Herb of the Week -- Bee Balm

It's Friday, and that means a visit to Fertilizer Friday over at Tootsie Time.
Check out her blog party and see what other people have blooming in their gardens.

The herb of the week this week is Bee Balm (monarda)
Monarda is a genus consisting of roughly 16 species of both annual and perennial plants also known as bee balm, horse mint or lemon mint (being, technically a member of the mint family), oswego tea, or bergamot.

Bee Balm is edible and medicinal, the entire plant above ground is edible used as a pot herb, and it is also used as a flavoring in cooked foods.

(pot·herb: A plant whose leaves, stems, or flowers are cooked and eaten or used as seasoning.)

This is a brand new addition to our garden this year. I had never grown it before, and had only heard of it briefly before last year.

I got our plant at a perennial swap this spring. A group of students from a botany class at the local high school grew several different plants and then brought them to the swap. Their mission, (or assignment, perhaps), was to educate people on the plants they had brought, then trade them for different plants, which they then had to take back to the school and study. So they didn't care what they traded for, as long as it was something they didn't already have.

I wish there had been such a fun class when I was in school, I may have paid attention more.

The plant that I have is reported to have bright red flowers, but it has not yet bloomed. Supposedly it blooms in June and July, if so, mine better hurry!


The variety with Red flowers is also called Oswego Tea. It was used by American colonists in place of English Tea after the Boston Tea Party, when they threw the English tea in the harbor to protest the high taxes imposed on it by the British.

Bee balm is considered a good plant to grow with tomatoes, as it is said to improve both health and flavor. It also is a good companion plant in general, attracting pollinators and some predatory/parasitic insects that hunt garden pests.

It can be grown from seeds or cuttings, and will grow quickly and if not kept in control, can become aggressive. Like most herbs, it prefers full sun to partial shade, and likes well drained, slightly alkali soil. It can be grown in clumps or masses for a nice effect as a background plant. Planting 18 inches apart would allow plenty of room.

Although not widely used as a culinary herb, largely because it is not really well known or understood, Bee Balm has a flavor slightly citrus and very slightly reminiscent of mint and oregano. It is good with fruit, in salads, in jellies, or with lamb, or wild game. It can also be used in teas or as a garnish. The flowers are edible and are often used with fruit compotes or as a garnish for desserts.
Our Bee Balm, right after it was planted
Medicinally, generally as a tea, it is reported to have beneficial properties that include improving general digestion, easing flatulence, improving appetite, relieving colic, reducing bloating, alleviating menstrual cramping, and reducing nausea and vomiting.

Externally, bee balm is a wonderful aromatherapy herb. Try placing a handful of fresh leaves in a cloth and positioning it under hot running bath water for a relaxing, lemony scented bath. Deeply breathing in the steam may also help relieve cold symptoms such as sore throat, fever, and congestion.

Bee Balm has also shown some merit as an antiseptic and antibacterial, and a clean cloth can be soaked in a tea and used as a compress, or an ointment can be made to help relieve pain and speed healing for minor wounds, insect stings, and for relief of eczema, psoriasis, cold sores, and clearing up acne.

There is some literature that suggests that Bee Balm should not be ingested if there is a history of thyroid problems, and of course, anyone who is pregnant or nursing should use care and seek advise of a professional before using any herb medicinally.

Although Bee Balm leaves can be rubbed directly on the skin as a mosquito repellent, on some people it may cause phototoxicity (sensitivity to the sun), so using undiluted is not recommended without first testing on a small area of skin.
A month after we planted it
Bee Balm uses in folklore and magic are surprisingly rather sketchy and hard to find.
It is ideal for purifying and relaxation spells, when leaves and flowers
are tied in a cloth and placed under hot running bathwater. Because of this, it is considered a good addition to spells or rituals concerning peace, happiness, contentment, restfulness, and ridding oneself of negative energies or hexes.

Bee Balm is bound to Air and Mercury, and due to the influence of both of these (Air for intellect and Mercury for success), it is believed to be a good herb for money and success in business-related spells. Carry a few leaves in your wallet to attract money, or rub leaves on the skin before a business meeting or job interview for success.

Of course, Bee balm is an excellent herb either alone or combined with other herbs for any spell or ritual that calls for a tea or infusion, and it tastes good too!

On that note, I think I'll go pick some, rub it on my hands for money, Make some delicious tea, for peace, happiness, contentment, and see if I can rid myself of any negative hexes that are hovering around. If you see any wild hexes flying away from me, please duck.

Our Bee Balm tonight

I just have to add, I had never tasted this plant, but when I went out to take this picture, I broke some off, so I brought it in and tasted it.

Wow! It really has a unique flavor. Kind of an "Italian herb, mixed with Lemon Balm" flavor. Now that I know what it tastes like, I see myself using this one a lot!

Watch for my giveaway, coming up in the next few days!

Be sure and join me each Tuesday for Tuesday Trivia Tie-in, where readers are invited to share trivia and show off their treasures. Read all about it here

Fertilizer Friday

It's Friday, and that means a visit to Fertilizer Friday over at Tootsie Time.
Check out her blog party and see what other people have blooming in their gardens.

I am not doing an herb of the week this week. I spent the week researching two different herbs that were so boring they about put me to sleep just writing about them, so, out of kindness to my readers, I am not passing any of the things I found along.

