Herbs and Spaces

from suite101: Easy to grow, herbs are a great addition to any space. Some, however, will try to take over the garden bed.

Most herbs are compact and need minimal space. But there are some that, if left to themselves, will attempt to take over the garden.

Annual Herbs

An annual plant is one that only lasts for one growing season. Many herbs are annual and will need to be replanted each year. These include basil, chamomile and dill, although dill is very good at re-seeding itself. Annual herbs won’t grow too large, so they can be safely planted in appropriate locations without fear that they will attempt to smother their plant neighbors.

Blueberry Plants to Grow in Northern Gardens

from suite101: Northern gardeners can add blueberries to a sustainable kitchen garden by growing hardy plants. Homegrown blueberries provide fresh fruit despite blueberry virus news.

Blueberry plants are easy to grow even in northern climates by choosing hardy cultivar varieties. Despite the recent news of blueberry shock virus found in Michigan, growing blueberries in a kitchen garden is still an economical way to get fresh fruit into the diet.

Blueberry plants are native throughout North America, well known as a cash crop in the Pacific Northwest and Michigan but also grown everywhere in many backyard gardens. For northern gardeners choosing varieties that have been developed to withstand very cold winters and late springs is key to success.

Drought Gardening: How Will Horticulturists Cope?

from bbc: Gardeners in the UK are facing a difficult summer after the driest spring in over 100 years. But how can home horticulturists cope?

Summer is a time of excitement for gardeners conjuring up manicured lawns, immaculate roses, and a cornucopia of other flora.

But this year the usual optimism is in danger of drying up.

Across England and Wales spring rainfall was 86.9mm - the driest since 1893, according to the Met Office. It's meant problems for gardeners.

The dry spring "knocked gardeners off balance", says Peter Gibbs, presenter of BBC Radio Four's Gardeners' Question Time. This menace contrasts with the usual threat of spring frosts.

Already this has meant gardeners have had to plant seeds quicker and be more selective when deciding what to plant. They also need to consider how plants that will fare well in a hot dry summer will do when the cold eventually returns.

E. coli bacteria easily killed with spices like garlic, clove, cinnamon, oregano and sage

from presscore: A recent outbreak of a virulent strain of E. coli has killed 19 people in Europe and infected more than 2,000 in at least 12 countries. The source of the outbreak hasn’t been pinpointed but the World Health Organization and the CDC are focusing on fresh naturally grown foods like tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers which were packaged in Germany. Entire suspect crops are ordered destroyed by the WHO and the CDC every year when an E. coli outbreak is declared. Why does the WHO and the CDC order crops destroyed? In recent years there appears to be a concerted effort by the WHO and the CDC to target only the foods that are essential for a healthy diet and life for millions of people. Foods which helps prevent disease, illnesses and viral infections. Every year the WHO and the CDC issues E. coli outbreak bulletins and they always accuse anti-cancer, anti heart disease and anti-microbial foods like lettuce, tomatoes, cabbage, spinach, peas and beans. No E. coli alert have been made against processed foods that make up the entire menu at fast food outlets. Fast processed foods are linked to heart disease, cancer, obesity, viral infections and a host of other ailments and illnesses. The intent of the WHO and the CDC is to destroy only the healthy natural food groups. Yes the death of 19 people is a good argument in favor of destroying a crop linked to an E. coli outbreak but the destruction of the entire crops affects millions. Without these healthy food crops thousands, even millions will become inflicted with disease, illnesses and viral infections and die.

No Matter What, Always Be Encouraged

from rawfoodnation: The sun always comes once the clouds have parted from the rain. There is always a lesson learned and an upside to various situations, it merely depends on your point of view, on how you look at things. There is experience to be gained in all that we do, there are stories to live and stories to be told. There is wisdom gained and knowledge to be passed on to others who endure something similar.

