Is Maple Sap Tea the New Organic Gatorade (TM)?

I was chatting with a friend at church on Sunday, and she mentioned that her family's been drinking the sap from their maple trees (they only boil it long enough to kill any bacteria that may have accumulated while the bag was hanging on the tree, not anywhere near long enough to make syrup). Apparently this is a thing - a quick google search later that afternoon pulled up articles from Men's Journal, NPR, and Medical Daily, as well as more wild-food oriented sites like Chelsea Green and Wild Foodism. There are even a few companies that sell maple sap commercially. My friend said her family loves it - "It's full of electrolytes, just like a natural Gatorade(TM)!" She was even thinking about freezing pints of it for the summer, when her husband (who has a very physical outdoor job) will need the nutrients while working in the hot sun.

I thought that was a great idea, and then had an idea of my own - why not add a tea bag when you're flash-boiling a little sap to drink and have a naturally sweetened herbal tea?

I had to try it - and I was very pleasantly surprised. I was worried it wouldn't be sweet enough for my taste, but I tried it with some Rose Hips and Hibiscus tea from Traditional Medicinals, and my cup had just the right level of sweetness. It's also great with my evening cup of Nighty Night tea. I will definitely be making my tea this way whenever I have extra maple sap (but unfortunately I don't think I can spare the freezer space to save some for summertime - I guess it will just have to be a seasonal treat!)

2019 Seed Starting Plan

Although you wouldn't know it to look outside, (as you can tell by Monday's post) spring is just around the corner! Our last frost date around here is May 15th (well, that's a little optimistic, but it usually works out alright), so March 1st is time to start my first seeds indoors (if you have a different last frost date, you can use this chart, too - just adjust your seed starting times back accordingly).

Here's my plan for sowing seeds this spring:

March 1st - start indoors:
5 parsley plants
12 Brussels sprouts
20 broccoli
(these are all cool-season plants, so I'll aim to get them transplanted outside around April 15th)

April 1st - start indoors:
17 tomatoes (to be planted out May 15th)
12 spinach
12 lettuce (I'll plant both the spinach and the lettuce every 2 weeks for a continuous harvest; I'll plant the firsts set out on April 15th)
20 rutabagas (transplant April 15th)
4 jalapenos (transplant June 1st)

April 15th - direct sow in the garden:
peas
lettuce
spinach
onions

May 1st - start indoors:
5 watermelon
5 pumpkins
1 butternut squash
5 cucumbers
4 dill
5 nasturtium
3 hollyhocks
5 calendula
4 borage
1 basil

May 1st - direct sow in the garden:
potatoes
carrots
radishes
swiss chard

June 1st - direct sow in the garden:
corn
runner beans
bush beans

How about you? Are you starting any seeds indoors this year?

The Story Behind Ruth's Homemade

Have you ever read about the health benefits of some herb and thought, "I need to get a lotion with THAT in it!" Or maybe it was trying to find a bar of soap without certain things in it. That was me. The more research I did, the more I wanted products that apparently weren't available. It's getting easier now to find "natural" health and beauty products, but somehow I could never find exactly what I wanted. My kids were little at the time, and I wanted to be sure that anything I put on their skin was also safe for them to put in their mouths (because they would!)

So, since I couldn't find the products I wanted, I decided to see if I could make them myself. First I learned how to make soap (I wrote a post about that here). I experimented with different oils (coconut oil, castor oil - even lard and tallow. In case you were wondering, soap made from home-rendered tallow makes you smell like beef. Your dog will love you!) and I tried different scents - I didn't want to use fragrance oils, which did nothing but smell, and were made of chemicals I wasn't sure I was comfortable with. So I moved to essential oils, only to find that it takes a lot of essential oil to make scented bar soap, and it's questionable if it retains the oil's medicinal qualities, due to the high heat of the saponification process). I even tried different fun shaped molds. Eventually, though, I realized that what I really wanted was just a plain, unscented soap with as few ingredients as possible - my Nothing But Clean bar.

Next came shampoo bars. I'd read about the hormone-disrupting effects of the chemicals in most shampoos, and I knew I needed to keep those off of me and my kids. So I began to experiment. It took a lot of trial and error (no, plain castile soap does not work well for cleaning your hair!) but eventually I found something that would work for my straight, oily hair. Best of all, my husband likes it! He even complains if I use "regular" shampoo - he hates the overpowering scents.

