All Natural Herbal Hair Color Recipes Since I posted by recipes for homemade shampoo and DIY dry shampoo I’ve gotten a few emails asking about natural/herbal options for hair color. I’ve experimented with natural hair lightening in the past, but hadn’t tried dark or red shades. Many wasted herbs and a bunch of randomly colored streaks on the underside of my hair later, I figured out some good dark and red options as well! I started with sandy blonde hair, so I used the lightening herbs on most of my head, and I’m the blondest I’ve been since childhood (with some interesting red/brown streaks underneath). I think the reds and browns would be even more dramatic on hair that was already darker, but they definitely had my hair not-blonde anymore. These are natural colors and as such will create natural hues on your hair. Also, I haven’t tried these on dyed/chemically treated hair, so I don’t know how it reacts with those types of hair! Herbs for Light Hair I’ve tried several basic herbal variations including: Ingredients:
How to Make Herbal Tinctures from Dried Herbs I have several tincture recipes posted (including my two favorites: Chamomile Tincture and Digestion Tincture ) but I realized that a post with general instructions on how to make a tincture from any herbs would be helpful. A tincture is a concentrated liquid form of an herb that is easy to make and easy to take. Tinctures preserve and concentrate the properties of the herb, making them more effective and longer lasting. Alcohol based tinctures have a shelf life of several years and are easy to use when needed! I keep several tinctures on hand for my kids, as they can be used externally even on small children for relief from common problems. If you’ve ever bought tinctures from the store, I’d encourage you to try making your own, as they are very inexpensive to make and can be made in minutes. Tincture Making Supplies: I make most tinctures in an alcohol base as this makes them the most long lasting, but tinctures can also be made with glycerine, vinegar or even with honey to make a syrup!
Growing Herbs, Planting Herbs, How to Grow Herbs The best tips for growing herbs indoors, outdoors, and in container herb gardens. Learn how to plant and care for herbs when home gardening. Plant a kitchen herb garden to supply fresh herbs to spice up your meals. Design Your Own Vegetable Garden Layout Using our Free "Vegetable Garden Planner" Software! Why Grow an Herb Garden? The practice of planting herbs has been undertaken on every continent for hundreds of years. Herbs are prized for their scents, medicinal properties, and seasoning qualities in gardening, aromatherapy, arts and crafts, home remedies, and cooking. Planting a small sized kitchen herb garden supplies a wide range of flavorful, therapeutic, and fragrant herbs. Download Free Garden Planning Worksheets, Garden Diary, Zone Chart, Or Planting Guide Common Types of Herb Gardens Visiting herb gardens is the best way to decide on which plants to select and where to place your garden. Indoor Herb Gardening Many herbs can be successfully grown indoors in a container herb garden.
The Lazy Lady’s Guide to DIY: Hanging Herb Garden in Ladyguides on Persephone Magazine. At some point near the middle of March, I always decide that I’m “done” with winter. The sweaters and jackets get pushed to the back of the closet, the flip flops come out, and I inevitably freeze my butt off for several weeks until the weather catches up with my warm-weather state of mind. Likewise, my cravings for fresh herbs and veggies are always a little ahead of the season. Growing your own herbs is a great way to save money and avoid buying too much at a time and letting most of it go to waste. If it’s still too cold to plant outside where you are (or if you’re short on space!) What you’ll need: Tin containers with snap-on plastic lids (tea, cocoa, and coffee cans are a good bet), coat hangers, pliers, scissors, herbs (I bought basil, rosemary, dill, and cilantro for about $2.50 each), masking tape, coffee filters, a nail, a hammer, X-acto knife, scrap fabric or paper, and glue or spray adhesive. Slide the bottom inside the can, holding it up from inside. Flip the can over.
Edible Flowers, How to choose Edible Flowers, Eatable Flowers, Edible Flower Chart, List of Edible Flowers, Incredible Edible Flowers Edible flowers are the new rage in haute cuisine Photo of edible flowers picked in Linda's garden in July (lavender, thyme, dill, cilantro, day lily, squash blossom, Nasturtiums, chives, and basil). After falling out of favor for many years, cooking and garnishing with flowers is back in vogue once again. Today, many restaurant chefs and innovative home cooks garnish their entrees with flower blossoms for a touch of elegance. One very important thing that you need to remember is that not every flower is edible. In fact, sampling some flowers can make you very, very sick. You also should NEVER use pesticides or other chemicals on any part of any plant that produces blossoms you plan to eat. Never harvest flowers growing by the roadside. Identify the flower exactly and eat only edible flowers and edible parts of those flowers. Always remember to use flowers sparingly in your recipes due to the digestive complications that can occur with a large consumption rate. Fruit Flowers: Herb Flowers:
Building a Square Foot or Raised Garden Box with Wood | My Square Foot Garden This spring my friend Tara and I tackled this project together. Here’s a list of materials and costs: wood (two 16′ 2×10 boards, one 8′ 2×10 board-$31 total)16 corner brackets ($.56 each, $9)wood stain (1 can from the “oops” pile-$5)screws ($5)miscellaneous parts ($3)weed mat (free)kite string (free)1 bale peat moss ($8)1 bag perlite ($13)3 bags chicken compost ($11)11 bags steer compost ($15)6 gallon bucket of coffee grounds (free) Total Cost: $100 Tools and equipment: electric drillscissorsshovelglovespaintbrush First, of course, we made a plan. We made a bit of a mistake at HD-we allowed the store employee to pick our boards for us (they were heavy!). Since we knew the exact lengths we needed, we had the HD employee to cut the wood right there. We lay the boards on a flat surface (patio) and screwed the corner brackets on the insides. Upon the advice of the guy at HD, we bought stain and stained the boxes. One of us stained, while the other prepped the area. Voila! Happy gardening!
