Around here

As the days just seem to run into each other lately I have been trying to achieve something each day so that I don't feel like I am completely wasting my time. Our teaching English volunteer jobs are still on hold and I don't have that weekly lesson slotted into my timetable. So I have started writing a list of what I want to do each day to keep me on track.

Building up your immunity

As  regular readers would know we have cancelled our Simple Living Toowoomba workshops for the time being due to the current crisis caused by the Corona virus. We had planned to have a workshop on herbs in May which Joan from Budgee Garlic and Herbs was going to present but unfortunately it had to be postponed. 

Preparing for 2018's Winter Chills

Last year I made a version of Fire Cider for the first time. I was disappointed at the time to find that the horseradish I had planted didn't grow very well so I planted the root again and hoped for a better outcome this year. I have two plants in the ground and one in a large pot so I firstly had a look at the one in the pot and wasn't terribly happy but there was enough of the root to use in a bottle of Fire Cider. I still have to dig up the roots in the ground which hopefully have grown larger and will make up another bottle using the recipe from last year but will add horseradish as well.

Simple Living Toowoomba startup

We had our first Simple Living Toowoomba workshop for the year this morning and obviously the topic of herbs was extremely popular as we had more people there than we have had before except perhaps for the toothbrush rag rug workshop which, by the way, is being repeated in winter all being well.

Any weeds at your place?

We have had a fair bit of rain during winter which we keep being told was very unusual although it did remind me of the winters we used to have but perhaps not as cold. So now we have weeds everywhere which are very hard to keep under control when you have 1/2 acre and are getting a bit long in the tooth!

September ~ A Busy Month

What a busy month September is shaping up to be! Our city has so many events on it is hard to choose what to go to. Our annual Carnival of Flowers will be held from 16-25 September and with the recent rain the gardens will be looking even more stunning than usual.

Nettle Soap Update

You may remember that I made an experimental batch of Nettle Soap a little over a month ago. The six weeks of drying time isn't up as yet but I couldn't resist cutting off a small piece to try it out.

 

Nasturtium Sauce

While the nasturtiums are flowering I thought I would take the opportunity to experiment with as few recipes just in case the CEO gets a burst of enthusiasm for weeding and decides to pull them out. As I had recently dusted off Isabell Shipard's book How Can I Use Herbs In My Daily life?while doing some research on nettles as mentioned in my last post Nettle Fertiliser, I thought I would check out the section on nasturtiums and came across a recipe for Nasturtium Sauce so made some up and it is now brewing away in a cupboard for 2 months.

Golden Milk

Have you ever heard of 'Golden Milk'? During our last summer, when those in the Northern Hemisphere were enduring a particularly cold winter, I seemed to come across quite a few references to a warm milk containing Turmeric and Ginger which was used to fight colds and flu. The addition of Turmeric gives the beverage a lovely golden colour...hence the name I guess.

Focus on Herbs: Gotu Kola

Last November our three Gotu Kola plants arrived safely from Shipard's Herb Farm and I was very keen to get this herb growing well as it has wonderful medicinal properties.It is also known as Pennywort, Indian Pennywort, Indian Ginseng, Horse-hoof Grass, Gotu Cola and Gota Kola.

Herbs in Focus: Aloe Vera

I imagine everyone has heard of Aloe Vera. When our children were little we had it growing near the house in case they ever burnt themselves so that we could pick and apply it quickly. Just recently though I discovered that we had a larger leafed Aloe Vera plant growing in the front yard which had been given to my husband by a friend a few years ago. I had never really taken any notice of it thinking it was a cactus as it was much larger and had a lighter coloured green leaf than the plant we had grown in the past.

Focus on Herbs: Herb Robert

One of my favourite herbs is Herb Robert. Other common names are St.Robert, Storkbill, Cranesbill, Red Robin, Fox geranium, Bloodwort and St.Robert's Wort. It is an annual which grows to approximately 30cm and has stems and leaves which are covered in tiny hairs. The pretty flowers have petals with three steaks of white which start at the centre and phase out along the petal.



Focus on Herbs: Stevia

 

As I am attempting to make better use of the herbs we have growing, this week I concentrated on getting to know more about stevia. Most people would already know it can be used as a sweetener in place of sugar. However, the stevia which you buy in the supermarket is white unlike the green powder that is produced after drying and grinding the herb at home.

 

Focus on Herbs: BRAHMI

 

We have several herbs growing here that I would like to use more often and one of those is Brahmi. We saw it at our local Gardenfest last year and actually bought it because the nursery rep said it was 'good for the brain'. Well, he had our attention as soon as he said that as my husband and I are both becoming forgetful so thought we would see if it would grow in our climate.

 

Herb stocktake

We have a lot of herbs growing on our 1/2 acre and some of them are really in need of some TLC so I though I would take a photo of them all and also take note of what we actually have and do some research on what growing conditions will make them thrive. I tend to forget what we have growing sometimes so need to have a record so that I can make sure they are being looked after.

 

Beetroot 'Cylindrica'

A few months ago we ordered some beetroot  'Cylindrica' seeds from Green Harvest as I had come across a reference to them when I was searching for some pickling recipes for using up the excess beetroot that we had in the garden. We now have the beetroot growing in our watersaver garden which we installed in September.

 

My Gotu Kola arrived!

"2 leaves a day keep old age away!' That's what is said of Gotu Kola! I had read about the benefits of Gotu Kola in Isabell Shipard's book 'How can I use HERBS in my daily life?' so ordered some from Shipard's Herb Farm last week and they arrived via courier yesterday.

Now that's why you need to wear your glasses!!!

I felt like a goose today. I had rung Isabell Shipard's herb farm on Friday with an enquiry about the Sprout and Vegetable Sauerkraut which I had made recently and, seeing as I found myself talking to Isabell herself, I asked her about the Brahmi plant as I wasn't sure that the plant we had growing and thought was Brahmi was actually the real deal. She asked me to send her a photo so that she could identify the plant.

 

I bought the plant some months ago and it was growing slowly during winter then we had a couple of frosts which I don't think the Brahmi liked so we put it under cover to protect it till the frosts were over. I didn't take a lot of notice of it there but it seemed to be growing alright.

 

 

Then the warmer weather came along at the end of a mild winter and the next thing I knew the plant had all these clusters of pink flowers on it and I was very excited as I wanted to start using it as is good for the memory apparently. Any help in that department is appreciated these days.

 

Then hubby came inside with an identical plant with pink flowers that he had found out in the garden somewhere and said that he didn't think we had Brahmi growing anymore. So I took some photos and sent them to Isabell and she replied today that it wasn't Brahmi as the flowers don't grow in clusters like that and she referred me to her herb book which I bought recently and sure enough our plant didn't look like the photo in her book.

 

 

 Brahmi

 

So then I put my glasses on and pulled out the pretty clusters of pink flowers and what did I find languishing beneath....the poor Brahmi!

 



 

 There isn't a lot left but Isabell said to put some liquid seaweed or something similar on it now and to apply it weekly.

 

 

This photo was taken when we first planted it months ago so it looks like it is back to square one with getting it to grow. Hopefully it likes the warm weather and will thrive.

 

I did feel silly sending a photo of goodness knows what to Isabell! Hopefully she had a laugh but I have learned my lesson and from now on I will put my glasses on when I am trying to identify plants.

 

I can recommend Isabell's herb farm for anyone wanting to buy seeds or herbs and I have just ordered some Gotu Kola which apparently helps with the pain caused by arthritis, Pennyroyal which deters ants, flies and fleas and Soapwort which I want to try out as it has detergent qualities.  

 

Glasses are annoying to wear but they do come in handy sometimes! :-)