A Walk In The Park

Back in April I posted about noxious weeds in the Puget Sound area after wondering about all the weeds in my garden. What I should come to understand about them before weeding them out. My roommate sent me a link to this blog about edible weeds: http://www.eattheweeds.com/ Well this man is working out of FL so obviously the plants will be different. I like his acronym "ITEM" which signifies an ethic toward reasonable wildcrafting.

[I] Identify - the plant (no pretending)

[T] Timing - consider the plant's needs, should you be harvesting right now?

[E] Environment - is right here a proper place to eat from?

[M] Method - be careful (do it for the kids)

I recently went for a walk in the park (Boeing Creek in Shoreline), December 24, 2012 to see what is growing. I brought one of my guide books. Northwest Foraging by Doug Benoliel If it were back in the day and I had to rely on berries, plants and roots, what could I reasonably eat from this park? I was mostly curious about edible greens. I saw a lot of Oregon Grape.

As for environment, I'd harvest from this sweet little, woodland. I used to run these trails back in Cross Country. Here is a nice, historical article about the park: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_Creek And atleast one review on Yelp recommends the park for smoking pot and harvesting Indian Plum (not the time of year for that one). But most of all how could I say no to this beautiful log formation?

I saw one plant with enough abundance and large leaves just perfect for a salad. But I didn't know what it was. The book I had with my demonstrated no similar pictures. No answers.

Now King County has a great archive of "noxious weed photographs" http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification.aspx for people like me without a mentor to follow. Though they are largely organized by flower color and now is not this plant's time of year for flowers. You can send them your photos though through email and they will help you identify it.

Needless to say my ITEMs weren't checking out so I left the park with only a few photographs.

Jasmine Dream Medicine

I am drinking Jasmine tea as I write this.

Herbalist Corinne Boyer came into my dream last night with jasmine berries like a gift from God. Before I went to bed I decided I wanted to remember something from my dreams tonight. She had visited our community house and stayed the night. We'd had a huge feast and I was in the kitchen the next morning taking care of a huge pile of dishes. She was attending to my friend Desiree who was getting ready to leave for work and came up to me with a jar of granola she'd made. She told me the berries were jasmine and blueberries. The jasmine was a pink berry. I looked these plants up online because other than knowing blueberries are "superfruits" antioxidants I don't know much about them.

Jasmine is in the olive family (Oleaceae) and is valued for it's perfume and incense. It grows in subtropical and tropical zones but has been naturalized in some mediterranean climates. The flower only opens at night. It is more of a ritual flower than medicine - though rituals are a powerful medicine - in marriages, religious ceremony, and festivals. In Thailand they are a symbol for motherhood. They are the national flower in countries such as Indonesia, Pakistan, and the Phillipines. The name is derived from Yasameen ("gift from God") through Arabic and Latin. (Info from Wikipedia...) Check out these beautiful images:

Also the plant is medicinal and is more often used in Women's Health, particularly in Ayurvedic medicine. Some properties include: astringent, antibacterial, antiviral, cooling, bitter. It is said to treat breast cancer, stimulate the uterus, calm nerves and act as an aphrodesiac (probably in aromatherapy). Specifically in aromatherapy jasmine treats depression and is used during childbirth. Because it's said to be an emmenagogue (stimulate blood flow in pelvic area and uterus) an emollient (soothing and softening) and galactagogue (increasing milk supply).

More information: http://www.ageless.co.za/herb-jasmine.htm

Holiday Barter of Herbs

Last night I attended Backyard Barter's Holiday Barter at Sunset Hill Community Center. I was a bit disappointed by the turnout this year but was glad to offer two kinds of salves, an herbal lube (a hot item - I will have to make more of that) and green tomato cranberry chutney.

 

It was an enjoyable Monday night at the end of November. Tables were set up to fill the perimeter of the room. 2-3 people shared a table; I was next to Bridget's conch mushroom forages and elephant garlic from her garden. Candles were lit throughout the room and a woman was in the back offering reiki healing.

 

A woman asked me what I plan to do with these products I make and suggested I consider a booth at a Farmer's Market. Since some legislation just passed that allows people to create products and directly sell them to customers without the required use of a certifed commercial kitchen. I am looking into that a bit more but would have to get really organized. I'm not sure I want to sink costs into producing herbal medicines but I'll stay open to the idea. Perhaps I'll chat up some people at the Fremont Market this Sunday. http://www.fremontmarket.com/FAQ_2010.html

Putting the Garden to Bed?

Went to a workshop at Swanson's last Saturday about preparing garden beds for winter. Besides the garlic and other herbs we will not be growing food here. Most of the beds will have cover crop (Faba Beans and Austrian Pea). Other than that I'm collecting the falling leaves to place down as mulch. The mulch will help protect the soil from erosion. So far the rains have been exposing rocks, which has been good to remove from the beds. Better not to encourage too much erosion though. I wonder how long the leaves will last before they decay though.

 

 

 

I wonder if we should transplant the catnip and other herbs in pots. They say it's better to have plants in the ground rather than in pots, which may not survive deep freezes. What will we get this winter?

