Hi Everybody, well we survived the 4H awards banquet. I was a little nervous when I found out that Reiley and the Jr hostess Kiera, were going to MC the evening. You can never be too sure when you hand over the stage and a microphone to a 13 year old boy and girl, but they did a great job! Everyone had a great time, great food and now  the cycle begins again.

We have been working to get things completed as the weather has continued to hold. After a rather rocky start, October has turned into a beautiful month. Warm days and mild nights with a mix of sun and steady rains have allowed us to finish up those few projects we had left. The guys are in the garden today finishing the work on the soil and planting the last of the garlic.

Inside, I have been making soaps for the Christmas orders and for the craft fair I am attending next month. I haven't done a market or craft fair since before my first shoulder surgery almost three years ago. Reiley will be coming with me to help. So we shall see. We are continuing to chip away at the renovations inside, but the heavy work inside won't begin until everything is frozen outside. We are under a tighter deadline this winter as there will have to be a forced break in the work once the baby arrives in late February or early March.

Back to the matter at hand! I had a couple of posts written on cleaners and chemicals to avoid for post on Thursday and Friday, but they were lost in this computer and are lost for all time. So today you are going to get the coles notes version of both posts rolled into one.....

If you feel that you just aren't ready to ditch the commercial cleaners you are used to; and that is fine, I am not here to judge just inform. Try to find a list of the ingredients contained in your products and look for ones that are less harmful. Here are the nasty chemicals and what they do.

Powdered Silica. This is the staple ingredient in the abrasive cleansers, like Comet. Powdered silica is recognised as a known human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It is made from finely ground quartz and is hazardous if inhaled. Unfortunately it also becomes a carrier for the other dangerous chemicals contained in the cleaners.

Ammonia. A staple in glass and stainless steel cleaners / polish. Ammonia vapours can irritate the the skin and mucous membranes of the eyes, throat and lungs. People with asthma and C.O.P.D. are susceptible to small concentrations of ammonia. The real problem with ammonia in cleaning products, and this is one that sends people to the Emergency room all over North America every year, is the accidental mixing of products containing ammonia and products containing chlorine bleach. When these two chemicals combine they form chloramine gas, Chloramine gas was used as a chemical weapon during WWI. Enough said. Ammonia is also found in drain cleaners, all purpose cleaners, car polish, toilet cleaners and oven cleaner.

2-Butoxyethanol (2-BE, also known as butyl cellosolve)

This nasty little ingredient is a known eye and skin irritant and has been shown in laboratory experiments to cause reproductive issues. Health Canada has listed indoor air and skin contact with cleaning products as the main exposure. It is listed as a toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act and is limited to a concentration of five - six percent in household cleaners but some products such as laundry stain removers may contain as much as 22%.


So what should we do? It is difficult to find a label that actually lists full ingredients; the laws surrounding label claims such as "green" or "environmentally friendly" and "non toxic" are as toothless as hens. What do we do? My solution has been to make my own cleaners.

Most modern cleaners are based on recipes that utilized natural ingredients. In order to develop markets, companies began to try and isolate the properties of these natural ingredients and synthesize cheap chemical ingredients with the same "properties"’. Going back to the original ingredients you can make effective products which don't pollute your home or the surrounding environment and are much cheaper than the commercial options.

The basic ingredients needed to make your own cleaners are probably already in your cupboards my stock includes:

White Vinegar. Vinegar is a mild acid, natural deodorizer and grease cutter. Vinegar will remove mildew, wax buildup and scale from hard water.

Lemon Juice. Lemon juice does similar things as vinegar, however it has a slightly lower ph and is therefore slightly stronger. It also has a pleasing scent.

Baking Soda Baking soda is a base. It is useful for softening water, deodorizing, cleaning and as a mechanical scouring agent.

Soap. You are looking for a plain, unscented biodegradable soap. It can be liquid, flakes or bar. I make my own so I can make flakes or liquid as needed. Washing soda. Washing soda is a mineral, powdered sodium carbonate decahydrate to be exact. It is also one of the strongest ingredients in my cleaning supplies. It is a water softener, removes many stains and is a fabulous grease cutter. I use washing soda in my bathroom cleaner and as a laundry additive for loads that are particularly nasty from homesteading activities. Matthew uses grease pencils at his day job right now and sometimes they get in the laundry. Washing soda paste will take out the results.

Rubbing alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol is  the technical name. As one would assume it is an excellent disinfectant. Use common sense, or as a friend is fond of saying, good sense as it is not common anymore. If you are using rubbing alcohol to disinfect around the kitchen rinse afterwards.

