Garden Update

The Farmer’s Markets have begun, the garden is shooting up and out and it’s strawberry time. So far, it’s sort of under control. I’m so glad I feel so good or I wouldn’t be able to keep up the pace. I still make time for quiet contemplation in the garden, always giving thanks for the abundance of this little plot.

A Taste of Spring!

The comfrey root I plopped in the ground this spring (thank you Mary Jane!) is blooming, along with its two compatriots. It’s just a little different from the one I started here from seed a few years ago. I know this baby will yield its miraculous cure in profusion. Its salve healed sweet husband’s bad knee that has bothered him for years, not to mention all the other people who have benefited from its root.

Comfrey Taking Root

I have many valerian plants, but this big mother on the hugel is the only one ready for harvesting this fall. Needless to say, it has greatly benefited from the goodies we buried underneath here. (See article “Hugelkultur” on this blog). The valerian tincture made from valerian root tastes terrible, but always brings relaxation for those infrequent sleepless nights. It’s a must for the herbal medicine chest.

Valerian

 I put one tomato plant in a pot for those early BLTs and it has tomatoes setting on already.

Potted Tomato

This geranium was over-wintered in the south windows in the attic. I didn’t realize I mixed a red and a pink, but it’s beautiful in form and color.

Pink and Red Geranium

 The iris is gone for another year, but the calendula is beginning to bloom.

Yellow Iris

Calendula Blooming

Here’s our new “fire pit,” sweet husband’s idea. It works great and now it has its own special place where we never have to move it again. It’s the bottom of an antique cast iron woodstove and weighs a ton. I hope to find a metal lid for rain protection. I get hungry for marshmallows and may have to get some, just once. We all need a little poison now and then!

New "Fire Pit"

 I’ll leave you with the ornamental strawberry path up front. They have taken over almost all the path and doesn't mind a little foot traffic.

Ornamental Strawberry Path

Update on Vegetable Gardening with Woodchips

Main Garden Plot

On December 7, 2013, I posted about all kinds of edibles I intended to plant in woodchips. If you are interested, go back and read that entry. I believed I had seen the error of my gardening ways and was ready for a change. Really, the essence of that entry dealt with my belief paradigm. Would I be able to change the way I gardened? The answer is a resounding, YES! I had already taken baby steps, now it was time to go all in. Oh my, have I been rewarded. I’m able to grow more than twice the amount of fruits and vegetables on my tiny plot. Here’s what I did:

Sweet husband and I always take our little trailer over to the city yard where free woodchips from local trees are available. For fifteen years we have mulched our trees, shrubs and flowers. I had been mulching the strawberries and they bore a ton of fruit. The apple tree was loaded. I had inter-planted occasional vegetables into the landscape with good results. Now it was time to dump the “free nutrients” on the veggies. We hauled countless loads in the spring and fall of 2014 and then again in the spring of 2015. The fall of last year was a very busy time for us, so we fell down on the proverbial job and added nothing. I harvested broken down woodchips from areas where we had been adding chips for years, moved that to the veggie garden and then we applied fresh chips to those stripped areas. Yes, it was labor intensive, a sacrifice we all tend to make when we’re planning for the future. My old body got whipped into shape and I felt great.

Quince in Flower

I planted in those broken down woodchips in the garden proper and put new chips around plants to retain water and suppress weeds. The results were surprising. Even in 2014 the yields were amazing. I also did second and third plantings of carrots and beets and potatoes. We covered with leaves the few carrots I had left in the ground and harvested them until they ran out in December of 2014. I was determined to have more in “storage” for 2015. I must have re-planted at exactly the right time, as this last winter we harvested over 40 pounds of beautiful, sweet carrots until March, when I dug the rest and put them in cold storage. It’s a wonderful feeling when you remove the snow and leaves and discover orange gold. Some of them weighed up to 10 ounces! They were so tasty and fresh. I experimented with a few beets and next winter we will have fresh, organic beets until spring.

 

Beautiful and Medicinal Violets

Other bonuses to gardening this way:

*NO watering: even after a month last summer with no rain, the ground held rainwater.

*Few weeds: how nice is it when, at the peak of your busy time, weeding takes five minutes?

