Kitchen Greenhouse

This is going back a few weeks, now, New Moon at the beginning of March to be exact..



I spent a happy afternoon at the kitchen table with the radio for company, surrounded by newspaper, compost (not always ON the newspaper, sadly!), milk cartons, seed packets, tin foil cat food trays, cardboard tubes and miscellaneous other extremely handy bits and bobs.. attempting to construct little comfy homes for my seedlings. There was something very cathartic and Blue Peter about it all, I haven't had so much fun in ages..

Elsie the cat was very helpful in attempting to eat, biff or sit upon my carefully organised chaos and has since been most displeased that the sunniest spot in front of the kitchen window (where she sun-worships and watches for passing pigeons to make the Ack-Ack noise at) is now occupied by a number of recycled DIY incubators of dubious construction.

Nevertheless, I got some herb seeds planted in my 'proper' propagator (try saying that quickly!), potted on the February seedlings and generally got very very grubby. Brilliant!



I picked up a tip from somewhere (will try to find it and post the link) recently to use the cardboard cartons that soup or milk comes in for plant pots, as when you want to plant out you can just snip down the sides with scissors and slide the plant out intact. So I did this for a few of the bigger seedlings. I also used the bottom half of plastic milk bottles (with drainage hole punched in the bottom) as plant pots. And I'd been saving the plastic trays from food shopping to use as drip trays to stand things in .. or as lids for incubators, if transparent.

In fact, things might be getting out of hand now because I can't look at anything now without working out how I can re-use the packaging.. its addictive!

---> LINKS:

yoghurt pots as mini greenhouses

make seedling pots from newspaper

make recycled seed pots

Bean Update

Ooh, I forgot to show you how my little bean seedlings are doing ..

First they looked like this, if you remember?

They soon got potted up and looked like this (on a typical grey day, a week or so back!)


.. and now we're getting a bit of sunshine, they look like this


.. and I think they mean business!!

Berry Go Round

I've been featured in my first blog carnival.. very exciting!

Berry Go Round is a monthly carnival of posts about plants and the latest edition is here at Greg Laden's blog

NB: there is a wonderful post on Nettles, for all you herb and weed lovers out there..

St John's Wort

St John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is strongly linked with ancient superstition and Midsummer’s Day: ‘hypericum’ derives from Greek and relates to the practice of placing flowers above religious images in the home to drive off evil spirits at Midsummer. It is also thought to be named after the Knights of St John of Jerusalem, who used this herb to treat wounds on Crusade battlefields. A medieval prescription by the Physicans of Myddfai for chillblains survives from thirteenth century Wales.

Traditionally used to treat nervous complaints and externally for healing, St John’s wort fell out of use in the 19th century. Its revival in the next century was due to clinical trials which demonstrated its effectiveness in relieving mild to moderate depression. Today it is used internally for anxiety, depression, nervous tension, the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome and menopause though in the past it was used for a broader spectrum of ailments including bladder problems (in particular, an infusion is given before retiring to treat a child’s bedwetting). The herb is also useful when applied externally to treat burns, bruises, injuries, sores, sciatica, cramps and sprains.

A cooling herb which promotes healing, calms nerves, reduces inflammation and benefits circulation. It is also locally antiseptic and analgesic.

CAUTION: Harmful if eaten; can cause dermatitis/skin allergy in sunlight

Flowers June to August
An oil is made by infusing the flowers in olive oil.


PLEASE NOTE: These notes on the history and use of herbs have been compiled for general interest and are not intended as medical advice, for which you should consult a professional herbalist.

BIBLIOGRAPY:
'A Modern Herbal' Mrs M. Grieve FRHS ed. Mrs C. F. Leyel (1973)
'The Herb Society's Complete Medicinal Herbal' Penelope Ody MNIMH (1993)
'RHS Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses' Deni Brown (2002)

The Littlest But Not The Least

The littlest thought, action or contribution can be the one that makes someone's day, that tips the balance, that influences someone powerful, that starts a chain reaction ..

And the littlest things in life are the most important.. comfy bed, good food to eat, sun coming up in the morning, a flower opening up its petals for the day, a smile from a stranger .. this is what life is about, not the big stuff.

A flurry of snowflakes outside my window on Easter Sunday... a little thing.

April tagged me to create this 6 word memoir (here is the original post which sets out the background)..