Borax. Of late, there has been talk of how environmentally friendly borax really is. I have looked at most of the talk and I still continue to use borax. Most of the concern seems to focus on boric acid, however borax is not boric acid,. Boric acid is formed when borax is added to any acid. Borax on it's own, is a moderately strong alkaline with a pH of 9 -9.5 range. I have looked at most of the studies and find issues with many of them. I cannot tell you to use it or not use it, all I can say is I still use it. I don't spread it willy nilly around the house, but then again I never did. Bottom line borax is not absorbed through the skin, it is non carcinogenic, (as far as we know) and it does not bio-accumulate.

Essential Oils. I use tea tree, lavender, and orange essential oils in my cleaning recipes. I don't use them all the time, only when needed. They are great for extra disinfecting, grease cutting and aromatherapy.

So those are the raw materials. Tomorrow I will share my recipes with you and some tips and tricks I have learned over the years. Have a great day everyone!

A little over a week ago Rosz posted a comment on my post regarding pressure canning tomatoes. She commented that she prefers to have ready made sauce rather than just canned tomatoes. Thinking it would be easier. It is easy to have ready made sauce; and I put up lots of it. I also like to have simple crushed or diced tomatoes on hand as it gives me more versatility, and allows me to add fresh herbs from my winter windowsill garden. We are having pasta tonight so I thought I would share with you how I turn canned tomatoes to sauce. First you need to decide if you want to use crushed or diced tomatoes. Reiley prefers the crushed tomato sauce with fettuccine so I just grab a couple of 500 ml jars of crushed tomatoes and we are ready to go.

First you need to decide if you want to use crushed or diced tomatoes. Reiley prefers the crushed tomato sauce with fettuccine so I just grab a couple of 500 ml jars of crushed tomatoes and we are ready to go. Now if I had been a little more organized today, I would have done this early this morning and had it simmering in the crock pot all day. Life intervened early today and I didn't get to it. So we are going to use the saucepan method. Pour your preserves into the pot, add whatever herbs you prefer, I am adding some fresh basil and thyme. A generous tablespoon of brown sugar, some salt and pepper and caramelized onions and garlic round out the sauce.

Stir everything in and simmer on the stove for about 30 minutes. As I said it will taste better if you have it simmering in a crock pot all day but this is good too. You can add this sauce to meat if you like or just use the sauce. I am going to add it to ground pork, if I was just using the sauce on pasta I would probably use diced tomatoes.

I'm not trying to say that you shouldn't preserve ready made sauce, I make and preserve lots of it. I don't want you to feel that it is your only option for quick meals. This sauce took me about 35 minutes to make. I mixed it up and had it simmering first, so by the time I had the ground pork and pasta ready the sauce was good to go. If I had remembered to put it in the crock pot on warm before I left this morning it would have been ready when I came home. The best part is that I find it does taste better with the fresh herbs and caramelized onions and garlic, especially in the middle of winter when we really need a taste of summer! So give it a try, add your favourite fresh ingredients and savour!. After all that is what good food is all about. Have a great day everyone.ere to edit.

Evening primrose, Oenothera biennis, has grown in popularity of late for the high amounts of essential fatty acid  GLA, gamma-linolenic acid, also known as omega-6 found in it's seeds. GLA is converted by our bodies into prostaglandins, these are the hormones our bodies use in many body functions from controlling cell growth, regulate kidney function, regulating clotting times of our blood and regulating inflammation.

Thus evening primrose oil is being studied as a treatment for auto immune disorders such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. It also shows efficacy as a treatment for symptoms of PMS and menopause, treating ADHD, and relieving painful neuropathy experienced by people with diabetes. If you are buying evening primrose oil look for cold pressed oils.

Long before the discovery of high concentrations of GLA, herbalists have known of the healing properties of this plant. Utilizing the leaves stems, roots, and blossoms of evening primrose, herbalists have  traditionally made a tea which was then used to treat skin rashes, including persistence excema. Also a mild sedative, pain reliever and general tonic.

The entire plant is edible, the leaves are best eaten early in the spring as they tend to become bitter later into the season. They can be eaten raw in salads or cooked like a spinach. The roots are sweet when boiled like potatoes, and blossoms are a mildly sweet addition to salads. The seeds can be roasted and used in breads or as a pepper substitute or ground and used as you would flax seeds. It was considered a staple food source for Native Americans.

Evening primrose prefers dry sandy soil  lacking in nitrogen. It has been naturalized throughout mid and eastern North America, here in Nova Scotia it can be found growing on most roadsides. As it's name suggests it is a biennial plant with blossoms that open during the evening and overnight. As night blooming plants are few and far between, many cultivars have been developed for gardeners. If you are planting for medicinal use be sure to purchase the Oenothera biennis, variety as it contains the most medicinal properties.

