Weeds & Seeds Swap

In the mild November we experienced in 2007, I shared a bit about to an interesting Blueberry store, including a picture, on my Happy Nutritionist’s Nuggets blog…there was hardly a thing in the store that wasn’t in some way related to Blueberries.

Maine is one of the best places to pick blueberries in MHO, they are delicious! During visits in the summer, I’ve picked large bags full of berries that we’ve enjoyed around our campfire (we did a lot of camping in Maine when the children were growing up) and brought home to pop in the freezer. They lasted a long time.

We also have many bushes in our woods and 2 or 3 on our property.  Before the bears became so prolific in the area, I spent a lot of time berry-picking in our woods alone, I’m a little hesitant to do that now.  They love the berries, too.

Blueberries are full of antioxidants, especially in the skin, so I do chew them well when eating them. If I can’t harvest them, I buy them frozen and eat them mixed in yogurt with my herbal sweetener, Stevia, with just a very little bit of vanilla extract, all stirred together in a bowl as an evening snack. Delicious!

For more about blueberries, stop by and visit “Health Benefits of Blueberries“.

If you would like a fact sheet about any of the items marked in red, please send me an email. Thanks!

All of us are concerned about our environment and how to improve it…especially those of us who love to get our hands in the soil.Have you ever measured what kind of impact you are having on the environment? Click the banner above or below, and calculate your “carbon footprint”. I encourage you to sign up and the see what you can learn, or do, to improve your score.

It takes everyone doing their small part to bring about great change, and if you love our natural beauty, and I know all of you gardening friends do, this is a small beginning toward change.

In my travels I came upon a site about Myrtle Beach, a very popular vacation spot here on the east coast, and being someone who loves flowers, had to wonder weather Myrtle actually grows in the Myrtle Beach area…I know I’ve read a lot about how invasive the plant is, and found a few sites about it growing in Florida.  I’ll have to explore some more…but oh how I long for warmer weather, we have had ice storms this week, and the ground has been snow-covered for weeks…I have always loved snow, but for some reason this year, I’m longing for warm sunny days.

And when I think of vacationing, with the economy the way it is, going somewhere driving-distance sounds just right.  We have many friends who vacation in North and South Carolina, and they all like to rent homes, it seems to be the thing to do, whether you go with your family, or share a larger home with friends. Myrtle Beach Lodging is a good place to look if you are thinking of vacationing in that area. Maybe South Carolina is a bit further than you want to go? vrbo.com has vacation rentals by owners throughout the USA and beyond.

I’ll be back with a picture of some Myrtle for you soon! It may be invasive, but it’s pretty.

The botanical name for this spiny bush, shrub, or small tree is Cratageus oxyancanthoides. Though it is native to the Mediterranean, it is cultivated worldwide. Wildlife enjoy it as a safe place to take cover, and as a food source. The bush flowers in the spring, and the berries are ready to harvest in early fall. They are used to make jams and jellies, and for medicinal purposes. If allowed to grow, a tree can reach up to 24″ tall.Back in Greek and Roman times, the herb was used decoratively for wedding bouquets, and the suspicious Romans used it in baby beds to keep away evil. Some records state that upon Christ’s death on the Cross, the herb became associated with death, as supposedly the thorns made up his crown of thorns, though He did have a crown of thorns placed on his head, I am not sure what type of plant it was from. It was the English herbalist from the 17th century, Nichlolas Culpeper who suggested the herb be used for kidney stones and congestive heart failure.Studies validate some of the benefits of Hawthorn to the heart and circulatory system. (I am realizing as I type this that in a day or so it will be February, a month that focuses on Heart health awareness.)

Scientific Info:

Hawthorn berry actives include Procyanidolic oligomers, or PCOs, which collectively refer to proanthocyanidins. These are plant bioflavanoids which, because of their chemical structure they are easily absorbed by cell membrane, and because of this, the protective properties are easily absorbed by our bodies down to the cellular level.

The term Proanthocyanidins as well as ORAC is quite popular with the many health drinks out there touting the benefits which include:

• Trapping free radicals and lipid peroxides
• Delaying the onset of lipid peroxidation
• Inhibiting free radical production by the enzyme xanthine
• Inhibiting the damaging affects of enzymes that destroy connective tissue

These protective properties in Hawthorn berries are particularly beneficial to the tissues of the circulatory system and protect against heart disease. Some of the benefits to the heart attributed to the herb include:

Stimulating peripheral vasodilation which lowers blood pressure and stress on the heart and increasing the flow of blog to the extremities.

• After the above, there is a mild dilation of the coronary vessels and then increased enzyme metabolism in cardiac muscle contractions
• Increase oxygen utilization by the heart
• It should be noted that in stressful conditions, the affect can be the opposite, please contact me if you would like me to send the specific studies.

Hawthorn berries are often suggested by herbalists for heart problems related to aging and degenerative conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, angina, and arrhythmia.

Cautions:

According to the book “Healing Herbs”, high doses of the herb can have a sedative affect, and are recommended for those with chronic insomnia, but amount taken should not exceed safe levels for cardiotonic effects.  And I will add that there are better herbs to use if you are dealing with insomnia.

