This is the 64-dollar question for all herb growers. The very edible nature of herbs means that any methods used to combat insect pests or disease must be carefully chosen to ensure that they are of a non-cumulative, non-toxic nature. No gardener or cook would voluntarily poison the family foodstuffs, and yet we are asked to do this by some manufacturers of the many chemicals and sprays at present advertised. Where there is any doubt at all as to the possible dangers of eating food thus contaminated, it would be wise to use only natural products harmless to humans; so some careful sorting-out of the “goodies” and “baddies” on the nurseryman’s insecticide shelves must be undertaken. Pay special attention to the time that must elapse before plants sprayed with anything at all can be eaten. This is printed on the pack by all reputable firms.
I have read every publication I can lay my hands on in this regard, and have talked to gardeners, to Department of Agriculture authorities, and to workers in the chemical spray industry. From their freely given information, and my own experience, have come several pesticides of natural vegetable origin that I can recommend as having been used with safety over and over again.
The Bio-dynamic Gardening Association in America, and the Henr Doubleday Research Association in Essex, England, have several publications relating to insect control that make interesting reading for gardeners who wish to use natural products only on edible crops.
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Hot yarrow tea, made from a handful of the fresh leaves, can break the most stubborn cold if taken each night on retiring. Two doses should be all you will need. It can also prevent cramp after exercise in cold weather, and can bring down a fever if taken very hot.
Much herbal lore was discovered originally by observing how animals included various plants in their diet to suit their body’s requirements, and yarrow was found to be a favourite pasture food for cattle if seasonal changes or meagre grass pasture had weakened the herd. It also has a deflammatory action on swollen tissues of any kind, and was the herb supposedly used by Chiron the Centaur to cure the heel wound of Achilles. For its services on the battlefield in early times, it was called “Wound-wort” or the “Soldiers’ Herb”. Stitching a ragged arrow- or spear-gash was unheard of; so yarrow was used to reduce the swelling of the surrounding tissue, enabling the wound to close naturally, and heal. Fresh leaves were often packed straight into the torn flesh, there to staunch the flow of blood as well; and yarrow collected two more names, “Staunch-grass” and “Sanguinary”. Next time your husband cuts himself while shaving, rush out to the herb garden for a yarrow leaf and press it firmly against the spot.
For a nose-bleed which will not stop, take a cup of yarrow tea. This will also promote appetite, and can be of assistance in any pelvic troubles.
One yarrow-taker wrote, “It has a beneficient effect, similar to that of a life on the ocean-wave in rough and stormy weather.” This (I hope) was not to say, “It made me vomit”, but referred to the breezy bracing strength a cup of yarrow tea can provide.
If I have one of those days when it becomes apparent that even getting out of bed was a mistake, on goes the red light saying: “Yarrow tea!”
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Try this simplified haggis recipe if the traditional time-consuming one is inconvenient for you. (By the time those brawny lads and fetching lassies have come to the haggis-stage of the festivities, they will probably not notice any difference anyway!)
8 oz. sheep’s liver 4 oz. beef suet 2 onions
1 heaped cup oatmeal Salt and black pepper A few chopped pennyroyal sprigs
Boil the liver in water to cover for § hour. Drain, and keep the liquid. Chop up the liver very finely. Steam the onions till tender and chop up very small with the suet. Brown the oatmeal very quickly in an oiled heavy pan over medium heat. Combine all the ingredients, add the salt and pepper and chopped pennyroyal and moisten with the saved liquid. Turn into a greased pudding bowl, cover with a cloth and steam for two hours. Decorate the upturned pudding with more sprigs of pennyroyal to serve.
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They do have various culinary uses, too, which are decorative as well as unusual. Try several perfect leaves of the lemon- or rose-scented variety bruised gently with the fingers to release their fragrance, in individual glass or crystal finger bowls for a very special dinner or reception. Place pats of butter on a bed of the leaves. For everyday use, put a leaf of the peppermint, lemon, rose or lime geranium on the bottom of the greased pan before baking a wholemeal teacake or a tray of muffins. Add one or two leaves to jellies and milk puddings. Egg custard can benefit too. Crush a large handful of the leaves, place them in the bath, run the hot tap first, swishing the leaves about in the water, then add the cold water, and yourself.
Geranium leaves can be used very effectively in flower arranging too. They harmonize well with formal blooms like rose-buds, gladioli florets and flowering bulbs. Add them to a float bowl of pansies, or any beautiful but unscented flower. Bruise the leaves, so that they can release their perfume.
Insect pests do not relish the strongly scented geranium leaves, and will not attack them, so give these plants plenty of your allotted garden space for herbs, and put some in the border or street planting strip, too. Rockeries and sunny corners suit them well, and you will soon have thick healthy clumps. The flowers are all rather inconspicuous, the main value of the plant being in its hardiness and ground-covering ability, together with its perfume, of course.
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Before planting a camomile lawn, weed the area thoroughly, if possible putting the top few inches of soil through a fine sieve to get out any previous grass roots or weed roots or bulbs. The stems of camomile grow close together above and on the ground, so weeds can be difficult to eradicate. Camomile lawns can be mowed. Set the blades somewhat higher than normal in order to cut the leaves but miss the stems. Don’t forget to put the clippings onto the compost heap.
The flowers are a lovely yellow-centred white daisy shape, on short stems, and bloom all spring and most of summer, but the plants do not flower until their second year of growth. The yellow centre is the part from which the essential oil is extracted ; but in commercial use the whole flower (not the stem) is dried with as little bruising as possible. The flowers should be picked off from the stems by hand carefully or with tweezers, on a dry day. They dry even better if the previous two or three days have been dry, too. Picking in wet or very humid weather will result in brownish, discoloured flowers of very little use at all.
The herb can be raised from seed sown in the spring, but will take a little longer this way than by the usual root-division method. It is quite easy to lift a small clump and separate it into rooted pieces for setting out in a lawn or an edging patch in the garden. Plant these runners about 12 inches apart and, with the first growing season over, your lawn should be almost covered. You can top-dress lightly in summer if soil has been washed away by rain or watering and the stems are too far above the ground. This light top-dressing each season will help thicken up the growth.
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