ROSEMARY (Rosmarijn) Herb/Kruiden
Other related Posts:  Smudging

May 20, 2021 (2nd Year of Corona Virus)


Today I went to the garden in the early morning hours, and since it's rained the last five days, I had a lot of tiny weeds.  I took out a lot and then went on with my planting and general maintenance.  I have a huge rosemary plant, around 4 plus feet tall (1-1/2 meters) and I should have trimmed it way back again in the fall, but I did not.  What I did have was a new plant (by putting a rock on a piece with dirt over and under it to get it to root.  It had rooted over the winter and last summer, so that was a nice thing to see.  I also had one Thyme (Tijm) plant that I had in a container herb garden from last year that also worked.  Most grocery stores sell fresh herbs in plastic packaging, but honestly just buy a plant and put in a pot, unless you are industrious and want to try your hand at growing yourself.  I do not recommend buying Rosemary seeds because they take a long time to germinate and the success rate with seeds is not great (at least that's my experience).  There are a couple of different ways to root Rosemary, with the simplest method like I said above assuming you have already planted one previously, or have a nice friend to do for you.  You can also just ask your friend for some cuttings in the Spring to early summer when the new growth is starting.  Just cut above the nodes and plant in some sand and compost or thin potting soil.  I have actually just stuck them in white sand and rooted in the states, but I had a lot of hot summers and not so cold winters there, and a lot less rain.  You can get several cuttings from one long cutting.  I have also used cacti mix to start them in, and I like that as a base to start alot of clippings, it just works well for me.  The first couple of days keep your cuttings in a cool place out of the sun, then you can allow them to have some sun, just not 100 degree sun.  Rosemary is a plant that is a "loner", he does not like to be fussed over, will grow in good soil, but actually does better in soil that isn't given regular fertilizer (although I do give some natural fertilizer in the spring to give it a boost for new growth).  If your cuttings are successful in a few weeks you should see some new roots beginning, and after 6-8 weeks you should have enough roots to harden them off, and plant.  

What to remember!

Cuttings - Cut above the nodes and plant (keep moist but not wet).

Planting - Remember this plant can turn into a giant when you do not keep it cut back in the fall each year, so if you plan on letting it grow to exorbitant heights and width, make sure it is planted where that does not affect your other plantings.  If you just want to keep it small, trim back to half size in the fall and root those cuttings to make a herbal potion or to use for air freshener. 


Herbal Potion from Rosemary

Rosemary is suppose to have a good effect on the hair and nails, and with giving one energy due to increased circulation in the body.  I am not a doctor, so I can not attest to whether this is true, but since it is not poisonous to drink tea from the leaves, and to use the stems for tinctures, I have to believe that it provides some kind of benefit to us besides making chicken, roast, soups and other dishes taste delicious.  If you want to try the tea, just take 1/4 cup of leaves and steep like normal tea.  If you want to make a tincture, I use vodka in all of my tinctures except one where I use Jaegermeister.   

TINCTURE FROM ROSEMARY OR THYME (Tijm)
1//4 cup fresh leaves and steps chopped finely 
1 clean sterilized glass jar 
Make sure you have washed the rosemary or thyme before you chop.

Once chopped, place the leaves and pieces in the glass jar, cover with vodka.  If you live in a hot climate, put this in the refrigerator to process, if you are in a cooler environment then you can just put it on the counter until it processes.  Rosemary can be quite strong, but Thyme is much more subtle, so I process the Rosemary 14 days and the Thyme 18.  (You can taste to check the strength, just do a drop on your tongue).  

Once the processing is finished, I use a different clean sterilized jar to pour the tincture through a sieve (or coffee filter if you do not have a sieve), into the clean jar.  I then toss the contents into a tea cup and add a bit of lemon juice and make a cup of tea.  Then just put the contents from the plant into your recycle can.  

The tincture, can be used by taking a few drops (normal 3-5).  

In conslusion, Rosemary does not like to be fussed over, give enough water, but do not keeps roots really wet (he does not like wet feet).  Maintenance, check for rot at bottom of the plant stems, and watch for critters, although Rosemary repels more than it attracts. The flowers attract bees, hummingbirds and butterflies, so it's a nice addition to a butterfly or bee garden.  Some of the larger birds will actually snip pieces to build their nests in the spring, (my grandfather said it was their way of getting mites and lice away), but I have no scientific knowledge to back up his claim.  Rosemary and Thyme are favorite plants for me to snip pieces to stick in tiny vases for a tablescape, in addition to their pretty colors, everytime someone touches them they release their fragrance.  They are also nice for using in smudging.  

If you aren't familiar with smudging, take a look at my article on smudging that I am moving to this blog today.  This is a great activity for spring/summer months to use whenever, but I like them in the cold winters here. 

If you have any thoughts or question, I'll be happy to help if I can.

Wishing you faith, grace, love, peace, happiness and good health.  

