Category Archives: Herbs

“It’s Time for Tea” ~ Grow Your Own Lavender Tea

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Herbal teas, also known as infusions or tisanes have been around for centuries and used to treat minor medical ailments. Many of you may already be familiar with chamomile or mint teas, readily available at most supermarkets.

Lavender Tea

An herbal tea that’s perhaps not so common is lavender. If this pretty perennial plant isn’t growing in your garden or containers already, all garden centres should carry stock and it’s very easy to propagate from semi-ripe cuttings or to sow from seed.

To Grow Lavender From Seed

Sow the seeds in February into individual modules using soil that will resemble the plants final growing place. Sow them 2.5 cm deep, cover with compost and keep moist as the seedlings grow using a spray bottle containing tap water. It’s essential to keep the seedlings in a warm, bright area until they’re established. In May plant the seedlings into well-drained soil or large containers in full sun.

Lavender Tea

To Make Lavender Tea or tisane

Just add a teaspoon of dried lavender blossoms to hot water and allow to infuse for five or ten minutes then strain the liquid into a tea-cup.

Lavender tea is said to be good for insomnia, helps to calm if you’re anxious, is good for headaches, and apparently acts as a great mouthwash for halitosis!

Does it work?

I’ve been drinking this tea today and certainly feel calmer than I did this morning so would definitely recommend trying it if you’re feeling at all stressed.

That said, herbal remedies can cause allergies and if in doubt you should always  check any medical symptoms with your GP.

Seeds and the Joy of Spring

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True Leaves Form on a Brussels Sprout Seedling

I used to think I was an autumn kind of girl until I started gardening and discovered the joy of spring.

After a burst of activity that involves sorting through the seed tin, ordering new seeds and excitedly opening the post box when they arrive, life settles for a few weeks until the light  increases and the temperatures rise. Towards the end of February it’s time to get busy     again. A quick drive to the garden centre to buy fresh new seed compost, washing modules, making newspaper pots and sorting through the shed is quickly followed by the first seed sowing session.

Courgette (left) Crown Prince (right)

Most vegetable seeds bar roots can generally be started off in trays and modules – it gives them a head start, protects the tiny seedlings from slugs and snails and means that when the weather improves the seedlings can be transplanted to their final growing positions, shortening the growth period and freeing up space in the garden for follow-on crops (or in the case of tomatoes, giving them time to ripen and turn red!).

Heated Propagating Bench

This year was the first using my heated propagating bench and has been a delight to observe. With the thermostat set at 18-20oC, the seeds have germinated much quicker than on my windowsills.

Each morning, as I pop outside in my PJs to open up the polytunnel for the day, allowing the fresh air to move around it, I’ve had the pleasure of observing the tiny stems  push their way through the

Cauliflower Seedling

Calendula Seed

compost, discarding their cozy seed shells like old jumpers that no longer fit. Each morning this spring I’ve started the day with a smile.

As the shoots quickly develop their first cotyledon leaves so that they can start the process of photosynthesising, feeding and urging the tiny seedling towards the light to grow bigger and stronger, this to me is a true sign of spring. I’m watching the wondrous birth of

Winter Squash

new life and its magical.

Once the seed leaves open fully, the true leaves start to grow, taking on the characteristics of their adult form. The roots get stronger and more prolific, giving you the nod that it’s time to move the seedlings from their tiny modules into bigger pots.

This is when you learn the importance of labelling as to an untrained eye, it’s impossible to tell a Brussels sprout from a cauliflower, or a ‘One Ball’ courgette from a ‘Crown Prince’ winter squash.

Holding the seed leaves gently and moving the seedlings into fresh, dampened multipurpose compost, allowing the little plants to take in more nutrients so they can continue their growth unchecked is a delicate task and forces you to slow things down – this is not a job to be rushed or you risk breaking the delicate stems.

Careful and regular watering throughout this period of growth will ensure strong, healthy plants ready to transplant to their final growing positions in a few weeks time.

 

So I’m a Spring kinda gal. Do you share my delight of this season or do you prefer the heat of summer, the colours of autumn or the frosty mornings of winter?

 

Sowing Seeds ? Paper Potter Product Review

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Image courtesy of  Mary Gettings www.ecoevolution.ie
(fellow Paper Potter fan!)

Last year I tried making newspaper pots for my seeds using a small plastic drinks bottle as a guide but found it quite fiddly, and could never quite get the base to sit correctly.

When I saw the Nether Wallop Plant Potter (great name!) online it was top of my Christmas wish list and I was therefore delighted to find that I had been a good girl after all when I was handed my presents from under the tree.

Some seedlings sulk if their roots are disturbed so they should either be sown directly into the soil (like parsnips and carrots whose roots generally won’t form) or into pots that will biodegrade (beetroot, beans, peas, squash and melons).