Square Foot Gardening Soil--Mel's Mix | My Square Foot Garden You may be asking “whose mix”? Mel Bartholemew is the author of All New Square Foot Gardening and the founder of the square foot gardening method. He recommends filling your garden boxes with a special mix, instead of dirt. Mel’s Mix 1/3 vermiculite1/3 peat moss1/3 compost (from as many sources as possible) This is done by volume. The Cost I was able to buy the peat moss and compost at WalMart or Home Depot, but I only found the vermiculite at IFA Country Stores (Intermountain Farmers Association). 2 large bags (3.5 cu ft) vermiculite, $18.00 each1 large bale (3.8 cu ft compressed, expands to be more) peat moss, $9.008 bags (1 cu ft) compost, $2.00 each (average price)6 extra bags (1 cu ft) compost, $2.00 each (average price)TOTAL COST (three 4′x4′ boxes): $73.00 The Benefits Why not just use dirt? Planting and germination–Mel’s mix is much lighter than dirt, and it doesn’t get compacted down because you never walk on it. Cost Savers Mixing It Up–Tarp Method Pour compost on a large tarp. Update
Bottle Drip Irrigation | I prefer to have the bottle standing right-way-up as I think it looks nicer and it keeps debris out of the bottle thus keeping the holes from blocking. The materials: * 2 litre plastic soft-drink bottle or water bottle * Sharp small screwdriver, pointed hole-maker or drill This can be used in container gardening, raised bed gardens and open vegetable gardens. Using your pocket knife, make 2 small slits in the bottom of your bottle. Dig a hole next to your tomato plant. This will slowly deep-water your tomato plants and most other vegetable plants. You can learn more about this on another website. Only two very small holes are needed at the lowest place on the bottle. I prefer to leave the lids off. Place bamboo stakes next to each bottle. Here I am making another hole slightly higher up the bottle. However, if I remove the lid, water will come out this hole as well as the holes in the base. You can make larger holes, and partly fill the bottle with coarse-sand or soil to slow the flow.
10 Spud-tacular and Surprising Uses for Potatoes 10 Spud-tacular and Surprising Uses for Potatoes Not only are they a great source of healthy food, but did you know that you can remove stains, or give your glasses an anti-fogging ability, or how about restore some old leather, all with a potato? Below are some pretty cool tips can tricks that will make your life a little easier, and a little more chemical free by employing the use of a thousands year old crop. Potatoes can grow just about everywhere humans live. 1. Simply wash the potato and dry it. 2. Got blackberry stains? 3. Tubers are wonderful for soothing pain, headaches, or other inflammatory conditions. 4. Tired of walking from a cold house into the heat only to have your glasses fog up to the point that you could walk into a tree? 5. To remove the tarnish from your silverware all you need to do is make it a mashed potato night! 6. Imagine this, you have just prepared an extensive soup dish from a recipe book that you’ve been dying to try. 7. 8. 9. 10. Related articles:
Naturally Repel Fleas, Ticks and Mosquitos | eHow Home Spring and summer bring longer days and blooming gardens. But the warm weather also allows nasty pests to thrive, and fleas, ticks and mosquitoes can make spending time outdoors frustrating. Most people turn to chemicals to keep them at bay. Instead, let’s try some natural alternatives to repel them. Here are a few tips and recipes that will keep you chemical and pest free as the temperature rises. Flea Repellant Spray Fleas need to be kept out of the house and off your pets. DIY Flea Repellent 6 drops lavender oil6 drops cedar oil1 cup witch hazel Combine the mixture in spray bottle and shake before using. Flea Carpet Treatment Salt will kill flea eggs by dehydrating them. Personal Tick Repellent It is said that if you drink apple vinegar and eat garlic your body odor will repel ticks — and possibly your friends. Mosquito Repellent A simple repellent that works well to keep you mosquito bite free is a mixture of one cup of mouthwash and seven drops of lavender oil. Nature’s Mosquito Remover
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How to Grow Garlic Year-Round Gardening | Square Foot Gardening I am a big fan of using year-round gardening to harvest fresh food twelve months a year – even in cold climates. Not only is fresh food more nutritious and tasty than canned or frozen, but it is a lot more energy-efficient. When I was a child, we planted our entire row garden within a 2-4 week time period, and usually had to harvest each crop within a similar narrow time frame. Successful year-round gardening involves: expanding the varieties of fruit and vegetables in your dietlearning to eat more fresh food in seasongrowing varieties of fruit and vegetables that store easilyextending the growing season of some cropsextending the harvesting season for many crops Enjoy More Variety Many Americans grow only the standard summer vegetables – tomatoes, corn, peppers, white potatoes, melons, etc. The easiest way to enjoy fresh crops all year is to also learn to grow and eat a variety of cool-season vegetables. What Do You Do With These Winter Vegetables? , by Andrea Chesman. .