 

Finiky Carrots & How To Plant those Tiny Seeds With Ease

 How to Seed Those Tiny Carrot Seeds Easily

Most gardeners sow the basic carrot, peas, beans, etc., but sowing some seeds is indeed a hard task.  Carrot seeds are often a problem in the garden, and most people that tell me their carrots did not come up had either not maintained a moist area, had watered too hard and washed the seeds away, or they simply forgot to water at all.  So here's the skinny on how to grow carrots successfully.  

First, carrots need a moist environment to germinate, and since you have to plant them so close to the surface, that can be an issue in warmer climates.  The solution is actually simple, you can cover them with a board for up to six days (because they can start germinating in 7 days).  I check mine because a few times I have been surprised to see the shoots before it was time because I planted a variety other than my normal.  (Some people do not have allotments and instead grow in their flower beds and may not have a board handy, then just take newspaper dampen it and place over the top, if newspaper dries out, then just spray with a spray bottle to rewet it).  

Because carrot seeds are so small, it is very easy to sow too many and it looks like little tufts across the whole space with no room to grow.  If you do that, then thin out the row so they have room  to grow.  BEST TIP:  It is actually easier to sow them and they are then equipped with their own moisture source, if you take 5 minutes and 1 Tablespoon of cornstarch and boil in 1 cup of water for 1 minute.  Let that cool, then put into a ziplock bag, (for those of you that bake and decorate cakes) - we are going to decorate the garden.  Once you have the starch in a ziplock bag, mix in the seeds, then head to the garden where you have already prepared your row or bed, (which should be 1/4 inch deep and cut the tip off the ziplock back, and simply go down the row squeezing out the gelatin and seed mixture.  Then all thats left to do is to cover them with a bit of dirt.  If you did my trick of using your hand shovel to make the row with, then all you have to do is just pinch the row together and your seeds are covered.  I still cover mine with a board because that's the way my grandparents taught me, (most seeds will germinate when kept in the dark for a few days).  The board also keeps the birds from scratching and pushing the seeds where you didn't plant them.  

If you don't have gardening space it is possible to grow carrots in a container, there are round carrots that are delicious and they do not take up much space, or use a deep container and grow normal carrots (I use sand in the container.  When you use a container with sand, (you can mix the seeds in some damp sand and sow easily also).  

NOTE:  Thinning carrots -- space them at least 1-1/2 to 4 inches apart (look at the size of the carrot on the package and see what their estimate is on the package for best results, but I find that usually 2-1/2 inches is enough space for most.  

Friends to Plant With Carrots - Use Companion Planting by planting with tomatoes or peas and DILL.  

To keep away carrot flies you need to plant Dill between your plants, and do not kill the spiders, they are actually there hoping to make a meal off of the carrot fly larvae.  
Characteristics to look for with carrot fly invasion - rust colored leaves that turn yellow.  Take out the plants and dispose of them (not in compost pile).  Ground beetles are also great helpers with carrot fly issues, so don't step on them please. 

If you love color, or you are trying to get your children to eat their carrots, try one of the varieties that has them in black, yellow, purple in addition to orange.  Bright colors capture young children's attention (eye candy), and they are more prone to eat them without a fuss.

It's a low wait time for most carrots although the round variety was only 90 days, the normal time from start to harvest is usually 120-180 days.  You can leave carrots in the ground until the first light frost if you prefer, and when I lived in the states I planted in large black containers filled with sand and I left them in the sand and took out as I needed.  The only issue with that was my friendly (somewhat wild rabbit) also found the carrots.  I found out why my carrot supply had seemingly dwindled in the container. The rabbit was sitting in the container having a nice lunch. I had a love and hate relationship with that rabbit, every spring there would be babies of course and my garden was a perfect place for eating out, but after the first year I found if I planted enough containers with lettuce and carrots and placed on the outside edges of my garden, they left the rest alone, That's where succession planting and quick growing lettuce is a garden saver, also a bowl of rabbit food helped with the babies.  I loved seeing them, especially the young ones, they play while they eat and then get scolded.  So be a good neighbor to the wildlife when you can, they reward you with moments like the one I mentioned above that are unforgettable and bring a smile when you remember.  

Lastly, when gardening, it's a learning experience, each season is different, every place you garden from one city/state/country is different, temperatures, the weather unpredictability, the type of soil, so when you have a failure, don't see it as a failure, see it as a learning experience and grab another package of seeds and enjoy the journey.  With most things the journey may be better than the destination.  

DON'T FORGET TO PLANT THE DILL!!!!!  Plus you will be rewarded with beautiful visitors to the dill.  

TOT VOLGENDE KEER (Until the next time) ....   Safe and happy gardening.

2021 Second Year of Corona - Gardening 

What's Happening in my World?  

Last year was not what I would call a huge success with my gardens.  They were productive but they were by the end of the season, not pretty.  I did not adequately compensate for the size of many of the plants and my strawberries took over the beds with their runners and unfortunately I was not in the best of health to be able to stay on top of it all.  My helper did what he could to manage things but it was difficult to say the least.