Growing between 2 and 5 feet tall, it has a strong reddish stem covered in soft hairs. The lanced leaves measure 3 to 6 inches and have a lemon like scent when lightly bruised. The plants are prolific bloomers in their second year, blooming from June through September.

While growing evening primrose to make EPoil is not practical for home gardeners, the medicinal uses of the entire plant certainly are worth growing or foraging this beautiful plant. If you are fond of spending long summer evenings in your garden, the sweetly scented blooms alone are worth having this plant in your garden.

As always, the information presented here is not intended to diagnose or treat any conditions. Please seek the advice of a medical practitioner for specific medical concerns.

Hey everybody
The computer is finally working and it is time to take a look at our garden soil and decide what it needs for next year to keep producing a bounty of healthy food for us.

Fall is my preferred time to add soil amendments, it means that you have several months for the bacteria and microbes to work on and integrate into the amendments. The worms and other beneficial life forms can colonize the "new soil" and by the time planting season comes around again your amendments should be fully integrated into the soil.

So what is a soil amendment? The most basic definition of a soil amendment is any material which is added to soil to alter the structure and pH of the existing conditions. When you ask gardeners why they amend their soil and they will most often talk about altering the way water moves through their soil and increasing the nutrient availability of soil.

Before you can look at amendments you need to know the mineral composition of your soil and the pH value of your soil. You can see the posts on how to check the mineral composition of your soil here and here. Soil pH testing kits are available at most stores that sell gardening supplies or you can order online.

There are some amendments that are good for all soil types, specifically compost and organic matter. These are not interchangeable terms. The easiest way to describe the difference is all compost is organic matter, but not all organic matter is compost.

We get a lot of questions about adding compost and organic matter, most of these regard timing. There is never a bad time to add compost to your soil, but it is easiest to do so in the spring and fall. Generally because there are not a lot of plants in your way and you can work it into the soil. Space is another consideration. If you have a large area for your compost pile(s), then you can start a fresh pile of compost from all the material you take out of the garden in the fall. If your space is limited, you may have to spread your finished compost before you can start a new pile.

When discussing adding organic matter it gets a little trickier. If you want to add organic matter straight to your garden, the most important thing you need to remember is this: as organic matter decomposes it ties up nitrogen. The more fibrous the organic matter is the more nitrogen it ties up and the longer it takes to decompose. This is not a big deal if you are adding leaves to your garden in the fall. In most cases they will completely decompose before spring. If you chose to chop and drop your garden remnants, tougher, more fibrous material such as corn stalks may not decompose before spring. Never add un-composted organic matter during the growing season, it will tie up your available nitrogen and your plants will suffer.

Full disclosure here, we do not have a "compost pile". Everything from food scraps of all kinds, wasted hay yard waste and garden trimmings goes through the pigs. Yep, if they don't eat it the trample it in their bedding and it ends up in the manure pile. Our compost comes from the manure piles.

So, what to do if you aren't fortunate to have beautiful black rich loam soil? Depends on what you do have. The two things you don't want to do are try for a quick fix with chemical fertilizers and buy "top soil". The only time I would recommend purchasing topsoil is if you have a home in a newer subdivision. Current practices allow for the rape, pillaging and sale of any nutrient rich fertile soil from these sites before construction begins. You are essentially left with dead subsoil. It would take you years to try and build any kind of decent topsoil. Just do your research and find locally sourced top soil.

If your testing shows you have heavy clay soil, your priorities are going to be adding nutrient rich organic matter to increase the fertility. Something to increase drainage and a way to bulk up the soil thereby increasing aeration.

The best candidates for clay soil amendments are compost, and lots of organic material. Most people will tell you if you have clay soil you need to add sand, My short answer is don't. To alter the drainage of a clay soil with sand, you would have to add half, 50% of the current volume of soil to make an effective soil. This quickly gets expensive. Adding less will give you a soil where the larger pore spaces of the sand are filled in by the smaller clay particles, resulting in a denser, heavier more easily compacted soil that still won't drain!
 
The best thing you can do for your heavy clay soil is to add organic matter that will open the structure of the soil improving drainage and increasing the amount of life in your soil. Wood chips or shavings are very effective. Get in the habit of using these as mulch, and using either on the paths in your garden is a great way to incorporate them into the soil.

Clay soils respond well to green manure, but remember the nitrogen issues. Heavy clay is also an excellent candidate for bio char applications. Ground bark is also an effective amendment for this soil.

Sandy soils  are as difficult to deal with as clay. When looking at amendments for sandy soil your objectives are increasing nutrient, slowing down the flow of water through the soil and adding organic matter to increase the amount of soil micro organisms and bacteria.

