.

May 2009 Forrest Green Farm, Louisa

More photos from our trip. If you click on the photos you can enlarge them and read the text on the rotation bed signs. I'm hoping to get a copy of the crop rotation chart to add to the blog.

Forrest Green Farm in Louisa, Virginia

In May the Foundations class took a trip to Forrest Green Farm in Louisa. This beautiful homestead, gardens and greenhouses is home to Krista (former Foundation student) and her family. We enjoyed the gardens and bought a few plants for our own gardens at home.