Foraging on the Creek Bank

        Our little creek has many edible plants growing on the banks. This is quite convenient if you ask me - I don't have to go very far to get my peppermint or my watercress when I need it.

        The marsh marigold is one of the plants I know is edible, but haven't done anything with it yet.

         The white flowers you can see here are from the watercress.

        Here is some peppermint from among the sweet peas:

        This is water plantain; I haven't done anything with this yet either.

        These are the flowers (the stalks you see in the background are cattails):

      
       Up close of a leaf:

         Now, I have a short story to tell. When I first came across this plant, I had no clue what it was. I quickly identified it as from the mint family, though, because of the leaf shape and the square stalks, and because it smelled like basil, I named it basil mint. It tasted like spearmint, however, so I knew it wasn't basil. I went inside after, and looked up different mints and what they smell, taste, and look like. Lo and behold, this plant is actually called Basil Mint. I was quite proud of myself. ;)

        I am sure blackberries need no introduction.

         This is broad leaf plantain (Plantago Major). The thick fibers in the leaves can be used to make rope, and the leaves themselves are edible. You can read more about the many, many uses for this plant here.

        Horsetails most likely don't need any introduction either. They are high in silica and amazing for your nails and hair.

         This is a wild radish plant. We mostly just eat the flowers and leaves, because the actual radish roots have an unearthly level of spiciness. :)

        This is a pepper tree. For the longest time, my mom was convinced that this wasn't 'actual' pepper, but then she realized it is. Now, we don't ever have to buy pepper anymore!

         This is a black walnut tree. I'll do a post on the stuff we make out of this when it's harvest time.

        I hope you've enjoyed this brief peek at the eatables in our creek. ;) I may highlight on some of these plants later as well.

Blessings,

Reyna

How To: Calendula Salve

        In this post I'm going to teach you how to make a simple salve. It is one of my favorites, and has medicinal uses which I'll go over later. Calendula is also sometimes called Pot Marigold, but I haven't ever had much luck growing it in a pot - the roots need quite a bit of room. 

        The first thing to do is grow your plants. I'm not sure when they should be planted, so if you bought seeds refer to the package and if the plants sprouted on their own you don't need to worry about timing. ;)

This is a plant that I grew from some seeds harvested from a neighbor's plant.

This is an heirloom variety purchased from Baker's Creek.

        Once you have your plants up and producing, it's time to harvest! I usually do this 2-3 times a week depending on how sunny it has been and how quickly the flowers are maturing. You want to make sure you don't let many (or any, ideally) of the heads go to seed because that will stop the plant's production. I pinch off the flowers right below the sepels.

        Now, you don't absolutely have to do this next step, but I like to because it minimizes the amount of water that ends up in your slave. In my opinion, it's a good idea. So what is this next step exactly? Drying. I do mine in the dehydrator at whatever temperature it is set on already - it really doesn't matter that much.

        Next, pull all of the petals off of the heads. This doesn't take very much time for me because I've only got a few plants going at once. 

         If you're anything like me, the petals will end up more placed than where you want them.

         Put your petals in a jar, or go straight on to the next step from here (especially if your petals are fresh).

        To make the actual salve, fill a pint glass jar 2/3 - 3/4 of the way with petals.

        Fill it up with olive oil, and screw a lid on.

        Put the jar out in the sun for six weeks. The herb will infuse into the oil during this time. You can also do this infusion in a dehydrator for four hours, but I have found that the solar infused oil is much better.

        After it is all infused, strain the spent petals out of the oil. I do this with a fine kitchen strainer. Make a double boiler on the stove with a pot of water and a colander (or whatever works for you). Bring the water to a boil, and pour your oil into the colander. Add one ounce of beeswax; the more thinly you slice it the more quickly it will dissolve. Also add about a teaspoon of Vitamin E Oil (for natural preservation) and 25 drops of essential oil (for scent - this is optional). I like to use all lemongrass oil, or 20 drops lime and 5 drops orange.

        When it is all melted together, pour the oil into a pint glass jar (the same kind you used for infusion). Let it cool and harden, and you have your salve! You can test to see if it's a good consistency for you by dropping a bit onto an ice cube. It will harden in seconds and you can try it out.

        I use this salve a lot. A LOT. Whenever I take a shower, I rub it all over afterwards. If my skin is dry, it goes on again. It just feels so good! Calendula itself is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and amazing for your skin. It is very gentle and safe for children (although if you have allergies to daisies or whatever you may want to test the petals on you skin first). It can apparently be used to treat acne, but I have never had the opportunity to test that out. Maybe that is a good thing. ;) It also helps to sooth bruises and speed up healing in cuts and scrapes. When I started using it, I actually noticed a difference in how soft my skin was. The olive oil combined with the calendula is a great combination, and I find myself having to make lots of it in the spring and summer to keep up with our family's use of it. Funny, my neighbor saw that my mom had it on after she showered one day, and asked her if she had just had a facial. Now, I'm not quite sure what that is, but I'm taking it as a compliment to my salve. ;) Now a bunch of other people are asking about it and wanting some, so I have to make even more. Thank goodness I have about half of a dozen plants this year!
        I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Just so you know, the procedure can be followed with any herb of your choice, so do you research and maybe experiment! Let me know what you think!

Blessings,

Reyna

Late Spring Harvest

        I've been doing quite a bit of work with herbs lately, both in my garden and along the creek bank. As I've been doing my work, I took my camera with me and snapped a few pictures of the plants and the processing. I think I have rosemary, thyme, peppermint, and catnip, but as I go through my pictures I may find more. 

        My rosemary has really been needing a haircut lately, so a few days ago I chopped a bunch of it off. I'm afraid it hardly put a dent in what needed to come off, but oh well. My dehydrator isn't big enough to do all that I need at once.

        I dried it and then crumbled it all up and put it in a mason jar. Don't ask me what I'm going to do with it all - I don't know. The other thing is, I need to take a lot more off as well. Maybe I'll go walking around town with a pushcart and a megaphone. Anyone want some rosemary?? Just kidding. 

        I put a picture of some thyme in a previous post, but I'll elaborate a little on what I was doing with it. If you remember, I was very sick when I got home from my ministry trip to Tijuana. I have found from prior experience that thyme tea with honey is one of the best things for a bad sore throat, next to ginger-sage tea. Well, I didn't have any sage at the moment, so I used thyme. I had about a gallon of this tea a day; I would brew a quart at a time and add a tablespoon of honey. Yum!

        Down on the creek bank, the peppermint is a few weeks away from blooming, and ready to harvest. When I let the goats out to graze I go looking for new stands to harvest from - it seems like they multiply exponentially every year. And no, I haven't yet figured out the constant for the equation {At=A0(e^kt}.

        More calendula (I am planning a whole post on what I do with this in a couple of weeks):

        I also have a bit of anise blue hyssop that I've been drying. I am planning on experimenting with different tea blends with that, peppermint, spearmint, catnip, and lemon balm. If you didn't already know, those are all mints as well. Most of the catnip I grow goes to this lazy animal below, but I do keep some of it for myself.

         Here is a picture of the overgrown mess that is my garden right now:

        My echinacea has its first bloom!

         As I said before, I have a couple of posts in the making on what I do with the things I grow in my garden (and forage from the creek bank). Keep an eye out for those in two weeks or so.

Blessings,

Reyna