Compost is still the best way to add available nutrients to the soil. It packs a powerful punch of nutrient that is available to your plants from day 1. Peat moss is my preferred additive for quickly increasing the absorption rate of sandy soils. It is quite acidic so you need to monitor your pH levels carefully . For the long term, adding organic matter is the best way to increased the absorption rate of sandy soils. By adding organic matter, you increase the amount of microorganisms and bacteria which feed on the decaying matter. The excretions and ultimately the decomposing bodies of these organisms combine to form humus, and humus is the 'glue' that holds soil together. So ground bark, and wood chips are again excellent forms of organic matter to add to sandy soils.

A note about ph. Generally, most vegetables prefer a pH that is slightly acidic to neutral. In the range of 5.5 to 7. A comprehensive list can be found here. If you soil is too acidic, the best amendment to sweeten the soil is still ground lime. It is available almost everywhere that sells nursery supplies. It is relatively inexpensive and usually contains clear directions for application rates. If your soil tests out in the alkaline range you will need to add a compound to sour it a little. Gypsum or ground sulfur are the usual candidates. It has been my experience that the availability of these vary from region to region, but one or the other is usually available locally. Again follow directions for application rates.

Hopefully I haven't given you information overload with this topic. Soil building is not going to happen over a single season. It takes time and patience, not my strongest trait. At first it will seem that everything you are doing hasn't made any difference and then one day, you will be out digging in the garden and it will strike you that you have the beautiful, rich black soil you have longed for. so the sooner you start, the sooner you will get there; test your soil composition, know where you need to make changes and get started. This is where your food is coming from..... you need to make it the healthiest it can be!

Have a great day everyone.

For most of us it is relegated to a side dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, from a herbalists perspective it is a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and possible cancer prevention tool. The American cranberry,
Vaccinium macrocarpon, is an evergreen shrub growing to 6 ft . It has small leathery leaves and can be found growing in bogs and wetlands from zones 3 through 7. The information in this article refers to American cranberry, not the various high bush cranberry, a vibernum, also known as crampbark, found in nurseries today.
  
Cranberry has traditionally been used as a treatment for urinary tract infections, (UTI). For many years it was believed that the high acidity of the cranberry lowered the pH of the urine thereby making the bladder a less hospital environment for the bacterium which causes UTI's. In recent years however, scientific studies have shown that the structure of the proanthocyanidins, (flavonoids), actually block the bacterium's ability to attach itself to the lining of the bladder. Researchers are now studying this evidence to see if it could prevent stomach ulcers in the same way.
 
Cranberry has been shown to be a powerful anti-inflammatory, specifically
acting upon the cardiovascular system and digestive tract. The phytonutrients in cranberry that are especially effective in lowering our risk of unwanted inflammation, and virtually all of the phytonutrient categories represented in cranberry are now known to play a role by blocking the cytokines which tell our bodies to start an inflammatory response against against a perceived threat. Dietary consumption of cranberry has also been shown to reduce the risk of chronic, unwanted inflammation in the stomach, large intestine and  blood vessel linings. Therefore, anyone with an auto immune disease should benefit from an increase in cranberries in their diet. This cytokine suppressing ability in
addition to high fibre content  means that a high dietary intake of cranberries
will help lower your risk of atherosclerosis, plaque build up within the vessels
and lower your 'bad' cholesterol levels.
 
Nutritionally, cranberries are high in manganese, vitamin C and E and fibre. A 1 cup measure of cranberries, approximately 100 grams, will supply your body with 18%  of your daily fibre intake requirements. . We are all familiar with the pictures of cranberries floating on the water as farmers flood the bogs containing the plants. For years this harvesting method was done simply for convenience, it is much easier to use a boom to gather floating berries than
it is to try and pick berries from plants in soft boggy ground. Recent studies
have shown that anthocyanin, the phytonutrients that give the berries their amazing red color, increases  in direct proportion to the amount of natural sunlight striking the berry. So having berries floating on top of the water will actually increase the concentration of anthocyanins, making this humble berry even better for you.
 
So look for ways to incorporate cranberries into your diet, cranberry sauce
is easy to make from scratch: 3 cups of cranberries, 1 cup of water, 1 cup of
sugar and a dash of lemon or lime juice. Boil until the cranberries 'pop'. This can be eaten fresh or canned in a waterbath canner for 15 minutes.
Cranberries make a wonderful addition to pork dishes ad well as some of the
stronger fish dishes. Try some dried cranberries instead of raisins in your
snack foods and baking. As I mentioned in my post from Tuesday, dried
cranberries mixed in chevre cheese with slivered almonds sprinkled
on top is a favourite dessert around here. Cranberries freeze really well, I
always buy pounds and pounds of cranberries when they go on sale after Christmas and store them in the freezer. If you are lucky enough to live near a cranberry grower, find out if they have public tours, they are harvesting now and it makes a great day out with the kids!
 