 

 

Here is a nice little chore list for preparing winter: http://gardening.about.com/od/fallinthegarden/a/NovGarden.htm?nl=1

 

This is the worksheet Swanson's provided last Saturday: http://www.swansonsnursery.com/PDF/1_GENERAL/Putting%20the%20Garden%20to%20Bed.pdf

Herbs With Heart

Poppyswap.com just sent an email out titled "Emotional Herbs" listing products prepared for easing heart pain sure to come in to the winter months. I followed one link to the "Tranquility Tincture" created by Wise Mountain Botanicals so that I can see what ingrediants they are working with. It is a blend of: Lemon Balm, Lavender, Skullcap, Motherwort, and Chamomile. I have these herbs sitting in jars right now that I may as well turn into a tincture. Many of the folks I'm talking to right now are having a hard time emotionally, just like I am. A gift just in time for the holidays.

Herb Digest has been showing posts lately regarding Hawthorn. I went to a workshop recently about the connection between Hawthorn and the heart. It's right there in the rhyme. I recently picked up Traditional Medicinal's "Heart Tea" because it was on sale at PCC for $1. Unbelievable. It's a blend of Hawthorn and Hibiscus, and when steeped produces a beautiful red color. Besides that I have a little bag of Hawthorn berries I've been saving to brew in a kombucha tea.

I am particularly interested in Hawthorn for strong cardiovascular health because heart disease runs on both sides of my family - but also for it's capacity in emotional healing. Hawthorn is said to relax the arteries, stimulating healthy blood pressure. It also acts as an antioxidant and works synergistically with the body's Vitamin E levels. Apparently in experimentally-induced heart attacks in animals, as well as in animals fed high-cholesteral diets, hawthorn use has been shown to protect the liver (aiding detoxification) and to reduce cholesterol levels by 23%.

Here is an article put out by Science Daily regarding the physiological affects of Hawthorn use: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080122203321.htm

If the body and mind are intimately connected, then a heart relaxant must certainly help relax one's emotions. I am experimenting with this on my self right now. How is this plant different from the herbs in the Tranquility Tonic or something like St Johns Wort?

Tincture Time

Today is full moon (12:49PM PST) and so is an ideal time to begin tinctures. Just in time for Halloween. Some folks say you should start tinctures on New Moon and steep them for a couple weeks but I prefer the full moon process. Let the moon work it's waning magic then wax into potency.  I used Woodinville Whiskey Co. Vodka and am making preparations for Yohimbe Bark and American Ginseng.

The way to make tinctures is by pouring 80 proof + alcohol into an airtight container, covering all of the herb/bark content, with a couple inches of room. http://www.kcweb.com/herb/tincture.htm  Remove them from the light (I'm keeping mine covered with a black sweater) and shake once a day, stirring attention.

Why should you believe in the power of tinctures? First you must believe in the potency of plant medicine. The first layer of that depends on the growing conditions of the plant, particularly in the health of the soil. I purchased these herbs from apothecaries, and even though I can have a certain amount of confidence in their "organic" label - I don't really know what the soil conditions are. I also can't be sure of their shelf life, another factor contributing to how effective these tinctures will end of being.

The next layer of potency has to do with the extraction process. Since I am steeping the barks in liquid for one month without heating them, I don't risk destroying volatile oil content. Also the alcohol helps preserve the plant constituents in a way that brewing a tea cannot. The shelf life lasts years longer. Other benefits include lower dosage requirements (a small number of drops compared to however many cups of tea or numbers of capsules) that are assimilated into the body quicker.

Which plants to make tinctures out of? What plant medicine do you need?
Yohimbe http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/759.html
Ginseng http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/967.html

Drying Out Cold Relief

I just spent the evening processing eucalyptus leaves to dry with the rest of my dried herb collection - wildcrafted, or gifts from other gardeners. Some of them are ready to be put to use. Rosemary, two kinds of mint, spearmint, oregano, alder bark, pineapple sage, calendula, and savory.

Not too sure what I'm going to do with each of them. I previously made a tea of rosemary and nettle to settle allergies. That combined with mint could make a great tea. The rosemary (there's a ton of it), oregano and sage will be great for culinary purposes of course. Also oregano, an antioxidant and antimicrobial is said to make a good cold remedy, so will have to be added to that tea.

I'm excited about the alder bark. I harvested it from Enchanted Valley recently. The tree can be found all over Seattle - a sweet native tree. Indigenous use treated poison oak, insect bites, and skin irritations. I've also read it's good for treating colds (and here we are in cold season). Alder contains lupeol, a compound that is antimicrobial, antinflammatory and, apparently, antitumor. I could use the bark to make a tincture. Or a salve.

I've never used savory before, but looking it up now I see it's in the mint family and is typically used as a digestive aid - like mint. A friend recently requested a digestive tea. So perhaps I will combine all the lamiaceae's into a tea (rosemary, oregano, mint, spearmint, pineapple sage, savory). That could be fun. An antimicrobial, cold relief digestive tea. Just perfect to last the winter.