December 23, 2008
The Heritage Herb Gardens at the Ozark Folk Center grace the park with visual colors and textures, sweet and pungent aromas, and help us to interpret the history of the human use of plants.
We humans mark time. Winter Solstice, the day the sun appears to stand still in the winter sky occurred this past Sunday.
The earth completed the last revolution on its tilted axis that takes our part of the world farthest from the sun. From December 21 until June 21, the length of time the suns shines per day will be gradually longer.
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December 15, 2008
The Heritage Herb Gardens at the Ozark Folk Center grace the park with visual colors and textures, sweet and pungent aromas, and help us to interpret the history of the human use of plants.
Christmas time is here. This gardener enjoys remembering and making sweet new memories. The brain links these memories to our senses. The smell of evergreens brought inside, fresh fruit, cooking food bring pictures from the past to mind. The sight of Mountain View Christmas lights, the colors red, green and gold decking the halls and smiling faces of dear ones connect the brain to the old heart strings. The flavors of the feast, the sounds of the traditional music we hear and sing together link us to the past. We build memories, this year upon the ones gone by. Actions that are repeated, from, to the dishes always prepared, to the sequence of familiar events is what we term as “traditions”.
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December 8, 2008
The Heritage Herb Gardens at the Ozark Folk Center grace the park with visual colors and textures, sweet and pungent aromas, and help us to interpret the history of the human use of plants.
Making compost water to use for irrigation and as a foliar spray will help plants thrive during the winter months. Plants absorb nutrients through their roots and leaves but they need less water and fertilizer right now.
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November 25, 2008
The Heritage Herb Gardens at the Ozark Folk Center grace the park with visual colors and textures, sweet and pungent aromas, and help us to interpret the history of the human use of plants.
I would like to give thanks for the texture and flavor of real, un-preprocessed potatoes. A potato comes wrapped in its own skin. There is no need for individual plastic wrap. This marketing practice just drives up the cost and creates more trash. A potato does not need refrigeration. It has a long shelf life in the pantry.
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November 17, 2008
The Heritage Herb Gardens at the Ozark Folk Center grace the park with visual colors and textures, sweet and pungent aromas, and help us to interpret the history of the human use of plants.
Winter squash and pumpkin are foods that can be stored in a root or storm cellar or even under the bed (if it is a cool room) for the winter months. If you grew squash or pumpkin or can get it now, while it is in season at the grocer’s or a roadside stand, just keep the vegetables in a cool, dry place. Check your stores weekly and compost any that get rotten so that the fungus does not infect the good ones.
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November 4, 2008
The Heritage Herb Gardens at the Ozark Folk Center grace the park with visual colors and textures, sweet and pungent aromas, and help us to interpret the history of the human use of plants.
Another week has passed since the last Yarb Tales column and the feral, free foods of fall are fantastic. Last week’s harvest of about two cups of white oak acorns yielded 1 and 1/8th cups of dark brown meal. First, the acorns were soaked and the floaters discarded because these were not viable. The caps were removed and the tops cut off with a knife. Then the hulls were cracked and removed from the nut or kernel. The tannic acid was leached from these by soaking in cold water and rinsing at least once per day. Brenda Hempel and Delilah McCullin helped out by rinsing them for me when I was traveling. It took about four days of rinsing before the water remained clear.
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October 28, 2008
The Heritage Herb Gardens at the Ozark Folk Center grace the park with visual colors and textures, sweet and pungent aromas, and help us to interpret the history of the human use of plants.
Abundance is falling from above in the form of acorns, hickory nuts and persimmons. What is the best means of dealing with this massive mast? Hard mast is edible wild nuts and soft mast is edible wild fruits collected and either eaten or fed to livestock, especially hogs. These foods contain good fats, fiber, minerals, protein, sugar and vitamins. Before you eat wild food you better be sure you know the identity and safety of that which you are about to stuff into your mouth. It is not difficult to learn. Hunters and gatherers knew how to tell the difference between a poison and a food plant—though some would argue we are not as smart as our forebearers when observing the junk folks eat today.