Garden Renovation

My hope is that all the energy into framing the raised beds and laying down load after load of wood chips will motivate me to spend at least an hour in the garden everyday come Spring. Thank you to Chip Drop for hooking us up with a mountain of free wood chips!

I'm curious about how these frames are going to work out in the long term. Some of the planks are plywood and already starting to bend from rain. I'm also curious about the wood chips, if they will end up being a problem at all. We received them from Emerald Tree Service. I don't know anything about the trees they come from. Big ol' experiment!

Elder & Hawthorn &

This month "Beaver Moon" is in the constellation Taurus, an earth sign ruled by Venus. (There are many interpretations about what this means online.) I love that I've made a recent commitment to make medicines each time the Full Moon comes around - perhaps it will ground me into a workable structure. Tonight I am cooking up an Elderberry Hawthorn Syrup and a tincture of Echinacea root.

Elder (Sambucus) and Hawthorn (Crataegus) are both naturalized to the Pacific Northwest. You can learn to identify them and follow proper harvesting techniques to obtain nature's gifts.

Elder, from the honeysuckle family, is said to be anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and anticancer -- treating colds, flus and allergies. The berries help reduce swelling in mucous membranes, such as the sinuses, to relieve nasal congestion. [1] They act by inhibiting enzyme, neuraminidase, which viruses use to penetrate cell walls. They contain flavonoids (antioxidant) as all good, dark berries do, and high concentrations of Vitamin C. Despite being foraged by many species of birds, it's recommended that the berries are cooked. Perfect for making decoctions or syrups! I've used lozenges purchased from the market in previous years and I'm excited to make my own medicine this time.

Hawthorn (rose family) is revered as a heart medicine for humans, as well as an important food source for birds, moths and butterflies. The hawberries also contain flavonoids, one in particular, proanthocyanidin, which plays a role in dilating blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and improving circulation [2]. What if you already have low blood pressure? What if you happen to love garlic and other herbs that lower blood pressure? Last time I was at the doctors I was told, "Treasure your low blood pressure now, as it's only going to increase as you age". I'm curious how that will unfold. Anyway here I am creating a delicious, antioxidant berry syrup to help me prevent the onset of winter flu (will last a solid 2-3 months, stored in the refrigerator - all winter long).

The recipe was based off one I found from Dandelioness Herbals:

.5 oz Sambucus nigra

.5 oz Crataegus

4 c well water

3/4 c raw honey

I've also created another Echinacea tincture (good for several years):

I've always used Echinacea purpurea (daisy family) to avoid or shorten colds and flus. Yet I recently read in Matthew Wood's book The Earthwise Herbal that Echinacea may be taken to bolster the immune system in cases of putrefaction, functioning as an internal antiseptic. Which is interesting when we consider that the plant was traditionally used to relieve blood poisoning. Putrefaction results when cell metabolism becomes sluggish permitting foreign antigens to invade, causing the breakdown of tissues. In addition to exercise (!) herbal antiseptics like Echinacea (and yarrow, and lavender) can stabilize cell metabolism in order to keep viruses out. 

Echinacea's effectiveness is quite controversial despite how popular it is in natural medicine. In 2009, Echinacea aroused sales of $132 million in the U.S. [3] The herb has an interesting consumer history: In the 1800's, H.C.F. Meyer (dubbed "snake-oil salesman") marketed the herb as a panacea "cure-all". It was later introduced into Germany by physician Gerhard Madaes in the 1930s where it was popularized in Western medicine. Contemporary studies demonstrate mixed evidence: it likely combats various infections, reducing inflammation and attacking yeasts and fungi directly [4]. Yet it's effectiveness doesn't appear much better than a placebo. Still recommendations are made to avoid the plant if you are on immunosuppresants, or are a heavy caffeine taker. More carefully monitored studies need to be conducted. 

My recommendation: know your body, observe your reactions, and stay open in your experiments.      