1. Write a six word memoir and post it on your blog
2. Add a picture if you wish
3. Link to the person who tagged you
4. Tag 4 or 5 others, with links, to keep it going
5. Leave a comment for the ones you tag with an invitation to play
6. Link to the original post at Bookbabie, if possible.

The following wonderful bloggers are tagged to play, if (and only if!) they would like to join in.. no obligation, anyone..

Dave at osage+orange
Ruth at body,soul&spirit
NatureGirl at naturetrail
Ben at homelycapers
Hedge Hermit at secretsfromthehedge

Warning: this meme can make your brain hurt, and requires the use of fingers on more than one hand!!

Equinox

Today is the equinox which heralds Spring and is, of course, the underlying and unifying theme behind many important religious festivals.

"Day and night are equal, poised and balanced, but about to tip over on the side of light."

This descibes exactly how I feel about this turning point .. emerging from the darkness into the light. New life, rebirth, potential and hope.

Knit for Oxfam

I don't usually blog about knitting, but when you read this you will see straight away that its about the earth, because mothers all over the earth are dying unnecessarily .. wanted to help spread the word, as I know there are knitters out there!

" Every minute, a woman with no medical care dies in pregnancy or childbirth

Millions of mums in poor countries get low-quality health care, or are forced to go without it altogether. High fees, a shortage of hospitals and clinics, and not enough doctors and midwives means women struggle to get the medical care they need and all that too often they don’t survive to look after their babies. In Africa and South East Asia pregnancy and childbirth represent the biggest cause of death amongst women of childbearing age.

Each square you can knit or crochet will represent a newborn baby, left needlessly without a mother because of lack of healthcare. These squares will be joined together and handed into the UK government in September. "


This is what I'll be doing this evening... click the title to link to this post, which has details of what you need to do (its basically knitting a 9" square).

Lovage

Lovage(Levisticum officinale) was much used as a drug in the 14th century and medieval texts associate it with love potions and aphrodisiacs, referring to it as ‘love parsley’. Old writers recommend an infusion of the root for urinary troubles and Culpepper has a number of uses, including bruising the herb and frying it in hog’s lard before applying it to break a boil.

The leaves can be eaten in salads, soups and stews and the dried leaves taken as tea. It is used internally for indigestion, flatulence, poor appetite, cystitis, period pain and slow labour and externally for a sore throat.

A bitter-sweet, sedative herb which benefits digestion, relaxes spasms, increases perspiration and has diuretic and expectorant properties.

Pick leaves before flowering and dry for infusions.
Roots are lifted in the third year for use in decoctions and tinctures.

PLEASE NOTE: These notes on the history and use of herbs have been compiled for general interest and are not intended as medical advice, for which you should consult a professional herbalist.

BIBLIOGRAPY:
'A Modern Herbal' Mrs M. Grieve FRHS ed. Mrs C. F. Leyel (1973)
'The Herb Society's Complete Medicinal Herbal' Penelope Ody MNIMH (1993)
'RHS Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses' Deni Brown (2002)

Herb Garden

Just dug out this photo for a listing in my Etsy shop, and thought it might make a nice post ... its one of my favourite photos taken in my little herb garden. I hope you like it



Not long now till I'll be able to take new photos from this year's garden .. hurray!

Trees for Life

I was visiting the Trees for Life website today - this organisation campaigns to save and increase the Caledonian forests of Scotland.

I found this wonderful quote:

"...today it is the duty of every thinking being to live, and to serve not only his own day and generation, but also generations unborn by helping to restore and maintain the green glory of the forests of the earth." Richard St. Barbe Baker


and ordered these:

envelope re-use labels

I always used to have re-use labels, but though I still re-use envelopes I've been just using blank labels to cover the old addresses. Struck me that by using these, I'd be raising awareness for the charity .. and they are beautiful, too!

Love Earth

I found a really beautiful site about the earth .. it is beautiful and informative. It also has galleries of postcards where people are leaving messages about wildlife, nature and the earth. This month's theme is Motherhood and I have left a little postcard tribute .. I know others of you will love this too!




You can visit my postcard here... love earth postcard

Spring

Since there's a grey sky outside, to say nothing of the horizontal sleet and gale-force winds (!)