We know that it is not always easy to make lifestyle changes. Whether you are new to raw foods and holistic health, or a seasoned raw foodie looking to shake things up a bit, we encourage you all to take it one step at a time. For just as learning to walk or ride a bike for the first time left you with a couple bruises or scrapes, so might you unintentionally fall off track or take a wrong turn. No worries though, because we want to encourage you that at any point you can get back up again and get back to the raw food lifestyle.

Ten Reasons to Become Self-Sufficient and Ten Ways to Get There

from activistpost: We are now three to five generations removed from the rural backbone that strengthened America. The world at large has undergone a similar transformation as the promise of easier work has created a migration to big cities. These mega-cities could be seen as an experiment gone awry, as general well-being has declined, with suicide rates increasing across the world. Crowded conditions and economic strife have led to rampant crime, pollution, corporate malfeasance, and a dog-eat-dog type of competition that can be described as a temporary insanity.

The economic crisis we are living through has been the final straw for many people, as promises of a better, easier, and more creative life seem to have been sold to us by carnival-style tricksters who are laughing all the way to (their) bank.

Here are the top reasons for becoming self-sufficient; these are based on fundamental, systemic concerns for why undertaking this life change will not be a fly-by-night fad, but rather a long-lasting means for personal independence.

10 Tools that Could Revolutionize Your Gardening Experience

from treehugger: Every gardener has their favorite tool, one that's always close at hand when they're at work.

I asked the gardeners I know on Facebook and Twitter what their "must-have" tools were, and found that (like me!) most of them were both particular and passionate about what they liked and disliked in a garden tool.

This list of 10 tools that could revolutionize your gardening experience includes some of their recommendations for great gardening tools and a few of my own "must-haves." A great tool makes gardening so much easier -- and your garden will flourish.

Drying Herbs

from ucanr: Dry herbs just don’t compare to fresh herbs in cooking. But, while some flavor loss in all dried herbs occurs, your own dried herbs will be fresher and more pungent than any you can buy at the supermarket. Here are the basics:

Pick herbs for leaf harvest just before flowers open. This is when the leaves contain the highest concentration of oils. Leaves may be harvested until late summer. Seeds may be saved by allowing some or all plants to mature and flower, and harvesting when seeds change in color from green to brown or gray.

The day before harvesting leaves, spray herbs with water so that they will be clean and dry the day of harvest. The day of leaf harvest, pick herbs in the early morning or place stems in water for two hours after picking. Strip damaged lower leaves and remove any flowers (unless you are harvesting seeds from the flower heads as described below).

17 Benefits of raw garlic & how it can improve your health

from greenze: I have always enjoyed eating dishes seasoned with garlic. Like most people I would normally chop it up and cook the garlic with food. I’ve learned now that cooking kills the good enzymes and other good things contained in it. In fact, raw garlic is healthier for you compared to cooked garlic.

Eating raw garlic might sound a little tough for some, but after a while you get used to it. 

I normally average one clove of raw garlic a day. I add it to salads, eggs or burritos.

For people that can not handle the taste, you can cut the garlic cloves into pill size pieces, then swallow them like you would any other medication. For thousands of years garlic has been considered a herbal “wonder drug”. If garlic had been created in the laboratory instead of by nature, it would probably be a high priced prescription drug.

How To Safely Detox Fluoride From Your Body

from canadianawareness: As many people already know the commonly used sodium fluoride is extremely toxic, and contrary to most “medical professionals” it is not good for the human body.

But if you have become health conscious and stopped drinking fluoridated water, your good right? Yes and No.

If you were raised in a community that fluoridates the water, it has built up in your system. Sodium fluoride is an accumulative poison. If you are like me, born and raised in a fluoridated city, it has built up in your body. Mainly in your bones, thyroid glad, and pineal gland. So how do you get that fluoride out of your system?

That is a very complicated question. There is no 100% verified method of totally detoxing fluorides from your body. But there is several methods that I have used (along with many others), that can make a huge difference. For example: Joint pain disappearing, Chronic headaches gone, an ability to think clearer, and weight loss.

