DIY Potato Sacks! Growing Heirloom Fingerling Potatoes in Reusable Grocery Bags

Here's what you need to grow your own potatoes in sacks! This is ideal for a garden that doesn't get much light as the sacks are super easy to move around during the day to catch the sun. You can use sprouted potato pieces or whole sprouted "seed" potatoes (it usually takes a week or two in a cool, dark area for potatoes to sprout). You can find seed potatoes online or at your local garden or health food shop. Remember: organic is best since commercially grown crops are given pesticides that can inhibit sprouting. I opted for organic heirloom fingerling potatoes found at my local grocery store...both the white and purple varieties. It's so fun to make purple mashed potatoes! :)

Here's what you need to get started:

• Reusable grocery bags 
• Sprouted potatoes of your choosing (I used organic heirloom fingerlings).
• Soil mixture of your preference (I used 1/2 fresh compost from our pile, 1/4 worm castings and 1/4  perlite).

• Mix your soil in a large bucket and use a shovel to scoop about 5-6 inches of soil into each reusable grocery bag.
• Place sprouted potatoes on top of soil mixture, giving them adequate growing space.

• Cover potatoes with 5-6 inches of soil and give them a good watering (be careful not to over-water).

• Place potato sacks in a sunny spot and keep an eye on their progress, watering when needed.
• When the plants have about 6-8 inches of foliage (shown below)...it's time to add more soil!

Potato sprouts at 3.5 weeks

Aeon likes to help in the magic garden.

• Repeat the process of mixing soil (this time I used a brown paper bag).
• Gently add soil until just the tippy tops of the sprouts are showing and give your potatoes some more water.

• When the plant starts to flower and yellow, after about 10 weeks, your potatoes will be ready to harvest and enjoy! 
• In just a couple more weeks, these potatoes will be ready for harvesting. I'll be sure to post about harvest and storage techniques, as well as some yummy potato recipes. :) Happy gardening!!! 

Flower Water- How to make your own with Grape Hyacinths

Journal entry from April 5th 2013-


My Mama says, "You know it's Spring when you see the Wild Grape Hyacinths in the yard."


It's definitely getting warmer where we are and these little lovelies have popped up all over our yard.

Muscari flowers...better known as Grape Hyacinths in the South. 

I don't remember seeing them as much last year, possibly due to how frequently we cut our grass. Or maybe my eyes just weren't as open to them.

Before the first mow of the season, I gathered nearly all of the Wild Grape Hyacinths from the front yard. They smell absolutely amazing. I separated them by stem length (to fit in various containers) and then chose the healthiest buds for making flower water. Now, the smell of purple floral heaven is floating through the house!

I stored the flower water in a majestic decanter that belonged to my Grandmother. Floral waters are infused with flower essence to be used for body misting, pouring into a bath, mixing with lotions and shampoos and aromatherapy.

Creating this particular flower water was easy as pie. The recipe is wonderful as a light body mist, combining the sweet essence of grape hyacinth and essential oil of clary sage. Since this method only has a shelf life of about a week, I plan to use up the rest in a nice warm bath for a healing aromatherapy session.


This is what you'll need:

• about one cup of fresh flower buds, free of stems and leaves
• two cups of spring water
• funnel
• coffee filter
• vessel to store flower water
• 3 drops essential oil of your choice (optional)

How to create flower water:

1. begin by gathering your pretty flowers! collecting floral buds is a very delicate part of the harvest process. an ideal time to harvest is during the middle of a dry day. search through the flowers for the healthiest, brightest buds, free from decay or damage, and collect them until you have about one cups worth.

About one cup of grape hyacinth flower buds.

2.  gently place the flower buds into a small sauce pot and cover with two cups of water.

Flower buds in a pot with spring water.

3. bring flowers and water to a boil then reduce heat and simmer on low for about 5-8 minutes. add essential oil (optional), give a quick, gentle stir, and remove from heat. allow to cool

4. put coffee filter into funnel and place both in a tall glass cup (as below) or whatever glass container you have available

5. pour the cooled contents from the pot into the funnel and allow to drain until all water has been filtered. this will produce about 1 1/4 cups of sweet smelling floral water.

About 1 1/4 cups floral water

I am so grateful to have inherited my Grandma's china cabinet. It's full of beautiful pieces that she worked very hard to collect. Makes me feel sooo super special.

Wishing all of you a happy season that brings positive growth and renewal.

Cheers! :)

Geranium Essential Oil- Harmonizing, sweet + balanced

Geranium

Pelargonium graveolens

Image © Björn Larsson

Plant part:

Essential oil is extracted from the leaves.

Therapeutic Properties:

• cleansing for entire body + uplifting for the mind
• alleviates depression + anxiety
• use for cold + flu
• helps with pre-menstrual + menopausal symptoms
• antiseptic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory (cooling), antispasmodic + antifungal
• assists in elimination of waste products via circulatory system

Applications:

• abdominal oil
• 3-5 drops in bath during anytime of day
• massage oil

Aroma:

Sweet, round + harmonizing fragrance.

Blending:

Blends well with Lavender, Orange + Bergamont. Ideal oil to blend with other to create balanced synergy.

Safety/Cautions:

Non-toxic, non-irritating for most people, may irritate some.

Wild Dandelions: How to harvest and dry flowers for herbal tea.

The Dandelion plant is a bright and versatile wild edible with a long list of health benefits. These little beauties are all over the place this time of year. They were growing all over the yard and since today was mow-the-grass day, I decided to harvest and dry them for use in some yummy dandelion tea!

farmers field in PA

The entire Dandelion plant is edible and highly nutritious. The roots can be chopped up and boiled like carrots, making a hearty side dish. Alternatively, you can dry, roast and powder the root to use like coffee...minus the caffeine. The leaves work wonderfully in salads, steamed like spinach, or added to a smoothie. The flowers are perfect for making tea or dandelion fritters. 

Dandelion Health Benefits:

• high in calcium
• rich in iron
• low in calories
• loaded with antioxidants
• cleanses and purifies the liver
• soo many minerals
• lots of protein

Begin by harvest bright, healthy flowers around noon on a bright day, if possible. Make sure to clean the flowers of insects and debris. 

I used a simple cookie sheet lined with parchment paper to dry these dandelions. If you plan to eat the flowers fresh, or cook with them, use them immediately after harvest and cleaning. If you want to dry them for future use in herbal tea, lay them out in a single layer on a sheet and place it outside in the mid-day sun until dry (or place in oven on the lowest temp setting and dry slowly for about 2 hours, turning and tossing the flowers half way through).  Oven temps vary so keep a close eye on your flowers!

dandelions drying in the sun and crystals charging in purified water

Dandelion flowers after 2 hours of sun-drying

When the flowers are completely dry, store them in a glass jar that seals air tight or in sealed plastic bag. If stored properly, dried dandelion flowers have a shelf life of about 1-3 years.