But I did want to do a quick update about our garden.

When I put out Christmas lights last year, I outlined our raised beds on both sides of the sidewalk leading to the house, with plain white lights. I liked them so much Diann had to finally take them down this spring because I left them out there. In fact, I turned them on every night until well into March, I especially liked the way they looked in the snow.

So, when Diann took them away, I knew I had to get something different. We looked until we found decent pricing on solar lighting, each year it gets fancier and the stuff from last year is cheaper, so with all the new and exciting stuff that is out this year, the plain old stuff was finally affordable.

We lined our walk with simple solar tulip lights and put one in each corner of our flower bed.

With the addition of a few of the new color changing sparkly novelty lights, we have a soft subtle lighting that recharges each day and gives us a magical light show each night.

After a stressful day, especially on a cool night like tonight, it soothes the spirit, calms the nerves and relaxes the mind, to sit on the patio and watch the lights slowly change color.

Tootsie briefly mentioned moonlight gardens in her blog last week. Although what we have is not a moonlight garden, it is a garden that can be enjoyed equally by day, or by night.



Have a wonderful Friday, I hope to find a more interesting herb by next week.

Be sure and join me each Tuesday for Tuesday Trivia Tie-in, where readers are invited to share trivia and show off their treasures. Read all about it here

Herb of the week -- Hens and Chicks

It's Friday, and that means a visit to Fertilizer Friday over at Tootsie Time.
Check out her blog party and see what other people have blooming in their gardens.

My Herb of the week is Hens and Chicks, sempervivum tectorum.


Hens and chicks, also known as Hens and Chickens , Jupiter's Eye (or Beard), Thor's Beard, Bullock's Eye, Sengreen, Ayron, Ayegreen, Donnersbart and Houseleek, has been a favourite herb since ancient times. The plant is native to the mountains of Europe and the Greek Islands.

The literal translation for the name is “Always Green on the Roof” and refers to the plants hardy nature and the fact that they were often planted on roofs in England, Wales, France, and much of Europe. The Frankish King Charlemagne (742-814 CE) told his subjects to plant the herb on their roofs since it reputedly warded off lightning and fire.

A perennial succulent, easy-care herb in zones 5-10, it does very well in rock gardens, along old walls, or edging pathways. Each plant will grow to four inches and produce round rosettes of leaves and flowering stems . A widely cultivated ornamental garden plant, it spreads easily and prefers sandy, dry soil.

The master plant will spread rapidly by offshoots, which can be left to form an attractive matting of plants, or rooted separately for use in other parts of the garden. The name Hens and Chicks came about because the master plant, with all the offshoots around it is reminiscent of a mother hen, surrounded by a brood of chicks.

It takes from 3-5 years for a plant to mature. When mature a plant will produce sparse purple flowers in July on an upright stem that can reach up to a foot tall. There is also a variation available in a deep maroon color. Each plant will bloom only once and then, once it has bloomed it will die, making room for the offshoots to grown and reach maturity.

I know of no culinary uses for Hens and Chicks, in fact, when taken internally, in large doses, the juice will act as a emetic or purgative.

Hens and chicks have medicinal properties similar to those of aloe vera, although in weaker concentration, and the juice is harder to extract.

Freshly pressed leaves and their juice may be used externally to soothe skin conditions, including burns, wounds, ulcers, insect bites, inflammations, hemorrhoids, eczema, and fungal infections, as well as itchy and burning parts of the skin. Folklore also says they will remove warts and corns.

In magic, Hens and Chicks are believed to be an herb of protection, luck and love.
In folk belief, it was a practice to grow Hens and Chicks at the front door so that they would be the first thing a man saw when he returned from the fields. This was believed to increase the sexual prowess of the man of the house, for which reason they were known in Dorset as "Welcome Husband."

In Scotland, ancient magicians perceived something of the Moon in the roundness of the rosettes, and associated them with with moon-magic, fancying the plant mystically capable of deflecting black sorcery.

The Romans grew Sempervivum in vases at the entrance to homes for prosperity, and to show esteem to Jupiter. This was thought to provide protection from storms, fire, and lightening, all associated with Jupiter.

Although my mother grew them as ground cover when I was a child, I never knew until just recently all the fascinating history, folklore, and medicinal value of this unassuming little plant.

Here are some all potted up cute, and ready to go to the Farmers Market this weekend.


Be sure and join me each Tuesday for Tuesday Trivia Tie-in, where readers are invited to share trivia and show off their treasures. Read all about it here

Herb of the Week -- Comfrey

It's Friday, and that means a visit to Fertilizer Friday over at Tootsie Time.
Check out her blog party and see what other people have blooming in their gardens.

Welcome back to my Herb of the Week feature. I did this all last year, but I got so busy with so many other things that I haven’t had the time to do it yet this year.

When I did this last year, I had so much fun and learned so much about the herbs that I thought it was something I wanted to do again.

I am hoping to be able to research a new herb each week, and write about it.

The herb of the week this week is Comfrey. symphytum officinale.

I had read something about Comfrey at the end of last season, and wanted to try it, so when I found some at the plant exchange I went to in April, I was excited to bring it home and play with it.

