Everlasting Gardener’s
Improving Your Herb Know-How

Publisher: Joanie Lapic      Volume Number 2      Issue Number 14      Date: July 15, 2009


“Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth
. . . And to . . . Everything that has the breath of life in it I give
every green plant for food.’”                    Gen.1: 29,30
 


If you have questions about any information in these articles, or if you
need any supplies or products, please contact
Joanie Lapic, Everlasting Gardener
Phone -- 724-846-4787
e-mail -- joanie@everlastinggardener.com
Following this link to my website may also help you find what you are looking for:
Herb Specialist Joanie Lapic Everlasting Gardener
 


IN THIS ISSUE:

 ~ July DRAWING
~ What’s Happening to the Honey Bees?
~ Herbs Have a Long History of Safety
 (“Six Reasons” series)
~ Herbal Highlight
~ Upcoming Classes
 


 

July Drawing

“It’s All About Lavender”


WIN

1 Pocket Therapy “Calm”

1 Bundle of Lavender Flower Stems

1 Packet of dried Lavender Flowers (with recipes)


Enter this drawing by filling out Form and in message write July Drawing.

http://everlastinggardener.net/contact_us.htm

 

Entry must be submitted by July 31, 2009 11:59 EDT

 

The winner will be announced by Aug. 5, ’09
 on Joanie’s website

 
 

What’s Happening to the Honeybees?

All over the earth, Honeybees are abandoning their hives. Also, the predators who normally steal the abandoned honey don’t even want it. Having less bees affects the productions of crops humans use as food, since when honeybees collect nectar, they pollinate plants, allowing them to set fruit.

Scientists are working on finding the reason for Colony Collapse Disorder, as it is called. Some of the theories are: genetically modified crops, insecticides, mobile phones, diseases, and the stress of commercial beekeeping.

As gardeners, especially Herb gardeners, there is much we can do to support our pollinating friends. Medicinal and culinary Herbs produce nectar, pollen, protein and carbohydrates which directly sustain honeybees. But could there be additional MEDICINAL benefits to honeybees that they pick up when they pollinate Herb flowers? Essential oils produced by Rosemary, Bee Balm, Basil, the Mints, etc., may protect them from the mites which harm and kill the bees. Or perhaps there are added health benefits for bees in the herbal nectar or pollen, such as some trace element.

We as gardeners can be helpful by avoiding the use of pesticides in our gardens, and by growing  Anise Hyssop, Bee Balm, Catmint, Mullein, Purple Coneflower, Thyme and many more Herbs.

If you’d like to add some Herb plants to your garden:

http://everlastinggardener.net/herb_plants_for_sale_at_everlast.htm
 


Herbs Have a Long History of Safety
 (“Six Reasons” series)

This is the second in the series, which began in my July 1, 2009 newsletter. With these articles, I hope to assist you to a better understanding as to why so many people are finding answers to their health problems through the use of natural Herbs.

Herbs contain thousands of naturally-occurring chemicals, which include nutrients, vitamins and minerals, that work together to bring the body back into its natural balance.

HERBS HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF SAFETY.

People in all parts of the earth have discovered and used the plants growing in their own regions for hundreds, some of them thousands, of years. By various methods they have come to understand which herbs can be used to treat which malady, finding these Herbs to be treatments for all of their population’s ills. This information was passed down through the ages, first by word of mouth, then eventually in books.

One of the main reasons for Herbs’ safety is that they do not accumulate in the body or produce harmful side-effects like synthetic drugs. On the other hand, half of all medications introduced into the marketplace are recalled within ten years (some much sooner) due to deleterious side effects. Typically, safety studies only continue about 6 to 8 weeks. But many side-effects of pharmaceuticals, such as kidney failure or liver damage, psoriasis or circulatory issues, are revealed only after people have used them for many months or years.

Far fewer people suffer adverse reactions to Herbs than to pharmaceutical drugs. Almost always, reactions to Herbs are insignificant, when taken by well-informed recipients, or under the watchful eye of an experienced Herbalist. For example, allergic reactions which may occur, subside quickly when the use of the Herb is discontinued, much like when a person experiences a minor allergy effect from a food.

We will look into the other reasons why it is better to use Herbs, in the weeks to come.

