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We’ve had a couple light frosts, but our first hard freeze is coming in a few days. I have harvested melons, tomatoes, peppers, squash, and pumpkins – and some herbs- but root crops and cole crops (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower) will last a bit longer. That being said, they don’t like a hard freeze, so today… Read more
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Isn’t she beautiful? Melissa is one of my favorite herbs. She is a mint (Lamiaceae), so she will spread, but mine has been exceptionally well-behaved. She stays in a raised bed made of a tractor tire, hanging out with her friend Violet (Viola odorata). Lemon balm looks a lot like mint, but if you crush… Read more
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Just look at her! I imagine this plant as a mom with unbrushed hair that is just losing her mind and shaking her head and screaming. Surprisingly, I’ve had folks from out of state nod knowingly and say, “Oh. You grow your own.” No – it’s not marijuana. Please don’t steal and smoke all my… Read more
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To state the obvious, food prices are insane. And I am enough of a Midwestern/Southern girl, that having a can of cream of fill-in-the-blank soup means I can fix a casserole with anything. But those cream soups get expensive. Looking at Walmart online, they are 72 cents a can today. (I know, I really need… Read more
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It’s getting to be that time of year. Wednesday night, our low is 38*. Not enough really even for a frost, but it’s got me thinking of what has to be done before our first freeze. Gardening…. any ‘warm season’ crops will be pulled before the first frost (I’m hoping for another week or two).… Read more
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Oh my. Nothing more refreshing than mint. Mint tea, mint ice cream, mint brownies, mint in aqua fresca…. mmmm. Mint is a really versatile herb. Most people think of it as being for digestion, and that is true – with limitations. Mint (specifically peppermint) is also a relaxant. So if your belly issues are related… Read more
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Isn’t it pretty? I have been really blessed this year with a bumper crop of gumweed. It grows wild in our pasture in NE Colorado and I harvest it from there as I am able to. This year, I’ve made both oil and tincture from it. Side note – the constituents in Grindelia spp. (species… Read more
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My first post on this blog for herbs. The first of many, many posts on herbs (I hope!) First, Latin binomials (genus species names) are important, and this herb is a very good reason why. Common mallow refers to several different plants, like Sida cordifolia or Malva neglecta. To state the obvious, different plants have… Read more
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It’s that time of year again – the zucchini gets away from me and the next thing I know, they’re the size of my leg (thankfully, I’m pretty short!). There are quite a few recipes floating around, but I hate it when I try a recipe and it doesn’t turn out. So I was nice… Read more
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I recently gave a talk at our local library on hydration. We tend to think dehydration only happens in the summer, but it can happen any time we have an imbalance in our intake and output. Think winter when we have a virus with vomiting or diarrhea, or a really dry climate where we are… Read more
Saving money, time, energy. And chatting about herbs.