This is kind of stepping outside of my comfort zone just a bit, because Comfrey is not really a culinary herb, although some herbalists suggest using the tender young leaves, chopped in salads.

In fact, some people claim that it should not be taken internally at all, but we will get to that later. I’m getting ahead of myself.

Comfrey, a hardy perennial native to Europe, is member of the Boraginaceae family, a cousin to borage and forget-me-not.

With a long history as a healing plant Comfrey is commonly also commonly known as Knitbone, Boneset, Bruisewort, Ass Ear,(I personally like this one best), and Blackwort. Comfrey is an old herb that has been used medicinally for several centuries at least.

The name Comfrey comes from the Latin con firma, meaning with strength. It is believed this is a reference to the plant's ability to heal bones. The botanical name, symphytum, is from the Greek symphyo meaning to unite.

Comfrey is native to Europe, particularly to Great Britain, where is it often referred to as The Wonder Plant.

Besides its’ medicinal properties, Comfrey is very rich in nutrients with both nitrogen and phosphorus levels that exceed barnyard manure and many commercial fertilizers. The nutrients are very easy to extract, so Comfrey has become a favorite supplemental plant for many Natural and Organic Gardeners.

Comfrey is a fast growing aggressive plant, that establishes easily and perseveres stubbornly, so if you plan on growing it, you should carefully consider the location where you are putting it. Chances are, if you decide to move it, you will have two comfrey beds, the new one, and the old one.

Comfrey will grow in full sun, partial shade to almost full shade, it doesn’t like thin, dry soils. In the wild, it tends to grow in shady boggy areas, marshes and river banks.

It will root deep, so dig as deep as you can to give it the best possible start. The long tap root pulls nutrients from deep in the ground. This is why the leaves are so rich in nutrients that the plants around it may lack.

If you just want one comfrey plant it is probably best to buy one from a nursery, or get one, like I did, from a plant swap, a friend or an acquaintance.

Comfrey can be started from seed, but it requires a cold winter to germinate, so if you plant it in the spring, you may not get any plants until the following spring.

If you are looking to establish a larger quantity of comfrey this is usually done with root cuttings, lengths of root 2-6” long that are buried lengthwise in a trench.

Cuttings or plants, should be planted 4-8 inches deep and 18-36” apart. They will grow rapidly and will fill in between the plants in just a year or two. Feel free to work a little manure into the soil before you plant, even fresh chicken manure. Comfrey processes nitrogen so quickly, that there is little to no danger of burning it by adding fresh manure. In fact, in some countries, farmers use a comfrey field as a place to dispose of raw barnyard slurry. This helps keep it out of surrounding waterways.

Once you have planted, the next step is to do nothing. From this point Comfrey is pretty much self managing. Regular water is about all it will ever ask of you to remain healthy. A healthy Comfrey plant will live several decades.

Leaves can be harvested and at any time. If you are growing it to harvest the leaves you can make your first cutting when the plants are about 2' tall. Cut back to within a few inches of the crown. If you begin harvesting early, you may not get flowers. Leaves, flowers and roots are all used in traditional medicine.

One of the easiest uses of comfrey is as a mulch for other crops. Comfrey leaves will slowly release all the nutrients their long tap roots pulled up from the soil. They’re especially good around plants that like a little extra potassium, like fruits and tomatoes. Many people recommend laying a layer of comfrey leaves in the trench before you plant potatoes. The leaves will rot quickly, giving an extra burst of potasium and nitrogen to the potatoes just when they need it the most.

The other main way to use the leaves in gardening is by brewing Comfrey Tea. There are two methods for doing this.

One is to simply fill a bucket, barrel, tub or crock with leaves, weight them down and leave them in the sun for 3-5 weeks. a drainage hole at the base will allow the thick brown liquid to ooze out as it forms, and it can be collected and stored for later use. It is generally recommended that this type of Tea be diluted before using. It should be diluted with water from 1:1 to 1:10, until it is roughly the color of iced tea. It can then be applied to your plants.

The second method is to fill a vat, bucket barrel or tub 1/4th of the way with comfrey leaves and then fill it the rest of the way with water. Again 4-5 weeks in the sun will brew your tea nicely and it should be just the right concentrate to use directly on your plants.

A word of warning. with either method, you will probably have a strong smell coming from the tea as it ferments. This is an anaerobic process, and will smell kind of like raw sewage. I strongly recommend that you use a bucket with a lid, and that you resist the urge to peek in every day or two.

The second primary use for Comfrey, besides as a garden supplement, is the medicinal use.

This is the part where I need to repeat my medical disclaimer.

I am not a medical expert, or even an herb expert. Although many herbs have been shown to have effects on the human body, I include medical benefits of herbs from my research for informational purposes only. You should always consult a medical professional before beginning any herbal regimen or using any herbs medicinally. Herbs should be used medicinally only under the guidance of a trained professional.

Special care and consideration should be taken by anyone pregnant or nursing before using this or any herb medicinally.

OK, having said that, let’s get back to the medicinal properties of Comfrey.

Comfrey may be used either externally or internally. In a recent study artificially large amounts of alkaloids extracted from Comfrey were injected directly into a bloodstream, causing liver failure. This caused a great deal of concern about Comfrey. It has been banned by the FDA from use in commercially produced herbal supplements.

