Nasturtium

Tags

bladder, bronchitis, colds, companion plant, coughs, flower, flu, Herb, kidney, nasturtium, nasturtiums, salad, showy flowers, sore throat

Nasturtium Tropaeolum maju

Nasturtiums are a wonderfully colorful and useful  annual addition to any garden and they are easy to grow. It has a pleasant peppery taste and has become a favourite world over. The showy flowers come in shades of fiery red, oranges and yellows. The flowers can be single or double.

Sow the seeds in Spring in a sunny spot. It does best in sandy soils, but any well drained soil will do. Interestingly, the poorer the soil, the more flowers the plant will produce.  Once they are established they will reseed themselves year after year.

Nasturtiums are wonderful companion plants. Plant them near roses, cucumbers, cabbage and other plants.

All parts of the plant are used. Eat a leaf at the first sign of a sore throat, another an hour later and a third leaf an house later. Nasturtiums have a high vitamin C content, as well as being a natural antibiotic. It is also used to treat bladder and kidney ailments,coughs, colds, flu, sore throats and bronchitis.

The flower has most often been consumed, making for an especially ornamental salad ingredient.

Basil is King

Tags

basil, food, Greek language, Herb, home grown, olive oil, organic, pesto, Pine nut, Summer savory

Basil is one of the world’s most loved herbs. The Greek word for basil is basileus which means King.

Growing: Basil has deep tap roots, and do not liked to be moved. So transplant your seedlings carefully in the cool of the late afternoon. Keep the soil moist. Sweet Basil is best grown from seed sown in the early Spring and transplanted 50cm apart..

Harvesting: Basil is best used fresh (dried and frozen Basil loses flavor) It is best to pinch of the tips, this also discourages it from flowering, ensuring a longer life span of the plant.

Companion planting: Plant Basil with tomatoes, Summer Savory and fruit trees.

Uses:

Culinary:  Probably the most popular use is Basil Pesto. It tastes good with pizza, pasta, tomatoes, chicken and sausages.

Medicinal: Basil tea is  excellent  to  detox and de-stress. It is good for migraines, peptic ulcers, mouth infections, coughs, hypertension, indigestion and delayed menstruation.

Use 1/4 cup of leaves in  1 cup of boiling water. Leave to draw for 5 minutes, and sip slowly. Cooled tea can be cooled and used as a lotion for insect bites and stings. Basil vinegar is good for sunburn and scalp infections.

Cosmetic: Basil  tea is the perfect toner for an oily skin.

Other uses : Basil leaves rubbed on kitchen window sills keeps the flies at bay and freshens the air.

Basil Pesto

4 cups fresh Sweet Basil Leaves

2 to 3 cloves of garlic – peeled

sea salt to taste

4 tbs pine nuts/ Almonds/ walnuts or pecan nuts

5 to 6 tbs Olive Oil

4 tbs Parmesan Cheese.

Blend all ingredients till a smooth paste if formed.

Serve with pasta, baked potatoes, grills etc.

Winter Savory- the forgotten Herb

Tags

Aromatherapy, bean weevils, candida, colds and flu, companion plant, companion planting, coughs, Essential oil, garden, gardening, health, Herb, herbal tea, home grown, nature, perennial  herb, plant, plants, respiratory ailments, satureja montana, Satureja montana Winter Savory, Southern Europe, white flowers, winter savory

Satureja montana

Winter Savory is an easy to grow perennial  herb with pretty little white flowers. It makes and ideal path edging, container plants, focal point for hanging baskets. The tiny white flowers set the bees humming and butterflies into a frenzy.  Pungent oils that contain thymol and linalool are released when crushing this herb.

It is a good companion plant for beans keeping bean weevils away, and roses reducing mildew and aphids, and tomatoes as it keep white-fly and aphids at bay.

Medicinal uses :Winter Savory is native to Southern Europe and North Africa. It has been used since ancient times to aid and stimulate digestion and ease colic and flatulence. Ancient texts show that Monks used it with honey to make a strong syrup for digestive problems as well as coughs, colds and chest ailments.

