December 16, 2014 Kim’s Weekly Garden
Newsletter © Kim Willis
These weekly garden notes are written by Kim Willis,
unless another author is noted, and the opinions expressed in these notes are
her opinions and do not represent any other individual, group or organizations
opinions.
Hi Gardeners
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| This picture is of Mt Rainier National park - Justin Marx |
Once again Tuesday dawns foggy and wet. Our weather pattern has been shifting pretty
reliably on Tuesday for the past month or so.
Maybe we can predict the weather by the day of the week. It’s supposed to get colder but no major
storms are near, according to the weather service today anyway. Last year at this time we already had several
inches of snow on the ground so it’s an improvement – maybe hope for the rest
of winter.
December was named by the Romans for being the 10th
month, (which it used to be before the modern calendar) but I am beginning to
think it should have been named as the gray or dark month. In Latin there are dozens of words for gray,
each denoting a particular shade (50 shades of gray?). Griseus sounds right- that’s pure gray or
pearl gray. Or maybe Plumbeus, that’s sort
of Christmassy sounding and means lead colored.
Or maybe we should just call December Sordidus, which means any dull and
unpleasant color.
On Sunday when it was 50 degrees I went out and
searched our property for dried flowers and weeds to make some new
arrangements. The great thing about
dried flower arrangements is that you don’t have to worry about the container
you put them in being able to hold water.
I had an old lamp “shade” that I had removed the light fixture from and
I decided it would make a great dried flower ”vase”. I found some dried grass seed heads, some
dried hydrangea flowers, and some dried anise hyssop seed heads and created an
arrangement I really liked. I also found
some dried sedum flowers, dried asters and dried goldenrod seed heads for a
second arrangement.
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| Dried flower arrangement. |
Being in the crafty mood I also decided to make some
soap. I am not making my usual fudge
this year after nearly 40 years of making fudge and cookies for Christmas so I
decided soap would be my creative outlet.
I used a pre-made base for simplicity and since I wanted to make hemp
oil based soap it was a little more legal than trying to distill oil from pot
seeds. Just kidding, I could have bought
the oil (Hemp oil is legal and not a drug.) and made soap but it’s simpler this
way.
So back to the story.
I also wanted to use natural dyes so I choose some spinach powder for
green and alkanet powder from a catalog that promised pink to maroon color in
the soap. I should have done some
research. After successfully melting my
base, adding essential oils (pine, frankincense and myrrh) and spinach powder
to make a pretty green soap I confidently went on to my second batch. I wanted it to smell like roses and Valencia (a
citrusy mix) so I thought pink or red color would be perfect. So I added the alkanet powder. I was very dismayed to see the soap change to
an ugly tan mud color.
But as it cooled the color changed to a deep purple,
which I thought wasn’t too bad. When I took the soap from the mold however, I
noticed lots of little black speckles on the bottom-where the alkanet powder
had settled. It was actually kind of
pretty looking, almost glittery but I had a feeling it might not be the best
thing that could happen. Sure enough
when you lather with the soap the little black specks are a tiny bit abrasive
and come out of the soap looking like bits of dirt.
Now I did some research. It seems alkanet should be dissolved in a
little olive oil or alcohol for a few days before being strained out and then
the colored oil or alcohol is added to the soap base after its melted. Alkanet also makes many different colors,
depending on what the pH of the base soap is.
With an alkaline base, as I assume most soap would have, you get brown
to purple colors, sometimes if lucky, a pretty blue, not pink or red as the
catalog suggested. I guess I am going to
try and salvage this batch by labeling them citrus pumice soap. The smell is great anyway.
About
alkanet
Alkanet is another name for plants of the borage family
also known as Anchusa or Bugloss. It’s
the dried roots of Anchusa tinctoria that
has been used as a dye for thousands of years.
The dye plant, true Anchusa
tinctoria is perennial, but some ornamental Anchusa’s are biannual. Borage family members typically have pretty
true blue flowers on lanky, rough, hairy leaved plants. Roots of the plants are large and thick. It’s the roots that are dried and ground into
a powder for dyeing purposes.
