Lactofermented Wild Garlic

Wild Fermented Ramsons

Lactic acid fermenting of wild vegetables allows you to keep your greens ‘fresh’ for many months. However they are so scrummy that I suspect they won’t last even a few weeks! Nature’s natural probiotics, lactic acid fermented foods have been used by indigenous peoples for millennia. It’s the way we preserved food before the arrival of the refrigerator!

Ingredients

1tbsp sea salt
1kg plant matter


Method

Step 1: Chop up the cleaned Ramsons, then start massaging the sea salt into the greens. It might take as long as 10 minutes for the salt to start  breaking down the plant fibres, thereby releasing liquid. Pound and bash with a rolling pin to release more liquid, then put a plate over the plant matter, and weigh it down with a jar of water.

Step 2: Place in a bowl and weigh down the plant matter so that it is totally submerged under the liquid.

Step 3: Put the plant matter into a large jar and press down so it is under the liquid. Next fill a zip lock bag with water and place in the jar to weigh down and keep the plant matter under the liquid. Leave for 2-3 weeks before trying.

Makes: 1 kg of lacto-fermented ramsons/wild garlic.

Healing Tea for Honeybees

http://www.spikenardfarm.org/pdf/HealingTeaHoneybees.pdf

For the last 15 years I have been using and teaching the value of healing teas for the honeybee colonies in support of today's weakened metabolic and immune system. In the last years we have seen how this practice has spread and is now used widely in natural and sustainable beekeeping throughout the country. The inspiration for our recipe comes from the healing herbs used in the biodynamic compost preparations. These herbs are well known in human herbalist tradition. From the six herbs used for ameliorating and furthering basic metabolic processes in the compost––flowers of chamomile, yarrow, dandelion, valerian, leaves/stems of stinging nettle, and oak bark––we took 4 of them and selected a few others that add to the desired positive effects. In my years of gardening I have learned to understand and love all these herbs; they have been my dear companions.
~ Gunther Hauk

For General Strengthening
Quantity is for two treatments - you need two 1-quart jars
In a ceramic or stainless steel pot (not aluminum) bring 3 cups of good water (well or spring is best) to a boil, take off stove and add:

• 1/2 tsp. each of: chamomile, yarrow, stinging nettle, peppermint, (dandelion flowers, if available)
• 1/4 tsp. each of: sage, hyssop, thyme, lemon balm, echinacea
• 1 pinch of rue

Let steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a cloth or fine colander; add another 3 cups of cold water and let cool down until it is lukewarm.

Add 1 cup (1/2 lb.) of good honey. Stir well.

This quantity is good for two treatments or two hives. If you have only one hive, keep the second jar in refrigerator until used, but warm up to room temperature before you give it to the bees. This treat can be given early spring until late summer every one or two months.

For building up nucs, splits, swarms or packages
Quantity is for two treatments - you need two 1-quart jars
Same recipe as above, but this time, add 4 cups (2 lbs.) of good honey.
Feed as often as the colony takes up the tea (for about 2 weeks), longer in inclement weather, shorter if they have enough forage to gather in nature.
Observation is very important: if the tea sits for days and is not taken by the bees, then either they don't need it or the tea has turned sour. This happens quickly in warm weather.

For fall feeding
This is only needed if the colony was not able to build up enough stores for the winter!
At this time you want to have a heavy syrup so that the bees don't have to work so much evaporating the water content of the tea; the feeding at this
point has to go quick.

If you have one colony you can probably afford a recipe with honey only, (see above), but if you have too many hives to feed, for example after a bad summer (severe drought or too much rain), then you may have to add some sugar. Sugar is not good for the bees, but the question is always "do I want to let them starve to death or do I want to help them survive the winter". If you are experienced enough you may want to combine 2 hives; out of 2 weak you make one strong. You will have to decide at this point. Adding the healing tea to the sugar is helpful for digestion.

Organic sugar is good, preferably white, because the brown sugar or succanat contains too many organic compounds, which are hard for the bees to digest.

You will have to choose the quantity you need to prepare depending on the number of hives to be treated.

Here is how you do it:
• fill a container with the desired quantity of sugar; for example, 5 lbs. of sugar will give you about 2 1/2 quarts of syrup.

• make a mark on the container (in your mind or with a piece of tape outside) and add the hot tea exactly to this level.

• stir vigorously
• let cool to lukewarm temperature
• add 5 to 10% of good honey, it adds complex sugars to the simple ones
• add a pinch of good salt (not iodized!), this aids the digestion of the sugar

Note: At this point of time we consider the Honeybee to be in a life-threatening situation. Like the patient in the emergency room, she needs care, attention and love. Enjoy preparing the tea and treating your bees.
If you don't have all the above-mentioned herbs, don't worry; the first three are the most important. You can also purchase the ready mixture on our webpage.

Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)

Was just gifted a very large amount from the plant in our garden. Started two giant jars with almond and castor oil today. Will be drying the rest. Wonderful ally! Watch out for her prickly hairs. They don't exactly "hurt", but the feeling is very annoying. It totally squicks me out.

High-fructose Corn Syrup May be Tied to Worldwide Collapse of Bee Colonies

Bob Yirka writes:

Researchers find high-fructose corn syrup may be tied to worldwide collapse of bee colonies. 

A team of entomologists from the University of Illinois has found a possible link between the practice of feeding commercial honeybees high-fructose corn syrup and the collapse of honeybee colonies around the world. The team outlines their research and findings in a paper they've had published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Since approximately 2006, groups that manage commercial honeybee colonies have been reporting what has become known as colony collapse disorder—whole colonies of bees simply died, of no apparent cause. As time has passed, the disorder has been reported at sites all across the world, even as scientists have been racing to find the cause, and a possible cure. To date, most evidence has implicated pesticides used to kill other insects such as mites. In this new effort, the researchers have found evidence to suggest the real culprit might be high-fructose corn syrup, which beekeepers have been feeding bees as their natural staple, honey, has been taken away from them.

Commercial honeybee enterprises began feeding bees high-fructose corn syrup back in the 70's after research was conducted that indicated that doing so was safe. Since that time, new pesticides have been developed and put into use and over time it appears the bees' immunity response to such compounds may have become compromised.

The researchers aren't suggesting that high-fructose corn syrup is itself toxic to bees, instead, they say their findings indicate that by eating the replacement food instead of honey, the bees are not being exposed to other chemicals that help the bees fight off toxins, such as those found in pesticides.

Specifically, they found that when bees are exposed to the enzyme p-coumaric, their immune system appears stronger—it turns on detoxification genes. P-coumaric is found in pollen walls, not nectar, and makes its way into honey inadvertently via sticking to the legs of bees as they visit flowers. Similarly, the team discovered other compounds found in poplar sap that appear to do much the same thing. It all together adds up to a diet that helps bees fight off toxins, the researchers report. Taking away the honey to sell it, and feeding the bees high-fructose corn syrup instead, they claim, compromises their immune systems, making them more vulnerable to the toxins that are meant to kill other bugs.

Abstract 
As a managed pollinator, the honey bee Apis mellifera is critical to the American agricultural enterprise. Recent colony losses have thus raised concerns; possible explanations for bee decline include nutritional deficiencies and exposures to pesticides and pathogens. We determined that constituents found in honey, including p-coumaric acid, pinocembrin, and pinobanksin 5-methyl ether, specifically induce detoxification genes. These inducers are primarily found not in nectar but in pollen in the case of p-coumaric acid (a monomer of sporopollenin, the principal constituent of pollen cell walls) and propolis, a resinous material gathered and processed by bees to line wax cells. RNA-seq analysis (massively parallel RNA sequencing) revealed that p-coumaric acid specifically up-regulates all classes of detoxification genes as well as select antimicrobial peptide genes. This up-regulation has functional significance in that that adding p-coumaric acid to a diet of sucrose increases midgut metabolism of coumaphos, a widely used in-hive acaricide, by ∼60%. As a major component of pollen grains, p-coumaric acid is ubiquitous in the natural diet of honey bees and may function as a nutraceutical regulating immune and detoxification processes. The widespread apicultural use of honey substitutes, including high-fructose corn syrup, may thus compromise the ability of honey bees to cope with pesticides and pathogens and contribute to colony losses.

Dandelion Harvest - (1 & 2 MAY 13)

Harvested quite a few more dandelions today. Won't be long and I will have enough for myself, then I will be posting them for sale. They are coming straight out of our organic garden. Good medicine for sure! Bless their little dandelion hearts.

Tending the Goddess: Day Two in the Gardens at my New Digs

After being in the desert for the last 5.5 years, I was so overjoyed to be gardening again, that I really put my all into it yesterday. I'm quite certain I was a little wee bit over-zealous in my approach. It was so beautiful out there and I could smell the rich soil beneath my feet. I used a garden fork and a rake to extract some rather tenacious flora, breathed in the air, and exhaled gratitude. A butterfly bobbed by and I felt like I was home. Ohh, wait! I am! It's day one in my new place.

