Saving Seeds

This is the time of year when the dehydrator gets a good workout. My dining table is covered with little bowls of various seeds being hulled/dried/packaged. Beans, flowers, herbs, tomatoes, pumpkins, squash, melons, kale, radishes, cucumbers, onions, leeks, carrots...It saves me money later, it guarantees a steady supply so I don't have to entirely rely on commercial seeds, and it gives me a deep satisfaction, knowing I'm providing for my family. Every year I do buy some seeds to try new things (this year it's sorghum), but for the most part, I can produce my own.

I also often leave things to self-sow. I don't have to worry about planting green onions, for example, because every year I get volunteers coming up all over the place. So long as you aren't picky about where things appear, it's a handy way to plant your garden. I always get a lot of volunteer tomatoes, too, which can be transplanted into neater plots.

I keep all my seeds in tidy drawers in an apothecary box. I have way more of some seeds than I need, so I might try selling them next spring. I could plant an acre of kale...

This year I tasted a Champagne Bubble (i.e. White Currant) cherry tomato for the first time (sweet, non-acidic), and I'm determined to get a cutting from the plant and over-winter it hydroponically. Then I can take more cuttings from it in the spring and plant them out in the garden. Looking forward to their delicious fruit next year!

A circular theme...

Just finished crocheting a basket to hold...the leftovers from making the basket.

Crabapple Jelly Season!

Today I took some trugs and a stool and went out to collect crabapples from the boulevard trees around my neighbourhood. I guess my neighbours don't know this fruit is edible, because they just let it fall to the sidewalk every year, making a mess and wasting a vitamin-rich food. Picked 14 litres, which all fit into my steam juicer at once, which was handy. I had it all done and cleaned away by noon---it's really not an onerous task---and I have enough jelly to grace my toast and pancakes for the next year. Yum! Granted, it's not healthy in that there's more sugar than juice, but I'll struggle through somehow...

I don't know why you can't get crabapple jelly commercially made. It's my absolute favourite, and so easy to make.

What do you know! It works!

I often hear or read about various herbal cures and wonder if they are valid. Well, I've tested plantain (the weed) three times now, and I'm pleased to report success each time. It's an astringent and helps with the healing of wounds and bug bites.

My grand-daughter had an itch on her hand she couldn't stop scratching. I chewed up a plantain leaf and put it on the spot, and she reported it stopped itching. Then my neighbour got stung by a hornet on the back of her knee. I crushed up some plantain leaves to put on it, and it stopped hurting quickly, to the point where she walked off and forgot the leaves and let them fall off. Then yesterday, I was stung by a small black wasp while I was in the garden. Once again, I chewed up a plantain leaf and slapped it on the spot. It stopped stinging instantly and you can hardly see the welt at all.

I'm sold. I'm going to stop pulling plantain out of the garden. I found a recipe for using dehydrated plantain in an olive-oil and beeswax salve, too, which I may try.

An interesting observation

I was walking the dog today, and some kids were playing with a tennis ball that got away from them and bounced right up to Brio. Now, you have to understand that Brio is extremely fond of balls and will play fetch for hours. If you go to the park without a ball, he will bring you twigs and leaves and old water bottles, placing them before you on the ground and then waiting tensely, eyes on the object, waiting for you to throw it for him. He'll hold that pose for minutes on end, hardly breathing, waiting to explode into action. So when the tennis ball rolled up to us today, I loosened the leash and figured he'd go fetch it.

Only he didn't. He didn't bat an eye, just walked past it as if it wasn't there.

It made me wonder if dogs have a sense of ownership. This was clearly someone else's ball, not his, so he left it alone. And I recalled that when my grandkids were living with me, Brio wouldn't ever touch their toys left on the floor. He'd only play with his own. No one ever told him to "leave it" or taught him not to touch. He just did it on his own. So...yeah. I think dogs understand the concept of ownership, of mine and not-mine. Interesting! I hadn't pondered that before.