Useful For: Kidney Stones, avoiding birth defects, cardiovascular system, headaches
Herbal Sources: Alfalfa, bladderwrack, catnip, cayenne, chickweed, dandelion, eyebright, fennel, fenugreek, hops, horsetail, lemongrass, licorice, mullein, nettle, oatstraw, parprika, parsley, peppermint, raspberry leaf, red clover, sage shepherd’s purse, yarrow, yellow dock
Food Sources:
Herbs: Bilberry, Alfalfa, Borage Leaves, Burdock Root, Cayenne, Chickweed, Eyebright, Butcher’s Broom, Horse Chestnut, Hawthorn
Foods: Kale, Spinach
Vitamins and Supplements: Omega 3, Vitamin c, Vitamin E, Vitamin B, Vitamin A, Lycopene, Lutene, Zinc
Actions:
Aromatherapy:
Folk Remedies:
Things to Avoid:
Use a pot 2 feet wide, and 3 feet deep
Spring
As early as you can planet – mustard or other Asian Green of your choice in the center. Bush snap peas inset a little from the rim of the pot. Plant pansies in between.
Summer
Cut off peas at ground level. Remove remnants. In late May, transplant a tomato plant into the center and stake it. Around August, direct sow kale under the tomato, removing lower leaves as needed. Thin to six inches apart.
Fall
Cut tomato off at ground level when it fades, so as not to dislodge the kale. Clean up as needed, and plant (yellow) tulips where there is available space.
Use a container 1.5 feet wide, and 8 inches deep
Spring:
Direct sow looseleaf lettuce, chervil, calendula
Summer:
Transplant one hot pepper plant into the center. Remove lettuce (should be pretty well done). Add cilantro.
Fall:
More lettuce, arugala, and scallions
I have not tested all of these, but wanted to have the ideas as a reference to hand.
Use to remove crayon from walls.
Can remove stains from carpet.
Sometimes can assist with tough stains in clothing or shoes
Cleaning piano keys.
Cleaning chrome.
Cleaning your nails.
Defogger.
Useful For: Water balance, muscles, nervous system, heart
Herbal Sources: Catnip, Hops, Horsetail, Nettle, Plantain, Red Clover, Sage, Scullcap
Food Sources: Potatos, Benanas, papayas, edamame, tomato sauce, spinach, oranges, celery, cabbage, seaweed
Other notes: Potassium is not something to try to get from supplements. When not gained through food, potassium has a tendency to build up in the body, which can lead to very serious medical conditions.
Herbs: Licorice, Oatstraw, Scullcap (particularly good cut with warm milk)
Foods:
Vitamins and Supplements: Vitamin C, Vitamin B, Calcium, Magnesium, Omega 3’s
Actions:
Aromatherapy:
Folk Remedies:
Things to Avoid:
Calendula – Anti-fungal, Anti-inflammatory, antiseptic
Chamomile – Anti-fungal, soothing, cleansing, good for reducing persistent inflammation. Especially recommended for around the eyes.
Elder Flower – A gentle cleanser, toner, and astringent. Elder flower can also be used to reduce inflammation.
Lavender Flower – Though slightly drying, it is soothing, reduces inflammation, and cleanses.
Lime (or Linden) Flower – Similar to chamomile, especially good for aging skin.
Mallow – Gentle anti-inflammatory will soothe irritated skin.
Mint – Tonifier
Rosemary – Antiseptic, toning, and vitalizing. Will improve blood circulation. Add Yarrow for a more potent astringent effect.
Thyme – Strong anti-bacterial herb, it can be effective as a skin wash for acne or other infections. Use with calendula or chamomile for a more soothing effect.
Yarrow – Toner, astringent, antiseptic. Good for aging or damaged skin.
Manage everything you plant organically.
Grow your garden for wildlife, as well as people. This will encourage beneficial insects and predators.
Learn your bugs. Some are good, some are bad. Once you start to know the difference, knowing which ones to squish or remove becomes far easier.