My next product came from necessity. I get cold sores when I'm under a lot of stress, and I read in The Handbook of Vintage Remedies that lemon balm can heal and prevent cold sores. So I found a simple recipe for lip balm and added lemon balm essential oil. It worked! I rarely get cold sores anymore, and when I do it's usually because I haven't been using my lip balm recently.

From that basic recipe, I also made peppermint lip balm. Peppermint is great for clearing your sinuses when you have a cold (think the menthol in cough drops) as well as for easing headaches. Plus it just smells yummy!

The next product was more serendipitous - I read somewhere, just randomly clicking through herbalism websites on the internet, that plantain (the herb, not the fruit that looks like a banana) was helpful for stopping the itch of mosquito bites. It grows like crazy in my yard (most people actually call it a weed), so it was easy enough to pick it, chew it up, and press it onto a mosquito bite or bee sting. But what about when we were travelling, and I didn't know where I could find some; or if I found some, if it had been sprayed with something I didn't want in my mouth? So I started making plantain salve from the "weeds" growing in my yard. I mixed coconut oil, beeswax, and olive oil infused with dried plantain leaves - basically the same recipe I'd used for the lip balm, but this time using plantain. It worked like a charm, and I soon had people requesting some for their families. To my surprise, it worked for more than just bug bites. Friends reported that it helped with a variety of skin problems, from eczema and hives to just plain dry winter skin. It's become my best selling product.

Another product that came directly from one of my family's needs was wound salve. With five active kids in the house, this is the one we use most often. I studied which herbs had the best antiseptic effects, such as tea tree, lavender, calendula, and chickweed, as well as plantain for its soothing qualities, and blended these together. It's been our go-to for minor cuts and scrapes for years.

I first found out about lotion bars when browsing Pinterest one day. I liked the idea of a non-goopy way to keep my skin soft in the winter (Wisconsin winters can be brutal for your hands) without unpronounceable chemicals. I tried it, and it worked great - now I use one every night before I go to sleep (and usually my husband does, too; his hard-working hands need some TLC!)

When friends and family started asking about my soaps and lotions, I realized that maybe I could make a business out of my hobby. Not everyone had the time or inclination to make things themselves - I know that when I started out, I would rather have just bought the products I ended up making. I could save them the time it took me to research and find the recipes I'd gathered, as well as the time preparing the actual products.

So Ruth's Homemade was born. All of the products I sell are made from food-safe ingredients, and are safe for children and pets. I use as few ingredients as possible - and list them all clearly on the label - so people with allergies and sensitivities don't have to worry about what might be hiding in their products.

Since the whole company is just me, I stick to what I know - which unfortunately is not computers! So I haven't set up an official online store - just a simple website listing my products and my email address (the links above are all to that website); if you would like to purchase something, email me your list and I'll happily send it to you. I've figured out how to do Paypal, or I'll also accept a good old fashioned check.

As you may have noticed, I love to try new things, so I enjoy making custom orders - let me know what you'd like, and I'll see what I can do!

So that's the story behind my little brand - just a mom making soaps and salves for her family, and now sharing what I've learned with you. You can be sure that I stand behind every product - because I use them all myself.

Echinacea Lemonade Popsicles

Summer colds are no fun - but popsicles are! Here's a fun way to give the kids' immune system a boost during warm weather.

Echinacea Lemonade Popsicles

3 cups of water
3 bags of echinacea tea
1/2 cup of honey
3/4 cup lemon juice
Steep tea according to directions; discard (compost!) tea bags. Stir in honey and lemon juice. Pour into popsicle forms and freeze.

Tips:
Use echinacea elderberry tea if you have it, for extra immune-boosting power. Or alternately, use elderberry syrup instead of the honey (I like to use my homemade elderberry honey - elderberries harvested from my garden, and honey from my own bees - so I am completely sure of the quality of the ingredients).

Free Herb Plants for Next Spring

I am so excited about this little experiment of mine - I took cuttings from most of my herb plants in the fall (peppermint, basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, and thyme), rooted them in small pots (adorable little tea tins, actually), and they're growing into strong plants for putting out in the garden next spring (not to mention cuttings for adding to recipes all winter).

It's so simple, I wish I'd tried it years ago (instead of buying new potted herb plants from the local garden center every spring). Here's what I did:

1. Cut off a 2-3 inch piece from the growing tips of your plant.

2. Trim off all but the upper few leaves.

3. (optional) Dip the bare stem in water, then in rooting hormone:

4. Gently sink the stem into your pot of soil and water well.

And that's it! Keep the soil very moist until you see new growth (did you know you can toothpick test soil, like you do to see if a cake is done? If the soil sticks to the toothpick, it's moist; if it comes away clean, your soil is dry) then water as you would your other houseplants. Obviously, a sunny windowsill is the best place for them, but anywhere they will get good light should be fine. You can expect these baby plants to be more tall and spindly than their outdoor-grown parents because of the restricted light conditions (a lamp might help, but isn't strictly necessary if your window is sunny enough), but they should "beef up" just fine once you plant them out in the spring (but be careful to harden them off a little at a time before you set them out permanently).

