An Autumn Violet?

This is a rare sight!  In fact I don't think I've ever seen one.  This small violet is blooming in the fall!  I took this picture this afternoon and surprised me to see it.  Have you seen one before?

Another reason why you don't harvest off the sides of the road...

Pretty colors... but with a nasty reason.

 

The upper picture is pretty.  At least the leaves of the trees are.  The beautiful transition of fall!

 

But the reason they're changing isn't because of natural reasons.  And I'm mad as a hornet about it!

 

About two weeks ago, a truck drove through our neighborhood, spraying something on the sides of the road and onto the trees near the roads.  This is what they look like now.

 

These used to be a small berry patch with bright green leaves...

The trees weren't the only ones to suffer.  Our Sumac and berries (anything with broad leaves) suffered from the results of chemical sprays.

Now, I would love to know a few things. 

I can understand why you would keep the foliage back away from the roads in the city.  We mow around the edges of our houses and farms all the way down the roads here in the country.  So why do they need to spray chemicals around our homes and animals? 

Also, this is the time of year when the plants are going to naturally lose their leaves and it'll clear the sides of the road.  So whoever authorized this just spent a lot of money to defoliate trees who were going to lose their leaves in a few weeks anyway. 

So how much sense does doing something like this make?  Not only do you poison the plants but you waste money on something that happens naturally (since, as far as we can see, the grass and other small leafed plants who grow along the roads aren't effected).  Someone really needs their head examined.

But as for the rest of us, this is yet another reason I would recommend against harvesting anywhere near the sides of the roads.  This may dissapate but I can't guarentee it as I don't know the chemicals.

Here's hoping this doesn't happen to your area.

A new book!

Yup, I certainly did write a book.

I wrote this book for everyone who suffers bad times.  Lack of money, need of food, pains and many other problems that arises.  I sincerely hopes this book has helped those who use it.

You can buy it in Kindle format here or in the Amazon store in paperback here!

Please tell me if you like it or if I can change it a little to make it all the better of a resource for you.

Thank you all!

Horseradish

 

 

Thank you, Steve for the great research on this article. Don't know where I'd be without ya. :)

Horseradish (Cochlearria armoracia) is a versatle and healthy condiment that is also a very useful herb.

Originally from Eastern Europe the horseradish is one of the five holy plants consumed by Ashkanazi Jews as part of Passover celebrations, the others being common horehound, nettle, lettuce, and coriander. The Germanic and Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe also ate horseradish as a condiment, thus it was nicknamed, "German Mustard" Russians use a decoction of horseradish mixed with honey as a tonic they call hren and use it to clean the liver. Another German use was grated and applied to a fine cloth and used as a external poultice applied to pained areas for the treatment of gout , a sprain, or sciatica. Horseradish is very useful as wherever the tissue is congested or needs a rush of blood and circulation. Horseradish can be made into a diuretic drink by grating the horseradish and mixing it with cider vinegar and letting the two sit for at least a hour straining out the liquid and drinking it. This is a hot tasting drink very rich in Pottasium.Horseradish is extremely effective as a antiscorbutic to use to prevent or treat vitamin c deficiency including scurvy. Horseradish is extremely high in vitamin C, Glucosides, and the minerals potassium, sulphur, calcium, magnesium iron and phosphorus.

The herbalist Fritz Weiss states that horseradish is one of the most effective antibiotics against skin, lung and bladder infections. The medicinal properties of horseradish are Antibiotic, Anelgesic, aphrodisiac, a revitalizing tonic, a appetizer, a choleretic, a expectorant, a anti scorbiotic, a diuretic, a anti-inflammatory, a dissolvent, and a vermifuge and parasiticide.A way to make a effective horseradish syrup uncooked of course is to take two cups of unpasturized honey (500g) and 8 ounces of fresh horseradish root. Cover the horseradish root with the fresh honey. cover the container with a lid that will keep out bugs and insects. By the end of a week a syrup will form along the top don't remove the roots for at least a month. For a 30 day cure take 1 tablespoon pure or diluted in water 3 times daily before your meals. This syrup is a excellent way to treat bronchitis, hoarseness, fatigue, arthritis and anemia.

To grow horseradish pick a spot with moist garden soil I put mulch from my composted chicken house litter for the nitrogen, in a area that you aren't going to need to disturb in a place in full sun. Horseradish plants grow very exurberently in this enviroment and are perennial,s that come up year after year and unless you are sure to remove all the root from your harvest will continue at the same spot.

The green herby perennial plant grow a foot and a half to over a yard tall with rank long green leaves. The attractive white flowers of horseradish plants cluster in a lanceolate growth. The horseradish taproot is a long brownish on the outside and white on the inside and has a distinctive tangy "horseradishy" scent.You can use the flowers in June and the roots can be harvested in the late autumn when the leaves have frosted down.

Something to be careful about when using horseradish, either externally as a poultice or internally is that horseradish can be very caustic and also dilates the blood vessels so rely on common sense and use your senses to tell if if you think you might be taking a overdose, if it feels like you are taking to much... stop.

Finally Horseradish is of course a tasty addition to your home diet, as a marinade, pureed and of course grated as a tasty seasoning as well as added to ketchup as a great seasoning for your seafood and crayfish tails caught from your farm pond or lake.

Hello and Welcome!

           


Hello Everyone! 

As you can see, it's been a few years since I took this blog up.  I'm not sure why I stopped but I think, since I was new at blogging, I wasn't really into it.  But since I've been working on FaceBook with our group there (Kim's Herbal Guide on FB click here!), and it was such a success, I've decided to revive this blog too. 

Since this is a little different from the FB page, I'm going to add a few different things.  I'll still have all the herb posts I write brought over here.  But I'll also add a few extras, like pictures, concerns and also updates on my books.  As you might see, if you've been here before, I've deleted some posts that had nothing to do with the new way I wanted to take this page. 

I'd also like to add pictures and stories of people's problems and triumphs working with herbs, disease, family life, government, everything!  So be ready to see some of those too.

But anyway, I'm really excited to get back to my blog and am looking forward to continuing the fun here!

Also, welcome to all my FB friends!  Hope this page lives up to expectations too!