Teaching Garden Plans

Trillium

Trillium

In the latest issue of the Essential Herbal, there are a couple articles on ethical harvesting of herbs one of  which I wrote.  I was glad to see more than one person submitted articles like that.   The ethics surrounding plant ecology and herbalism is so important to me that it is  one of the things I study at school.  Right now much of the focus of my research is on the issue of natives vs non-indigenous plant.   It has certainly been an education for me. Previous to this semester of school, I weighed in heavily on the natives end of this debate.   Since beginning my work my feelings on this are not so clear cut. In fact I am beginning to see some plants as the precious gift from Gaia, if we would just learn to listen more deeply to their message.

Bloodroot

Bloodroot

Regardless of where I land on this issue, one thing is certain.   The use of medicinal plants contributed hugely to the disappearance of some plants in our native landscapes.  In addition to being mindful of the way I harvest herbs,  I feel it is my responsibility to grow and protect some of those plants that we  have harvested to the point of endangerment.  One way I think that herbalists can do this is to establish teaching gardens in our yards or communities.  I certainly have seen plenty of beautiful examples to learn from.  The idea of walking a student or a client through my yard to learn identification seems safer to me than traipsing around in delicate ecosystems, creating more human disturbance.On some levels this idea of inviting people into my space is unsettling to me.  I have a very personal relationship with my plants and the idea of people poking around in my sacred place, is a little unsettling to me. I worry about the energy bringing people into my space will create.   Knowing that I am not alone in my introversion, I can’t imagine I am the only  gardener to feel that way.  I have been thinking about this in the context of my environmental health studies which are currently focusing on the role sense of place has on well-being.  I am thinking that this project will bring me personal experience in this area as well.

Echinacea

Echinacea

So while I mull all of this over,  I am working to re-design my garden.  My hope is  that one day be a learning place; not only about herbalism but about the permaculture techniques I am studying, as well.
It will likely be my senior project; incorporating  design, ecology, plant propagation and Materia Medica knowledge.   Technically that is something I begin working with on in the fall semester, but  it is something I need to begin planning now as I transplant wandering plants and introduce new friends in my garden this Spring.  Someday maybe I will have the smallest sanctuary on the UPS list.

At least I already have a name for it.

 

 

Posted in Faoi na Fuinseoige, Gardening, Reflection | Leave a comment

Personal Seasoning Blends – Eat Your Bitters

IMG_7849The book I have my students reading for our book discussion is The Wild Medicine Solution by Guido Masé which  I am very much enjoying, myself.    It is fun to read something for the first time with them, because we are all discovering its wonderfulness together.   Guido rocks the bitters section in this book and it has given me new things to  think about in terms of bitters mitigating modern diet and environmental conditions.

I think my first exposure to the importance of bitters came from Jim McDonald who is a veritable font of information on the subject.    His Blessed Bitters is an amazing introduction to the subject, so my purpose in this post is not to explain their importance, but rather to share my ways that I incorporate Bitters into my diet.

As longtime readers know, we cook our own food around here and I am a very large proponent of eating your herbs.   I incorporate them into my food whenever possible because honestly I am not going to remember to take 20 tinctures a day.    So while it is nice to have a  bottle of warming bitters  to be able to tuck in my bag when I am out traveling,  at home I prefer to figure out ways to cook with them.          I also run pretty cold.  So even though the classic bitter greens are a hugely important part of my diet, I need to find ways to warm them up a bit.   I eat eggs and greens for breakfast almost every morning braised with seasonings.  Similarly, if  I make chamomile tea chances are I am going to add some orange peel and fennel to warm it up.   I attribute that bit of brilliance to  Darcy Blue.

One of my favorite ways to get bitters everyday is to put them in a seasoning mix that I make ahead of time and keep in a cute little crock by my stove.

