20 Uses for Garlic : EcoSalon Pungent and powerful, garlic has dozens of health and household uses. Chew up a raw clove of garlic and you might exhale noxious, eye-watering clouds of stink all day, but you’ll also repel mosquitoes (and vampires), increase your immunity, heal cold sores, expel parasites and maybe even get in the mood. Garlic is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, killing bacteria, fungus, viruses and mold, so it’s an important ally for natural health. Check out these 20 unusual and sometimes strange alternative uses for garlic.Acne Slice open a clove of raw, fresh garlic and apply it to breakouts as a home remedy for acne. Your skin won’t smell terribly good, but the antibacterial properties of garlic will help lessen the appearance of acne, even those deep acne cysts that can otherwise be difficult to treat. Pesticide Whiteflies, aphids, cabbage loopers and squash bugs. Cold sore treatment These unsightly lesions always seem to pop up at the most inopportune times, like the morning before a big date. Fish bait
Fig Tree Fertilizer – When And How To Fertilize A Fig Tree By Jackie Carroll One thing that makes fig trees so easy to grow is that they rarely need fertilizer. In fact, giving a fig tree fertilizer when it doesn’t need it can harm the tree. A fig tree that gets too much nitrogen produces less fruit and is more susceptible to cold weather damage. Figs are naturally slow-growing trees, and giving them fertilizer can cause growth spurts that result in splits and cracks in trunks and branches. When to Fertilize Figs The first thing you need to know is what to feed fig trees. It’s best to provide fertilizer for fig trees only when the tree shows symptoms of slow growth or pale leaves, but there are a couple of exceptions where fig trees need regular feedings. You also need to know when to fertilize figs. How to Fertilize Fig Trees If the fruit doesn’t ripen properly, you may be over fertilizing. Spread the fertilizer over the tree’s root zone, which is just beyond the reach of the canopy. Did you find this helpful? Additional Help & Information
Growing Medicinal Herbs for Plant-Based Healing - Natural Health On a freezing winter night many years ago, my wife and I saved our young daughter’s life with an onion poultice. Our struggling daughter woke in the middle of the night so congested she could barely breathe. With some quick thinking and the help of a few common ingredients we had on hand in our wooden yurt and garden, our daughter’s breathing returned to normal within an hour. Herbal Remedies for Ear Infections Our early success with growing medicinal herbs inspired me and my wife to more carefully prepare our home apothecary. Remedy. Growing Greek mullein. Home Remedies for Urinary Tract Infections When my wife and I first began selling medicinal plant seeds, people often asked whether we knew how to treat a urinary tract infection (UTI) with herbs. Remedy. Growing goldenrod. Growing marshmallow. Growing juniper. Herbal Remedies for Cuts and Wounds Treating cuts immediately will help avoid deeper complications, such as infection. Remedy. Growing calendula. Growing comfrey. Remedy.
The 16 Best Healthy, Edible Plants to Grow Indoors From farmers’ markets and Community Supported Agriculture, to urban farms and rooftop gardens, to produce delivery services, more and more people across the U.S. are embracing farm-fresh food. And for good reason: Locally grown produce tends to be better for the environment and for local communities than its store-bought counterparts. Growing food at home also ensures that growers know exactly where their food comes from and how it was grown (no need to worry about deceptive food labeling). Luckily, you don’t need to be a farmer (or even live near a farm) in order to reap the benefits of home-grown produce. General Growing Tips Before you get started, here are a few tips that will be handy to keep in mind no matter which of the plants from this list you choose to grow. Fruits and Veggies Photo: Alpha 1. How to Grow: It’s possible to grow an avocado tree from an avocado pit, but doing so may not yield edible fruit. 2. 3. 4. How to Harvest: Most lemons will ripen in six to nine months. 5. 6.
How To Grow Ginger Root - Planting Ginger Plant In Your Herb Garden By Heather Rhoades Ginger plant (Zingiber officinale) may seem like a mysterious herb to grow. The knobby ginger root is found in grocery stores but very rarely do you find it in your local nursery. So can you grow ginger at home? The answer is yes, you can. Not only is growing ginger plants possible, it is easy as well. How to Grow Ginger Root Planting ginger starts with finding some ginger root to plant. Advertisement Ginger plants take 10 months to mature. Next, you will need to select a place to grow your ginger plant. Plant your ginger root in the early spring, after all chances of frost have passed. Plant the ginger sections in a shallow trench. Plant one ginger plant per square foot. The leaves on the ginger plant will get to be up to 4 feet tall and are susceptible to wind damage. How to Harvest Ginger Your ginger plant will be ready for harvest in the spring, or you can let it grow through the next summer for a larger harvest.