Works Cited

[1] Ehrlich, Steven D. "Elderberry". May 7, 2013. University of Maryland Medical Center.
     November 6, 2014. <http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/elderberry>.
[2] Hudson, Tori. "Hibiscus, Hawthorn and the Heart". July 2011, Vol 3, Issue 7. Natural Medicine
     Journal. November 6, 2014. <http://naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/2011-07/hibiscus-
     hawthorn-and-heart>.
[3] Novella, Stephen. "Echinacea for Cold and Flu". December 22, 2010. Science-Based Medicine.
     November 7, 2014. <http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/echinacea-for-cold-and-flu/>.
[4] "Echinacea". Medline Plus. July 7, 2014. U.S. National Library of Medicine. November 7, 2014.
     <http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/981.html>.

Pests

Infestations provide opportunities for investigation and experimentation. Exciting!

Our apple trees have codling moth long time. Improved pruning over the last several years seems to have reduced it's impact this year, and we actually have pears. We are happy enough.

 [Apple demonstrating entrance points for moths, guess what's inside! September 30, 2014]

A neighbor was walking by this morning as my roommate and I were gardening and started talking about his research into codling moth. He suggested we fixate cardboard boxes around the base of the trees. At specific times each year larvae climb out of the apples and down the trunks for cocooning. We can confuse them with the corrugated cardboard, which they might climb into, and thus we trap them. These are called "trunk bands". I say why not.

Next year we can try these ideas: remove infected fruit (the most obvious!) which I admit my roommate listed on our To-Do but hasn't happened yet. At bloomtime we might hang 2-4 traps in each tree to replace every 2 months until we harvest. They complete up to 3.5 generations a year: at bloom, mid-July and mid-August, which is something to factor in.  These particulr traps will capture males before they can mate. Another barrier involves socking the fruit with nylon stockings. I've seen these tricks done on city fruit but never thought twice about benefits. It could be fun to hang a pheromone confusion dispenser  (!) - which involves using Isomate C+ or Isomate CTT - but no one cares enough for that I'm sure.

We also have an ongoing issue with aphids on our kale plants. I pulled many plants in late Spring and didn't think more about prevention. Now they are back (of course)

 [Super blurry photo of kale that was going to seed for us until it got consumed, September 30, 2014]

Our neighbor told us we need ladybugs (yes please!) so we might cultivate specific plants to attract them: mint, fennel, dill, yarrow and dandelion. Garlic and onions are said to drive aphids away (great!). Additionally we might plant flowers to attract aphids away from the kale, to have a little plot of colorful beauty: nasturtium, aster, mum, cosmos, larkspur, dahlia and zinnia. I've seen this strategy on farms I've worked at. 

Who are these devilish friends of ours? CM, Cydia pomonella (Eurasia) loves apple, pear, quince, hawthorn, crabapple, and walnut. It coexists in the Tortricidae family with over 10,350 other species. They rest during the day camouflaged on bark until mating time. Females may lay up to 100 eggs on the fruit or leaves, singly. The egg starts out translucent, develops a reddish embryonic ring then produces a black head just before hatching (a great way to spot them in time, perhaps). The larvae enter the fruit (called "stinging"), eat the seeds, then eat their way out, making their way down the trunk for pupation overwinter. Living the life of sex, food and sleep. That must be nice. 

Aphids proliferate in over 4,000 species around the world, with 1,350 on our continent. They are slow and soft - great targets - with great defenses. Aphids are said to kick attackers, walk away, or roll to the ground. Since they feed in groups, some aphids play the role of "bodyguard", which are called upon by specific pheromones. They'll secrete a waxy lipid to fill an attacker's mouth or toxins into the abdomen. When they aren't defending themselves they are feeding on plant sugars. They have to consume a lot of plant tissue in order to retrieve enough nitrogen. I wonder if high nitrogen garden beds are more attractive?

The more I think about it the life cycle of an insect sounds mighty fine.

Works Cited

Agnello, Arthur M. and David P. Kain. "Codling Moth". Codling Moth Fact Sheet. Integrated Pest
     Management Program. Web. September 30, 2013.
     <http://nysipm.cornell.edu/factsheets/treefruit/pests/cm/cm.asp>.

Carroll, Jackie. "Killing Aphids Naturally: How To Get Rid of Aphids Safely". Homemade Aphid 
     Control. Gardening Know How, March 3, 2014. Web. September 30, 2014.
     <http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/homemade-aphid-control-a-natural-
     way-to-kill-aphids.htm>.

