How to Make Herbal Ice Cubes
Herbal ice cubes are versatile little powerhouses of medicine. Store a batch of calendula ice cubes in your freezer to treat minor burns and scrapes. Put nettle ice cubes in your pets’ drinking water on a hot day to keep their electrolyte balance in check. Toss a few lemon balm ice cubes into your glass to add zest to your iced tea. The list of uses for herbal ice cubes is endless.
Autumn Herb Preservation Notes
OSU Extension Service Workshop 2009 Sue Sierralupé – Instructor Use of Herbs Culinary vs Medicinal Culinary- focus on preserving flavor in essential oils Culinary presentation – color is in flavonoids Medicinal – focus on preserving constituents for healing properties Entire plant may have medicinal value Preservation Varieties Herbal Vinegars Herbal Wines and Liquors Herbal Oils […]
Herbal Teas from Your Backyard to Your Teapot
Garden Herb Lists OSU Mini-College Workshop Sue Sierralupé – Instructor Weeds as Herbs Dandelion – Taraxacum off. – collect roots in fall, flowers and leaves in spring – Detoxification Chickweed – Stellaria med. – collect greens in spring – Anti-inflammatory St. John’s Wort – Hypericum per. – collect flowers and leaves in summer – Repairs […]
Tips for Donating Blood The Practical Herbalist® Way
Nettle is an herb that’s high in iron, so I drink a cup of nettle tea every day. I prefer to combine the nettle with green tea to help control my allergies. Raspberry leaf and horsetail also are high in iron, so I often throw a scoop of these herbs in the mix as an easily digestible supplement. I like to drink a cup of Iron Booster Tea every day when I’m feeling weary. It helps give me the charge I need to get through me day without relying on caffeine whether I am donating blood or not.
Herbal Crossword Puzzle
This easy crossword puzzle shows kids they already have a lot of herbal wisdom. Download the puzzle and the answers by clicking on the following links. The files are PDFs so you will need Acrobat Reader. Kids Herbal Crossword Puzzle Kids Herbal Crossword Puzzle Answer Key
Harvest Your Own Rose Hips: Tips and Tricks for Perfect Hips
As cold weather creeps back into Oregon, the settling temperatures help develop the fruit of roses in our own backyards. This fruit is a sweet treat called rose hips. Rose hips have had a place on the dinner table for generations.
Herbal Tips for Eliminating Cat Urine from a Floor
The smell of cat urine is overwhelming. The causes for a cat’s inappropriate urination can be complex. Too many indoor cats with not enough places to pee is the most frequent cause. Cats can choose to pee indoors if they feel threatened by a new baby, a new pet, or a family member they feel […]
Creating the Snail-Free Garden: All-Natural Tips for the Organic Gardener
Gardens are full of life. Some of that life, like the snail population, isn’t good for the garden.The biggest snail invader in Oregon gardens is the Brown Garden Snail, which was originally imported to San Francisco in the 1850s for escargot. This tiny menace can denude a tray of unsuspecting tomato starts in one night. The organic gardener has several effective tools available for defense that are not only safe for pets and children but are also good for the garden.
Easy Tips for Ripening Green Tomatoes
Gardeners become desperate to salvage their crops as autumn lowers the thermostat. While the daytime temperatures are warm enough to ripen tomatoes, nighttime temperatures threaten developing fruit. These crops aren’t doomed to rot as many backyard horticulturists fear. A few simple steps can be taken to ripen green tomatoes.
Natural Tips for a Wire Worm-Free Garden
Wire worms love fleshy roots like potatoes, radishes, parsnips, and carrots. They don’t usually kill a plant but will leave a gardener’s labor of love riddled with holes and nicks that are only discovered after those tasty root crops are pulled from the ground. Some damage by these villains can be mistaken for slug or snail damage but remember, slugs and snails are surface feeders. Holes in produce occurring underground are from voracious wire worms, the larvae of the click beetle. Organic gardeners have an advantage over the conventional gardener since the click beetles are notorious for their rapid recovery rate from chemical pesticides. These thin, yellowish grubs leave behind veggies that can be salvaged by cutting out the damage in the kitchen. The best prevention of wire worm damage starts in the seed bed.
Top 7 Reasons to Plant Oregon Grape in Your Garden
Oregon Grape offers an array of health benefits to the wise gardener. Those who aren’t interested in harvesting the root still love Oregon grape for it’s durability and drought tolerance. The first step in using Oregon Grape wisely is to correctly identify it. Garden shops may have one of two botanical names attached to the […]
Easy Tips for Deer-Proofing Your Garden
Deer are graceful creatures to observe in natural settings. The romance wears off when you see the damage they’ve raked through your flower beds. As human habitation spreads more thickly, the deer’s natural predators are being forced out, leaving our vegetarian garden predators in paradise–no enemies and plenty of well tended delicacies lovingly arranged for optimum dining. Deer particularly appreciate expensive, pampered plants like roses, turning the joys of gardening into an unpleasant war for the gardener.