Modern research has also found that the essential oil extracted from Winter Savory is beneficial for Candida. A tea of winter savory drunk twice daily greatly relives the condition. (not for pregnant or breast-feeding woman).

For treating winter respiratory ailments, coughs, colds and flu add lemon and honey to the tea, drink 3 cups per day.

Cultivation : Winter Savory roots easily, plant cuttings 5-cm apart in full sun in well composted, well dug soil.

Culinary : I always dry Winter Savory and add it to my blend of mixed herbs. It goes well with beans and in a pasta sauce.

Basil is King

Tags

basil, food, Greek language, Herb, home grown, olive oil, organic, pesto, Pine nut, Summer savory

Basil is one of the world’s most loved herbs. The Greek word for basil is basileus which means King.

Growing: Basil has deep tap roots, and do not liked to be moved. So transplant your seedlings carefully in the cool of the late afternoon. Keep the soil moist. Sweet Basil is best grown from seed sown in the early Spring and transplanted 50cm apart..

Harvesting: Basil is best used fresh (dried and frozen Basil loses flavor) It is best to pinch of the tips, this also discourages it from flowering, ensuring a longer life span of the plant.

Companion planting: Plant Basil with tomatoes, Summer Savory and fruit trees.

Uses:

Culinary:  Probably the most popular use is Basil Pesto. It tastes good with pizza, pasta, tomatoes, chicken and sausages.

Medicinal: Basil tea is  excellent  to  detox and de-stress. It is good for migraines, peptic ulcers, mouth infections, coughs, hypertension, indigestion and delayed menstruation.

Use 1/4 cup of leaves in  1 cup of boiling water. Leave to draw for 5 minutes, and sip slowly. Cooled tea can be cooled and used as a lotion for insect bites and stings. Basil vinegar is good for sunburn and scalp infections.

Cosmetic: Basil  tea is the perfect toner for an oily skin.

Other uses : Basil leaves rubbed on kitchen window sills keeps the flies at bay and freshens the air.

Basil Pesto

4 cups fresh Sweet Basil Leaves

2 to 3 cloves of garlic – peeled

sea salt to taste

4 tbs pine nuts/ Almonds/ walnuts or pecan nuts

5 to 6 tbs Olive Oil

4 tbs Parmesan Cheese.

Blend all ingredients till a smooth paste if formed.

Serve with pasta, baked potatoes, grills etc.

 

Winter Savory- the forgotten Herb

Tags

companion planting, Herb, plant, winter savory

Satureja montana

Winter Savory is an easy to grow perennial  herb with pretty little white flowers. It makes and ideal path edging, container plants, focal point for hanging baskets. The tiny white flowers set the bees humming and butterflies into a frenzy.  Pungent oils that contain thymol and linalool are released when crushing this herb.

It is a good companion plant for beans keeping bean weevils away, and roses reducing mildew and aphids, and tomatoes as it keep white-fly and aphids at bay.

Medicinal uses :Winter Savory is native to Southern Europe and North Africa. It has been used since ancient times to aid and stimulate digestion and ease colic and flatulence. Ancient texts show that Monks used it with honey to make a strong syrup for digestive problems as well as coughs, colds and chest ailments.

Modern research has also found that the essential oil extracted from Winter Savory is beneficial for Candida. A tea of winter savory drunk twice daily greatly relives the condition. (not for pregnant or breast-feeding woman).

For treating winter respiratory ailments, coughs, colds and flu add lemon and honey to the tea, drink 3 cups per day.

Cultivation : Winter Savory roots easily, plant cuttings 5-cm apart in full sun in well composted, well dug soil.

Culinary : I always dry Winter Savory and add it to my blend of mixed herbs. It goes well with beans and in a pasta sauce.