Play to your garden’s strengths, by figuring out and utilizing its characteristics.
Make soil care a priority.
Make your own compost and leaf mold. Cuts back on the amount of stuff you are sending to the dump, and helps the garden at the same time.
Reuse and recycle what you can, where you can. The less we stick in landfills, the better.
Whenever you can, use organic seeds.
Take environmental impact into account when choosing materials for your landscaping. Where it comes from and how it is collected is as important as what it is made of, in the grand scheme of things.
Collect rainwater, and reduce the need for watering by improving soil and choosing appropos plants.
Make local sourcing your first choice.
Use traditional methods where it makes sense to.
Science is your friend to. Not all of what comes out of research is chemically based or inappropriate for organic gardening.
Stop using artificial fertilizers.
Give up bonfires.
Control weeds without using herbicides.
Avoid the use of pesticides and treated wood.
Say not to GMO.
Choose weird heirloom varieties to grow from time to time. Diversity is good, and growing something threatened here and there is a way to assist with that.
Did a bunch of research because our godson brought home some snails from school, wanting to keep them as pets. His gardening club had found them in and amongst their plants.
Random Snail Facts:
To start with, depending on the species of snail, apparently they can live 8 to 15 years. (Ours did not, but more on that in a bit.) Snails are hermaphroditic, both male and female. Most species still need to mate to produce eggs. A scant number are capable of self-reproduction.
A single snail can lay 200-400 eggs every season. This can cause drastic complications in your snail tank, if you do manage to keep conditions appropriate enough to cause a snail-splosion. We somehow managed to. Because of this, we discovered that snails will resort to a form of cannibalism if you cannot keep enough calcium available in the tank for all of them. Our small snails would climb onto our larger snails. At first we thought this was a form of social interaction, and some of it may have been. However, we started noticing “trails” in the larger snails shells…. left by the baby ones as they ate the grown snails’ shells to help form their own. We took 50-100 baby snails out of the tank every time we did a cleaning, and still ended up losing the older ones due to shell weakening and complications that came out of it. So, no matter how cute they seem, if your snails manage to breed, get as many of them out of your primary tank as you can.
Snails do like social interaction with other snails, so keeping more than one is a good idea. However, if you think you will be releasing your snails at some point, don’t mix local and exotic species.
Snails are harmless, and you can handle them without issue, as long as you do it gently and do not pick them up by the shell. Slide your finger under the snail’s body, or offer it food, and then pick up the food and the snail together. You should wash your hands before and after handling. Snails also enjoy baths. We used to bathe them (light stream of water to clean off the shells and body) every time we cleaned the tank, and it seemed to make them happy. Granted, gauging snail happiness is an odd sort of thing.
Care and Keeping of Snails:
Keep snails in a clear, well-ventilated aquarium. You definitely want a sturdy and secure lid, as snails are surprisingly strong. From our observations, they really like climbing things, so making the inside of the aquarium interesting is a good idea. They enjoy it, and were surprisingly interesting to watch.
Keep the aquarium itself in a safe place – avoid direct sunlight, and make sure they are not near any chemicals or direct heat.
Cover the bottom of the aquarium with something springy – peat moss, cocoa fibres, coir, etc… You want to keep it damp, but not wet.
Humidity inside the tank should be 60-70%. Keep a dish of water inside, and spray as needed. Clean the aquarium weekly, including the snails themselves. Post-bath snails were fun to watch, as they would suddenly become much more zippy. Do not use vinegar or detergents to clean out their area – stick with water and patience and elbow grease.
As far as food goes, snail diet is varied, and something you can experiment with. Our set were just garden snails, and they had different food preferences. Overall, go with green plant matter and a calcium source. Dandelions are actually a really good choice, as they are a green with a ton of calcium. Spinach is similar. Most of ours truly loved carrots, and dandelion greens always went before any other green matter. They also liked leeks. As far as calcium sources – fish bones work, as do egg shells, and so do any old snail shells that you might find in your garden or yard. You can also use baby milk powder, or straight bone-meal.