Comfrey Bed Update - First Blossom!

The Comfrey is Sprouting!

Creations of the Comfrey Herbal Bed

Gardening Prep: Seed Orders

So excited! My Heirloom Medicinal Herb seeds are in!

I got: Holy Basil, Purslane, Catnip, Horehound, Oregano, Lemon Balm, Thyme, Wormwood, Forage Kale, Yarrow, Tansy, Rue, Valerian, Coriander, Burdock, Chamomile, Lavender, Vietnamese Mint Balm, Echinacea, Stinging Nettle, Hamburg Rooted Parsley, & Calendula

The only thing that didn't making it was the Plantain.  Going to have to reorder that one.

Goat Treat Disappointment

In an article I read, "Planting A Goat Garden", the writer states that Pumpkins and winter squash are a "must" crop for goats. Both the seeds and the meat are relished. The seeds contain more protein than most grains—oats included. Because the seed is an embryo of future life, nature packs it chock-full of vitamins and minerals. Extremely abundant amounts of iron and phosphorus are found in these seeds along with lots of the B complex vitamins. For centuries, Hungarian gypsies have known that these seeds preserve male potency among humans and animals, containing a hormone-like component and zinc, which both benefit the prostate. Such squash as Buttercup, Pink Banana, Hubbard, Butternut and Sweetmeat are good winter keepers. While pumpkins are also good to use, the skins are thinner so they will not store quite as long. Goats love both pumpkins and squash as winter feeds. Just put the fruits on a wooden surface in a cool cellar or somewhere where they will not be touched by freezing weather. Pumpkins will last two to three months while squash will last over six months. To feed, two methods can be used. Either crack the hard-rinded fruit with an axe and let goats scoop out the contents, or cut the whole thing into bite-sized pieces.

And well....  I decided to try it.

The breed of my goats you ask.... Alien! Silly Goats!

Wildcrafting: Plantain

Did you know you can do wildcrafting in your own yard!?

Apparently this weed that I have been mowing over every week is Plantain... 

A very valuable herb. 

 

Plantain, one of the most widespread 'weeds' around  the world, is a first-choice remedy for many ailments. It is safe and effective, for most skin type issues such as  bee stings, bleeding, cuts, bruises, bug bites, hemorroids, and itchy skin. Its ability to draw out infection - as well as splinters and even glass shards - is rumored to be especially remarkable. A cup of strong Plantain tea is said to quell the worst indigestion, and a small wad of chewed leaf placed next to the gum will quiet a painful toothache until it can be attended to. I have been told by my Totally Natural Goat's group that the easiest way to make a plantain poultice is to chew up the leaf, put it on the wound, and cover it  with something to hold it in place for at least 30 minutes. I read somewhere else that the saliva actually contains many antibacterial properties (which may be why animals lick their wounds). If a 'spit poultice' is not for you, you can chop plantain with a knife or in the blender with a coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil or little water.

A simple ointment, made with an olive oil extract of fresh Plantain and a little beeswax is a very good general purpose remedy for many skin ailments, and is especially helpful with diaper rash. Plantain may also be used as in juice, tea,  tincture, wash, gargle and syrup form.

Nutritionally, plantain is equally amazing. Related to spinach, plantain leaves are rich in iron and vitamins A and C. Plantain may be eaten uncooked, but adult leaves tend to be stringy, and seedpods are a bit tough. Preparation is as simple as boiling washed plants until tender, then serving the leaves as you would spinach, or the seedpods as you might green beans or asparagus. A little apple cider vinegar helps enliven the taste of cooked leaves, and serve them hot with butter, salt and pepper. Seedpods are said to be good in stews, soups and stir-fries, or with melted cheese over them.

  

Resources:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/

http://www.herballegacy.com/Plantain_Ahlborn.html

Winter Squash Bed

Bed created and seedlings planted today....

My acorn & spaghetti squash seeds did not sprout. Going to try again.  Left room for them in the bed just in case the sound round of seedlings is more successful.

Our Raised Tomato Garden Bed

They say that tomato plants that are planted early produce more, and higher-quality, tomatoes. You are supposed to get them into the ground by Mid-April. Mine have been moved from a seedling pot, to a 4 inch pot, to a 6 inch pot and now to their permanent home.... Hopefully that will count as being the ground in time.