So although it is used widely as livestock food, and although Comfrey farmers have, for years, fed comfrey to their families as a nearly unparalleled source of protein, potassium, calcium, and vitamins A, B12, and C for years in salads, sauteed along with other vegetables, or drunk as a comforting tea, I cannot on good faith condone taking it internally without checking with your doctor. Further, under no circumstances should a pregnant or nursing woman ingest comfrey.

That brings us to the external uses.

Comfrey contains a substance called Allantoin. This is present in both fresh and dried leaves, and in even stronger concentration in the root of the plant. Allantoin is present, oddly enough, in the urine of most mammals, with the exception of humans and apes, and is part of the reason that barnyard manure makes good fertilizer.

Allantoin is, among other things, an active ingredient in over-the-counter cosmetics because it has a moisturizing effect. It increases the smoothness of the skin; promotes cell growth and wound healing, and has a soothing, anti-irritant, and skin protectant effect by bonding with and enveloping irritant and sensitizing agents.

It is frequently present in toothpaste, mouthwash, and other oral hygiene products, in shampoos, lipsticks, anti-acne products, sun care products, and clarifying lotions, various cosmetic lotions and creams, and other cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.

You can extract the allantoin from the roots and the leaves, or use them fresh, dried, or ground to make a poultice.

Making a Comfrey Poultice
What you'll need:

- enough comfrey leaves to cover the affected area in a paste
- Purified water in some form—preferably distilled water or spring water
- a clean piece of gauze, large enough to cover the affected area
- something like an Ace bandage to wrap around the gauze and a pin or tape to hold it in place
- a blender or mortar and pestle
- a saucepan

Grind the leaves with a a mortar and pestle or place them in a blender with about half as much purified water as leaves. Grind or blend away at the comfrey and water until a paste is formed. If it's too soupy, add more leaves. Once you've got your leaves mashed in one way or another, you're ready to heat the paste. In a small saucepan, over very low heat so as not to scald the herbs, heat your mixture to a comfortable, soothing temperature, stirring constantly. Once the desired temperature is achieved, spread the paste thickly onto the gauze, place the gauze onto the wound, sprain, etc., and wrap with the bandaging material securely around the gauze pad. (NOTE: If you have an open wound such as a bite or gash, place a fresh gauze pad between the wound and the poultice paste so as not to introduce debris into the wound. For a scrape or scratch, direct introduction of the comfrey should be fine.) Secure with a safety pin or other sturdy fastening, and leave in place until the poultice has dried out, at which point you'll want to replace it with a fresh one.
Source:
Suite 101 - Herb Gardens - Comfrey, The Miracle Herb,
by Kelsie Gray

An infusion of comfrey, in light olive oil, makes a massage oil that will help sooth rough skin and is said to be beneficial in treating aches and pain associated with arthritis, sprains and muscle soreness. Because it stimulates cell growth, it should speed healing on cuts, burns scrapes and other injuries.

Because it can help to reduce pain and swelling associated with injuries, it used to be believed that it actually helped to heal broken bones. This is where it got the nickname Knitbone. While it doesn't actually help the bone to heal, in my book, anything that helps with the pain and swelling is a good thing.

To make comfrey infused oil:

Ingredients:
* dried comfrey leaf (preferably organic)
* organic olive oil
* clean quart mason jar or similar jar with well-fitting lid **(see above)
* cheesecloth
* clean bottle for finished oil (to hold approximately 16 oz.) **(see above)
Half-fill the mason jar with dried comfrey leaf. Add olive oil to within 2” of the neck of the jar. Cap, shake well, & allow to sit overnight. The next day, top-off the jar with more olive oil (the comfrey will absorb some, so the level will be lower) to within an inch of the top. Shake daily for the first 2-3 weeks. Place in a warm, dark place, if possible. Allow to stand for at least 1 month, although the longer it sits, the better.

To decant, pour contents of mason jar into a large square of cheesecloth (I put it in a strainer over a quart measuring cup). When it stops dripping, gather the edges together, twist, & squeeze. The leftovers may be composted. Pour finished oil into bottle, label, & store in fridge. It will need to be warmed to room temp before using.
Source:
Jedi Workshop, Herbal Oil for Inflammation and Pain.

Now, everyone tells me I have to use olive oil for things like, but I am going to do an experiment. I may shock the herb growing world, but, although I enjoy growing as close to naturally as possible, I am not obsessive about Organic, Natural, products. So, although everyone says not to use baby oil, the only reason I can see not to do so is that it already has some fragrance added.

So, I am going to make some of this with Baby Oil, since we seem to have a bunch of bottles around with just a bit missing. If it doesn't work, I'm not out anything but an already opened bottle of baby oil and a bunch of comfrey leaves. If it does, I saved myself the expense of buying olive oil just for this.