Charlotte from Peaceful Valley. "Organic Control of Codling Moths." Grow Organic, April 15,
     2011. Web. September 30, 2014. <http://www.groworganic.com/organic-
     gardening/articles/organic-control-of-codling-moths>.

Hadley, Debbie. "Habits And Traits of Aphids, Family Aphidacae." True Bugs, Aphids, Cicadas and 
     Hoppers. About Education, Web. September 30, 2014.
     < http://insects.about.com/od/truebugs/p/Aphididae.htm>.

Calendula Medicine

My roommate and I wondered about this plant cropping up everywhere in our raised beds. We tried some of it's leaves raw, which left a tingling sensation on the tongue and slight burn in the back of the throat. I let it grow all around the kale wondering if it would be beneficial. When it started flowering I realized it was calendula - awesome! This will be a great medicine to cultivate, I thought. I noticed the kale was looking diseased and thought, oh maybe not so beneficial! I pulled the calendula out, as well as the diseased plants, and transplanted some young ones. A couple weeks later all the kale plants look burned. I think the calendula was offering something to the soil, which has not been amended for some time, and too, kale has been harvested from that bed for several years. We are not following good crop rotation rules here (after several years the soil is probably depleted of key nutrients). As well, kale volunteers have only appeared in other areas of the yard - which suggests the kale is ready to move on! I think I will pull the kale out and put in cover crop for now.

Anyway I've left a couple beds for calendula cultivation this summer. I love this plant and feel blessed it dwells in our garden.

Back in the 1700's, Linnaeus designated "officinalis" to species of plants with medicinal value, and calendula's healing powers endure today. One of the most popular herbal ingredients in lotions and creams, Calendula officinalis translates as "little clock medicine", or we might say - a medicine withstanding the test of time. Traditionally calendula was used internally for improving digestion, and detoxifying the liver and gallbladder; externally applied to skin conditions, cuts and wounds to prevent infection. Calendula has high flavonoid content to fight antioxidents. I see it claimed online all over that calendula was used for dressing wounds during the American Civil War and WW1.  Current pharmalogical studies demonstrate calendula is effective topically (on the skin) for burns, cuts, bruises and rashes. It's said to contain active chemical constituents that are anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial.

Calendula is contraindicated for anyone with allergies to the daisy/aster family or for pregnant women. It's also contraindicated for anyone trying to conceive a baby. If you are taking other medications, think twice about adding another to the cocktail.

Native Plants

I went to an ethnobotany field seminar hosted by Friends of the Forest and the Salal Chapter of Native Plant Society. I used to live in Anacortes and hike the community forest lands almost every day. It felt great to return and hike around with a bunch of older ladies (and one gentleman). Denise who taught the workshop has worked as a naturalist in this area for over 20 years and began learning ethnobotany at Evergreen long before then. She's built some intimacy with the land and shared much knowledge. I jotted down some plant names and snapped photos to research later on the internet. Not quite the same as receiving her stories but I guess it's all part of the game.

Skunk cabbage in the summer is not quite as exciting as early February when the bright yellow flowers stink up the marsh, attracting their early pollinator beetles and flies. See the phallic pimply seed pod displayed in this photo. I always knew they smelled like a carcass, but I just learned the inside of the flower can generate heat up to 70 degrees - making it a thermogenic plant (although some sources say Western Skunk Cabbage is not one of these). Imagine the little beetles trekking around February's cold ground, finding way back into the heat lamp of the skunk cabbage. That sounds awfully cozy and smelly. The roots were eaten as famine food (worst case taste) and the large leaves to store berries.

 We can find Salal inside the city and in the woods since they are popular for native plant landscaping. To be honest I've never more than munched on a berry, but I understand them to be an important food source because they keep well. I learned the young leaves have been eaten as an appetite suppressant, especially important for gatherers - better to avoid eating so many before bringing home the berries! They are an excellent source of Vitamin C. I was fortunate to come across many young leaves as I was feeling quite hungry at the time. The leaves are said to be astringent, and may be taken as tea for reducing internal inflammation. As well they can make a poultice for insect bites and stings. Something to keep in mind among mosquitoes.