To begin making this  I grind  equal amounts of what I jokingly call na Tríonóide Naofa of Seeds:  milk thistle, nettle and burdock seed.  To that mixture  I add an equal amount of the  warming bitter fenugreek, mushroom powder and a good amount of rosemary.  You can use any mushroom powder you enjoy but my teacher Sean recommended this 14 Mushroom Powder that is just divine and I’ve heard good things of the owner from many herbalists.
To this combination I add long pepper (because it is less drying than black pepper), sea salt,  and oregano in equal amounts.  My purpose is to try to round the flavors out in a manner similar to the way a churna would be made.    You can easily substitute in other culinary herbs  that balance out your energetics.  Perhaps you need more drying herbs?   While not a traditional churna because it is quite heavy on the bitters, I use this frequently to cook with and to season my food.

My Personal Bitter Seasoning Blend Formula

1 part milk thistle seed
1 part burdock seed
1 part nettle seed
1 part fenugreek
1 part dried mushroom powder
1/2 part rosemary
1/4 part sea salt
1/4 part long pepper or black pepper
1/4 part oregano

If you have this made up and easily accessible, it makes it a lot easier to quickly add bitters to other preparations.     For example, the recipe below is the  bone broth recipe I’ve been throwing together, lately.    I drink it as a beverage, use it for  soups and cooking  rice for a quick pilaf.    For vegetarian dishes,  I have been making my garlic-astragalus broth with the seasoning blend.

Bone Broth

2 lbs. marrow bones, chicken bones
1/2 cup chopped chicken livers
¼ cup infused vinegar  (I like burdock root or sage)
2 onions chopped
2 cups chopped vegetables or herbs
Garlic to taste. I usually use a whole head
¼ cup dried sage
½ cup dried burdock root
¼ cup dried seaweed.
¼ cup dried mushroom (I use reishi in my bone broth.)
3 Tablespoons of your personal seasoning blend
4-6 astragalus sticks

I make this recipe in a very large crockpot.  You may want to adjust the recipe according to the size of your pot. There are many different ways to make bone broth. Inf fact I don’t always make it exactly like this. A lot of people like ginger in their bone broth but we are dealing with some dryness around here so I prefer to use copious amounts of garlic.

Place bones and liver (cut up into small pieces) in stock pot or crockpot and fill 2/3 full with water. Add vinegar and let soak in cold water for about at least an hour. 2 or 3 might be better.

Add the chopped vegetables,  dry herbs and spices.   During the winter you can use things like beets, carrots and sweet potatoes.  During the rest of the year I like to use foraged greens and herbs from the garden.  Right now dandelion greens, chickweed, chives and cleavers are all abundant.

Turn on the heat to low and let it go for a at least a day. If you make big batches like this, you can freeze it. A friend of mine freezes hers in mason jars and I think that is brilliant because you thaw out a quart a day and make sure you drink it or use it, every day. I also hate plastic. Just don’t a hot mason jar in the freezer. Wait until the broth has cooled to room temperature to avoid the risk of the glass shattering.

Posted in Eating Your Herbs, Recipes, Soups and Broths | 3 Comments

For Earlene…

IMG_7791So I would love to tell you that this is an easy recipe, but there is a little prep worked involved for people who don’t almost always have a supply of infused pine oil, on hand.

Easy Infused  Pine Oil:

 

Chop plant material and put in a clean, dry jar. Slowly pour oil over plant filling all the way to the top. Screw on a lid and let the oil infuse for a moon (four weeks) on top of the water heater.    (Alternatively you could cook this in a warm crockpot for a few of days.)  Strain the oil into another jar, wringing oil from plant material. Store at room temperature in a brown, glass bottle or dark place.   People always ask me how much plant material, the old wive’s answer would be to fill the jar twice.  I say at least a cup, or whatever you have.

Now grind 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds and 1/4 cup of milk thistle seeds.  Set aside in a small bowl.

1 cup pumpkin
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pine oil
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cups flour

Mix pumpkin, sugar and pine oil until creamy. Mix in eggs. Add baking soda and lemon juice at the same time. The lemon juice will activate the baking soda.
Stir in the flour and the ground seeds. Bake in a loaf pan at 350 degrees until a tester comes out clean. It is about 45 minutes in a full size loaf pan.

Posted in Recipes | 2 Comments

The First IC Herb Day.

