Lots of Quiet

It's been a rather long time since I've written. Not much to say as far as my herbs go.  A mint oil I've been working on finished up over the weekend and I can't wait to find something to cook with it.  We've lost a few plants to root rot lately, which is breaking James' heart.  He seems to feel almost abusive towards them.  A friend of ours works with plants, so he gives us a lot of good advice and luckily has cuttings of almost all of our herbs, so he's going to mother out the cuttings he's taken and bring us cuttings when he can. 

We've got all the plants in doors now, which is quite a change from outside.  We water them less, almost as if it's only once a month.  We've got a couple of tinctures and vinegars and a honey in the cupboard, just waiting to be ready for use.  That's all I've really got to report for now, but I'll try to write more often.

The Time Has Come, The Walrus Said

To collect your seeds…

Hmmm, that’s not how it really goes, but that’s what I keep thinking.  My Purple Shiso is beginning to flower and will be seeding soon.  With all the up and coming raid, we’ve got most of the plants outside and if it seeds out, soon we’ll have little Shiso sprouts in our Agave and Sage, and while I love our Shiso, I’ll be one mad mama if it seeds into the other pots.

The Rosemary has also bloomed and will be seeding soon,  though I’ve heard that starting Rosemary from seed is incredibly difficult.  I’ll have to look more into both, and with winter coming up, I’ll probably need to start harvesting some leaves here very very soon.

Milk Tea

As I read more and more about Fennel over the weekend, I learned that it is good for milk production when nursing.  Then I remembered that while Ki was little, I used to take fennel capsules for milk production, but back then, I never really realized it was an herb.  I looked into it and found out that Goat's Rue, Fenugreek, Fennel, Raspberry Leaf, Alfalfa, Nettle, Blessed Thistle, Borage and Hops are all excellent for milk production, so I've decided to start looking into the different herbs so that in the future, I can have a self made tea for milk production, since my lactation was well... Lacking for Ki, lol.

Our Winter Garden

We planted Kale last weekend and this morning I planted some Garlic.  I'm not sure I did it right, but we'll see in a few months.  I only planted about 7 cloves, and they were nothing special, just cloves bought from the gropcery store.  I can't wait to see how they turn out, as I'm a big fan of Garlic...

I checked out my fennel today and saw some aphids going to town on it.  I remember reading that aphids are fond of fennel, and I can see why.  I think I'll borrow the blender tonight and make those mean little suckers an herbal pesticide that they won't like sucking on quite so much.  Well, we'll see.

More Fennel Notes

1. Fennel should be planted away from Dill or Coriander for the strongest flavor and to prevent cross pollenation.
2. Mix with Sodium Bicarbonate and syrup to make grip water for gassy/colicy babies over 4 months of age.
3. Seeds should be sown in early April.
4. Magickally, fennel is used for protection, healing, purification and money.  Its corresponding planet and element are Mercury and Fire.
   

Fennel Chai Tea

Combine in a glass jar and cover tightly.
       1 Cup Cinnamon Chips
       2/3 Cup Fennel Seed
       2 Tablespoons Whole Cardamom Seeds (without husks)
       2 Tablespoons Black Peppercorns
       1 Teaspoon Whole Cloves

Boil 2/3 cup water and 1/3 cup milk.  Add 2 teaspoons of spice mix.  Remove from heat and steep for 10 minutes.  Boil a second time, add 1teaspoon or 1 teabag of black tea and 1 or 2 teaspoons honey.  Steep for 5 minutes without heat.  Strain into cup and enjoy.

Fennel

I decided to start with Fennel, since I love the anise flavor of it.  It's pretty and feathery, and I'll add a picture in of ours a little later on.

1. Seed stalk rises up to eith feet and produces umbels of yellow flowers.
2. The plants die back in winter and reappear in early spring.
3. Fennel does best in fertile, moist but well drained soil and is hardy to -10 degrees Farenheit, as long as it is not in standing water.
4. To keep plants producing tender leaves, they should be cut back to the ground when they begin to flower.
5. Harvest all seeds and cut down to ground in winter for a neat appearance.
6. Fennel should be divided every three years in early spring or fall. 
7. Young fennel is tender and tastes very much like licorace, which makes it good for a child's garden.
8. As a kitchen seasoning, it's great for pork and other fatty meats and adds interest to salads.
9. The flavor of the seeds are stronger than leaves and can be nibbled straight from the garden while they are green and were used in the past to freshen breath.
10. Gray green fennel seed heads grow hot, fast and aromatic.
11. Fennel was used in ancient Rome as a weight loss aid due to it's diuretic and fat-digestion qualities.
12. Seeds are carminative, digestive, antispamodic, duiretic and taken for liver and gall bladder problems, especially stones.
13. Fennel is often used in cough drops and syrups for it's soothing mildly expectorant effect.\
14. It is also thought to be good for the eyes and eyesight.