And last but not least, in honor of all the chickweed Tootsie has been pulling, I wanted to include this recipe:

How to Make Comfrey and Chickweed Ointment

Things You'll Need:
2 oz. dried comfrey
2 oz. dried chickweed
2 oz. dried plantain
2 cups tea tree oil or sweet almond oil
3 oz. beeswax
Cheesecloth or muslin
Strainer

Place the beeswax in the top of a double boiler on low heat, and add the tea tree oil or sweet almond oil.
Leave the mixture on low heat low enough for the beeswax to completely melt, and stir in the dried comfrey, dried chickweed and dried plantain until they are thoroughly incorporated into the oils and beeswax.
Continue heating the ointment on the lowest heat setting for several hours, or until it looks like the dried herbs are totally infused into the ointment. Stir the mixture occasionally.
Fold a large piece of clean cheesecloth or muslin and lay it in a strainer. Strain the comfrey and chickweed ointment through the strainer and into a small bowl.
Put the comfrey and chickweed ointment in jars. Allow the ointment to cool, and seal the lids securely.
Source:
e-How, Herbs and Alternative Medicines.
Comfrey and Chickweed Ointment

Finally, whenever I do an Herb of the Week, I like to talk about the magical uses. Someone at the farmers market asked me just recently, if I actually believed in this.

Well, here is my take on it. It wasn't that long ago that there was a very fine, thin line between the witch, who grew herbs and cast spells and the doctor who grew herbs and cured people.
The fact that they both used herbs, and both used many of the same herbs, to treat the same things, makes me think that somewhere, there was an element of truth behind both of their philosophies.

So, while I am not sure that sleeping with a sprig of a particular herb will make me rich, I cannot discount that burning certain herbs may make me sleep better.

I include the magical uses, where I can find them, for informational purposes only. I find them fascinating and like to see the history behind the herb.

Having said that, Comfrey does not have nearly as much of a magical history as many herbs. Perhaps because it was a bona fide healing plant there was no need to create any illusion of magic to accompany it's use.

But I did find the suggestion that worn or carried, comfrey protects and ensures safety during travel. It is suggested that you tuck some into your suitcases so that they aren't lost or stolen.

Also, it is believed that comfrey root wards off the evil of unknown strangers and brings good luck in making travel arrangements. Place the root in a red bag, and keep it on your person while on the road to ensure that you return to find peace in the home and faithfulness in the marriage.

The root is also used in money spells. Reportedly, the leaves, if wrapped around your money and kept folded for three days are said to make your money attract more money, especially when used in gambling.

Upon learning this Diann suggested that I fill my pockets with Comfrey leaves. I expect if I did, it would help the lint in my pockets attract new lint...

Be sure and join me each Tuesday for Tuesday Trivia Tie-in, where readers are invited to share trivia and show off their treasures. Read all about it here

Fertilizer Friday -- Composting VI - Using Compost

It's Friday, and that means a visit to Fertilizer Friday over at Tootsie Time.
Check out her blog party and see what other people have blooming in their gardens.

This is number six in my series about compost, you can read the others here:
A step by step tutorial for the beginning composter.

Composting I -What is Compost?

Composting II -Getting Started

Composting III -What to Compost

Composting IV -pH

Composting V -Aerobic vs Anaerobic

Composting Q & A

I want to talk just a little bit about how to use compost, but before I do, I have to share a quick personal experience with the garden.

This was one of those, I knew better but did it anyway moments.

This spring, I was getting the ground ready for our flowerbed. I had been to a plant swap and had a whole truckload of new plants to put in, none of which cost me anything except for some time.

This flowerbed has some history. The last few years, at the end of the season, we have dumped all the planters and pots that we had everywhere, onto this bed. Then we bought a few chrysanthemums, and prettied it up for fall.

Last spring, when it was time to plant, I decided that the progressive dumping and adding to this bed had raised the soil level too high, all the water was running out when I tried to water it, so I took about 6” of dirt off the top of the bed, and used it around the yard to fill in some low spots. And to fill in where we had taken some patio blocks out.

It didn’t occur to me until halfway through the season, when the flowers were all looking sick and wimpy, that I had taken the best soil from the bed and left the clay and depleted soil below.

So this year, I wanted to make sure and add something to the soil, to break it up a little and revitalize the soil.

I didn’t have any compost ready yet, but I knew, from research, that rabbit manure could be added directly to the garden without being composted first, and it will not damage the plants.

I had been picking up the used bedding from the pet store, and had a big bag of it in the back of my truck, ready to go dump on the compost pile.

Great, I thought to myself, (without really thinking it through, of course,) I can just use that.

So, I added it to the flowerbed, and took a shovel and dug it in nicely, then I added a bit more rabbit manure that I had left in the truck, and planted the plants. I watered them well, and left them to take root. I wanted to see how they did before we filled in the spaces between them with some annuals, and mulched around them.

At this point, everyone but me should be grinning, and smirking, knowing what would happen next.

When the pet store cleans out their cages, they scoop everything into a bag. All the used bedding from the rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and bird cages, all goes into the bag.

You guessed it, all that uneaten birdseed, all the seeds and corn kernels, grains and good things that are in the rodent food, all of that, when mixed with a nice blend of rabbit manure and soil, and watered generously and left in the sun began to grow!

Not just grow, but absolutely flourish! I had provided optimum growing conditions for them, and they were taking advantage of that.

For the next week, every day I pulled and plucked and weeded. I took them out by the handful. Finally, when we got some annuals, and got them planted, I put down a layer of newspaper and covered it with mulch. That seemed to control most of them. But I just noticed today that I have, not one, not two, but three corn plants growing in that garden. I may just leave them, there is no law against having a few stalks of corn in the flower bed is there?

