Monday 20 April 2015

Horror

I'm not at home and I have just realised that I left some jalapeno pepper and Moneymaker tomato seedlings outside all night. I only took them outside because I was moving stronger tomato seedlings from the same tray into larger pots - which I thankfully moved back inside. They were only innocent bystanders! They are on the top shelf of a small plastic greenhouse, against a fence, with the door open. Ahhhh. They have some shelter from a nearby shed. Yesterday was much colder than it has been recently. Oh please don't have perished!

The only thing comforting me right now is that I have just listened to an episode of Gardener's Question Time where Geoff Jenkins, former head of climate change at The Met Office, gives feedback from his studies in his own back garden showing an increase of a few degrees between conditions on the ground, and a few feet above the ground, the latter being warmer.

It will be a long six hours before I get back home!

....

Update!

I got home, incoherently grunted at my family and rushed out to the back garden with a manic urgency. Quickly, I realised that I had left the seedlings on the bottom, ground level shelf. Ahhh less degrees! Well my moneymaker seedlings were fine but three of my precious four jalapeno pepper seedlings were missing their tops. Rabbit! Or maybe it was slugs. I'll never know. Now I have one miracle seedling left that I must guard with my life.

Sunday 19 April 2015

Medicinal Plants to Grow at Home

As young children myself and my sister spent hours playing, what we called, Mucky Crumby. This was basically collecting muck, flowers, leaves, stones and other garden debris and making into little meals and mixtures. Somewhere buried in the backgarden of the house we moved from when I was six is a lucozade bottle filled with water and mashed up sloes in my attempt to make a some sort of an elixir.

This delight in making potions and lotions never left me and it really pleases me to add medicinal plants to my collection. Here are some plants I am growing at home that can be used as natural cures for an array of complaints.


1. Plants To Reduce Stress

Lavender

Possibly one of the most recognised floral scents, lavender is synonymous with encouraging better sleep. It produces calming, sedative effects when inhaled.

The lavender plant is quite hardy and will withstand dry conditions but a good watering before the flowering season will promote healthy blooms. It spreads, so don't restrict it too much. Place it in a sunny spot as it will not thrive without 6-8 hours of sunshine a day.

Harvest the flowers just before they come into bloom (late June-July) and to maximise the scent, collect in the very early morning. Cut the flowers at the base of the stem and tie into bunches. To retain as much colour as possible, hang in a dark place that is dry, with low humidity. A garage or shed would be ideal. You want to dry them gently. Keep space between the bunches so the air can circulate. The process can take up to a month. You can dry them quickly in the sun, but the purple colour will fade.

To lift your mood, try a homemade lavender tea. Place 1 tsp of dried lavender leaves in a cup and cover with freshly boiled water.  Leave to steep for three minutes and drain before drinking. It can be sweetened with honey.

2. Plants for Cuts, Grazes and Minor Burns

Aloe Vera

Aloe can be grown easily as a house plant. It is a succulent plant, which retains water in its leaves, so it doesn't need too much watering, particularly in winter. It likes a warm, bright location but not totally direct sunshine.

If you break the tip of a leaf off, you will be able to squeeze out the thick green gel from inside the plant. Apply the cool gel directly to a minor burn or graze. Equally you can use like a compress by slitting the leaf down the rib, open it out like a book and apply it, gel side down, straight onto the burn.

I recently used aloe vera on a graze on my toddler's head, and it was gone the next day. Maybe it was his small-child powers of healing the countless bumps he gets but I like to think my efforts helped.

Onion

Onions contain sulphur and quercetin (an anti-oxidant that has anti-inflammatory properties) which help sooth the pain and heal the burn. To help prevent a blister forming, finely dice a raw onion and apply to the burn, wrapping in a bandage to secure.


Sore Throats and Colds

Onion

Another use for onion is to help sooth an irritated throat. You can make a simple cough syrup using raw onion and honey. Make in small batches as it only lasts a few days. Simply add half a chopped raw onion to a clean jar, add enough honey to cover the onion and store in the fridge. Eat a two spoonfuls every few hours.

Garlic

The pungent aroma alone is a great decongestant when you are suffering with a head cold and garlic is also reported to have anti-viral and antibiotic powers. If you are partial to garlic, try eating a whole raw clove a few times a day until the cold passes. A gentler way of ingesting might be to mince the clove and spread on buttered toast, creating a simple garlic bread.

Indigestion

Raw potato

I can attest to this one too. Chew a small cube of raw potato to fight indigestion. Not the nicest texture to invite into your mouth but it does the job, quickly.


So there you have it, a few simple remedies for common complaints.

Friday 3 April 2015

Perfect Pancakes Every Time



This pancake recipe is perfect for two reasons - firstly, it produces flawless, thick pancakes and secondly, it requires only half assed measuring. These pancakes can be used in savoury as well as sweet dishes. It is very satisfying to make something out of three simple ingredients.

Ingredients makes 3 pancakes


1 cup of plain white flour
1 cup of milk
1 egg

Oil for frying

Method


Carefully mix the ingredients together with a whisk until nicely combined. If some tiny flour lumps remain, don't despair. They will cook away, and won't leave nasty little lumps in the pancake.

Heat the oil in your best frying pan until it is hot and runs freely when you move the pan.

Pour the excess hot oil from the pan into a cup and put to one side

With the pan at a medium heat, pour in 1/3 of the mixture. When small bubbles start to appear in the upside, use a fish slice to loosen around the edge of the pancake. If it looks nicely browned on the underside, scoop it up and turn over. You can probably flip it, but I use too heavy a pan. Cook until the other side is browned.

Before you add more batter to the pan, pour back in some of the excess oil from the cup and allow to heat back up for a minute.

Tip: for a sweet pancake, add 1tsp of vanilla essence to the batter.