Thursday, July 30, 2015

end july update, making comfrey/plantain/heal-all salve, drying borage and chamomile flowers for tea...and a really gorgeous day after all the rain!

we got a lovely surprise when we got up this morning - a gorgeous day!


we got a ton of rain yesterday and the day before - great for the garden especially when followed by a bright and sunny day! jam collected chamomile flowers for drying for tea.


i collected borage flowers for drying for tea.


 i put the flowers on a screen on the deck, put another screen on top in order to let the bugs get free - and voila! the beginning of our dried teas for over the winter.



i will harvest the flowers every couple of days for the next month and a half.

i also harvested heal-all flowers (also known as self-heal).


the previous owner had planted a variety of healing herbs and they pop up in the weirdest of places. i am just glad that we have them.

here are the heal-all flowers laying on their screen to let the bugs get away.


here is plantain - a common weed that is very beneficial for your health. i harvested a pile of plantain, too.



i also harvested a bunch of comfrey leaves and flowers. what am i making? heal-all/comfrey/plantain salve. i made a ton of comfrey salve last year, and a ton of heal-all salve....so this year i am making the combination salve with the plantain added in.

after picking your flowers and leaves and giving the bugs a chance to get off, rinse all of your leaves and flowers. put them in a big pot that is used only for making salves and soaps. dump as much virgin olive oil to completely cover them with an extra inch.



heat the oil to almost a boil, stir and turn off the stove. come back in 15 mins, heat the oil to almost a boil, stir and turn off the heat. do this all day long. at the end of the day, let the oil cool and then put it in a cool spot for overnight. i'll finish the process tomorrow and do a post about it.

we went down to the river today. it is about a quarter mile walk to the river so going down and coming back is a 1/2 mile walk every day. on top of all the physical work that we do around here, plus running and jumping and screeching like children in the sprinkler and the rain, dancing, and walking down to the river and having our dips several times a day is great exercise!


because of so much rain we have had over the last few days - this is what we had to walk to just to get to the river!


it was freekin' freezing! but also such a hot, beautiful day that it was worth it jumping in and swimming around! whenever i dive into the river i always say in my mind "thank you God. thank you river". i love that river so much. and because the ocean flows into it, it is very salty and delicious. i love that river. so does jambaloney.

here's a beautiful caterpillar enjoying himself and suntanning on a leaf.


our buddy who lives on the mainland of nova scotia, eagergridlessbeaver, came up with an awesome way to keep the deerflies from biting. check out his post as his beautiful wife A models his creation and does so just perfectly!

basically - his great idea was to put a cup on your head with tree tanglefoot smeared all over the cup. and the cup HAS to be blue. here is a pic of the tanglefoot.



jambaloney drilled 2 holes in the cup and put a string through the holes and tied it to an elastic to make a crazy chin-strap to keep the cup on his head. then he smeared the tanglefoot all over the cup. needless to say, A's look was much fancier!


here is the cup after only 15 minutes of being outside.


eventually there were 30-40 deerflies on the cup. jam periodically took the cup off in order to squish the deerflies so that they didn't suffer for too long. he did not get bit once while wearing the cup. it's cruel and horrible and i feel terrible about it - but when you are covered in welts from deerfly bites - something has to give!

much thanks to egb for such a great, crazy, horrible idea that works!

check out all of the pea flowers - woohoo!


we are now referring to the greenhouse as the jungle! i swear - it's a jungle in there!


these are my piquante peppers that my friend Dani sent me the seeds of all the way from South Africa!


and here are the bird's eye chili peppers from seeds that she also sent!


this is a green pepper plant that we overwintered.


these are some tomatoes in the greenhouse...


and these are some tomatoes in the yard.


i can't wait to start canning them - woohoo!

here's some beautifully-coloured rose buds.


here's today's harvest:

a daikon radish, a broccoli head, some broccoli leaves, some pak choi, some garlic scapes. all of which became a delicious stirfry. with ginger/teriyaki pork and some fresh fruit - deelish.


it's been an awesome day for us. more rain expected for tomorrow - but that's a good thing for the garden. followed by a gorgeous sunny weekend. you can be sure we'll be down at the river!

22 comments:

  1. I am really looking forward to watching you make your salve, Kymber. I made some comfrey salve, but didn't infuse the oil like you are. I will stay tuned for the rest of the story. (-:

    Fern

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    1. Fern - i'll finish the salve in another post but in case you come back - i will finish it for you. after letting the salve sit overnight - the next morning, i reheat it to almost a boil again and at some point, the leaves go crunchy - you'll know what i mean when you do it. that's when i know it's done. then i take it off the heat and strain it. then back on the stove and add in the beeswax. i don't use exact measurements i just eyeball how much oil and i have and then add the beeswax. once the beeswax has melted, i dip a small spoon in and let the spoon sit for about 10 minutes and then check the consistency. if it's too waxy, add some more oil. if it's too liquidy, add some more beeswax. but because you already make soap and cheese and salve, you'll know right away if you have the right consistency.

      i'll do a post later today or tomorrow with pics if you are interested. sending best wishes to you and Frank!

