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Companion planting
Companion planting of carrots and onions. Companion planting is the planting of different crops in proximity (in gardening and agriculture), on the theory that they assist each other in nutrient uptake, pest control , pollination , and other factors necessary to increasing crop productivity . Companion planting is a form of polyculture . Companion planting is used by farmers and gardeners in both industrialized and developing countries for many reasons.
Intercropping
Intercropping is the practice of growing two or more crops in proximity. The most common goal of intercropping is to produce a greater yield on a given piece of land by making use of resources that would otherwise not be utilized by a single crop. Careful planning is required, taking into account the soil , climate , crops, and varieties . It is particularly important not to have crops competing with each other for physical space, nutrients , water , or sunlight . Examples of intercropping strategies are planting a deep- rooted crop with a shallow-rooted crop, or planting a tall crop with a shorter crop that requires partial shade.Sphagnum
Sphagnum is a genus of between 1510 and 3500 species of mosses , commonly called peat moss due to its prevalence in wet habitats where it contributes to the formation of peat bogs and mires. Sphagnum accumulations can store water, since both living and dead plants can hold large quantities of water inside their cells; plants may hold from 16-26 times as much water as their dry weight depending on the species. [ 1 ] The empty cells help retain water in drier conditions. Hence, as sphagnum moss grows, it can slowly spread into drier conditions, forming larger peatlands, both raised bogs and blanket bogs. [ 2 ] These peat accumulations then provide habitat for a wide array of peatland plants, including sedges and ericaceous shrubs, as well as orchids and carnivorous plants. [ 3 ] Sphagnum and the peat formed from it do not decay readily because of the phenolic compounds embedded in the moss's cell walls .
Every day across America, Asia and Europe, millions of pots of coffee and tea are brewed, and the millions of pounds of wet grounds, filters and bags thrown in the trash. This is both wasteful and foolish. Coffee by-products can be used in the garden and farm as follows: Sprinkle used grounds around plants before rain or watering, for a slow-release nitrogen. Add to compost piles to increase nitrogen balance. Coffee filters and tea bags break down rapidly during composting .
Coffee grounds for compost and fertilizer
As well as the nutritional value people have exploited the medicinal properties of the stinging nettle. Culpeper recommended the use of nettles to ’...consume the phlegmatic superfluities in the body of man, that the coldness and moisture of winter has left behind“ . He also prescribed the juice of the leaves as a treatment for gangrenes and scabies. Native Americans used the fresh leaves to treat aches and pains. European herbalists used the leaves in a similar fashion to treat gout and arthritis.
Medicinal uses of Nettles
David Winston
David Winston RH (AHG) (born 1956) is an American herbalist and ethnobotanist . He has been in practice and teaching since 1977 and has written several books on the subject. He works in the Cherokee, Chinese and the Western eclectic herbal traditions. [ 1 ] Winston is a founding/professional member of the American Herbalists Guild , and is a founding advisory board member of United Plant Savers . He serves as visiting faculty at the Tai Sophia Institute.
Botany , plant science ( s ), or plant biology (from Ancient Greek βοτάνη botane , " pasture , grass , or fodder " and that from βόσκειν boskein , "to feed or to graze"), is a discipline of biology and the science of plant life . Traditionally, the science included the study of fungi, algae, and viruses. A person engaged in the study of botany is called a botanist. Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines including structure , growth , reproduction , metabolism , development , diseases , chemical properties, and evolutionary relationships among taxonomic groups. Botany began with early human efforts to identify edible, medicinal and poisonous plants, making it one of the oldest branches of science.
Botany
The still room is a distillery room found in most great houses , castles or large establishments throughout Europe dating back at least to medieval times. The lady of the house was in charge of the room, where medicines were prepared, cosmetics and many home cleaning products created, and home-brewed beer or wine was often made. Herbs from the kitchen garden and surrounding countryside were processed into what today we call essential oils , and infused or distilled, or brewed (etc.) as required to make rose water, lavender water, peppermint based ointments, soaps , furniture polishes and a wide variety of medicines. [ 1 ] It was a working room: part science lab, part infirmary and part kitchen. In later years, as doctors & apothecaries became more widely spread and the products of the still room became commercially available, the still room became increasingly an adjunct of the kitchen.
Still room
Ethnobotany ( from " ethnology " — study of culture [ 1 ] and " botany " — study of plants ) is the scientific study of the relationships that exist between people and plants . Ethnobotanists aim to document, describe and explain complex relationships between cultures and (uses of) plants, focusing primarily on how plants are used, managed and perceived across human societies. This includes use for food, clothing, currency, ritual, medicine, dye, construction, cosmetics and more. [ 2 ] [ edit ] History of ethnobotany Though the term "ethnobotany" was not coined until 1895 by the US botanist John William Harshberger , the history of the field begins long before that. In Pythagoreanism which originated in 500 BC refused to eat beans because of the human relationship to it through matter.
Ethnobotany
I always start certain seeds early. It helps me to produce more plants and crops in my cooler zone 5 climate. photo credit: ricoeurian If you don’t have room for a greenhouse or just want to start a few plants you can make a mini-hothouse by using a plastic tub.