**Please note. I am not a doctor. This post is not intended to diagnose, treat
or cure any disease. The information presented here has not been verified by
Health Canada.**

It occurred to me today that while I have spoken often of parts of our plan for Hand-Forged Farm I have never really laid out the entire plan for you. Today you get the full vision!

We first and foremost are a working homestead / farm. We will continue to produce fresh healthy food for ourselves and the community. The structure for the market garden is being put in place this fall, so that we will begin selling produce starting in the spring of 2015. The first greenhouse will be completed late this fall. We will be offering a limited amount of CSA memberships next year and expanding as we bring the garden to full size the following year.

The garden also serves as a valuable teaching tool for those who want to learn the skills required to produce their own food. From WOOFER,s who stay for the season, or part of the season; to workshop participants who come for a weekend to learn a specific set of skills. There a few more plans that will revolve around the garden, but those details will need to wait for now.

The barn will grow also, to start with Gary wants to run 2 sows and a boar. We are on the hunt for a Tamworth gilt, he might also consider a Duroc. The pigs will continue to feed our family and local community. We will continue to sell weaner pigs but will also be raising more of our pork for sale. Gary is finally happy with the system he has worked out for growing sprouts as fodder and is now producing well over 100 lbs a day summer and winter. The animals are all doing very well on them and we are ready to expand. Keeping more pigs will also allow more hands on experience for those who want to work with pigs.

I want to build up the goat herd to six milking does, This will provide enough milk for our family's needs and my soap making. Again, the expansion will allow for more hands on workshops and teaching opportunities.

There are no concrete plans for cattle at the moment, but I have a feeling one or more of the boys may have plans in that area. This would be at least 3 years out right now.

Herbs are also an integral part of the plans. There is going to be a large herb garden which I will use for our medicinal herbs. I plan to use our homestead as a venue for herb walks and wellness retreats and workshops. We plan to bring in other teachers and leaders to give workshops; herbal weekends are a great place to start.

A new orchard of apples, pears, peaches and cherries is going to be planted next spring. Between the garden and the orchard, we will need a few more bee hives. I am planning at least 1 workshop next year for introductory beekeeping.

We have a food forest planned for an area close to the ridge line on the property, and I am working hard to bring a permaculture design course here in late next year or early the following year. Accommodations for WOOFERs round out the plans on the drawing board for now.

Whew!  When I write it all out it sounds almost impossible; but when I look back at what we have done in the past year I know we will bring it all together. It is what we have always wanted to do. We could just build up our property and become almost self sufficient, but we have always wanted to share our knowledge as well as learn from others. For us that is the only way to really become self sufficient... by being part of a self sufficient community.

Humans were not meant to function in isolation, a strong community of people with varying skills and abilities is the basis of any healthy society. We have, for the most part, lost sight of that fact. It is our intention to work with as many like minded people as possible to change that. The oft quoted "be the change you want to see", message is alive and well here at Hand - Forged Farm, and thank you for being along for the journey.

I'm back! I don't know what I picked up but it was a nasty little bug that
has made me more ill than I have been for a few years. It is still hanging
around, but I am able to function today. Thanks to everyone who sent emails and left comments, they made me smile! Now lets get back to work!

You know I love comfrey for it's amazing medicinal properties. I have comfrey salve, comfrey infused oil, dried comfrey and comfrey tea in my house at all times. I use it on myself, my children and my animals. I think comfrey has erroneously been labeled as dangerous by well intentioned people who are basing their decisions on fairly sketchy data.involving high quantities of comfrey and comfrey root taken internally. When I speak of comfrey being safe I am speaking of using it externally. There are times when comfrey works very  well internally but this should be done only under the  direct supervision of a naturalpath  or skilled herbalist. Unfortunately, comfrey has been labeled as dangerous in all forms and this frustrates me as there is little to no data that has proven the topical use of comfrey causes liver problems or cancer. 

Comfrey can be dangerous, it contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, they
will damage / destroy your liver. You would have to eat several pounds of
comfrey leaf or drink litres of comfrey tea everyday to reach the levels used in
the studies that are quoted when the powers that be decided to ban comfrey. Used topically and responsibly, comfrey is a valuable medicinal herb. If you want more information on this you may wish to read this article by herbalist
Henriette Kress

www.henriettes-herb.com/faqs/medi-2-15-comfrey.html,

Today I what to share the other uses of comfrey with you. Anyone
who has studied permaculture has heard this all before and hopefully is
utilizing comfrey to its absolute maximum on the homestead. Today I want to look at comfrey's role as a fertilizer, a soil aerator, nutrient buffer and livestock feed supplement. Lets get started!
 