 

Ariston’s Gardener’s Hand Scrub

Tags

almonds, Brown sugar, garden, green tips, hand scrub, health, Herb, home grown, honey, Kosher salt, Lavender, mint, natural recipe, olive oil, recipe, rosemary, Sea salt

After working the in the garden, one’s hands are normally really dirty. Here is an organic recipe to make your own “Gardener’s Hand Scrub”. Not only will it clean your hands perfectly, it will leave them soft, moisturized and smelling good.

Make your own Gardeners hand scrub with natural ingredients and herbs from your garden!

Adjust recipe if needed, this all natural recipe can be modified with different herbs from your garden, keeps well!

Mix together the following ingredients to form a nice, thick paste.

1) 2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
2) handful of sugar (I use raw sugar)
3) kosher salt or sea salt
4) 1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary or mint, or both
5) 1-2 dried orange or lemon peels, grated (or zest of fresh citrus if you don’t have dried)
6) 2 – 3 tablespoons dried or fresh chopped lavender
7) grated knob of bar soap (optional)
8) smashed up handful of almonds or other nut on hand (optional)
9) 1 glob of honey

Order this directly from : aristonorganic@gmail.com

 

Plant a Summer Salsa garden

Tags

clove garlic, food, gardening, garlic, garlic bulbs, green tips, health, Herb, home grown, homegrown salsa, organic, pasta sauce, pepper plants, salsa garden, vegan, vegetarian

The Standard Salsa Garden is a very simple design
4 feet x 6 feet, you should be able to harvest a substantial amount of salsa either for canning or use fresh as needed.
Fresh homegrown salsa – Yum!
Here is what this design consists of:
1.Two (2) tomato plants

2.Fourteen (14) onions
3.Four (4) cilantro plants
4.Six (6) garlic bulbs
5.Two (2) pepper plants
6.Three (3) basil or parsley plants

Could also be called a pasta sauce garden.

Winter Savory- the forgotten Herb

Tags

Aromatherapy, bean weevils, candida, colds and flu, companion plant, companion planting, coughs, Essential oil, garden, gardening, health, Herb, herbal tea, home grown, nature, plant, plants, respiratory ailments, satureja montana, Southern Europe, winter savory

Satureja montana

Winter Savory is an easy to grow perennial  herb with pretty little white flowers. It makes and ideal path edging, container plants, focal point for hanging baskets. The tiny white flowers set the bees humming and butterflies into a frenzy.  Pungent oils that contain thymol and linalool are released when crushing this herb.

It is a good companion plant for beans keeping bean weevils away, and roses reducing mildew and aphids, and tomatoes as it keep white-fly and aphids at bay.

Medicinal uses :Winter Savory is native to Southern Europe and North Africa. It has been used since ancient times to aid and stimulate digestion and ease colic and flatulence. Ancient texts show that Monks used it with honey to make a strong syrup for digestive problems as well as coughs, colds and chest ailments.

Modern research has also found that the essential oil extracted from Winter Savory is beneficial for Candida. A tea of winter savory drunk twice daily greatly relives the condition. (not for pregnant or breast-feeding woman).

For treating winter respiratory ailments, coughs, colds and flu add lemon and honey to the tea, drink 3 cups per day.

Cultivation : Winter Savory roots easily, plant cuttings 5-cm apart in full sun in well composted, well dug soil.

Culinary : I always dry Winter Savory and add it to my blend of mixed herbs. It goes well with beans and in a pasta sauce.

 

The everlasting herb Helichrysum odoratissimum – Imphepho

Tags

ancestors, Everlasting, fumigant, gardening, Herb, home grown, insect repellant, nature, perfume, plants, South African endemic plant, trance

As is name implies this plant has a strong smell. It is widely used as a perfume, but also as a insect repellent.

Description
Helichrysum odoratissimum is a strong aromatic, much branched perennial herb with small silvery leaves and small yellow flower heads borne in groups at the tips of the branches. Woody at the base, erect or diffuse up to 50 cm high. Leaves vary from linear-oblong, lanceolate, lingulate to spathulate, markedly decurrent, apex generally obtuse, sometimes acute, mucronate, base narrow or broad, glandular and setose-scabrid above, greyish white wooly on both surfaces, sometimes without wool. Capitula in crowded, compound inflorescence at the end of a naked peduncle. Involucral bracts obtuse, outermost wooly, inner brown and the innermost bright yellow. Bracts on the receptacle pointed, tooth-like, slightly longer the ovary. Fruit dull brown, granular.