.. I thought we could all do with some of nature's more cheerful Spring things to look at instead:




I know its only blossom ... but I like it, and its lasted for ages in the vase



Can't beat some daffs cut fresh from the garden.. I like the little ones best

Yarrow

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) has a long history of use – ‘achillea’ refers to its reputed use by Achilles to staunch his men’s wounds after the siege of Troy, and ‘yarrow’ is a corruption of its Anglo-Saxon name, ‘gearwe’. It has many alternative names, some describing the many segments of its foliage (eg. ‘milfoil’), some to its use as snuff and many others to its blood-staunching properties.

Yarrow is closely linked with divination in many parts of the world: its stalks are used to consult the I Ching (or ‘Book of Changes’) in China, for example.

Medicinally, yarrow is valuable in relieving hayfever, easing menstrual cramps and reducing heavy menstruation. The infusion can be taken for severe colds, flu and catarrh, especially at the onset of fever, and in the Orkneys is said to dispel melancholy. This herb can also treat diarrhoea, dyspepsia and hypertension, and is still used externally to treat wounds, as an ointment or by binding washed fresh leaves to cuts and grazes as a poultice.















A bitter, astringent herb.

Flowers June to September.
Collect stems, leaves and flowers from the wild in August (the flowers for teas and tinctures, the leaves and stems for salves and poultices).


CAUTION: Prolonged use may cause allergic reaction or sun sensitivity.


PLEASE NOTE: These notes on the history and use of herbs have been compiled for general interest and are not intended as medical advice, for which you should consult a professional herbalist.

BIBLIOGRAPY:
'A Modern Herbal' Mrs M. Grieve FRHS ed. Mrs C. F. Leyel (1973)
'The Herb Society's Complete Medicinal Herbal' Penelope Ody MNIMH (1993)
'RHS Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses' Deni Brown (2002)

About Hedgewitch

I have been tagged by The Nutty Knitter, and asked to share seven facts about myself before tagging seven others to take their turn. This feels quite weird, as my blog is not really about me.. but it might be fun! So here is more information than you ever wanted or needed to know about Hedgewitch...

1. In an idle moment recently, I took an online Myers-Briggs personality test and came out ISFJ .. described as the protector guardian type

2. I am tee-total.

3. I couldn't think of a name for my cat. I spent so long trying to decide, that meanwhile I had been calling her Little Cat, and this eventually got shortened to L. C. and thus Elsie.

4. The book I am currently reading is The Women's History of the World by Rosalind Miles (Paladin)

5. I have an irrational terror of Daddy-Long-Legs, ever since one got caught inside the skirt of my school uniform dress as a child. It bashed about my knees for ages trying to escape while I stood and screamed.

6. I confess that I use a hose to water my herbs and vegetables in the summer .. in my defence, there are mitigating circumstances, but nevertheless..

7. I am early to bed and early to rise ... but this hasn't made me healthy or wealthy or particularly wise!


OK, now its your turn .. I nominate the following favourite bloggers, if they should wish to take part (these are all fantastic blogs, by the way, and well worth a visit):

Cheryl mywildlifesanctuary
Claire annasworld
Angie lemonlight
Alchemille alchemille
Greenfingers greenwoman
Tangled Macrame tangleandspiral
Matron downontheallotment


Rules are:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


No obligation, anyone.. enjoy!

Beans Unfurling

Oh, I just can't wait to show this to everyone..





.. I was so excited!

These are my heritage dwarf beans, which were very kindly sent to me by Daughter of the Soil .. and are going to be potted up this weekend.

Aren't they just fab? And everytime I go and look they've grown a bit more.

Improvising Incubators

Today I have been sorting through my jumble of handy bits and bobs I've been hoarding in preparation for the great seed-sowing later this week.

I've been keeping plastic food trays, tin foil cat food trays, toilet rolls, eggboxes, yoghurt pots and anything else that looks vaguely serviceable!

I'm even contemplating making flower pots out of the bottom halves of 1litre plastic milk containers.. I'm thinking that the top handle part, upside down, might be brilliant as a watering device for courguettes and squashes in grow bags so that the water gets down to the roots (may be getting carried away, here!)

Have spent a happy hour making individual cloches out of drinks bottles, anyway, and looking forward to getting started.

This link has some great ideas:

Making Recycled Seed Pots

----> GET INVOLVED: Tell me your tips!

Mothers' Day

Today was Mothers' Day here in the UK.. and it seems to me that motherhood is something to be celebrated.

I took this picture in Bruges, where it was one of many shrines to the Madonna to be found on street corners. I love how peaceful it is, and how it symbolises the Mother and Child.



So here's to all the mothers of the world and the great mother earth herself.