Easy Homemade Tea Bags

I can't remember now where I saw this idea, but it's so simple I had to share (plus it's a great gift idea!) You can simply take your home-grown chamomile, peppermint, or other herbs and make them into tidy little tea bags! Simply cut a coffee filter into quarters, fold each little "fan" in half and sew the sides together (the sides you just cut, not the ruffly outer edge). Then stuff them full of your dried herbs (don't do this with fresh herbs! They'll get moldy!) and sew the top edge shut.
It's that easy!

All ready to make a cup of home-grown chamomile tea

Spring is Bustin' Out All Over!

We've been having a strange spring warm spell this past week, with temps in the 60s, and even up into the 70s once or twice. Considering that just two weeks ago we got over a foot of snow in one day and it looked like this around here:

 it's amazing that today I found this in the garden:

and these, too!

Not only that, but the rhubarb is starting to peek out:

and the spinach that was covered in all that deep snow over the winter is sending out tiny new leaves:

Over in the herb garden, the chives are coming up through last year's dead growth:

and, under cover (I accidently brushed off the spent leaves that were hiding this baby), the oregano is getting ready for the growing season, too:

I just love spring! It seems like every time I go outside, there's a new sign that what looked dead was just waiting for the right time to come alive again!

Maybe that's why Easter is my favorite holiday?

This post is part of Farmgirl Friday.

Book Review - The Handbook of Vintage Remedies

The Handbook of Vintage Remedies: The Modern Family's Guide to Herbal Medicine by Jessie Hawkins, MH
(Apparently they put out a new edition in April, and the new cover looks a little different - see the link at the bottom of this post.)

This is another of my must-have reference books that I go back to over and over again. I've read other "herbal pharmacy" type books, but I bought this one because it not only lists what herbs are good for what ailments, but also how to prepare and use those herbs for best effect (the only thing missing, in this Cheerful Agrarian's opinion, is how to grow them!) I find that most books of this type assume that you will be purchasing your herbs in pill - or maybe tea - form and taking them as you would any other pharmaceutical. I like that this book tells me (mostly) how to take my herbs straight out of the garden and use them (although I should note that you don't have to grow your own herbs to use this book. You can certainly use her instructions using purchased herbs; I just like that either option is available.)

The book begins with The Herbal Primer, a short section giving a basic overview of how the book is intended to be used. Chapters include What is Herbalism, Prevention, Immunity, Integrative Medicine, and Herbal Safety. Her philosophy of medicine resonated with me:

"Why do we use herbal treatments, if we are not 'against' the use of medical treatments? We use them because they are more effective and appropriate for many other medical complications or illnesses. When we face minor viral or bacterial infections, chronic health concerns and even acute medical problems, herbs offer another choice in medicine with fewer side effects (some would argue no side effects), a much better safety track record, and reliable results. Why turn to the 'big guns' when we are not facing such dire circumstances?

Herbs offer an intermediate course of action for those times that do not require advanced, usually risky interventions (such as surgery or strong pharmaceuticals), but do require a response for healing. Herbs have stood the test of time, are food-like substances and readily assimilated into the body. Unlike the 'new' drugs coming onto the market every couple of months, only to be removed due to dangerous side effects, most herbs have been taken in medicinal amounts for many centuries, if not more. When treating our loved ones and children, this is a safety record that is not to be dismissed."

After this introduction, the book is split up into two main sections. The first is entitled The Family Clinic, and is arranged alphabetically by problem (ranging from Acne to Yeast Infections). The second is the Botanical Apothecary, also listed alphabetically, but this time by remedy (from Arnica to Uva ursi). This is the section I go back to again and again. It seems like every winter, when the first cold strikes our family, I look back to the Cold/Flu listing ("What works best for a cold again?") Just last week I opened to the page on Athlete's Foot, since my 9 year old was complaining about that ailment (among other things, Hawkins recommends chamomile tea, (which I grow, so I had plenty on hand) which proved quite effective!)