The 2021 growing season has been a total ramp (disaster), the weather has been relentless with the rain and the cold, followed by a few decent days which started all the trees and perennial's to start budding out and blooming.  Case in point my apple, pear, peach and plum trees.  I attempted to cover the apple and pear and peach but the wind made that an effort in futility.  So I am not sure if the trees produce much if anything this year.  Last year the pear tree which was less than 3 feet tall produced 12 beautiful pears which were actually the most delicious pears I have ever eaten (to my surprise).  I battled with the ants and aphids on the pear tree and my neighbor across had the same but worse.  I ended up using my grandfather's old method of cotton cloth soaked in olive oil and wrapped around the base and sprayed several times with Acetylsalicylzuur that finally stopped the ants from sucking all of the sweet nectar from the new leaves.  I attempt to only use natural substances in my garden, thus it took some time to finally find the correct method for that particular scenario.  I also had an issue with mildew on my kruisbessen plant (a cross between black berry/raspberry/and red or white currant).  That particular plant has two different species, one white and one red on the same stem (a hybrid), and it was expensive and I did not want issues with it.  I sprayed it with milk and with baking soda several times, and even resorted to the Acetylsalicylzuur towards the end of the season.  That was all before I figured out that the culprit was probably my neighbor spraying all her fruits and vegetables in the middle of the day which of course with the wind blew to my plants and the sun made spots on the leaves, then they were more susceptible to getting sick.  Strangely enough, she is the one that made issues over the mildew, but she had it already on several of her plants BEFORE it reached mine, but of course she did not tell the allotment committee that when she complained.   So last year I fought those two issues, then this animal that digs undergrown tunnels, a type of rat called a woolratten.  He was digging holes everywhere.  The only thing that seemed to work was putting black powder in the holes.  Surprise, not really, he is back at it this year.

So my goals this year are a bit simpler than before I was sick, I need to make things easier to manage with less bending and stooping, less weeding and more just enjoying the time there.  So I hope over the course of the summer to create more raised beds to help alleviate the issue of weed control (or at least make it manageable); and to create more habitats for the bees and good insects.  I have made a large habitat for the bees and insects from a large outdoor glass lantern I had that was broken by the neighbors cat.  I have filled it with different pieces of wood, stalks, moss, and inserted some tubes for the bees to lay eggs in.  I have also taken some wooden slabs and drilled holes to hang for the bees also (more like there normal habitat).  I am planning on building a very large wooden frame with wire mesh on the back and filling it with bamboo tubes and different types of dried grasses and wood pieces for both the bees and the beneficial insects, but that probably will take until next year to totally complete because I need to find enough material to fill out a large frame.  I have a small water source in the form of a clay pot and saucer for the bees to drink from on top of rocks in the pot, and I would like to incorporate a small water feature, but I have to formulate a plan on where I can put it so that it does not get spray in the water from my neighbor because I do not want to poison them.  (We are suppose to be all organic, but since her weeds die in one day after she sprays, I am not so sure that she is using organic products).  

My goal is to have a fully stocked herbal garden and I really want to have a tea garden with many varieties of tea.  This will have to be an ongoing project since the plants here are not cheap.  

My goal is to have the following by next year in my garden:

Anise Hyssop - Agastache Foeniculum
Bronze Fennel - Foeniculum vulgare "purpurem"
Cardamom - Elettariacarda momum 

Feverfew - Tantacetum Parthenium
(Plain Hyssop) Hyssopus officinalis

Camellia Sinensis - (Tea Plant) -the Chinese plant and the var assamica, the Indian Tea Plant

Lemon Balm - Melissa Officinalis (bought today)
Lemon Basil (ocimum africanum)
Lemon Grass - Cylnbopogon citratus
Lemon Verbena (My favorite plant ever).  I don't think he survived the winter (had for 6 yrs)
Mountain Pepper - Drimys larceolata lanceolata -- original one with dark blue color

Monarda - Monarda Bee Balm
Ginger Mint - Mentha x gracilis 'variegata;

Rosemary - Rosmarinus officinalis (I have a huge one in 2nd shared garden).
Stevia - Stevia rebaudiana
Lemon Thyme - Thymus citridorus
Variegated Lemon Thyme - Thymusxcitridorus variegatus
Tulsi/Holy Basil - Ocimumtenuflorum/ocimum Sonetum
Roman Chamomile - chamaemulum nobile
German (Duits) Chamomile - Matricaria recutita
Lavender Hyssop 

Linden Tree Flowers - tilia cordata tilla platyphyllos
Saffron - Crocus satirus
Violet - viola odorata 

Pipsissewa plant - (Called a stone beaker plant)
Cat tails 

 

Mardi Gras In the Netherlands

Mardi Gras/Carnaval in the Netherlands

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