We started of with some high-quality heirlom plants.  The leaves are deep green, and the stem is be sturdy enough to support the plant strongly. They are about as wide as they are tall and the roots were white and healthy when I removed the plant from the pot.

We picked this area of the yard because it receives the most direct full sun for at least eight hours of the day.  Since tomato plants prefer a fertile, well-drained soil that has high organic matter content we had to completely dig out the bed, riding it of the Tennessee Red Clay. We replaced it with a 2-23inch layer of compost, some chicken manure and a mixture of potting soil and top soil.

Our plants are planted about 1 to 12 and 18 feet apart. That is a little closer than the recommended 18 to 24 inches. I am just going to have to keep them trimmed at the sides and let them spread out to the front and rear of the plants. I plant to do this by pruning the plants back to either one or two main stems by pinching off the suckers (or side shoots) that grow where a leaf attaches to the main stem. Hopefully this will train the plant to take full advantage of our limited space.  I planted them a bout 3 inches deeper than they were growing in their containers, burying some of the steam and a  touch of leafy portions. We are using tomato cages instead of stakes to support the plants. 

Continer Gardening: Okra

This the baby okra sproutlings. I have never done Okra in a container, but I try to grow some every year to stock up the freezer for my gumbos. I hope this works out!

The Squash Garden

The Squash Garden; Zucs and Dixie Yellow.

I did not use the offsetting planting technique here as these are bush plants and each one will take over their whole corner of the garden. The top toil here wasn't too bad. I added some garden soil, some compost and some Chic/Duckling droppings to get it richer.

Believe it or not, just these four plants will give use squash out our ears.... we will be giving it away b efore the end of summer.

Dyson really likes the rock border. He jumps from rock to rock. 

Container Gardening: Peas..

My new little peat sprouts, there are 6 snow peas and 3 sugar peas along with a tomato cage to give them something to grow up.  With our limited garden space here at the rental, having to do most of our garden in containers.

Texas Sweet Onions in Nashville!

Today I planted Texas Sweet Onions. We chose the front bed in front of the rental house for this. Already planted there is our Sage, Rosemary and a bunch of Wild Onions we transplanted from the yard. I used John Jeavon's offsetting planting techniques from his sustainable Biointensive Mini-Farming method. Each plant is still the specified 4 inches apart from each other and we were able to get 13 rows in the space we would normally have only put 6. This helps protect the soil. conserve water and allows me to double my harvest in my available space. This is the first time I have used his techniques and I am really excited to see how the garden grows!

Absolutely cool. I want one!

http://www.improvementscatalog.com

What a great idea! 

Build a vine trellis for the peas or the like out of two old tire rims!

We are going to have to try this. 

Making Our Own Mulch....

This weekend we began working on our 'Fall Garden' area of the back yard. In the process of cleaning up the back property line of trees that overhang our fence, we discovered that we were going to end up with at least 2-3 trailer loads of tree limbs going to the dump. At $40.00 a load that's getting pretty expensive and with the burn ban in effect because of the drought, we couldn't take that route. With some problem solving thought we came up with the idea of renting a wood chipper for $151.00s from Home Depot. Since we were going to end up having to buy mulch anyway for the garden beds, we hope to end up with usable mulch for free when all is said and done.

Why Mulch?
Mulching is essential to the survival of your landscape during a drought. Mulch will reduce the amount of water that evaporates from your soil, greatly reducing your need to water your plants.

• Mulch improves the quality of your soil by breaking up clay and allowing better water and air movement through the soil.
• Mulch acts as an insulating layer on top of soil, keeping it cooler in the summer. Roots like that!
• Mulch keeps weeds down, and the weeds that do grow are much easier to pull. We like that!






To make wood-chip type mulch, just shred the healthy limbs. We had ours blow on a tarp with the hopes of easy catching and moving when we are ready to begin the process of preparing it to be used. Please note that if you use wood chip mulch on a garden, the plants in the garden will have less nitrogen to work with, since the nitrogen will be going to help decompose the wood. So, for us, an easy answer is using our chicken manure to add in extra nitrogen by mixing in or placing it under the mulch.