I’ve used cardboard tubes (from kitchen or toilet rolls) which work very well too but it’s questionable as to whether the glue used to stick them together is ‘safe’.

If you like to sow your own seedlings, making your own pots out of newspaper is a great money saver (even if you do have the initial small outlay of a wooden potter, better if it’s a gift) and you’ll be doing your bit to help the planet by recycling old newspapers too.

I really enjoy using my little potter. It’s made from FSC oak and beautifully turned, fitting into the hand perfectly. My eight year old made several pots too and loved helping mum – she didn’t want to stop! I was also impressed by the minimalistic packaging. Just a cardboard box with the instructions printed on it – no plastic and compostable – there’s a lesson there for other companies who over package…

There’s not much more I can say other than a great little tool that I’d recommend all gardeners have in their kit bag. These are available online for €11.75 plus postage… If you count up how much can be spent on seedling pots over the years, and the fact that once you have this tool you’ll never run out of them, I think it’s worth it.

If you’re not sure, or are just interested in how to make them, here’s a clip demonstrating how quick and easy paper pots are to make using the Nether Wallop Paper Potter.

Have you an essential piece of kit in your bag that you can’t do without in the garden?

Herbs can be beautiful and healing in many ways…

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Unusually I’m feeling like quite the social butterfly meeting up with social media friends this month at various summer festivals and events. From wildflower walks in Tipperary to classical guitar concerts as part of the Abhainn Ri week in Callan, it’s been a busy month. Last week was no exception when on Wednesday I was lucky enough to be able to juggle childcare (a rare thing during the summer holidays) and spend three peaceful hours at Kilgraney House and Herb Gardens in County Carlow.

Carlow Garden Festival is celebrating it’s tenth anniversary this year and is an ideal opportunity to visit several gardens around the county, with guest speakers on-hand to offer their expert advice and provide demonstrations. 


Dermot O’Neill was this year’s guest at Kilgraney and it was to everyone’s delight that we heard he’s now in remission from his recent encounter with cancer. As Dermot lead us around the Medicinal Herb Garden, and in particular the new Oncology bed, he told us about his shock discovery on developing this (frightening for most of us) disease and gave us an insight into his treatment. He really is looking much better than he did in his TV series Secret Garden last year and judging by his mostly female audience on Wednesday, has not lost any of his appeal!


Headaches or fevers anyone?

There are several herb beds in the Kilgraney courtyard, each containing plants specific to various ailments. The Oncology herb bed was newly created in honour of the co-owner’s mother who passed away earlier this year, containing several herbs that are used to aid the treatment of various cancers – Irish Yew, Opium Poppy, Caster Bean, Feverfew, Elderflower – familiar names to many of us but who’s extracts are often used to treat or aid pain relief.

Pebbled pathways lined with granite lead you around the gardens and there are several inspired themes to chose to visit next….

The Cosmic Herb Circle

I loved the Cosmic Herb Circle where I discovered that the plants for my own star sign Virgo are Fennel, Savoury, Southernwood and Valerian (all of which are growing in the Greenside Up garden!).


There are tremendous views from this particular garden too looking across the valley to the top of our hill.

Delightful Cottage Garden



The Monastic Herb Cloister opposite contains many herbs that would have been grown in monasteries throughout Ireland, either to eat, heal or brew.

Monastic Herb Cloister

From this area you can either walk up to the Kitchen Garden where all the fruit and vegetables are grown for the Kilgraney kitchens (and purchase plants too from their polytunnel) and then on to the Herbal Tea Walk, or

Lots of tasty looking veg & pretty companion planting

walk across to the Rose and Aromatic Herb Gardens which are in the spa area of the complex, filling the air with their intoxicating scents.

A garden humming with busy insects and full of beautiful scents

Still there’s more…. Kilgraney is so full of romance that even the trees reach for each other across pathways, their limbs entwining. The orchard trees are laden with fruit and the sound of birdsong and busy bees fill the gardens as you meander along the pathways.

Even the trees embrace here

The afternoon finished with us all tucking into some delicious home baked refreshments provided by Kilgraney and then an excellent propagating demonstration held by Dermot where he shared the art of taking cuttings (to a captivated audience) chosen from a large variety of hard and softwood plants.

Dermot O’Neill entertaining the ladies…

This wasn’t a free event, although some of the Trail week’s demonstrations are. The cost was €10 but it was money very well spent. To their credit, owners Bryan and Martin donate every cent raised on their annual open day to charity and this year it will be heading to the Friends of Wexford General Hospital.


If you’re interested in visiting the herb gardens they’re open from Thursday to Sunday, May to September from 2.00pm to 5.00pm. There’s a small charge of €3.00, groups by prior arrangement and refreshments are available. 


Alternatively you could always stay in the gorgeous Georgian house and wander around the gardens at your own leisure, perhaps availing of the Aromaspa to perk you up, or settle down to a creatively cooked six course dinner. 

