Seeds

The days are getting lighter. Spring is slowly coming. I call this moon the seed moon, because it's time to think about what to grow this year.
I look through the seeds from last year. Some were saved from the garden. Others bought from a local farmer. I dump them all out on the floor and sort them into their plant families. Latin Family names are important to know for sorting seeds, and especially to practice crop rotation. I label each Family clearly on a peice of cardboard and place the seed packages back into the box.

Once the seeds are in order it is easy to see what I have. I start a seed inventory, mark the name of each vegetable, as well as the variety, seed company and year the seed was harvested.
This list is very useful. At a glance I know what seeds I already have, and what I want to source (whether through a friend or from a farmer) before the growing year starts. The name of the seed company informs me where the seed came from.

The longer a seed grows in a certain location, the more adapted it becomes to the soil, wind, rain, etc... therefor the better it grows. I would always prefer to grow a seed that came from my backyard, than one from a seed company. Even if the seed company was from somewhere in my province.

It's also important to know where a seed came from because of cross pollination. Some seeds (such as beans, peas, lettuce, tomatoes, red peppers, etc..) are self pollinators. There for the seed always comes true to it's mother. All the other seeds are cross-pollinators. There for they need to be saved using careful methods to create a seed that comes true. If you get a seed from a friend that was cross pollinated, make sure to ask how they saved the seed.

When starting a vegetable garden, it is important to know how old the seed is. Some seeds will germinate for 5 years (such as Broccoli), but others only last 1 season (such as parsnips) before their life force is gone. All the information is available on a seed germination list.
If a seed packet is getting old, it is worth doing a seed germination test to see what percentage of the seeds you plant will grow.
The Seed Germination Test instructions are on the website below:

http://www.yougrowgirl.com/grow/seed_test.php

Now that my seeds are in order, I've created a seed inventory and have tested the older seeds to see how well they will germinate, I know what seeds I have available to grow this year. It's time for me to make a list of what seeds I want to grow which I do not have and figure out where I can source them, and hopefully trade for them, locally.

Happy Seed Moon......

Willow tea for a headache

I feel blessed to have knowledge of the medicinal plants from the southern vancouver island bioregion.
Earlier this week my dear friend approached me with a pounding headache, asking for a tea to ease the pain. I remembered a willow tree i hadn't visited in a while and told her to come find me soon.
Long before the days of aspirin people would chew on the bark of willow branches to ease the pain of a headache. The pain releaving compound salicylic acid in aspirin originated from willow bark.

I have been taught to look for fallen willow branches on the ground after a wind storm. If no fallen branches are available, I harvest branches carefully with gratitude. I take a small amount from a large area, acknowledgement the growth of the plant as being more important that my own needs. The healthier the ecosystem stays from which I harvest, the longer it can provide medicines to my children's children.

In spring or in the fall when there are heavy rains, the medicinal willow bark pulls easily off of the branch. In the heat of summer I use a knife to strip it off.
Recently I have been harvesting from a young tree close on the land. I choose not to harvest large branches because it is still developing. Therefor I have been harvesting small shoots which are growing off of the main branches. I thin out the most crowded ones.

After thanking the tree I harvested a handful of tiny branches inside for my friend with a headache. Then I pounded them with a mortar and pestle (in the warm months I pound them between two stones). I Put the pounded willow in a pot (about a tablespoon to a cup of water) and let it simmer for about 20 minutes. Barks are tougher than leaves and flower petals. Therefor the willow needs to be simmered- decocted, instead of infused (steeped in a cup of water).

My friend was feeling better after her first cup and felt re-leaved after her second. I am very thankful for this small willow tree that grows on our property, for the same tree has helped me heal other's headaches.