35+ Easy to Grow Medicinal Plants To Make Your Own Herbal Remedies! If you are looking for a healthier way to treat some of your health problems, while enjoying a beautiful garden, medicinal plants you can grow in your garden are an excellent alternative to taking modern medicines. Just dry your herbs and create your own natural pharmacy At A Glance: OUR TOP 5 PICKS FOR MEDICINAL PLANTS Many of the prescription drugs available today have a long list of possible bad side effects, some of which may even be worse than the medical problem you’re trying to treat. This is why many people are searching for a more natural, safer way to treat their medical problems. For centuries, people have used a wide variety of plants to treat all types of illnesses. The Herbal Apothecary: 100 Medicinal Herbs and How to Use Them Rosemary Gladstar’s Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide: 33 Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use Below are 35 of the most popular medicinal plants and herbs that you can grow right in your own garden. Medicinal Plants You Can Grow In Your Garden Aloe Vera
How to Grow Garlic: Organic Gardening Soil preparation: Garlic will tolerate some shade but prefers full sun. While I've seen cloves sprout in gravel pits, garlic responds best in well-drained, rich, loamy soil amended with lots of organic matter. Raised beds are ideal, except in very dry regions. Planting: To grow garlic, you plant the cloves, the sections of the bulb; each clove will produce a new bulb. The largest cloves generally yield the biggest bulbs. To get the cloves off to a strong start and protect them from fungal diseases, soak them in a jar of water containing one heaping tablespoon of baking soda and a tablespoon of liquid seaweed for a few hours before planting. Spacing: Place cloves in a hole or furrow with the flat or root end down and pointed end up, with each tip 2 inches beneath the soil. Watering: Garlic needs about an inch of water each week during spring growth. When your garlic is thoroughly dry, trim the roots, taking care not to knock off the outer skin.
Planting, Growing & Harvesting Broccoli Broccoli is a great choice for a home garden. Freshly cut broccoli heads are rich in vitamins and minerals. They’re delicious raw in salads or lightly steamed and they freeze well. If you choose a variety such as ‘DiCicco’ or ‘Waltham’ that produces plentiful side shoots, you can enjoy several cuttings from each plant in your garden. Broccoli raab and Chinese broccoli are fast-growing, cool-loving broccoli relatives that produce small, tender flowering shoots that you can eat—buds, stems, leaves, and all. Planting: Broccoli prefers full sun, but partial shade can prevent plants from bolting (going to seed) in areas with warm spells. Cool days and nights are essential once the flower heads start to form. If you’re starting your own seedlings, sow your spring crop indoors 7 to 9 weeks before the last expected frost. Protecting young broccoli plants from temperature extremes is critical for a successful crop. Cultivate around young plants to get rid of weeds and keep the soil loose.
Medicinal Plants Worth Your Garden Space And Eventually, Health Playful as kids are, accidents happen. And the accident that befallen me at 7 years old was the feeling of the hot exhaust pipe of a motorcycle kissing the skin of my leg. Grandma was around and saw it. Immediately, she took out a knife and sliced the thick lower part of the aloe vera plant by the garden and rubbed the exposed end on the burn. Looking back, I realized that it was important to have medicinal plants around the house cause you never know when you might need them. Aloe Vera The Medicinal Stem The aloe vera grows only under the sun with well drained dry or moist soil. woundscutsburnseczemareducing inflammation Apart from its external use on the skin, aloe vera is also taken internally in the treatment of : ulcerative colitis (drinking aloe vera juice)chronic constipationpoor appetitedigestive problems Marsh Mallow The Medicinal Plant Marshmallow candies were once made of REAL mallow roots until candy makers decided to replace them with gelatin Externally, it is applied to :
101 Gardening Secrets The Experts Never Tell You I like to use natural top soil to start my garden seedlings in. I usually don't use potting soil because it generally does not produce the results I want. I usually fill a large, deep baking pan I have with top soil and bake it for thirty minutes at 350 degrees. This sanitizes the soil and makes sure that no weeds or grass come up in your soil. I usually start on this project in the winter and I fill up a couple of large plastic barrels with lids with the sanitized soil. I fill my trays up with my potting soil and then I plant my seeds. I cover each seedling with a clear plastic cup that I wash and reuse. If you want to root a plant or cutting in water, add a aspirin or two to the water. If you plant your seeds outdoors sprinkle flavored powdered gelatin in the soil with the seeds. Transplanting Tomatoes Or Pepper Plants When planting any type of tomato or pepper plant, pinch off all but the top leaves of the plant. Then carefully fill the hole with dirt and pack the dirt down tight. 1.