By the time Greeks began writing about it, people had
been using alkanet root powder in dozens of formulas meant to produce a wide
range of colors from brown to red to blue and purple. The powder was used to color fabric, wood, wine,
and the faces of Greek and later Roman women.
Unlike me, those early civilizations knew what to add to alkanet to
produce the colors they wanted. Red
colors are typically made by adding alkanet to an acidic substance- such as
wine. Blues and purples were made by
combining alkanet with alkaline substances and browns and tans by substances
such as water that have a neutral pH.
.JPG) |
| Anchusa- alkanet |
Alkanet used to have some medicinal properties assigned
to it. It was used in ointments to heal
wounds, bruises and snakebite. Used as a
strong concoction with wine it was said to kill intestinal worms. It was taken in vinegar to help with kidney
and liver problems. The flowers of
borage are pretty in salads and perfectly safe to eat. Bees love borage flowers and the honey they
make from it is said to have a very pleasant taste.
Frankincense
and Myrrh
Frankincense and Myrrh are two “spices” that are
typically associated with Christmas because of the bible mentioning that they
were brought as gifts to the baby Jesus.
What is ironic is that during the early centuries of Christian worship
the burning of incense, the traditional way of using the scents of Frankincense
and Myrrh, was prohibited because it was associated with pagan and Jewish traditions. It somehow snuck back into Christian rituals
and even now incense is burned in Catholic and Greek orthodox religious ceremonies.
Frankincense (Boswellia carteri is the most prominent
species of Boswellia used) and myrrh (Commiphora myrrha is the most harvested
species) are both woody plants that grow in the same desolate dry areas of Northeast
Africa where the countries of Ethiopia and Somalia are now located and along
the coast of the Red Sea in Yemen. There
are actually several species of both plants that are harvested, with some yielding
a better product than others.
Frankincense trees grow right on rocks with a special
kind of adhesive roots. Myrrh plants are
typically shrub like. Both plants resist transplanting to more favorable climates,
although it’s been tried since the times of the Romans, with potted plants
appearing in various ancient murals.
Both frankincense and myrrh are harvested by wounding
the trees or shrubs trunks and collecting the sap that oozes out after it has
hardened. It takes a lot of labor and
many months to do this in the inhospitable areas that the plants grow in and
the plants were never terribly abundant, which accounts for the value that was placed
on both spices. The lumps of resin were
graded by their color and purity and assigned value accordingly.
The golden lumps of hardened resin were often worth
more than gold and widely traded. The
ancient Egyptians bought boatloads of the spices and camel caravans carried
them vast distances. These spices were often used as currency and taxes were
paid with them. Every deity imaginable
was given frankincense and myrrh as a sacrificial offering. From pagans to Christians the practice of
using frankincense and myrrh in religious ceremonies was passed along.
The lumps of spice resin are either ground and used in incense
and other products or the lumps are soaked in oils or alcohol to leach out the
scent and medicinal properties. The scents
of the two spices are hard to describe, frankincense seems to have a warmer,
more woodsy scent with myrrh seeming to have a smoky pine scent. The two are almost always combined in incense
for religious ceremonies. You either
like or dislike the aroma it seems.
Our early ancestors were adept in finding plants that
altered the mind and or mood. Both
frankincense and myrrh contain chemicals called sesquiterpenes that are
released when the resin powder is burned. When inhaled, sesquiterpenes act on
a part of the brain that controls emotions.
They were used to alter emotions – particularly to ease stress, grief
and despair, and to allow the mind to focus and become introspective. It helps that the scent of these spices is
also pleasing to most people and could cover the not so pleasant smells of
early communal gatherings.