Dandelions Tastes Bitter But It Cures

from presscore: Dandelions are the fastest growing and one of the most nutritionally packed food on Earth. The dandelion is a herbaceous (a herb) perennial plant of the family Asteraceae (Compositae). Dandelions are flowers with medicinal properties yet we spend $millions every year to destroy them. Why do we spend so much time and effort to destroy this valuable herb if we also spent $millions each year to buy another herbaceous perennial plant of the same family Asteraceae called “marigold”? The answer is we’ve been brainwashed into regarding the dandelion as an unsightly weed when in fact it is a very fast growing and freely (100% free) available food and medicine (costs $0 to make) that just doesn’t treat illnesses and diseases it cures you of them. This herbal food costs nothing, in terms of time or money, to grow. There is no market value in a food that grows freely on every lawn around the World. There is however, a market value attached to destroying this free healing food – $billions are spent every year to make and disperse very toxic herbicides (anti-herb pesticides). Those herbicides not only kills this medicinal herb it kills us. How? When we spray herbicides to kill the dandelion the herbicide is absorbed by the soil with every rainfall and over time this very toxic saturation enters our fresh water supply and our food supply. Once it enters our drinking water supply we consume the toxic herbicide every time we drink a glass of water from out kitchen faucets or eat plants that have been irrigated with well water.

Welcome To HerbGardening.com

from herbgardening: At HerbGardening.com, you'll find a wealth of information on how to grow fresh kitchen and medicinal herbs in your backyard, on your balcony, deck or patio, even indoors! Words can't describe the flavors that come only when cooking with fresh cut herbs and how they enhance your culinary adventures.

Growing herbs is easy to do, and people continue to turn their love for gardening into successful businesses growing and selling fresh cut herbs, herb plants, and other herb related products.

HerbGardening.com provides necessary information for many popular herbs such as their preferred growing pH, soil requirements, suitability for container and hydroponic cultivation, watering needs, potential pest problems, and much more. Plus you'll find resources to obtain the seeds, plants and supplies you need to begin what will surely be a life long hobby that not only provides enjoyment for the kitchen and palette, but provides spiritual renewal and stress relief as well.

7 Secrets for a High-Yield Vegetable Garden

from organicgardening: Here’s how to get the most out of your garden.

Imagine harvesting nearly half a ton of tasty, beautiful, organically grown vegetables from a 15-by-20-foot plot, 100 pounds of tomatoes from just 100 square feet (a 4-by-25-foot bed), or 20 pounds of carrots from just 24 square feet.

Yields like these are easier to achieve than you may think. The secret to superproductive gardening is taking the time now to plan strategies that will work for your garden. Here are seven high-yield strategies gleaned from gardeners who have learned to make the most of their garden space.

1. Build up your soil.

Expert gardeners agree that building up the soil is the single most important factor in pumping up yields. A deep, organically rich soil encourages the growth of healthy, extensive roots that are able to reach more nutrients and water. The result: extra-lush, extra-productive growth above ground.

The fastest way to get that deep layer of fertile soil is to make raised beds. Raised beds yield up to four times more than the same amount of space planted in rows. That’s due not only to their loose, fertile soil but also to efficient spacing—by using less space for paths, you have more room to grow plants.

Survival Gardening Priority Crops

from organicsurvivalistsite: What to plant in your survival garden is a somewhat personal decision and there is no definitive guide for this but I have a few personal thoughts on this about some of the crops that will help most for survival needs.

First off in a survival situation you need to grow things quickly and get the most nutrition you can as staying healthy and getting proper nutrient levels is just as important as satisfying hunger.

But beyond just providing high nutrition they should also serve practical uses.

The Future Of Food Documentary : A Must See!

from psychedelicadventure: There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America ! A revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat. The Future Of Food is a must see documentary for all ! It offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.


From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.

4 Simple Steps to Grow a Hundred Pounds of Potatoes in a Barrel

from greenupgrader: Container gardening isn't only for savvy urban gardeners and folks with limited space to grow, it can also be for folks who want to maximize their yields in a controlled environment.

