September 11, 2021 · 12:48 pm
Merry meet all,
The raccoons- those daring masked thieves invaded my garden. I thought they wanted the apples but they were on another prize. I had a compost bucket, a bird feeder, and – potatoes! Yes I grew potatoes this summer. I cleaned up the apples to toss in the compost bin and found small brown things on the ground. The raccoons were more interested in the taters that grew in pots on the back step. I have since tossed the contents of the compost bucket into the green bin ( a feat in itself), emptied the bird feeder and relegated the plant pots to my Mom’s place. The pots are up high on her deck. Let em try. They can sniff all they want. The prized food is gone.
Potatoes grew in my compost bucket! I. harvested 3 pounds of potatoes- so far! I was growing the spuds in a big wooden box. I shoveled all the soil out and searched for potatoes. Nothing. There were a few tiny potatoes, that was all. The healthiest strongest best ever stalks grew in the box but no taters. I was so disheartened. That was weird. The taters in the compost bucket grew much better. There were more nutrients in the compost perhaps which may explain why they grew like taters should. I’m planting garlic in the woodn box. I will wait a few weeks till it’s cold to grow them though until the raccoons to move on.
Penny hissed at them from her high point on her scratching post. They hissed at each other. But now that there is no food – or, should I say, no five finger discount, they will likely move on. I will harvest the tomatoes and remaining pickling cucumbers in a few weeks. Then the frost hits. Pickling brine can be bought at your local grocery but I made my own mixture. It makes me feel more like a real kitchen witch that way.
Here is a recipe for to make your own brine. It is affordable and simple to do. The taste of the pickled cucumbers is amazing. You may never go back to eating the store bought kind.
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup white vinegar
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 cup water
Directions
Stir together 1 cup water and all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat; cool 10 minutes. Pour over vegetables or fruits. Cover with a tight-fitting lid; chill 2 days. Store, covered, in refrigerator up to 2 months.
That’s all for today. I shall post more soon. Stay safe and be well
Blessings, Spiderwitch
Filed under Paranormal and Witchy Fiction
Tagged as apples, brine, Cats, compost, Food, food grade, garden, garden greens, growing bins, Halloween, herbs, Mabon, mischief, pickles, potatoes, racoons, Recipes, root vegetables, Samhain, stalks, yard
August 16, 2021 · 3:00 pm
Merry meet all,
I just finished reading the book titled The Witching Herbs by Harold Roth. This wonderful book is meant for anyone who aspires to grow the bane herbs, or poisonous herbs in their gardens. Don’t grow any bane plants until you read this book. It will save your life. You really need to understand on a very sound and deep level how to work with the plants and not kill yourself or someone else in the process. I don’t want anyone growing any mandrakes, belladonna or nightshade without reading this book. I can’t emphasize enough how crucial this book is to your health and safety.
I am growing mandrake from seed! It is stored up high where it gets the fresh air and sunlight from the window. But it is up high where my cat can’t reach it. That is for her safety. Mandrake is a toxic plant and I will never let anything harm her- and me, as well. I want the mandrake for the root and I have just the spot to plant it. I have to wait till it is big enough to defend itself from slugs. Then it gets planted out. I almost grew wolfsbane. Wolfsbane is a plant that is exceedingly toxic. It goes by a few names such as wolfsbane, aconite, aconite – it’s botanical name and monkshood. Yet people grow it in their gardens! If you get that plant on your skin and touch your face, you can die right on the spot. The juices of the lovely but toxic plant can’t get into your bloodstream. I pitched the seedling container that had the wolfsbane seeds in it to the compost bin. There is too much risk in growing it. Children, animals and people all frequent the garden. No way would I risk harming them. This is why it is so vital to read that book.
I harvested the mugwort in my garden. The mugworts grew six feet high! I’m drying the leaves and stalks indoors. The leaves look so pretty on the branches as they slowly dry to a crisp. When it is ready, I will store the leaves in jars. I can’t wait. I bought a new set of jars just for that purpose. I am also drying chamomile. I will store the chamomile in jars too. I don’t crumble the leaves and flowers before I store them. They remain potent for a longer time when you do it that way. Just before you are about to use them, then you crumble the herbs. I plan to store more herbs this fall. I am just waiting to harvest them just before the frost.
Mugwort is a VERY invasive plant. I uprooted the strong healthy roots of the mugwort patch and put the mugwort into a planter. It will choke out anything else that grows nearby. Mugwort is best grown when it is contained. I hope the mugwort grows well in a container. The planter pot is very very deep. The roots were quite large so I needed a container that could accommodate the big roots. I have never seen such strong healthy roots such as the mugwort roots in my life. I have another plant I at first believed to be a poppy but now I think it is another mugwort. I don’t recall planting mugwort there but more mugwort is OK with me!
Today I cut off all the browned pea vines from 2 pots I was growing them in. I snipped away any remaining stems and tossed it all in the compost. I stirred the soil in the planters and added Gaia Green Organics fertilizer! This fertilizer is a miracle worker in your garden. It’s improved my plants and soil! My comfrey came back when I added it to the soil! I thought my comfrey died! It’s been given a second chance. I planted the sad looking onion seed sets that looked all wilted at the back of the garden into the plant pot. I added the fertilizer. The peas also fixed nitrogen into the soil. The onions might grow better now that they are exposed to more sunlight and are receiving more nutrients! I sure hope so. I am growing potatoes and my shallots grow better near the potatoes. I planted beans and chard in the second planter. I also fed them fertilizer and water in the pots. I was busy in my garden. I also just planted a few turnip seeds in another planter where I have potatoes growing. By the time I harvest the potatoes the turnips will really get going if the bugs keep off.
I harvested 4 pickling cucumbers so far! My tomatoes are growing too. I trimmed the bottom leaves that touch the ground to avoid the risk of disease. I also fertilized each tomato plant. Now they are growing yellow flowers and tomatoes! Many of my other herbs and flowers are growing beautifully! That is a post for another time. The bees keep visiting the lemon balm, cucumbers, and astilbe, clover and dandelions to pollinate. The lemon balm patch in my garden is huge. It is why everything else in my garden is growing well. Ok by me.
Blessings, Spiderwitch
Filed under Paranormal and Witchy Fiction
Tagged as astilbe, bane herbs, beans, Bees, belladonna, books, bubbles, bulbs, chard, cilantro, death. rebirth, drying herbs, Earth, floral, flowers, Gardens, Harold Roth, health, Heat, herbs, invasive, leaves, lemon balm, life, mandrake, mugwort, mushrooms, nightshade, peas, planters, planters, poison, poisonous, potatoes, roots, Safety, seeds, snails. slugs, spreading, spring. organic seeds, summer, toxic, transplanting, turnips, window, witching herbs