One of them is over a foot tall. To manage to get that big without getting pulled took some clever growing. It was hiding in a day lily, and at first it sort of looked like day lily leaves.

So, the lesson I learned was: Never use compost, until it has had a chance to break down properly.
A few months in the compost bin would have saved me all sorts of time, effort and work, not to mention frustration, aggravation and self flagellation.

This goes back to the TIME part of FAT TOM. Compost requires time, and if we try to rush things or skip steps, it very seldom results in saving us time.

Your compost will be ready when it is black and crumbly, looks like dirt, and you don’t recognize any of the stuff that you put into the pile in the first place. It may have small twigs or sticks in it, in some cases, depending on how you are using it, you can screen these out.

There is an excellent tutorial for building a compost screen that you can find here.



One person who built one, suggested that you alter the measurements to make it a custom fit for your own wheel barrow, and that you add a strip of wood underneath on each side to create a lip so it stays in place.

This is a project I hope to build this year, as soon as all the vital stuff is done and I have some play time.

So, now you have a huge pile of fully composted and screened compost and you are wondering what to do with it?

Well, lets explore some ideas.

But first let me take a minute to debunk a commonly held myth.

Many people believe that compost is a fertilizer, and that when you add compost to your garden you are adding nutrients to the soil. This myth is hard to completely debunk, because like many myths it has a small element of truth in it. Compost has a small amount of nutrients in it, that will be released into the garden over a long period of time.

So, why do we add it, if it isn’t full of nutrients?

Compost improves soils structure, adds beneficial microbes and increases the ability of the soil to retain nutrients. It improves the mobility of air, water and nutrients in the soil, allowing plants in your garden to make better use of the nutrients that are available.

So, now that we know that, how do we use it?

In a new garden, compost can be placed directly on top of the soil and then worked in with a tiller, to a depth of about 6”. A recommended amount to use on a new garden is about 4-6”. Then each year, before planting add another 2-4” and work it in with the tiller.

For pots, and containers use about 1 part compost to 3 parts soil, (By volume) mixing well.
Some people recommend using compost as a garden mulch, and you certainly can, but in my personal opinion, unless you have an abundance of compost, this is not necessarily the most efficient way to use your compost.

There are less valuable mulches available, that way you can save your compost for where it will do the most good. However, using a bit around the trunk of a tree, as a mulch is not a bad idea, since you will not be digging the tree and tilling that soil every year. Just don’t pile the compost directly up against the tree trunk, or you may find yourself inadvertently composting a tree.

About ½” to 1” of compost raked into your lawn as a top dressing will slowly work its way down to the roots of the grass, allowing for the same benefits under the grass that it provides in the vegetable garden.

One popular use of compost is brewing compost tea. This is not quite the same as Earl Gray or Orange Pekoe, and I wouldn’t get out your fine china for this one. Put a large shovelful or two of compost in a burlap sack, and set it in a five gallon bucket. Fill the bucket almost to the top with water and let it sit in the sun for about a week. You can lift and dunk it every couple of days if you want, to aerate it a bit..

When you lift the bag out, you will have liquid, rich with microorganisms, good for watering plants, or for spraying directly on the foliage. This should be roughly the color of iced tea. If it is much darker you may want to consider diluting a bit.

And now, to flaunt our flowers...

Here is what the flower bed looked like before we started anything this year, after a disappointing season last year.

Here is what it looked like after I planted the plants from the plant swap.


right after we got the mulch down.


And this is what it looks like this week. It is kind of a side view, but it shows the progress.


Those of you who read Dianns blog will recognize the gardener, she loves that sprayer!


Be sure and join me each Tuesday for Tuesday Trivia Tie-in, where readers are invited to share trivia and show off their treasures.

Read all about it here

Fertilizer Friday -- Composting V - Aerobic vs. Anaerobic

It's Friday, and that means a visit to Fertilizer Friday over at Tootsie Time.
Check out her blog party and see what other people have blooming in their gardens.


This is number five in my series about compost, you can read the others here:
A step by step tutorial for the beginning composter.

Composting I -What is Compost?

Composting II -Getting Started

Composting III -What to Compost

Composting IV -pH

Composting Q & A

Today we are going to meet two of the main organisms that help make compost.

Two different types of Bacteria. Aerobic and Anaerobic.

Both are composters, they will eat organic matter and turn it into compost, but they work differently and each do best in a different environment.

Anaerobic bacteria thrive in water . They are the bacteria largely responsible for composting algae at the bottom of lakes ,and for composting in swamps, bogs and other wet places. Some anaerobes do not like air, while others simply do not require air to live, as a result, they do their best work in places where there is no air. They have a slower metabolism than aerobic bacteria, and take much longer to convert a pile to compost than aerobic bacteria will.

When you hear talk of Cold Composting, it is anaerobic bacteria who do most of the work. The upside of cold composting, or anaerobic composting is that the pile is much less labor intensive. You simply pile everything in a corner somewhere, and a year or so later, you have compost. An additional benefit is that these bacteria have a tendency to reduce the overall size of the pile less, so the same amount of raw material cold composted will produce more humus than it would if it were hot composted.