First of all the basics, comfrey is a herbaceous perennial herb which originated in Europe. It is a large plant, over four feet if left untrimmed is not unusual in my garden. It has large rough, hairy leaves. The stems are also hairy and become tough and fibrous if they grow through the season without trimming. The plant is hardy from zone 4 to 9 and will go dormant during the cold weather. Comfrey has a large taproot which supports a large network of smaller roots. The plant will grow in full shade to almost full sun. In my personal experience it does best in dappled shade, but I have grown it in all conditions. Comfrey prefers a moist soil, but it  will make do with most conditions.
 
Comfrey is fast growing and I can usually have the first harvest of leaves in mid spring before my tulips have finished blooming. The last harvest will be well into October. These large leaves make excellent fertilizer. You can chop and drop the entire plant, cutting approximately 2 inches above the soil, or harvest the leaves and move them to the area you wish to fertilize. With it's large tap root, comfrey is a dynamic accumulator, pulling nutrients and minerals from deep in the soil and making them available through the top parts of the plant. To access this nutrient store you can use the  leaves and stems as simple mulch or they can be chopped in pieces and incorporated into the soil. Plant parts can also be soaked in water to make a liquid concentrate fertilizer. I like to take that first harvest of plant top in mid spring to make this concentrate. That way it is ready just when I want to start fertilizing the garden in early June.
 
To make this concentrate, harvest a quantity of plant top, leaves and or stems, roughly chop and place it in a water proof container. This can be a 5 gallon bucket or a 45 gallon barrel, depends upon how much you have and how much
you need. Place a weight on top of the plant material to keep it submerged, and cover with water. Place a lid or cover on top of your container and set it in
the sun for three or four or more weeks. Check on it after three to four weeks;
be prepared: IT STINKS!  I mean putrid something crawled in there and died
stinks. (don't say you weren't warned)  You will know it is done when it is a
dark, thick liquid. This is your liquid concentrate fertilizer. Mix this with
water at a ratio of 1:12 Twelve parts water to one part concentrate. Use
gloves, that smell likes to linger. This can be applied to plants as you would
any other liquid fertilizer.
 
Using comfrey as a soil aerator is very effective due to that substantive taproot but can be a tricky process. Tricky because comfrey propagates from root cuttings. Any piece of root left in the ground can grow into a new plant. If you choose to use comfrey in this manner, I recommend planting smaller plants and leaving them in place for only one season max. This is best used if there is an area you want to turn into garden but it is extremely compacted, the best example I can think of is a consult we did for a couple who needed to remediate a piece of land that had been used as a driveway by the former owner of the property. In that  particular case we recommended comfrey be left in place for two years. It did a remarkable job on that particular piece of land. They did have several plants appear over the first two seasons after the plants had been dug  up but they were easily removed as they started coming up.
 
When designing farms, especially small farms and homesteads, nutrient
runoff is always an issue. It has taken up a great deal of planning time here on
our own homestead as all of our gardens pastures and barns are uphill of the
house and well. Comfrey is in our plan to help with any possibility of runoff here This involves planting a double row of comfrey plants, on a slightly raised bed, on contour, below the barns. We have placed manure storage area on the other side of the property from the well, and any runoff from here will drain to the swale we put in this spring. By planting the double row of comfrey on the slightly raised bed we should be able to negate any nutrient contamination of our drinking water, and be able to return that nutrient back to the fertility cycle of the homestead by using the comfrey for fertilizer.
 
The final use of comfrey I want to talk about today is as an animal feed. Only feed the above ground parts of the plant. The PA's are in highest concentration in the roots.  Dried comfrey regularly tests out between 24 - 31% protein. This is higher than soybean and alfalfa. The leaves are also high in Vitamins A,C, and B12. Comfrey makes a high mineral, high protein low fibre feed: as
such it should be considered a feed supplement as opposed to a feed in itself.
Our rule of thumb here is no more than 10% of a total ration is to be
comfrey. The palatablity of comfrey varies from animal to animal. The pigs usually take to it the best, eating both fresh, wilted and dried plant. Chickens tend to only find it attractive when it is dry or near dry. Our goats are all over the map, some like it in any form, some won't touch it unless it is dried and offered in the middle of winter. I am a firm believer in the theory that animals have an intrinsic knowledge of what their bodies need and will actively seek it out;so the goats that only touch the dried comfrey in the winter makes absolute sense to me. There have been multiple studies related to feeding animals comfery. Most were  conducted in the UK, particularly during WWII and the decades after. A  particularly good book which looks at various uses of comfrey and  feeding comfrey to animals is:  Comfrey, Past  Present and Future by Lawrence D. Hills. I recommend it to anyone who really wants to utilise comfrey on their homestead.

So you can see there are numerous ways to make comfrey work for you on your homestead. I hope you will look at ways to utelise it in your system. Do some research, find your application. That is what homesteading is all about!
Have a great day everyone!