*No cultivation: yes, my second year of no backbreaking turning-over-of-the-rye. That was a bear, getting ready to plant. This year, as every year, I mail ordered any seeds I was unable to save from 2015. I also ordered onion plants instead of sets. They sent my order and informed me that the onion plants would come when it was time to plant. Yikes! There they were on March 16^th. The weather was wet, cold and dreary and the instructions said “Plant ASAP”. I took the box out to the potting shed and grabbed the hoe. Surely it would be a bog out there. To my surprise, the soil was not muddy but instead well drained. I made my trenches and quickly planted three long rows of red, yellow and white onions. Way too easy. No-till gardening means you are ready to plant whenever. The soil retains its natural integrity; no cultivation means preserving the structure that encourages natural biological activity and fertility.

*Heavy yields: close plantings and successive plantings means food pouring in. Pull a beet, plant a seed in its place. Of course, this doesn’t work for every vegetable at least I haven’t found a way. Maybe, for example, starting cabbage seedlings in pots for late transplant? The woodchips generate warmth as they break down, which jumpstarts the season, but some things are harvested only once.

*Constant fertilization: trees are our best source for fertilizer. Trees harvest the energy that can later be transferred into food. Yes, I compost, but leaves and woodchips mixed in with kitchen waste (banana, citrus, potato peels, coffee grounds etc.) heat up and speed the breaking down process. Really, it’s just easier to find a bare spot and dig a small hole and bury the kitchen waste right in the garden; the same with leaves in the spring. If it goes on the pile, it has to be moved into the garden at some point. I’m not getting any younger.

In December of 2013, I made a commitment to grow vegetables in woodchips. I overcame the bare-soil belief paradigm. I protected the tender skin of Mother Earth and she has rewarded me beyond my expectations. I’m able to grow more than twice the amount of fruits, vegetables and herbs on my little urban plot.

Sammie on Top

 

Fig Tree Overwintered in Front Porch

Tulips Pretending to be Roses

Spring Has Sprung

Daffodils

Glorious spring! First the daffodils, then the tulips.

Yellow Tulips

May 3rd

The quince is a thorny mess all year, but in the spring, it is one of the first to bloom a delicate pink. Later, there will (hopefully) be those crazy apple-like fruits that make such good jam.

Quince

The violets are sending out their delicious perfume and are gathered for salves and tinctures.

Violets washed and ready

Added to the Bechard’s Botanicals line of new products are these:

Shampoo bars are joined by hair balm

Stardust Shimmer Dusting Powder for sweaty summer days

Healing Salves

Lip Balm

As I was working in the garden, I happened to look across to the park and saw my husband making the best of that irritating wind. He’s the only guy I know that will go fly a kite when his wife tells him to!

Go fly a kite!

Full Summer at Bechard’s Botanicals

Surprise Lilies

Oh my, I’ve sorely neglected this blog. I don’t know what to say except weeding, harvesting, canning, procuring and dispersing woodchips, soapmaking and the Saturday market to sell it, herb harvesting and tincture making.

10 pumpkins were harvested from the volunteer vine!

The hugel herb garden 7-15

 The kayaking trip has been postponed several times, although I’ve had intermittent “rests” in the garden, which have given me peace in the middle of this chaos and reminded me of my joyful connection to Nature.

Drying calendula petals for future soap

I’ve made new friends at the Byron Farmer’s Market who have already enriched my life. I now have an “herb buddy” to discuss natural healing and a gentle man who raises goats has provided me with milk so I could make my first goat’s milk soap. The adventures roll on… 

My first goat's milk soap

Freezing Strawberries and Making Tea Tree Loaves

Borage Flowers and Tincture

Every day I wake up and long to make soap. I should make soap to replace what is flying off the shelves. Then I remember the strawberries, which are ripening faster than I can pick, clean and freeze. The abundant rain has brought not only the beautiful flowers, fruits, vegetable and herbs, but an aggressive lot of weeds. (I use the term “weed” loosely, as these are the very plants I’m in the process of wildcrafting for soaps and my medicine cabinet). A more accurate description of a weed is any plant growing where I don’t want it! There’s a bunch of them this year, as everything, and I mean everything, is germinating. On top of that, it’s very hard for me to choose what to let grow and what to compost. I allowed a big patch of volunteer borage to grow in the vegetable garden proper, and now I remember the potatoes that were planted amongst them that I imagine are having trouble seeing daylight.