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    2. Thanks for the explanation, Kymber, but I do like to see it in pictures. In many cases it is true, a picture is worth a thousand words. I look forward to your post AND pictures. (-:

      Fern

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    3. Fern - full post with pics coming later this afternoon! if you would like - i can send you some of the mixed salve. i am sending some to a few of my internet friends.

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  2. Sweet Kymber,

    Look at all those pretty herbs drying for tea's and medicinal salve.
    I'm looking forward to ready your next process when you post :-)

    Your water looks so relaxing and refreshing at the same time, I wish we were closer, I would jump right in. I used to swim up in Lake Superior and it was cooooooooollllllllllllddddddddddddddd.

    I think your jungle of a greenhouse needs a swing so you and Jambaloney can play Tarzan and Jane Bahahahahahaha!!! You do have enough room for a little swing :-P Just teasing!!! Your greenhouse is really producing all kinds of beautiful plants with large harvests to come.......I'm so happy for the two of you with your greenhouse, and garden beds. They're really looking good!!!

    Sending hugs, and love to you both.
    Sandy

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    1. hey Sweet Sandy - read my comment to Fern above for the rest of the recipe; but i will also do a post today or tomorrow with pics of the process - i love making medicinal things from herbs and i do believe there is a jar of the salve with your name on it! and yes - you would jump right in the river as it is probably much warmer than Lake Superior!!! and now you got me wishing there was more room in the greenhouse for a swing - i loooove swings but we don't have any trees on our land that are made for a swing. but you just gave me a great idea for the winter - we'll put a swing in the greenhouse then! awesome Gurl! thanks for that idea!

      sending much love back to you and yours always! xoxox

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  3. HAHAHAHAHA That tanglefoot is some great stuff. I use it to keept he ants out of my swarm traps but I must say the way your Off grid Beaver friend uses it is great.

    Personally I would have left the bugs on the cup and waited until it was full then doused it in lighter fluid and lit it up hoping to hear the VERMIN scream in pain and terror.

    That's just me though.

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    1. PP - that stuff really works! i can't believe how well it works! and you should keep checking out our off-grid beaver friend as he is pretty wonky like you and jambaloney! he's a great guy and we hope to meet him and his wife one of these days!

      and you know how much i hate killing the bugs but i just can't take the bites anymore. sending love, ya nutter! xox

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  4. Kymber, what an excellent post! I love all your herbs. Then we got to the horseflies. They've been terrible here this year so I read in interest! LOLOL, I can just see me trying to outfit my goats that way.

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    1. Leigh - you need to get your goats some blue cup hats - i am sure they would greatly appreciate it as the stupid cups really do work!!! sending love and praying that Dan's shop takes off! xox

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  5. When I see people walking down the street with blue cups on their heads covered in flies, I now know where it came from. What a fashion statement!

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    1. see Ed - i always try and stay relevant with fashion and whatnot on this blog. bahahahahahahaha! sending love buddy! xox

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  6. Hmm flies always go in my breeze way badly, I wonder if I could do this, st the cups up. What is that stuff??

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    1. ltw - i would give it a try and set up some cups in your breezeway. the tanglewood stuff can be found in your hardware store. smear it on some cups and then place the cups throughout your breezeway. let me know if it works. xoxo

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  7. The blue hat is very stylish.

    What do you use the salve for?

    Jealous for the peas, although I see you have fencing. Lesson learned for me this year: Rabbits like bean leaves. Fencing for sure next year.

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    1. thank you very much TB - bahahahah! you can use the salve on just about anything - small cuts, bruises, chapped skin, bug bites, burns, etc., etc.

      we use the fencing to keep out our cats - we don't have any probs with rabbits as they just like eating the clover in our yard!

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  8. I say kill those flies! If the hats work I'd wear them, better than being all bitten up. That salve sounds really useful. I am constantly amazed at how self sufficient and how happy you two are.

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    1. Harry - you know it! ya gotta do what you gotta do and those bugs are just covering me in welts! the salve is good for so many things and why buy products when you can make them yourself, right? i hope you got the ferrets their paste. although i understand that trips into town can really suck! sending much love to you! xoxox

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  9. Never heard of tanglefoot and don't think it's available here. So glad it works :)

    So strange to seed plants that were growing in my garden now growing on the other side of this beautiful planet :)

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    1. Dani - i feel the exact same way! i am very proud of my South African peppers and will save seeds from them in order to always have them! they will always be my South African peppers! and that is why i want to send you some seeds - would you like some lupins? sending much love! xoxo

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  10. Lovely to see your chilli's from Dani, mine don't look nearly as impressive yet but when they start to flower I'll keep them isolated so the seeds are pure and I can grow them next year. It's so fun to think they're from so far away and you have the exact same one's as me and you're so far away too.

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    1. Kirsty - you and me and Dani all think the same way! i love knowing that i have South African peppers and i love knowing that you do, too! i think the internet is amazing because like-minded people get to meet and share all kinds of stuff with each other. i can't wait to see how your peppers are faring. and yes - we both will save seeds from our South African peppers and hand them down and people in our 2 countries will always have Dani's South African peppers - how amazing is that? sending much love to you hon! xoxo

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