Both frankincense and myrrh also have traditional
medicinal uses. Myrrh was often used for
diseases of the teeth and mouth and is still used in some toothpastes and mouth
washes. Myrrh was often mixed with wine
and used as a pain reliever. It has a
bitter taste and is believed to be the “gall” that was mixed with vinegar and
offered to Christ on the cross. It was
not a Roman cruelty as so often taught; rather it was traditional for Romans to
offer a pain sedative to those they crucified, most often myrrh mixed with
cheap wine.
Myrrh is also used in ointments to smooth and heal
chapped and inflamed skin and was used to prevent wrinkles. It, along with frankincense and other spices
and herbs, is part of the embalming fluid Egyptians used on the dead “mummies”.
Myrrh was also used to bring on menstruation, possibly
to induce abortions. It was given to
purify women before they were “given” to a new man. The book of Ester in the bible gives
instructions to purify a woman by giving her oil of myrrh for 6 months and then
for another additional 6 months she was given sweet oil treatments. This would effectively mean that she would
not be pregnant with another man’s child and was probably thought to cure any
sexually transmitted disease she might also have.
Frankincense has been used since ancient times to cure
arthritic pain and modern research has found that it is indeed helpful in some
forms of arthritis. It is also being
used today for the treatment of ulcerative colitis, and there are studies that
prove it’s quite effective. In older
references oil of frankincense was referred to as oil of Olibanum or just as Olibanum.
 |
| Frankincense plant. Credit: Scott Zona, wikimedia commons |
Egyptian women used burnt frankincense ashes to make
kohl- the original black eyeliner and mascara.
Even today many expensive cosmetics and perfumes contain either
frankincense or myrrh as ingredients.
Frankincense was also thought to cure sexual diseases and
inhaling the smoke was thought to cure asthma and other bronchial conditions. The
smoke of both frankincense and myrrh repels insects and the smoke was thought
to purge a room of disease or malevolent spirits and thoughts. And of course it made a room smell better in
most cases and would alter the emotions in a positive way.
By the middle ages the disruption of trade routes made
the use of both frankincense and myrrh too rare and expensive for most people
and the use of the spices receded to mostly religious ritual. Today however you can find frankincense and
myrrh, most often as incense or as essential oils to use in cosmetic and craft
products.
Bee propolis may help grow hair
Propolis is a substance bees make from resins and saps
collected from plants. It’s not honey,
and isn’t used for food. The dark brown
resin is used to seal openings in the hive, repair the hive or wall off things
that got into the hive and can’t be carried out.
Propolis has long been used in folk medications for a wide
range of things. You can buy it in
health food stores and on line. Researchers
have been doing various studies on propolis to see if there is any true
medicinal value. A recent study
published in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found one
interesting use for propolis.
When researchers applied propolis to the skin of mice that
had been shaved or that had their hair removed with wax they found that hair
grew back much faster on the treated mice than on a control group. They found that the treated mice had more cells
that caused hair growth. They also found
that the propolis had anti-inflammatory properties that could help with
inflammation of hair pores that often causes hair loss.
While researchers are not yet saying that they have a cure
for baldness they say that it looks like propolis might help in some
cases. So if you are going bald and aren’t
happy buy some bee propolis and do your own experiment.
Prescription drugs in the water affect food crops growth
It’s another good reason not to pee on your garden. Researchers have found that many medications
that humans take and then excrete in their urine and feces get into the soil
and water. Even the common over the
counter drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen and a common ingredient in pain
medications called diclofenac are excreted from our bodies and remain in the
environment.
Most municipal sewage systems don’t effectively remove drugs
from the water nor do water purification plants. Using municipal water to water your plants or
sewage sludge for fertilizer –or peeing on your garden as some organic “experts”
recommend- means your soil will soon contain
these chemicals too. And when plants are
grown in soil contaminated with these chemicals their growth can be affected.
Research recently published in the Journal of Ecotoxicology
and Environmental Safety found that even in very small amounts the chemicals
ibuprofen and diclofenac caused growth problems in radish and lettuce plants in
an experimental study. The plants
absorbed the chemicals through the root system from contaminated soil. The root systems of the plants didn’t grow as
well as those in uncontaminated soil and the rate of growth and photosynthesis
wasn’t as good.