Oceanspray is a plant I've never given much thought until now. It just makes me think of the dried fruit company and sugary cranberries. It likes a lot of sun and can be found in younger stands of alder and cascara. And according to King County is a great to plant along the highway. The flowers in tea have been used to treat diarrhea, as well as the berries, to treat diarrhea, smallpox, chicken pox, and more generally as a blood tonic. It's wood is strong and was traditionally used to make tools and furniture. Denise mentioned their use for making baby-carrying frames. I'm wondering how well they'd hold up for backpacking frames!

I took this photo, not because you can really see what's growing but because we were told these were a bunch of wetland plants in the carrot family Apiaceae: water hemlock, water parsley and kneeling angelica. I'm always curious about the wild origins of our favorite cultivated vegetables. Kneeling angelica is a beautiful plant I see all the time I have confused with yarrow and queen anne's lace. The root has been used for headaches and their hollow stems for making drinking straws, whistles and breathing stems to remain underwater longer. We don't need all these plastic straws and snorkels!

I never really knew what this adorable plant was - Cleavers. Considered a noxious weed to some, and causing contact dermatitis for others, cleavers is in the same family as coffee and may serve as a coffee substitute with less caffeine. Apparently geese like to eat it too! this plant has been used as a blood purifier as well as a diuretic and lymphatic for swollen glands and skin problems. One study demonstrated cleavers to lower the blood pressure of dogs. Denise mentioned cleavers was traditionally used to treat HIV but I can't find any information online so far about that.

I hold Oregon Grape close to my heart. I love how abundant they are everywhere I go. I take the roots in tincture and tea form as an alterative - liver detoxing plant. I've seen it an ingredient in salves for it's antibacterial properties. This is a plant to consider in building up your body's own natural antibacterial resistance. Since plants are far more chemically compounded than pharmaceuticals, there's less chance of bacteria developing resistance to store bought creams and such. Though less powerful perhaps, I think they can be more effective long term. This blog encourages us to harvest bark rather than digging up roots to help protect the plant more. Especially important to keep in mind as more and more people turn to plants for medicine. I never thought of chewing the young leaves before but they were quite nice.

I think I've finally learned how to identify Western Hemlock. It looks like a spray of cedar needles except the branches don't curve back up to the sky and it's in the pine family. These trees help identify the more mature stands because they appear in the darker reaches of forest. It can live a long time and has been known to age over 1200 years! The young leaves, as pictured here can be enjoyably chewed or made into a bitter tea full of Vitamin C (we need as many natural sources of this as we can get!) I myself has not brushed my teeth yet and after chewing the needles felt much better. 

I sit here sipping an elderberry infused red wine and I write this. Last fall I went to a workshop with herbalist Corinne Boyer of Opals Apothecary in Olympia, focused on three plants, one which was elderberry. (She writes a useful herbal newsletter called the Gathering Basket she gives away for free!) That's when I made the infused wine. Not only are the berries delicious for making liquors, wines and cordials, it has been used for treating flu, allergies and as a respiratory tonic. In Traditional Chinese Medicine it's used for treating rheumatism. Their branches have been made into flutes. A plant pleasing to both the palette and the ear. 

Oh what a good it was! So much to learn.

Garlic Disease

It's a bit early for harvesting garlic, as we are in the third week of June. But many of the plants have started splitting in the outer layer, revealing their vulnerable insides. What to do? I started poking around online and came across other people talking about this on GardenWeb. It's possible overwatering is the culprit (same issue with the kale) although these beds are in our South facing yard where we've had plenty of sun this Spring.

Perhaps they are revolting due to lack of nutrients. Truthfully I placed no fertilizer in their beds. We had no compost at the time of planting and I didn't think to ammend the crop after we finally purchased some. Another truth I must share is I don't know what variety these are. I simply planted cloves from store-bought bulbs - perhaps, whatever variety they are, these plants are earlier to mature. (That being said I still don't feel it's quite time, as the leaves are still quite green - though most of the lower leaves are brown - and too, I planted them early spring, rather than last fall, so they didn't even overwinter.)

Room for growth: learning about organic fertilizers. Good Housekeeping said I should've applied fish emulsion and liquid seaweed. 