I have been making and selling herbal soaps and skin care products for many many years, in my experience they are better for your overall health, better for your skin, and in most cases cheaper than commercial alternatives, especially if you make them yourself. Today I need to make some comfrey salve so I thought I would share the process with you.

.For equipment you need:
        at least one small pot
        a pyrex measuring cup
        a small digital scale
        a whisk
        a spatula
        a strainer
        Jars to hold your salve. For small quantities you can use baby food jars or small canning jars for larger amounts.

For ingredients you need:
You will need:
some comfrey, one or two leaves will be plenty
Olive or sunflower oil and
beeswax
Vitamin E. (optional)
Essential oils  (optional)

Please note I always recommend using fresh herbs, but I also know life happens and sometimes that is not an option, if you only have dry comfrey
use that at half the rate for fresh.

 Comfrey salve is always handy to have around a farm. It is great for healing the inevitable cuts and lacerations that happen, both on humans and non human residents. I always make a large batch in the fall as it does a great
job on healing the cracked hands that Gary gets during the winter. What used to be called chill blames. It is also great for healing burns and can be used for
sprains. Right now, I need to make more be cause I have used up my supply
treating a very nasty wound Gary has on his leg.

So, lets get started. A salve is an oil based medicinal ointment. As it has an oil base, it should not be used on burns until all beat has gone from the burn. To make salves you need to infuse the oil(s) with the herbs. This can be accomplished via hot oil infusions or cold oil infusions.

 To make a cold infusion pack a jar with your fresh herbs, if you can chop them before adding, this releases the oils and the components you need from the plants. Fill the jar with oil, I prefer olive or sunflower but any non hydrogenated oil will work. Make sure the oil completely covers the plant material or you will get mold. Place the jar in a window where it will get direct sunlight for part of the day. Shake the jar for a few minutes daily. Leave the jar for 4-6 weeks. When it is done, srain the plant material through a cheese cloth. Wring the residue making sure to get all the oil you can from the plant material. You can also use a potato ricer to press the oil from the plant. Place the depleted plant material in the compost and put your infused oil in jars, label and store in the fridge. I keep my infused oils in this manner for a full year. When the herb becomes available fresh again I discard any oil I may have left and make new.

Today we are going to make a hot oil infusion and make our salve from that. To make a hot oil infusion you need to add  heat to the plant oil mixture and hold it for two hours. If you are using fresh comfry use it at a rate of 1:2. One cup of chopped herb for every 2 cups of oil. If you are using dried herb use one half a cup for every 2 cups of oil.

Before you start weigh your pot on the scale, write it down, trust me. Mix the herb and oil in a small pot and place on a low heat. I have a good quality  heavy bottom pot I use for working with herbs, if your pot is a thin bottom type
you may want to make a double boiler to heat your herbs. You must have the heat on a low setting, you do not want to bring the oil to smoking temperature. We need to heat the plant material so that it transfers the oils in the plant to
the oil, not deep fry the plant. Stir occasionally and keep on the heat for  2 or 3 hours.

At the end of this time remove the pot from the heat and allow it to come to
room temperature. Strain the plant material from the oil by the same method
listed above. If you want to make all of you infused oil into a salve you can
place it back into the cleaned pot. If you only want to make some into a salve
now, measure the amount you need for salve and put in the pot. Place the
remainder in a jar and label. Store in the fridge. Are you beginning to see why
I hoard Mason jars?

Now that you have a specific amount of infused oil, you need to weigh the oil and your pot, (ahhh!) Subtract the weight of the pot alone to get the weight of your oil. Now you need to add beeswax to the oil to make it a salve. I am not giving you specific amounts here because the ratio of oil to beeswax is always the same. Five parts oil to one part beeswax.

If you have 100 grams of oil you need  20 grams of beeswax, 150 grams of oil, 30 grams of wax, you get the idea. When making creams, salves and soaps, always go by weight. Use recipes that deal with weight over those that use volume as measurement. It will always be more precise and over the long haul
you will have much better, and more consistent results.

 Weigh the appropriate amount of  beeswax, and add to the pot. Please use beeswax, not  any other type of wax. You will not get good results.

Heat the oil wax mixture on medium heat, beeswax has a high melting  temperature, but you don't want to heat the oil too high as some of the  compounds you have just infused into your  oils will be damaged by high heat. 
Stir your mix frequently  until the wax is melted. If you have thin shavings of
beeswax or the pelleted form it will melt faster than large chunks. 