There’s no hope that people are going to quit using these
medications so the gardener must make a decision as to what he or she puts on
the garden. Using rain water or at this
point well water,( eventually that too will be contaminated) on the garden and avoiding sewage sludge as a
fertilizer will be your best bet to avoid disrupting plant growth. And certainly don’t pee on your garden if you
take any medications. We don’t know what
effect eating the plants that took up the chemicals will have on our bodies yet
- maybe we will all be pain free!
Notice: The next
newsletter will be published Dec. 30th, 2014.
Wishing you a great winter solstice celebration( 21st) ( No worries about
whether you prefer Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays) And a great New Year.
Kim Willis
“He who has a garden and
a library wants for nothing” ― Cicero
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| National Bison Range Refuge- Dave Fitzpatrick |
More Information
Discouraging deer
year-round in your yard: Facts versus fantasies
Give your landscape and garden a fighting
chance from hungry deer by knowing the facts.
Landscape and garden damage caused by deer is a common issue
many homeowners have, and Michigan State University Extension horticulture
educators and Master Gardener hotlines receive questions year-round on this
topic. It’s usually after the event and there may be little to offer other than
sympathy. However, smart gardeners are those who think ahead. If this happened
one year, it will probably happen another. Having a plan and carrying it out is
important to limiting deer damage, but what will discourage deer will also work
on rabbits and woodchucks. These ideas could be called a “three-fer” by
discouraging other mammal munchers at the same time.
Fact: Use deer or animal repellants regularly on plants
during the growing season. Begin applying early in the season when the tulip
flower buds are beginning to emerge and hosta leaves are just in the bullet, or
rolled up, stage. In the spring, apply twice a week and repeat after a rain,
especially if it is more than 0.5 inches. It’s the same deer that are frequenting
your yard. Start training them early. Deer are not going to ride the bus to
your yard from another area. By late summer or fall, you may be able to reduce
your repellent applications to one a week or maybe less. You can purchase
repellants or look to the Internet for some mix-your-own recipes to try. By
using repellants during the growing season, deer become programmed to stay away
from the stinky yard. They are less likely to change their habits in the
winter.
Fantasy: You only need to apply a repellant once a month for
good results. You have to consider yourself an animal trainer and be consistent
in your message of “don’t eat here.”
Fact: Add or replace some plants in your landscape with some
that are considered deer-resistant. Many of these have very distinctive odors.
The reason is to give you fewer plants to protect from the hungry horde. For
more information on deer-resistant plants, see “Deer-Resistant Plants For
Homeowners.”
Fantasy: Planting deer-resistant plants in your landscape
will protect the ones that are being eaten. Planting deer-resistant plants does
not stop deer from sorting through the rest of the garden for a tasty treat.
They just avoid eating the smelly ones.
Fact: Give deer as few reasons as possible to visit your
yard. This might involve using fences in the winter. See “Deer damage to woody
ornamentals” for more information.
Fantasy: Feeding deer in the winter will give them “good”
things to eat instead of your landscape plants. Many well-meaning people have
created problems by feeding deer cracked or whole corn. This leads to a too
common problem called corn toxicity. This can cause acidosis where the influx
of high carbohydrate, low fiber, readily digestible food goes into the deer’s
system that is calibrated for high fiber, woody browse plants. The pH drops in
the deer’s rumen and gut activity stops and the animal suffers from
indigestion, dehydration, diarrhea and eventual death. The other problem is
entrotoxemia which is an overeating disease. This can also cause the rapid
death of animals in relatively good condition. Deer will also show up for any
material they can get out of bird feeders or off the ground.
Fact: Using a fertilizer like Milorganite may help
discourage deer. Some gardeners have found Milorganite fertilizer to be a
useful tool in repelling deer. The product says it has up to five-week
repellency. Other possible aids include hanging chunks of strongly scented
deodorant soaps in mesh nets, sprinkling human hair on the ground from a barber
shop, scattering blood meal, and getting rid of outdated spices and herbs like
cinnamon, red pepper flakes, cloves and anything with a strong aroma.