Broccoli Disease

It didn't need to happen. But our North facing bed filled with arugula, lemon balm, kale, broccoli and chard was getting overwatered. One day I was looking at one of the little broccoli plants deeply wilting. I saw lots and lots of ants crawling around the base of the stalk and the soil was broken up into fine particles. You can see the plant now is basically passed away :(

It seems most likely the plant suffered from Phytophthora megasperma, because the bed only get's 3-4 hours of sun a day. Because of that fact I'm ruling out the possibility the soil isn't properly draining. The easiest thing to do moving forward will be to avoid watering for some time. Some of the other plants were starting to wilt but I may have caught the problem just in time. I imagine drip irrigation would be the best plan for this particular bed to keep that steady proper supply. Otherwise I will have to learn to pay close attention to find the perfect time for watering.

It is June and the garden is becoming my mirror for how well I am caretaking my immediate environment. May I have many seasons to come in order to learn.

Greens

According to the Farmer's Almanac, this week will be a good time to: pull plant pests, mow grass or cut hair to retard growth, perform demolition, quit smoking., dig holes, cut firewood, or write.  Have other plans?  You might want to check the Farmer's Almanac Calendar first. 

My roommates and I are doing our best to keep up with our garden's Spring growth. As we put our transplants and seeds in we have to clear out all the little weed seedlings that appeared overnight. We've also been in the process of creating new beds for uncultivated parts of the yard. Adding in plenty of compost for growing heavier feeders like tomatoes and squashes. Since there are five of us living here, and everyone acts mysteriously, it's fun to return each time to the garden and observe what new work has been done, and guess who has done it.

We have three yards around our housing with varying degrees of sun reception. In the North facing yard we are experimenting with growing greens and Brassicas and roots. I think cultivating shade tolerant native perennials would be the best bet but no one wants to spend that kind of money. Best Shade-Tolerant Vegetables Instead we are growing kale in all areas of our tripartite yard to see how they each fare as the summer rolls around. I find myself walking around the back of the house, talking to the little plant starts, praying for them because I'm not sure they even get 3 hours of sun a day. We'll see what happens.

More Garlic

I purchased 12 bulbs of garlic from the store then broke them apart to yield 69 of their best cloves for planting. It's a drizzly, gray day in early March and I am planting garlic a little later then I would like, however I think it's still going to work out. I've had better success with fall plantings, but back in 2012 I planted both in the fall and late winter to provide for a full late summer harvest. We'll see - it's always a big wonder to me putting seed in the ground.

I created two separate bed for garlic, and am interplanting the rest of the cloves. I wonder how each mico-crop will do depending on where it is in the yard, due to mineral deposits or deficiencies from previous harvests. Or for the garlic interplanted: will they do better by themselves or with others?

Heaven in earth!

From an herbalist's perspective, garlic may be the wisest choice for anyone to grow. It's main active ingredient allicin is said to be antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antiviral. So it can be used topically for abrasions, inflammations or warts. It can be used internally to enhance immune system response to colds, flus, and autoimmune diseases. It also contains antioxidants, which trap free radicals in the body. Studies have demonstrated garlic kills cancer cells, roundworms, ringworm, athlete's foot, and staph.

If you are taking garlic and the allicin is interacting with toxic cells or other medications in your body you may experience side effects (of course). Stomachache, bloating, body odor, headache, fatigue are all symptoms that your body is detoxing. They are not necessarily bad, just signals to pay attention to, that are mostly a result of your own dietary choices. People on blood thinners should especially be careful, since garlic is also a blood thinner, reducing blood pressure. Something for people with lower blood pressure to pay attention to as well.

Peas & Roses

I've started pruning roses around our house, there are seven plants. Some are quite tall and unruly (after having been pruned sporadically in previous years) so it will take awhile.

As I go out into the yard I need to remember these points:
* Open the center of the plant for air circulation and light
* Make clean cuts ( at 45 degree angle)
* Clear out the broken, dying, diseased, dead wood
* Remove the weak twiggy branches thinner then a pencil
* Remove last year's foliage

Additionally I threw down some pea seeds! All along the fenceline where they'll have something easy to climb up on. It's sure to rain the next several days so perfect timing. It's the first time I actually got peas in by President's Day (perhaps I will be too early, we'll see) They are the Oregon Trail variety that are supposed to grow 30 inches tall, so hopefully the bamboo stakes will be tall and strong enough.

(Here is a link to a previous post I wrote about pruning roses back in March 2012: Above Golden Gardens.)