IMG_7784Hopefully, I have some new readers today from the IC Herb Day event I organized.
I was so incredibly pleased (surprised would probably be a better word) at the turnout.   Thank you so much to everyone who came.   I was probably overly exuberant due to nervous energy, but that will calm down eventually.  It probably would have gone better if the rain hadn’t caused me to switch the topic of my presentation at the last minute.   It was truly inspirational to me, but more importantly it brought me a step closer to realizing my goals.

To understand my goals it is helpful to understand that  I belong to an amazing  herbal community.  We are supportive of one another because we share a common goal in bringing herbalism back to the people.  We aren’t competitive or egotistic.   We promote each others businesses and products. We want one another to do well because we care about one another.  We share our knowledge freely because we love to talk about herbalism.  It is in our blood which runs just a bit greener than other people’s.    I am truly blessed by being a part of that community.  IMG_7739

They  live far away.  We are scattered and we get lonely for one another.We  get home from conferences and we struggle with the fact that it is much easier to blend into that established community than it is to build one where there is none.

But we have to do it, it is in our blood.   I am teary-eyed as I write this thinking of all of my teachers.  I think especially of  Kiva and Wolf,  who work so hard to build the Herbal Resurgence community and Tina and Maryanne who work so hard to build The Essential Herbal Community.   More importantly than sharing your knowledge of herbs with me,  you have taught me the importance of herbal community.  And then there is Sean who is teaching me the way of being in community with the plants.    I have had many wonderfully wise herb teachers but it is you all who have taught me so much  about herbalism as a way of life and being.    I kind of love you for that.

IMG_7744Today was important for me because I want so much to do the same for other people and maybe in the process  develop a circle of local herb friends who don’t think I am daft for needing to spend time with my ash tree.    I think it was a good start.

Posted in Faoi na Fuinseoige | 4 Comments

Garden Therapy

IMG_7690 copyThe cherry blossoms are blooming and the land is finally coming back-to-life.   I spent the last two days gleefully playing in the dirt and have found something coming back to life in me, as well.    The last full moon brought with it the tumultuous charge of new learning and responsibilities.    I find my peace and respite from the chaos in my garden.  It is my balance.

The new additions to the family.

The new additions to the family.

I am so busy with all my work, but today when I was turning the soil, planting and mulching, I felt carefree.   I only became momentarily overwhelmed when I saw how much work there is to done in the back,  after last summer’s decimation.  I admit to shedding a momentary tear because it looks as though it was too much for my 2-year-old goldenseal and stone root.  I decided to catalogue my garden while I do my work, partly to make myself feel better about those plants I did lose to the drought.

IMG_7701

I suddenly feel settled here.   There is a spot in my garden,  between my rugosas and  the yew that calls to me.    For a few years now this spot has called to me to plant a hawthorn there.  For whatever reason, I have put this off.  I somehow feel that planting it there will anchor me to this spot, in some way that I don’t understand.   After I nestled the angelica in front of the roses today, the spot almost sang to me.  I think my design friends would be pretty appalled by the way my garden is planned.     I came in from my work,  sat down and ordered my hawthorn from Richo along with a few other plants I need for the front yard before I move into the back.

 

Herbs I Have Growing

Angelica
Anise Hyssop
Astragalus
Black Cohosh (new in 2013)
Bloodroot (new in 2013)
Borage
Burdock
Calamus
Calendula
Chickweed
Chicory
Cilantro
Cleavers
Columbine
Comfrey
Dandelion
Echinacea
Evening Primrose
Feverfew
Flat Leaf Parsley
Goldenrod

Hawthorn (new in 2013)
Hops
Horseradish
Lady’s Mantle
Motherwort
Catnip
Chicory
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Marshmallow
Monarda fistulosa
Mugwort
Nasturtium
Oats
Oregano
Parsley
Pennyroyal

Peppermint

Poke

R. Rugosa
Red Clover
Red Raspberry
Rue
Plantain
Sage
Self-Heal
Spearmint
Solomon’s Seal (new in 2013)
Trillium (new in 2013)
Tulsi (annual)
Peppermint
St. John’s Wort
Stinging Nettle
Sweet Basil
Sweet Woodruff
Yarrow

Vervain (new in 2013)

Posted in Faoi na Fuinseoige, Gardening, Spring | Leave a comment