Not only does growing potatoes in a barrel reduce the amount of weeding and exposure to pests and fungi, you don't even have to risk shovel-damage to the tender potatoes by digging them out of

the ground when they're done, just tip the container over!

After extensive research to plan my own potatoes-in-a-barrel, I've boiled all of the recommendations down to 4 simple steps to a winning potato harvest.

IoS campaign buries plan to close allotments

from independent: Outcry forces PM to promise new rights to land.

A resounding success was achieved by The Independent on Sunday's Dig for Victory campaign yesterday, when ministers promised that people would have new rights to land for allotments.

The move followed widespread concern, highlighted by this paper and raised at Prime Minister's Questions last week, that the Government is planning to remove the 103-year-old protection for allotments, raising the possibility that councils would sell off plots by the thousands.

The IoS received dozens of letters from plot holders – including a veteran of the Second World War Dig for Victory movement – calling on ministers to rethink the review of "unnecessary burdens" on local councils. The list includes the obligation to provide allotments where there is demand.

40 Fruits, vegetables and herbs that will grow in partial shade

from examiner: We all know that most garden crops want as much sun as possible. Tomatoes, melons and peppers will positively pout if they don't get oodles of light. What you may not realize is that many other garden crops will do quite well with limited sunlight.

Which plants will put up with lower light levels?

A general rule is that plants grown for their stems, leaves or buds generally tolerate light shade fairly well. Those grown for roots or fruits tend to need more sun.

That said, even many of these crops will also tolerate light shade, simply providing smaller yields. These are noted on the list with an asterisk (*).

Make Your Own Rose Water, Elixir of the Goddess

from organicauthority: Rose water is a deliciously fragrant and versatile botanical made from delicate and seductive rose petals.

Store bought rose waters can be overpriced, contain artificial fragrances and lack the freshness of a homemade batch.

Making homemade rose water is easy and fun. Add it to baked goods (try these rose water cupcakes), beverages, and pour it into baths.

Use it as a refreshing spritz—perfect to have with you on those warm summer days just ahead, or for those times when you just need to feel a little fresher.

And, it makes a most wonderful gift. When making anything with flowers that will go in or on your body, it's important to use petals that have not been exposed to toxic pesticides.

Commercial flowers are some of the most heavily sprayed crops, so it's best to stick with roses that you know have grown without the use of chemicals (like from your own yard).

"The elixir of youth" - "The herb of immortality"

from liveandfeel: Aloe Vera health benefits
Also called "the elixir of youth" by the Russians, "the herb of immortality" by the old Egyptians or the "harmonious remedy" by the Chinese, Aloe vera is without a doubt the medicinal herb most widely known for its noticeable impacts on health and at the same time the ingredient most widely used in the cosmetic industry.

Not one study conducted so far was fully able to explain the wonders which lie within this herb and how its compounds work together in a miraculous way to bring about the treatment or the alleviation of some of the most serious illnesses like cancer or AIDS.

Aloe vera or "Aloe Barbadensis" is a plant which originated in North Africa and spread to the fertile lands with mild climate. Its physical aspect is similar to that of the cactus; the thick rind hides a succulent core formed mostly of water.

The aforementioned herb gained worldwide recognition and has been intensively used from the oldest of times due to its extraordinary features. A clear proof of this fact is a clay plank found in the antic city of Nippur, Babylon (the Irak from today) dating from year 2200 b.c. From Greek physicians like Celsius and Dioscorides to Romanians (Pylni the Great) and Arabs (Al-Kindi) to C.E. Collins, the one who published the first modern medical thesis in United States (1934), "aloe vera" has always been an issue with a long history behind it.

Just about every important civilization used it for its beneficial effects over health and beauty. Egyptians would mix aloe with other herbs while preparing remedies for internal and external anomalies. After the Second World War, aloe vera was introduced in treating the victims of the catastrophies from Nagasaki and Hiroshima because of its ability of mitigating the pain of the patients and renewing skin tissues.