Day two: The chickens were looking so dapper as they came for their morning kitchen scrap treats. The bee hives were all a flurry with the two new colonies installed last night - that makes 3! Ohh my goodness, watching them I was filled with the usual fear, mixed with awe. You see, I've been afraid of bees all of my life since I was three. I decided about a year, year-and-a-half ago, to make friends with the bees and eventually become a Bee Priestess. I started watching videos over on YouTube about bees and beekeeping. Ouuu-eee, this is going to be a serious shift for me. This is the ACTION step. I'm excited!

I worked the far beds today. Lots of shade there till late morning. I've harvested quite a few lovely dandelion roots so far. I devised a plan for harvesting those today too. I'm going to let them grow until they have 3 flowers bloomed and seeded. Once they have done that, I will harvest them. This also gives the bees more delicious goodies to sip, and allows the plants time to spread new seeds. It's a nice cycle. I love dandelion flowers too, so I will still get to enjoy them.

I must have stopped 3 times today just to ogle the sight of the bees caring for their hive. What an amazing dance. Every time I heard one zing by, I'd duck and feel a jolt of adrenaline surge through me. Goddess help me (laughsss). Look forward to seeing how tomorrow goes. I'm going to get up at 5 am and work from 6 am to 8:30 am + feed and water the chickens, and water plants.

I can feel this experience cleaning and clearing the lens of my soul. Gardening, being out with Nature Herself ... there truly is nothing that can touch that - that can reach that space it brings you to inside yourself.

Smoke Unfurling ...

Found the following description over on another really awesome blog. Decided to take her challenge and begin wildcrafting supplies to make my own block incense from as many local herbs as possible. 

I'll be gathering some cedar tips and lavender this evening, and whatever else might be in the yard. I'm excited to try making my own Kyphi-style incense recipes.





















Finished block of incense made with Piñon resin, Juniper berries, Red Cedar heartwood, Douglas Fir needles, Rose petals, and much more.

Humus Soil for Water and Nutrient Retention

In soil science, humus (coined 1790–1800; < Latin: earth, ground) refers to any organic matter that has reached a point of stability, where it will break down no further and might, if conditions do not change, remain as it is for centuries, if not millennia. Humus significantly influences the texture of soil and contributes to moisture and nutrient retention.

In agriculture, humus is sometimes also used to describe mature, or natural compost extracted from a forest or other spontaneous source for use to amend soil. It is also used to describe a topsoil horizon that contains organic matter.(humus type, humus form, humus profile).

Humification

Transformation of organic matter into humus

The process of "humification" can occur naturally in soil, or in the production of compost. The importance of chemically stable humus is thought by some to be the fertility it provides to soils in both a physical and chemical sense, though some agricultural experts put a greater focus on other features of it, such as its ability to suppress disease. It helps the soil retain moisture by increasing microporosity, and encourages the formation of good soil structure. The incorporation of oxygen into large organic molecular assemblages generates many active, negatively charged sites that bind to positively charged ions(cations) of plant nutrients, making them more available to the plant by way of ion exchange. Humus allows soil organisms to feed and reproduce, and is often described as the "life-force" of the soil. Yet, it is difficult to define humus precisely; it is a highly complex substance, which is still not fully understood. Humus should be differentiated from decomposing organic matter in that the latter is rough-looking material, with the original plant remains still visible, whereas fully humified organic matter is uniform in appearance (a dark, spongy, jelly-like substance) and amorphous in structure, and may remain such for millennia or more. It has no determinate shape, structure or character. However, humified organic matter, when examined under the microscope may reveal tiny plant, animal or microbial remains that have been mechanically, but not chemically, degraded. This suggests a fuzzy boundary between humus and organic matter. In most literature, humus is clearly considered as an integral part of soil organic matter.

Plant remains (including those that passed through an animal gut and were excreted as feces) contain organic compounds: sugars, starches, proteins, carbohydrates, lignins, waxes, resins, and organic acids. The process of organic matter decay in the soil begins with the decomposition of sugars and starches from carbohydrates, which break down easily as detritivores initially invade the dead plant organs, while the remaining cellulose and lignin break down more slowly. Simple proteins, organic acids, starches and sugars break down rapidly, while crude proteins, fats, waxes and resins remain relatively unchanged for longer periods of time. Lignin, which is quickly transformed by white-rot fungi, is one of the main precursors of humus, together with by-products of microbial and animal activity. The end-product of this process, the humus, is thus a mixture of compounds and complex life chemicals of plant, animal, or microbial origin that has many functions and benefits in the soil.Earthworm humus (vermicompost) is considered by some to be the best organic manure there is.