The downside is that it takes a lot longer, and anaerobic bacteria tend to give off a nasty smell we often think of as swamp gas.

One way to combat the smell is to cover the pile with dirt. If you are composting primarily to reduce your contributions to landfills, cold composting or anaerobic composting is a good solution. You dig a hole, throw everything in and bury it. Or, as an ongoing operation, dig a trench and fill it in, covering it as you go.

In a few years, there will be no evidence that anything beside dirt was ever there.

Aerobic Bacteria on the other hand, require air to live and grow and do their job. Just like a gym full of people working out, they generate heat, so Aerobic composting is what we call Hot Composting. It is the fastest way to make compost.


In order to keep aerobic bacteria happy, you need to keep the compost pile moist but not waterlogged, imagine a sponge that you get wet, then wring out. That’s how wet your compost pile should be.
You also need to make sure they get air. There are several ways to do this.

The easiest way is with an aerator. You can buy a fancy-shmancy one for $35 from the garden store, or, you can use a stick. You poke a whole bunch of holes down through the compost to let air get in.

I cannot stress enough that composting doesn’t have to be, and should not be, an expensive endeavor. There are people who will sell you everything from a fancy bin, to a compost fork, to an aerator to a compost thermometer, compost activator, and a variety of other compost implements, but you don’t need any of those things to make compost.

My preferred method of aeration is to turn the compost. This isn’t necessarily easy, it takes time and it can be a lot of work. But that’s why I have a two compartment compost bin. I take it, one shovelful at a time and move it from one side of the bin to the other, The stuff I scoop from the outside, I toss toward the center and the stuff from the center I toss to the outside, so it all gets rotated.

All the experts say use a pitchfork, but I don’t have one. I do have a shovel, so that’s what I use.

I like this method because it gives me a chance to see how everything is doing. If there are any big chunks or clumps that need to be broken up usually a good whack with the shovel takes care of them. And it lets me see if I need to add water.

I can also check from time to time to see if it is hot, while I am turning it.

Funny that I should mention this, after my mini rant about buying things, but I ordered a compost thermometer from Amazon recently, with an Amazon gift card I got for participating in a study group, so I may not have to keep sticking my hand in it any more. It is a convenience and didn’t cost me out of pocket, but it is not a necessity and nobody should think they cannot compost without one.

Your compost should be between 110-160 degrees F. 110 degrees will feel warm to your touch, but not hot. Imagine the temperature of a baby bottle. or the temperature of the water when you bake bread.

When it drops below 110, or no longer feels warm to the touch, it is time to make some adjustments. If you can still see big pieces of your browns, it means your greens have done all they can and you need to add more. If it is dry add a little water, if not get some air into it.

All those things can be checked while you turn the pile.

Some compost zealots advocate that you turn your pile every day, but the most efficient composting occurs at 130-160 degrees. It often takes a day or two to reach those temperatures, so if you are turning every day, you will cool off your compost, and it will never reach the ideal temperature. It will still compost eventually, but not as fast.

There is no magic formula for time and temperature to make compost, like baking a cake. But you will have compost most quickly if you keep your pile moist and aerated, and keep a good balance of greens and browns.

This will keep your pile aerobic, maintaining the most efficient bacteria for compost. If it gets too wet, and anaerobic bacteria develop, you will notice a swampy smell coming from the pile. The best way to counter that is to get dry material, preferably browns at this point, and air into the pile.

With an efficient aerobic pile, in anywhere from six weeks, to six months, you should have finished compost that is ready to use for a whole bunch of garden needs. The time is influenced by what you put in the pile, some things break down faster than others. Think, Overripe banana, underripe apple, which one will break down first?

Time is also influenced by how big the pieces are. If you blend your greens, and run your browns through a shredder, they will break down faster than if you just chop them and throw them in.

A final factor? Many people suggest "lasagna composting" where you layer your greens and browns, this is a great way to start a pile and a good way to make sure you are putting in even amounts of greens and browns, but if you mix them together in a bucket or wheelbarow before you add them, they will break down faster.

So now we have addressed the last part of FAT TOM, Time, Temperature Oxygen and Moisture.

Next time we will talk about what to do with all that compost once you make it, and I'll reveal an I-knew-better-but-did-it-anyway moment from my compost experience this year.

We were able to finally get the tiller into our garden and run through it, but the ground was still pretty wet and clumped up pretty good, so it is not quite ready to plant, I'm hoping that with some sunshine and wind, it will dry out enough so that we can run the tiller through it again this week and maybe be able to plant it soon.

It was so discouraging to see our plans for a big garden this year all wash away, but we have all summer to build the ground up, dig some drainage ditches and take some other steps so that next year we should be all ready to plant the garden we hoped to plant this year.

Be sure and join me each Tuesday for Tuesday Trivia Tie-in, where readers are invited to share trivia and show off their treasures.

Read all about it here

Fertilizer Friday Composting IV -- pH

It's Friday, and that means a visit to Fertilizer Friday over at Tootsie Time.
Check out her blog party and see what other people have blooming in their gardens.

This is my fourth post in my series about Composting. You can read the others here:

Composting I -What is Compost?

Composting II -Getting Started

Composting III -What to Compost

Composting Q & A

This week I am going to talk about pH.

I remember the first time I was introduced to the concept of pH. It was an ad back in the 70’s.