If you would like a fact sheet about any of the items marked in red, please send me an email. Thanks!

As always, my Disclaimer applies to this, and all posts on this blog.

Do you Squidoo? I remember when Squidoo first started, it seemed so different it was hard to imagine how it could succeed, but I started right in making what Squidoo calls a “lens”. Each lens is so easy to make, and they provide fun tools so that you can have a lens up in a matter of minutes! One of my first lenses was about herbs, and another was about my State, “Weird New Jersey”…the only lens I’ve received “Lens of the Day” for a couple of years back. Since my start a few+ years ago, Squidoo has taken off, and you’ll find information on numerous topics.

There are many lenses on gardening, home care, home improvements, and even lenses about designing and building new homes, like what you will find at the Schumacher Homes Information site…I mean lens.

When it comes to thinking about building your own home, you might feel intimidated or held back by the present economy, don’t be, explore your options and consider what is available to you. Services like the one you will be taken to if you visit the lens mentioned above will be a great encouragement and help as you dream of settling into a new home, dream on and have fun!

Horsetail goes by the botanical name Equisetum arvense. Though native to Europe, we have it all over in the area where I live, in Northern NJ, perhaps because we are in a lake community and the herb loves moist soil. When you drive out of our community, it grows heavily along the roadway beside another lake close to us. The Latin name means “horse bristle”. Fossil records show that this plant is very primitive. It also shows that the plant used to grow as tall as sixty feet! Now it grows to about 2 feet.

Historical Use:

Meskwaki Indians fed Horsetail to their horses to improve the gloss of the hair, the main & tail. It was also used to scrub, clean & polish cooking utensils. The Greek physician, Diosorides, suggested using it as an astringent. In Switzerland, a tincture was used for cystitis and tuberculosis. American Indians and the early American settlers used it as a diuretic for kidney disorders. Folk medicine indicates use to help with excess menstruation and bleeding. The properties that probably gave the herb all these useful benefits include the fact that the herb is astringent, antiseptic, ani-hemorrhagic, diaphoretic, emmengogue, homeostatic, tonic and vulnerary. Today, it is suggested as one of a number of herbs helpful during cold and flu season to increase resistance to infection.

Scientific Info:

Horsetail can be used as an astringent both internally and externally to treat skin abrasions, diarrhea and indigestion (Spoerke, “Herbal Medications”). Silica is one of the main nutrients found in horsetail, an extremely common element in the earth. It is also found in the connective tissue throughout the body, aiding in the building and repair of connective tissue. It helps to increase collagen, and aids the body is using calcium to build bones. A UCLA study found that silicon supplements significantly increased bone calcium content as opposed to non-supplementation (Faelton, “Complete Book of Minerals and Health”). (Note: This is why a calcium supplement that I use, Skeletal Strength, contains certain herbs, because not only does vitamin D, Magnesium, etc. help with calcium absorption, but also the properties in the herbs.)

Some research seems to indicate that because Horsetail is high in Silica, which reduces blood cholesterol and helps to prevent aging and degenerative disorders like heart disease, for example. Silica is also beneficial to the skin & eyes. The flavanoids in Horsetail strengthen the capillaries, it’s phytosterols, or plant steriods, help with inflammation. Some use it for inflammation in the kidneys, bladder, and prostate. This herb is also a great source of vitamins, minerals and trace elements. It has moderately high levels of vitamin E and pantothenic acid (B5). The minerals/trace minerals include calcium, potassium, copper, manganese, selenium, iron, phosphorus, sodium, cobalt and iodine, contributing to strong connective tissue, hair, skin and nails.

PABA, a building block to folic acid and antioxidant that protects the skin from sunburn, is also found in horsetail.

If you would like a fact sheet about any of the items marked in red, please send me an email. Thanks!

Safety Issues: This herb is not recommended for those who hypertension, or certain cardiovascular problems, and remember, my Disclaimer in the right margin applies.

Image Courtesy of http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/

Over the past couple of years, our town has formed a sustainable gardening group, and have taken a plot of unused land in our Township, and turned it into something useful and beautiful.  There is also a beautiful “island” of flowers in the middle of the traffic light interchange in the middle of our town that adds color to an otherwise uninteresting spot year round…beautiful flowers in the spring, summer and fall, and decorative cabbage and winter pansies during  the colder months.

Project Orange Thumb grant is a program that encourages and provides the resources for this type of activity by offering tools and funding to start new projects similar to the ones I have shared, or to improve and enhance community gardening projects that are already established.

Please visit the Project Orange Thumb grant link, read all the details, and apply. Pass this information along to gardening friends in your community. Think of your garden clubs, groups like the ones I mentioned above, school grounds (a great educational opportunity in horticulture), parks, land that is unused but has potential to be something beautiful, there are many ideas…look around you and the town or city where you live. The application deadline is February 17, 2009.

Grand recipients will receive $1000 in green goods and $1500 in Fiskars gardening tools.

For six years, Fiskars’ Project Orange ThumbSM has provided over 100 community groups with over $300,000 to create and develop their own special community gardens.