Each entry in The Family Clinic begins with What is it? (it's very important to know what the problem is when you're trying to fix it!), followed by Prevention (so it doesn't happen again), and finally Treatments (most entries list several different options). In the Botanical Apothecary section, each entry first describes the herb, then lists When to use it, how to use it in Culinary Medicine (which I particularly appreciate, since I like to follow Hippocrates' advice to "Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine your food."), Optimal Dose, and When to avoid it (which I find lacking in most herbal remedy books, leaving people open to the idea that "if some is good, more must be better!" Many don't seem to understand that if it's strong enough to help you in small amounts, it's strong enough to hurt you if you take too much, at the wrong time, or when you're taking another remedy.)

After these two main sections, there is a short chapter on harvesting medicinal herbs, a glossary of terms you may not be familiar with (What's the difference between a tincture and a glycerite, again?), a list of internet sites where you can find the herbs recommended in the book, a short chapter on Natural Cleaning (including recipes for homemade laundry soap, fabric softener, carpet cleaner, four thieves oil, air freshener, and even floor polish!), and one on skin care (also with recipes).

This book has been such a help to me, giving me confidence to treat my family's minor ailments here at home (which of course saves a TON of money - not to mention that we're not exposing them to the germs at the doctor's office!) with natural, gentle herbs I can grow myself.

If I can grow our own food, why can't I grow our medicine as well?

Note: I was not payed to review this book, I just really love it! But if you click on the link below and buy the book at amazon.com, I will receive a small commission from the sale. Thank you for your support!


This post is part of Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.

My Winter Container Garden

I have officially called an end to the outdoor garden for the year (technically, I still have some beets left to harvest . . . anybody have any kid-friendly beet recipes?) but I couldn't give up completely on fresh green food. My solution was to bring in my Earthbox planter, which already had some onions growing in it from seed I'd thrown in there in the spring. To this, I added oregano, chives, rosemary, and parsley, which I transplanted from the herb garden (just dug them up and popped them in - no fancy tricks involved!) I'm not using any supplemental light (other than the normal lights we use in the evening - the planter is in our kitchen), which means the herbs are already getting pretty leggy - but that's not a problem with herbs, since the leaves and stems are what you want to harvest anyway!

I should mention that last year I tried to grow tomatoes this way, with very poor results. Even with supplemental light, they grew very leggy, and never set any fruit. Oh, well. You live and learn!

I am a little disappointed that it's made of plastic, though - but I already have it, so I figured I should use it. If this works well, I will probably pick up some nice big terra cotta pots when they go on clearance next summer.

Meanwhile, I can't wait to enjoy garden-fresh pizza sauce in the middle of a snowy winter!

Garden Accounting - October/November

This is the fifth installment in this series - you can see the totals for June here, July here, August here, and September here.

Since we had our first frost on September 21st, I was expecting the garden to be pretty much done, with just the potatoes and carrots left to harvest. But the herbs kept going strong (except the basil, of course) and, surprisingly, the broccoli just kept getting better and better! The cabbage worms slowed considerably (but they were still there), so that must have helped.

So, how did I do? My total for October was $185, which added to the running total so far makes $1,120! Over a thousand dollars worth of food from my little garden! (I should note here that as of this writing, November 10th (the first snowfall, which I am officially calling the end of Garden Season 2011), I harvested another $10 worth of carrots and lettuce, bringing the Season Total to $1,130. Not too shabby!)

Here's what I harvested in October:
76 pounds of potatoes
5 pounds of onions
2 pounds of chard (not counting what I fed to the chickens, about a plant a day)
18 1/2 pounds of carrots
2 bunches of parsley
4 ounces of chives
5 pounds of broccoli
8 heads of garlic (I'm saving most of it for next year)
2 pounds of lettuce

And for November:
2 pounds of carrots
1 pound of lettuce

Hi!

Ok, so it's March in Wisconsin. So what's a cheerful agrarian do in the middle of winter? I cook! I sew! I homeschool 5 adorable munchkins! And, of course, I read farming books (currently The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer by Joel Salatin)!

I also move my garden inside (or at least a small part of it). I have my six pots of herbs on the kitchen windowsill (parsley, rosemary, garlic, oregano, chives, and a (currently dead) 😢 thyme). Also an 8x8 glass pan with lettuce (although I think it's too shallow; it's pretty root-bound already). Downstairs I have an Earthbox with more chives, lettuce, and some newly-planted onion seeds. And three bags of organic potatoes that started to sprout before I could use them, resting peacefully in the fridge, waiting for the ground to thaw.

So, I probably won't have many gardening posts for a bit yet; I'll have to keep you entertained with tales of the reason I garden - yummy food! :)

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