Once all of the wax has melted,  remove the pot from the heat, if you want to add Vitamin E or essential oils now is the time. A couple of drops of vitamin E for every four fluid ounces with make a good natural preservative. Lavender and tea tree essential oils will lend their anti bacterial properties to this healing salve. a couple of drops per 8 fluid ounces is really all you need. Now you are ready to pour it into your containers. The mixture will be hot.  This is why I use glass jars. Once you pour the salve into your jars let them sit out until they start to harden. Do not apply the covers until the salve has set up. You can put the jars in the fridge if you wish but it works just fine if you leave them out. Do be careful when you have small children and pets around. The salve is hot and will remain hot even if the top has set up.

Once the salve has set up, you can put the lid on the jars, label and use as needed. This will keep in the frodge for a good six months. As with all herbal products that do not contain preservatives, the cleaner the salve stays, the longer it lasts.

Isn't that a beautiful green? Have a great day everyone!

As I mentioned yesterday, Thursdays here on the homestead blog are going to be devoted to herbs and their application on the homestead. I may also occasionally talk about alternatives to chemical laden cleaners and "beauty" products which people seem to throw about their living spaces and bodies with reckless abandon.

I decided to start with jewelweed, simply because it is blooming in great perfusion all around me right now and plants are usually easiest to identify when they are in bloom.

Jewel weed, Impatiens capensis, is an annual which grows in moist shaded areas, and is common throughout the entire eastern half of North America from southern Saskatchewan to Newfoundland south through to South Carolina, Alabama and Oklahoma. Reaching 3- 5 feet it is most easily identified when in bloom. You should look around now to identify colonies as they will readily self seed in the same area. You should wild craft them before they bloom next year. The sap within the stem, and oils in the leaves are at their most potent before the plant blooms. You can harvest after it blooms and have a reasonable product, but it will always contain the most potency before bloom. Remember when wild crafting to take no more than 1/3rd of any given population.

To identify when not in bloom check for the following:  oval, round- toothed leaves. Leaves at the bottom of the plant will be opposite, leaves near the top of the plant will alternate. upper ones alternate.  Before blooming the stems will be almost translucent and will also have the large nodules in the stems.  Pale Jewelweed has yellow flowers, Spotted jewelweed has orange flowers with dark red dots. (see photo above) The Spotted Jewelweed variety is most commonly used medicinally, although the Pale Jewelweed may also have medicinal properties . It will be helpful to have a good field guide for your area.

While this plant has been used for centuries as as treatment for poison ivy and poison oak, it  has moderate anti histamine and  anti-inflammatory properties making it  very useful for any allergic reaction of the skin including bug bites and hives. I also give it to the men folk around here as a  treatment for heat rash. It has also proven effective when used in combination with other herbs as a treatment for acne. Traditionally it has been used as a poultice for treatment of bruising, burns cuts or wounds,warts and ringworm. I also include it in certain salves for healing of cuts and wounds and in my "excema remedy".

I particularly like jewelweed as it is safe for use on the animals. I use it for treating bug bites, including allergic reaction to fleas, and in my healing ointment for the barn. I also find it useful to use as part of a poultice to help heal sprains.

The most common way to use jewelweed is to make an infusion for topical use. It is not recommended to take jewelweed internally. To make an infusion place cut up plant in a pot, you can use the stems and leaves, cover with water then cover and bring water to a boil. Once the water is boiling  reduce heat and simmer until water is reduced by half.

Strain the plant material from the liquid, you will now see the characteristic orange of jewelweed infusions.

You now have a couple of different ways to store the infusion. You can make ice cubes by pouring the infusion into an ice cube tray. You can safely store the frozen infusion for a full year. This is convientent as you can take a "cube" out of the freezer and rub it directly on affected areas, if you paln to use the infusion to make salves or cream you can put it in canning jars and process for ten minutes in a pressure cooker. You can then store the jars in a cool dark place along with your other preserves. Please label accordingly. This method will also store for a year quite safely.

If you come in contact with poison ivy or oak the quicker you can apply jewelweed to the affected area the less severe the symptoms will be. You should cut a piece of jewelweed and open the stem. Apply the sap inside the stem directly to the affected area. If it is late in the season and the plant is blooming or has already bloomed, you can scoop some of the soft tissue from inside the stem and squeeze some sap. You can also make a poultice from the leaves by rubbing them between your palms to release some of the oil and the placing them directly on the affected area. You can hold them in place with a sock or gauze or whatever you have on hand.

Jewelweed is one of the medicinal plantswith a long history of use that has fallen out of use in favour of "modern medicines". I have been using it in creams, salves, soaps and custom prducts for clients for years. I have no problems using it whenever someone would typically use hydrocortisone cream. It is well absorbed topically, with no listed side effects. As with all herbals you should test for allergies before starting a treatment program. Empower yourself and your family by learning about herbs and what they can do for your health. Have a great day eveyone.

**Please note. I am not a doctor. This post is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. The information presented here has not been verified by Health Canada.**