Borage is one of the most beautiful plants around. It’s great in salads and for a quick snack as I pass by; its furry leaves taste like fresh cucumbers. It also makes a tincture that actually tastes good and is a tonic for many ills.

June Berries

I did get out one fine morning to pick burdock, which is the bane of all farmers. Fortunately, it’s very hard to destroy and contains many medicinal properties for tincture. I was feeling a little under the weather, so I made some tea with it, which was energizing but really bitter tasting. Amongst the flurry of weeding and wildcrafting, there are the strawberries, which wait for no man (or woman!) They must be picked at least once a day, washed, stemmed and frozen on cookie sheets before placing into freezer bags. I’ll be happy in January when I eat them on my oatmeal or retrieve a bag for jam.

Berries in cake pan will be bagged and stored in freezer

BUT…I did find time to make Tea Tree Soap. It was really an excuse to experiment with botanicals for coloring. I used indigo for blue, a wonderful natural coloring that has been used forever for denim dye.

Tea Tree Loaf with Indigo color

Madder root makes a pretty red.

Tea Tree Soap Loaf with Madder Root

Safflower makes a lovely yellow soap.

Tea Tree Loaf with Safflower powder

Alkanet is supposed to create a purple color, but it looks more gray to me.

Tea Tree Loaf with Alkanet Root

All of these 1 pound loaves will eventually be offered (uncut) for sale at a bargain price of $15 each. The customer can cut it to whatever size bars they wish. Tea tree is a crisp, clean scent and is a healing essential oil that has antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. Tea tree oil soap can help beat body odor, clear up acne and other skin ailments by reducing bacteria and inflammation.

Clematis and Yellow Lilies by Swing

Do I have time to sit in the swing by the pond?

 

My Secret Place

I hear my secret place on the bench calling me to sit a spell and enjoy this little paradise here in the Garden of Nemesis.

180 Degree View

Guest Garden Photo

Jean and Greg's Angel

The above photo is of Jean and Greg’s angel guarding the entrance to their garden. Like many of us, they started from scratch with a nearly blank slate last year. I’m happy to say that the Garden of Nemesis contributed some plant material to their efforts. If you’re in Rockford, Illinois or close by, send an email and come by for some free daylilies!

Berm 2004

Sometimes we have to hold the vision of our new garden until it comes to fruition. Here are two pics of the berm. The above was taken in April of 2004 and the one below yesterday from almost the exact same angle.

Berm 2014

 The weather has warmed up and the garden is “catching up”. Generally, the bleeding heart is finished blooming before the iris pop out, but this rare pic shows them blooming together.

Iris and Bleeding Heart

I was a good girl this week and weeded and planted herbs and veggies instead of making soap. The next two soaps are gestating: “Lavender Fields” and “Synchronicity,” and will may be born as soon as tomorrow. Meanwhile, the tomato and pepper plants I took time out to plant are sending out new roots into the garden soil as we speak. The new herb garden on the hugel we built last fall is planted with medicinal herbs such as black cohosh, lavender, soapwort and marshmallow.

 

Yellow Iris

Soap Creations and Spring Garden Pics

Allium in Bloom

 The last week has had crazy weather. It got really hot and then a few days later it snowed!

Snow on 5-16

 Meanwhile, I made soap. The cocoa butter soap almost sold out, so I made more.

Original Buttercup

 I couldn’t resist adding the cookie cutter hearts I made from the Suminagashi soap scraps.

New Buttercup Love

 This one has the same recipe but with honey.

I got this bee pic from "Birds and Blooms" magazine

The original Hand Milled Tomato soap sold out, so I made this cold processed version with added herbs and a little Tomato Leaf and Coriander fragrance.

Cutting Tomato Soap

I don’t know why it came out this peachy color, but it’s still beautiful.

Fresh Cut Tomato Soap

 Next, I tried my hand at shampoo bars, which I named “Lustrous Hair”. Since it PH tested at 8, I used it last night. My hair is soft and lustrous, thus the name. It’s still too soft to sell, but it should be ready in a month.

Shampoo Bars

Last but not least, I had a little fun with colors and made “Serendipity”.

Serendipity

Today I must forget soap and get more veggies planted. The bedding plants in the potting shed are outgrowing their containers and need to go in the ground.

Pink tulips blooming with white Bleeding Heart and Flowering Quince in background

Here’s some pics I just took of the last of the tulips.

Last day for these tulips. Whaaa!