Fantasy: Believing that any of the products will last the
entire season or maybe a month. You have to consider that you are always on
duty and are trying to think about deterring the invaders at the gate.
Any of these tips and techniques will have various amounts
of success. It may be impossible in some cases to prevent damage completely.
The number of deer in an area and available food will make results differ. In
the winter, the longer there is continuous snow cover on the ground, the more
desperate deer become. They can dig through a few inches, but if it is heavy,
deer may be forced to venture to places they regularly don’t go. Think ahead to
prevent deer damage; it’s so much easier than trying to repair it.
This article was published by Michigan State University
Extension. For more information, visit
Events, classes and other offerings
Please let me know if there is any event or class that
you would like to share with other gardeners.
These events are primarily in Michigan but if you are a reader from
outside of Michigan and want to post an event I’ll be glad to do it.
Master Gardeners if you belong to an association that
approves your hours please check with that association before assuming a class
or work day will count as credit.
Do you have plants or seeds you would like to swap or
share? Post them here by emailing me.
I have several free
roosters, bantam and full sized if anyone is interested. Also free 5 male Muscovy ducks, young, mostly
black feathered. Excellent eating,
less greasy than other duck- taste like beef.
Or great for decorating your pond. Kimwillis151@gmail.com
A
Note to readers- Garden classes will be less frequent during the next few
months.
MSU offered a variety of on line
seminars for those who were interested in beginning farming topics of various
types. Some of those are now available
free to watch at the address below.
Gardeners may be interested in topics like organic pest control. Get the list of topics and links here.
Meijer
Gardens’ 20th annual “Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around The World”, Now through January 4,
2015, 1000 E. Beltline Ave. NE in Grand Rapids, Mi.
This year’s holiday exhibits will include New Year
traditions from Japan, Korea, Vietnam and China, including the Japanese
kadomatsu, or gate pine. This is a display of pine, bamboo and plum blossoms.
There will also be a display from Ghana that includes brilliantly woven kente
and printed adinkra cloths.
There will also be more than 40 international trees and
displays, a Railway Garden that features model trains running through four
indoor garden spaces and more than 30 miniature buildings representing Grand
Rapids landmarks.
Admission is $12 for adults, $9 for students and
seniors, $6 for ages 5-13, $4 for ages 3-4 and free for museum members and kids
2 and younger. Check out the entire schedule of holiday events at www.meijergardens.org.
Capital Area Master
Gardeners - Mixing It Up Garden
symposium - January 31, 2015, 8:15-4 pm.
MSU Plant and Soil Sciences Building ,1066 Bogue Street
East Lansing, MI.
This symposium features a variety of
garden classes to lighten the winter blahs.
Registration fee includes lunch.
A garden marketplace will be available for shoppers. Fees are $35 for
local club members, $45 for other Master Gardeners, $55 for all others.
To get a description of classes and
register online go to: https://mgacac.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/brochure2014_11-14.pdf
Newsletter
information
If you would
like to pass along a notice about an educational event or a volunteer
opportunity please send me an email before Tuesday of each week and I will
print it. Also if you have a comment or opinion you’d like to share, send it to
me. Please state that you want to have the item published in my weekly notes.
You must give your full name and what you say must be polite and not attack any
individual. I am very open to ideas and opinions that don’t match mine but I do
reserve the right to publish what I want.
Once again the
opinions in this newsletter are mine and I do not represent any organization or
business. I do not make any income from this newsletter. I write this because I
love to share with other gardeners some of the things I come across in my
research each week. It keeps me engaged with local people and horticulture.
It’s a hobby, basically. I hope you enjoy it. If at any time you don’t wish to
receive these emails just let me know. If you know anyone who would like to
receive these emails have them send their email address to me. KimWillis151@gmail.com
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