Growing fennel — bulb, herb, pollen - Growing for Market By Pam Dawling Many people grow fennel as the herb, for leaves and seeds, for salads, soups, fish dishes and teas. The seeds are also used in desserts, breads, other baked goods and drinks. Or they are chewed after a meal to help the digestion. Crop requirementsFennel benefits from a rich, well-drained soil, with a pH of 5.5-6.8. There are about 200 seeds per gram, 7,000 seeds per ounce. Fennel is not troubled by many insect pests or diseases. SowingTo germinate fennel successfully, the seeds must be in the dark, with a soil temperature of 60-90°F. (70°F is ideal.) Bulb fennel can be sown outdoors as early as 2-5 weeks before the average last frost date in spring, but when the danger of hard frost (28°F) is over. The best time to sow bulb fennel is for an autumn crop. TransplantingTransplanting is useful in areas with short springs, or short seasons overall. Orion (80 days) an F1 hybrid from Johnny’s www.johnnyseeds.com, has a higher yield potential than open pollinated fennels.
Use Comfrey Root as a Natural Remedy – Mother Earth News Some time ago, a friend was holding a router between his knees as he changed the bit. Then his grip slipped, and his knee hit the switch. Before he could turn the machine loose, it made several deep cuts on his hand. As he ran to the house, he grabbed a leaf off a comfrey plant, stuck it in his mouth and started to chew. Once inside, he grabbed a jar of cayenne and threw some cayenne down into the cuts to stop the bleeding. He then put the pieces of comfrey leaf he had chewed up over the wound. Two weeks later, he came to an herb meeting our community holds occasionally and told us about the accident. The genus name for comfrey is Symphytum, which means to “unite or knit together.” Comfrey contains a special substance called allantoin, which is a cell proliferative. This same substance, allantoin, is found in the placenta of a pregnant mother which helps the baby grow rapidly. A few years ago, I was tossed off my little black mare and got a couple of broken ribs. Dr. Dr. Ingredients:
HOW TO GROW A PINEAPPLE FROM SEED |The Garden of Eaden The pineapple fruit - Ananas comosus, is a common sight in most supermarket fresh produce aisles, but as familiar as it is today the pineapple is steeped in history and was once considered to be the most coveted of all fruit. Discovered in 1493 by Christopher Columbus during his voyages to the Americas, the pineapple became an instant hit when it was introduced to Europe. Unfortunately the pineapple has a notoriously short shelf life and the 1-2 month sea voyage it made obtaining one was almost impossible. Its extreme rarity meant that the pineapple quickly became a symbol of wealth and luxury, but despite the best efforts of European gardeners it was almost two centuries before they were able to mimic the conditions required to bring a pineapple plant to fruition. In order to get your hands on some seed cut a fresh and fully ripe pineapple into slices and remove the small, black seeds in the fruit's flesh. Place the seeds into a clear, plastic bag with a sheet of damp kitchen towel.
If You Can Grow Basil, You’ll Have No Troubles With Shiso Shiso (Perilla frutescens) is known in some circles as Japanese basil. And like basil, it is easy to grow in Hawaii any time of the year. For the lucky soul who has shiso in the garden there are many uses for the leaves, the flowers and the seeds. Description Shiso used to be classified botanically as a type of basil and was in the genus Ocimum, but it now belongs to a different genus (Perilla). Shiso has either green (green shiso) or purple (red shiso) leaves that are usually wrinkled. Flower spikes appear at the growing tips and bear small pink, lavender, green or white flowers. Care Shiso is an annual and will die after it has flowered. Shiso does best in well-drained, moist soil. It is probably best to start shiso in the garden from transplants you either buy or grow yourself. Harvest your shiso leaves by taking leaves that are bout 2 inches long. You can also grow shiso quite easily in containers. Another way to grow shiso is as seedlings for harvest as a garnish. Propagation Pests