Flowers throughout the year, but mainly from August to December in SW. Cape, January to June elsewhere.

Distribution and habitat
This plant ranges from the Soutpansberg in Limpopo through the highlands of the Mpumalanga and W. Swaziland to the Midlands and Uplands of KwaZulu-Natal, the NE. Free State, Lesotho, the Cape Drakensberg, mountains and coastal areas of Eastern Cape, across the Cape folds mountains of Cedarberg, Giftberg in Vanrhynsdorp as far as Peninsula in Western-Cape.. Also on the mountains of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi and further north.

It forms large clumps in grassy or rocky slopes and will colonize bare areas such as roadsides and paths.

Flowering time
Flowers throughout the year, but mainly from August to December in SW. Cape, January to June elsewhere.

Name
The genus name refers to the golden colour, like the sun of the flowers. The specific epiphet refers to the strong frabrance of this particular species. Many of the other species are also aromatic.

Helichrysum has 600 species largely in Africa, Madagascar, also in Europe, Asia and Australia. 244 species occur in southern Africa where they are widely distributed.

Uses and cultural aspects
Leaves and stems are widely used as incense to invoke the goodwill of the ancestors, the smoke is sedative and helpful for insomnia and in Eastern-Cape people inhale it as protective cleanser and is also used medicinally for coughs and colds. Some people boil the plant and use it as a facial ointment for pimples. In Lesotho they burnt this plant to fumigate sick rooms. It is also effective in repelling parasites and insects thus ensuring good night rest.

Several species of Helichrysum are used in traditional medicines, but H. odoratissimum is widely used as a perfume and to repel insects. Southern sotho women make perfume ointment from this plant.

Source :

http://www.plantzafrica.com/planthij/helichrysodor.htm

 

Order direct

The wonderful Pyjama Bush – Lobostemon fruticosus…the magical 8 day healing bush

Tags

borage, comfrey, fungal skin conditions, Herb, indigenous plant, nature, plants, shrub, skin, skin blemishes, skin condition, South African endemic plant, sunburn

Lobostemon fruticosus is an amazing indigenous plant belonging to the Borage and Comfrey family. It is a common little shrub in the Cape Floristic Region, with tough hairy leaves and flowers that range from pink through purples to blues, often on the same bush and in the same flower at the same time.
Chew some fresh leaf and you will see why it is also called ‘Pleisterbos‘ – a gummy mass will quickly form!
Other names include Agtdaegeneesbossie and Douwurmbos. Said to heal any skin condition in 8 days, this plant has properties that are typical of the family – it is soothing and cooling and moisturizing to the skin and is a wonderful wound healer.

Lobostemon cream or gel is perfect for dry eczemas and psoriasis, helping to cool and moisturise the skin. It is a soothing application for sunburn, so common at this time of the year, and indeed can help repair sun damage and even help precancerous skin changes if used consistently. It is also helpful for fungal skin conditions such as ringworm or tinea versicolor and may be used by people with seborrhoeic dermatitis. Its wound healing properties make it an excellent application for cuts, grazes and minor wounds as well as bumps and bruises. It has very similar properties to the related famous wound healer Comfrey (Symphytum), but is indigenous and easy to grow in a waterwise garden. Internally, Lobostemon may have applications as a lung medicine, for soothing and healing the stomach (e.g. ulcers) and may act as an anti-depressant, but more research is necessary before I could recommend it in these conditions.  Look out for Lobostemon – a perfect plant for our outdoor South African lifestyle….!
to read more about this wonderful plant : http://wrightguidetohealth.blogspot.com/2010/11/8-day-healing-bush-little-bush-with-big.html#more.