Grow Your Own Parsley Wine

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parsley wine

parsley wine

Yes, parsley wine! As more and more of us turn to the land, growing our own and foraging in hedgerows, many are dusting down brewing paraphernalia that’s been buried in attics and the back of sheds and they’re making their own wine and beers. 

I still remember as a child, watching my Dad straining grapes and syphoning different liquids through muslin as he made his own wine. Unfortunately I was never allowed to try it so to this day have no idea if his methods were successful. Perhaps that’s why, when we found ourselves with an abundance of Italian flat leafed parsley growing in the polytunnel, we turned to the old wine making recipes (well there’s only so much sauce one can eat)…

As a result of trialling different composts we had an abundance of Italian flat leafed parsley seedlings littered around our house and I was left scratching my head wondering what to do with them.

Parsley

Eventually the polytunnel went up and suddenly there were lots of empty beds just waiting to be planted. At last, a home for my little plants.  I placed them amongst the marigolds and tomatoes and left them to it. Within about a month they’d quadrupled in size and we realised very quickly that one would have been enough to feed our family, never mind twenty! So, at the end of July, we unearthed, washed and sterilised the demijohns and went harvesting.  I picked just over 1.1 kg (2 ½ lbs) of leaves and stems and used the following method to make the wine (I know that sounds a lot but with just a couple of productive plants it’s easy to collect):

Parsley Wine

 

Ingredients

1.1kg parsley
9 ltr boiling water
60g fresh root ginger
4 oranges
4 lemons
2.8 kg caster sugar
wine yeast

 

 

 

  • Tear the parsley into pieces and place into a large (sterilised) fermenting bucket, cover with the boiling water and leave for 24 hours to brew, covered with a tea towel.
  • Strain into a large pan (I had to do this in two batches) and add the fresh root ginger, rinds of the oranges and lemons and boil for 20 minutes.
  • Put the caster sugar into the brewing bucket and pour the liquor on top, stirring until it has dissolved. Add the juice of the oranges and lemons.
  • Leave it to cool then add some wine yeast (this was tricky to buy and in fact we couldn’t find wine yeast as such so had to settle for a general yeast that claimed to be suitable for home brewing. We’ve since found a home brewing website for our next efforts). Leave in the bucket for two weeks and cover until the mad fermentation process has died down.
  • Strain the liquor into demijohns (I used two for this quantity), fit with airlocks and place in the hot press for nine months. Bottle then store for another three before sampling.

I’d been collecting wine bottles with screw cap lids in readiness so washed and sterilised ten ready for the brew, which was siphoned in to them.

wine bottles

Initial tasting was sweet but hopeful – it tasted like wine and was crystal clear at any rate!

After the recommended waiting period (yes we really did manage to wait), we popped the first bottle. It was surprisingly drinkable! Very sweet as mentioned with a definite gingery flavour and quite strong too. We never did check the gravity (its % of alcohol)   but it never failed to bring a smile or two after a glass.

Parsley in Flower

Have you ever made wine from your garden produce or hedgerows? I’m on the lookout now for favourites as we’ve since been trawling through the old books to see what we can grow and brew next…

How to Grow Parsley

If you find yourself with a packet of parsley seeds it might be useful to know how to sow them… Don’t worry if you don’t have a large garden either as parsley grows well in containers as long as you remember to water the plants in hot weather.

Parsley needs warm temperatures to germinate (burst their seed shell and start to grow) so is best started off in newspaper pots or seed modules indoors around March time. Sow three or four seeds in each pot or module that you’ve added multipurpose or seedling compost to and have dampened (not swamped) with tap water. The seeds are tiny so need light to germinate. Make sure you don’t bury the seeds too deeply but just barely cover them with a layer of compost. Place the pots in a warm, bright windowsill and wait. If the compost looks dry, dampen carefully. Don’t worry if you see nothing happening for a while, parsley can take up to a month to germinate! Once the seedlings have grown, remove the weakest leaving one strong plant in each pot to develop.

Around June or July as temperatures have increased, the plants should be ready to go outside. You’ll need to acclimatise them first by bringing them back indoors at night for a few days (known as hardening off). After that it’s safe to transplant your seedlings into the soil. Make sure lots of well rotted manure or compost has been added to the soil they’ll be growing in before you transplant them. If you’ve grown them in newspaper pots you can bury the pots, which will cause very little root disturbance. If not, be gentle with the roots as you remove them from the modules as they don’t really like to be disturbed.

Having said all that, if you’re not in a hurry for it, you can sow some seeds directly into fertile soil around July time, covering lightly and wait and see what happens. You wont be able to harvest the leaves perhaps until the following year using this method, but it’s far less fiddly if you’re new to gardening!

Good luck and give me a shout if you have any questions.