I can still sing the jingle, but I didn’t have a clue what pH balance meant, and I venture a guess that neither did most of the population.

Then, in the 80’s I worked at a swimming pool.

We had to test the chlorine level and the pH level every hour, and write the numbers down on a little chart.
Once a day, the maintenance guy would take the chart go and fiddle with the knobs and switches in the control room.

I still didn’t have any idea what pH was, I just knew that it had something to do with shampoo. And I knew that if the color of the strip was ever out of the “Safe” range according to the little chart on the wall in the lifeguard office, we were to call the Maintenance guy immediately. In fact, if it was ever more than one full number out of the “safe” range, we were to evacuate the pool. That never happened in the time I was there, but it was on the safety instructions posted on the wall in the lifeguard room.


So, I had heard the term a lot, but still had no idea what it was.


In the 90’s I took Occupational Food Safety classes at Virginia Tech, where I learned all about FAT TOM. No, he wasn’t a guy who worked there. FAT TOM was the acronym or mnemonic for the conditions necessary for bacteria to grow.

When we talked about Acidity, they gave us all kinds of facts and figures and numbers about pH levels and what was ideal and what was bad. I still didn’t know what the heck they were talking about, but I finally dared to ask. And I got a long confusing answer about logarithms and reciprocals and stuff. But I did finally learn that the “H” part stands for Hydrogen. OK, now I was getting somewhere.

One instructor said the “p” stood for “percentage“, another said it was for “parts” and still another said it was for “potential”. So maybe I didn’t need to feel so stupid for not knowing what it was.

But the best answer I got was that it really didn’t matter what pH stands for, but it was important what it represents. OK, I was on a roll here. Finally I was getting something I could use. So here it is, in normal people language.

pH is a term used to measure, or describe the amount or acid or acidity in a substance. Great, I can live with that. So pH means acid? Well, not exactly. The higher the pH, the less acid. The lower the pH, the more acid.

But it’s more than just that. Remember in science class when they taught us about acids and bases? Remember all the things we had to test with those little red and blue strips of paper? Remember having no clue what they meant when they said something was a base? Me too! But a base (or alkali) is the opposite of an acid. A really high pH level indicates something is a base. A low pH level means it is an acid.

For whatever reason, pH is measured on a scale of 0-14. Don’t ask me why, It’s all I can do to explain what. Why, is reserved for someone else.

A pH level of 7 is neutral. No acid, no base.

Just for info purposes, here are some common substances and where they rank on the pH scale.

Foodborne pathogens grow best in a pH between 4.5 and 7.5.
Now, in the restaurant industry you don’t want bacteria to grow. So you manage conditions so as to discourage them. Foods that fall between 4.5 and 7.5 are high risk foods and you make sure and treat them accordingly, keeping them refrigerated and away from some of the other FAT TOM elements.

In a compost pile, however bacteria are good things. The more they get in there and do their job, the faster the compost breaks down. So the ideal pH level for your compost is 5.5 to 8.

Interestingly enough, most plants will do best in soil that has a pH level of 6.5 to 7. But when you add a good quality compost to your soil, it broadens that and will allow your plants to thrive in pH levels from about 6 to about 8.

That’s another mystery for the science guys to explain…

What all this boils down to, is that we want our compost to be between 5.5 and 8.

But how do we control the pH in compost?

This is the really cool thing about composting. Most of the time we don't really have to do anything. The natural process of composting produces a substance with a pH level between 7 and 7.5 All you have to do is keep your pile balanced with browns and greens, and you will generally have a good pH level.

Now, there are some myths out there about pH in the compost pile and I want to address a couple of them now.

MYTH -Coffee is acidic, so coffee grounds will lower your pH level and the you have to add something to bring it back up.
FACT- Although Coffee is acidic, most of the acid is leached out of the grounds in the brewing process. Coffee grounds are mostly neutral. Adding brewed liquid coffee directly to your garden will lower your pH slightly, but coffee grounds will not, especially if they go through the composting process first.

MYTH - You need to add lime to your compost pile to counteract the acid in the food scraps you add.
FACT- Not only is lime not necessary, but many experts are now agreeing that adding lime may be harmful to your compost pile. Lime is often added to garbage piles or outhouses to reduce odor. It does this by killing certain bacteria and by converting nitrogen to ammonia. (it's a little more complex that that, but that is the main idea.)
It makes no sense to add nitrogen to your compost and then add things to destroy the nitrogen.

MYTH -You should attempt to make your compost either acidic or alkaline, based on the needs of your soil
FACT- If your soil need pH adjustment add it directly to your soil. Your compost should have the acidity level necessary to feed the fungi and protozoa and microbes and bacteria needed to compost, No matter what you add, you will either kill them, or they will produce compost that is roughly 7 to 7.5 pH. As a general rule, you will not significantly affect the pH of your finished compost by adding anything to it.

So, I hope I have helped you to understand what pH is, and how it comes into play when composting.

Next time we will discuss some more factors that affect your compost pile.
~{@ @}~ ~{@ @}~ ~{@ @}~ ~{@ @}~ Be sure and join me each Tuesday for Tuesday Trivia Tie-in, where readers are invited to share trivia and show off their treasures. Read all about it here