Nice day to work inside!

It is raining again in Seattle... I had a few more bottles of infused oils that needed squeezing & cleaning before the new flowers start to arrive! I will make the next batch of Busted Knuckle hand balm from this calendula oil.  I grow the calendula from seed on Sister Sage farm and harvest lavender from a nearby farm on Vashon Island in August.

The Nettles Harvest

I went for a nettles hunt and harvest at my friend's property on Vashon Island last week.  I didn't have much time to harvest or to dry them because I was on my way out of town, but I will be back for more!

Warning... they don't call them stinging nettles for nothin! Wear gloves or enjoy the sting and the memory of the hunt up to a day later...

Nettles- get them while they are young!

Nettles Harvest

I made a hot infusion and used the cooked nettles in a potato soup. I ended up blending the mixture a little too much and the starches made it have a strange texture, but we had salmon for dinner and it was a delicious sauce for it.  Here is a basic recipe to help you enjoy nettles as a sauce. You can make it as thick or thin as you like, and it freezes ok, too.

Nettles Sauce:

1 leek

1-2 Tbs butter, olive oil or coconut oil

about 10 (young) nettle tops

2 cloves of garlic

1-2 cups any combo of vegetable broth, almond milk, cream, sour cream, goat cheese or water

salt & pepper to taste

* cashews, pine nuts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds would thicken it up nicely as well

Cut up the leek and saute in the butter or oil on medium heat until soft. 

Bring the water or broth to a boil. Using tongs or a long fork, blanch the nettles in the liquid and then take out and put to the side.  Keep the liquid for thinning the sauce and/or drink leftovers as a tea.

Put all of these ingredients into the blender and make a smooth sauce (or soup). I enjoy this kind of sauce as a topping for fish, but it would make a great substitute for pesto in any pasta dish.

 

Veggie Plant Sale in West Seattle

Cheers! Don't forget your greens on St Paddy's day...  Eat your chickweed & dandelions - drink your cleavers tea... they taste so much better when they are tender and young and they are easier to harvest at this time, too. 

This is my friend's sale! It should be great- Perfect timing for the cold hardy greens and an early start for lettuces & bok choi, etc... Tell her Jayne from Sister Sage sent you.

***PLANT SALE  ***   Spring is just a few days away!!!     7939 28th Ave. SW between Holden & Thistle in West Seattle  (98126)   Veggies  /  Perennials  Organically Grown   Sat., March 15, 9:00-4:00 & Sat. March 30, 9:00-4:00 & Every second weekend after that!   Bring your friends and family!  Come rain or shine!!

Accidental Angelica Seeds!

I got this Angelica plant last year at The Northwest Herbal Fair from Crimson Sage Herb Farm in California. If you haven't heard of this place, it is awesome. I heard Tina,  the owner being interviewed on the Herbal Highway show from kpfa. She is so knowledgeable and super cool.
I didn't expect it to live through last year, but it came back this spring. I put the one gallon container ON the new planter with nice rich compost, but never made it back to plant it. Later I saw that it had rooted through its container into the compost and planted itself. I noticed these amazing white umbel flowers the other day and took this picture. I just collected the seeds today! I will seed them in a special place in the garden and start it again.

St John's Wort Oil and Tincture

I prefer to call it St Joan's herb in honor of (Joan of Arc and my Aunt who is such a great lady) I can't believe how fast the pigment flows into the alcohol! I always love showing people how the fresh yellow flowers will give up their bloodlike juice if you squeeze them. I showed some huckleberry pickers this year that those were valuable to some herbalists, and I hope to make a connection that can allow them to make extra money selling it. I would think the forest service and cattle grazers would appreciate getting rid of it before it goes to seed since the livestock also gets a bad sunburn if they eat it.
The oil will be made into a balm for repairing nerve damage, and the tincture is for nourishing nerves, blood cleansing and a liver detox... some people can become more sensitive to sun (and get a blistery sunburn). Test it on a sunny day that you don't have to be in the sun long.

Summer with Sister Sage

Freshly Plowed field!

Clover & Chamomile

Rugosa Rose petals

Comfrey Flowers

Echinacea

Calendula in the field

Calendula Harvest

St Joan's Wort Tincture- turned red after 20 minutes!

Here are a few photo's from Sister Sage Farm this season so far. We got lots of chamomile, chickweed and crimson clover from the field earlier this season, and the Comfrey is on it's 3rd cutting! St Joan's herb comes up here and there; only one of the echinaceas I divided last fall survived, but it is beautiful. The calendula won't stop! I made Echinacea and Calendula infused honey with pure apple blossom honey from Wade Bennett at Rockridge Orchards (http://www.rockridgeorchards.com)Yummy! I will love my preventative medicine

Hops, peas &; lettuce & leeks

Bring on the Spring!   I received some veggies recently and I finally had time to plant them today. I put them in between some larger plants so that I can stagger the harvest times and eventually cover the entire garden with appropriately spaced plants. It doesn't always work out like that though. I usually find some sprouts that come up from some kale or chard I have let go to seed. I move them to where I want them pot up the extras and grow them mature enough to become farm plants. Then I can nibble on hearty greens while I'm at work.