Compost that is readily capable of further decomposition is sometimes referred to as effective or active humus, though scientists would say that, if it is not stable, it is not humus at all. This kind of compost, rich in plant remains and fulvic acids, is an excellent source of plant nutrients, but of little value with respect to long-term soil structure and tilth. Stable (or passive) humus consists of humic acids and humins, which are so highly insoluble, or so tightly bound to clay particles and hydroxides, that they cannot be penetrated by microbes and are greatly resistant to further decomposition. Thus stable humus adds few readily available nutrients to the soil, but plays an essential part in providing its physical structure. Some very stable humus complexes have survived for thousands of years.The most stable humus is that formed from the slow oxidation of black carbon, after the incorporation of finely powdered charcoal into the topsoil. This process is at the origin of the formation of the fertile Amazonian dark earths or Terra preta do Indio.

Benefits of soil organic matter and humus

• The process that converts raw organic matter into humus feeds the soil population of microorganisms and other creatures, thus maintains high and healthy levels of soil life.
• The rate at which raw organic matter is converted into humus promotes (when fast) or limits (when slow) the coexistence of plants,animals, and microbes in soil.
• Effective humus and stable humus are further sources of nutrients to microbes, the former provides a readily available supply, and the latter acts as a longer-term storage reservoir.
• Decomposition of dead plant material causes complex organic compounds to be slowly oxidized (lignin-like humus) or to break down into simpler forms (sugars and amino sugars, aliphatic, and phenolic organic acids), which are further transformed into microbial biomass (microbial humus) or are reorganized, and further oxidized, into humic assemblages (fulvic and humic acids), which bind to clay minerals and metal hydroxides. There has been a long debate about the ability of plants to uptake humic substances from their root systems and to metabolize them. There is now a consensus about how humus plays a hormonal role rather than simply a nutritional role in plant physiology.
• Humus is a colloidal substance, and increases the soil's cation exchange capacity, hence its ability to store nutrients by chelation. While these nutrient cations are accessible to plants, they are held in the soil safe from being leached by rain or irrigation.
• Humus can hold the equivalent of 80–90% of its weight in moisture, and therefore increases the soil's capacity to withstand drought conditions.
• The biochemical structure of humus enables it to moderate – or buffer – excessive acid or alkaline soil conditions.
• During the humification process, microbes secrete sticky gum-like mucilages; these contribute to the crumb structure (tilth) of the soil by holding particles together, and allowing greater aeration of the soil.Toxic substances such as heavy metals, as well as excess nutrients, can be chelated (that is, bound to the complex organic molecules of humus) and so prevented from entering the wider ecosystem.
• The dark color of humus (usually black or dark brown) helps to warm up cold soils in the spring.

How to: Save Heirloom Tomato Seeds

Saving your own tomato seeds is rather fun and has all sorts of benefits. Preserving heirloom seeds, ensuring a supply of your own favorites for next year, helping protect seed diversity, making a giant mess of stinky fermenting goo, it’s all there! It’s also pretty easy.

As part of our seed selling business we save fairly large quantities of tomato seed but the process is the same whether you are saving from a pile of heirloom tomatoes or from a particularly tasty one you just sliced up for lunch.

First things first, you need to get your tomato seeds out of the tomato.  You can slice them in half, in quarters, scoop some out of the one you’re eating or just use my preferred method: Squishing. A serrated grapefruit spoon makes a great seed saving tool, especially when dealing with smaller cherry tomatoes. Just cut them in half and scoop out the inside of the tomatoes leaving the skin and outer flesh behind.

Next the seed pulp is ready to be combined with water in a container.  Glass jars are simple and food safe, but yogurt containers and Tupperware are perfectly suitable. The only really important factor is that the container needs a lid. It’s going to get stinky so the lid is not optional.

Make sure to label each variety as you go as tomato seeds all look very similar and the colored pulp is going to break down.
Place them out of direct sunlight and walk away for a few days. You’ll start to see the good seeds settle from the pulp down to the bottom of the container.

Now things will start to ferment. This fermentation process is breaking down the protective coating on each seed. After a few days and once you have a good layer of fuzzy stuff, dump it off, leaving the seeds in the bottom of the jar.  Any seeds at the top are duds, the good stuff is all at the bottom.  Top up the jar with some clean water and let it all happen again.  Once the seeds are starting to settle cleanly at the bottom they are done. Be careful not to leave things unsupervised for too many days as the seeds could start germinating.

Once the seeds are ready, pour off any remaining pulp and mold.
Using a strainer, give your seeds a final rinse. They should be looking rather naked by now.

Now you just need to let them dry.  A stack of clean rags or old tea towels work best, as paper towels sometimes stick.

Once again, label your seeds. Package them up a few days later when they’re perfectly dry and you’re set.  Next spring you’ll have more tomato seeds then you can plant.  Trading them with fellow seed savers and planting a few extra for gardening neighbors is highly recommended.

Found on: Cubits Organic Living