If you have any question at all about a particular Herb or its uses, please contact Joanie: http://everlastinggardener.net/contact_us.htm

Also, you have the opportunity to learn about “Using Herbs to Heal” at Joanie’s class Sat., July 25, 2009. Please check this link for more information:

http://everlastinggardener.net/classes_by_joanie_lapic.htm
 


Herbal Highlight

Dill
 Anethum graveolens 

Dill is growing well this summer, here in the mid-Atlantic region.
The leaves can be picked fresh and enjoyed in salads or sandwiches (such as on Joanie’s favorite, turkey burger). It makes a delightful tea.
For additional uses, harvest the LEAVES,  picked before the seeds mature, and the SEEDS after the flowering head turns light brown. To preserve for later use, you can dry or freeze the leaves, dry the ripe seeds, and make dill vinegar with either part.

Here are some of Dill’s many uses:

~ Culinary
LEAVES - Season dishes like soups and dips - especially delicious on burgers/sandwiches. Add finely chopped to soups, potato salads, cream cheese, eggs, salmon and grilled meats.
FLOWERING TOPS -  Add one flower head per jar to pickled gherkins, cucumbers and cauliflowers for flavor stronger than dill leaves but fresher than seeds.
SEED - Use whole or ground in soups, fish dishes, pickles, cabbage, apple pies, dill butter, cakes and breads.

~ Cosmetic
SEED - Crush, make a strong tea, strain into a bowl for a bath to strengthen nails. Chew to sweeten breath.

~ Medicinal
SEED - Chew them or make a tea with them, to serve at the end of a heavy meal as a digestive. Use in a salt-free diet as dill contains various mineral salts. Dill tea also serves to relieve indigestion, flatulence, hiccups, stomach cramps, colic, insomnia and to encourage milk production in nursing mothers.

Dill grows best in rich, well-drained soil, in full sun, protected from wind and heavy rains (you can also stake it). The seeds, thrown on the ground in the spring, sprout and grow into 3 to 5 foot plants, mature, then reseed themselves, re-sprouting the next spring.
(some information obtained from "The Complete Book of Herbs“, by Leslie Bremness)

If you feel it is too late for you to grow Dill from seeds in your garden to use this summer, Joanie has the plants for sale at her greenhouse:

http://everlastinggardener.net/herb_plants_for_sale_at_everlast.htm
 


UPCOMING CLASSES

 

Cooking With Herbs

Saturday, July 18, 2009
At Everlasting Gardener
10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Lunch included

How to add delicious flavors to your cooked and baked foods, make herbal butters, vinegar, Pesto, jellies, breads, decorate your salads and plates, and much more!

Tour the gardens and gather herbs and flowers, which will be prepared with our herbal lunch.
Together we’ll make a batch of Herbal jelly - and you take home a jar.
Cost of this class is $16.00.
To reserve your place for the July 18 class date, your $8.00 deposit must be in Joanie’s mailbox by Thursday, July 16. Or you may call to find out availability of space.

See you then for a great time with Herbal culinary delights!

 

Using Herbs to Heal

July 25, 2009
10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Lunch provided

This is a class packed with Projects and information that give you confidence to use Herbs for one of their chief intended purposes - to nourish and bring health to the body.
LEARN HOW TO MAKE HERBAL THERAPIES.
BECOME SKILLED AT IDENTIFICATION.
UNDERSTAND BODY SYSTEMS AND THEIR NEEDS FOR HERBS.
The PROJECTS we will make together, you will take home with you. They include: medicinal teas, poultice, tincture, healing clay masque, massage oil, infused oils, therapeutic room sprays and bath salts.

The cost of the 6 hour seminar, including lunch, is $90.00.
Attend with a friend and you both receive a $5.00 reduction in the seminar price.
Your reservation deposit of $45.00 per person MUST be in Joanie’s mailbox by Wed., July 22, 2009, to prepare your materials, copies, buy supplies, etc.

Please call or e-mail Joanie with any questions

If you’d like more details on the classes or registering, please see:
 http://everlastinggardener.net/classes_by_joanie_lapic.htm

Also, there are many Act 48 courses being offered at Joanie’s Gardens, also listed on the “Classes” page of her website.
 


"Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..."         Galatians 6:9-10