Category: Comment

You don’t always need the dirt! Aquaponics intro on a small scale!

I love this idea and it’s been working out well for my personal experiment.

Water bottles, soda bottles – cut and inverted!

At the moment I am using spring water in small water bottles. It has rained and I’m hoping this added some nitrogen to the water.

Mostly I wanted to try this method with lettuce. The thought of having fresh lettuce available whenever I wanted a salad, was intriguing.

Herbs

I’ve added some spearmint and oregano stems to other bottles.

The spearmint is kept in a hanging pot so I can move away from sun as the sun shifts.

Before my favorite shade tree got its leaves back, the mint got hit with a day of sunshine. I am trying to save it so I took some stems to see if it will root. I’m not exactly confident this approach will work. Soil in the bottles might be best. So far, the mint didn’t die or dry in the water.

Herbs are more shade loving plants throughout the summer. Oregano, basil and rosemary are my “must have” herbs. I can’t remember when a time when I didn’t have these herbs outdoors.

Italian cooking demands fresh ingredients just like the Great Nona’s know best! Oregano grows without much help, other than breaking off a fist full for sauce, which actually prunes it too!!

Rosemary

Rosemary. Ah Rosemary. The most aromatic herb my life and patio just can’t live without. Roast pork anyone? I can smell it roasting for hours in my dreams!!! Brush up against it and the scent fills the air. Place it where animals may also brush by it. Bugs, like fleas, hate rosemary!

Give this easy grower plenty of room. It demands attention and it’s own space to branch out like a tree if you let it.

I would not say Rosemary is a fast grower so start small and repot as needed. I give it 3 times more space in a pot because it will fill in eventually.

It’s that time of year when the ground is warming. Dogs and cats start scratching after they’ve gone outdoors? Besides fleas, Florida has chigger type nuisance bugs you can’t see.

Break off a long twig of rosemary and secure it to the inside of your pets collar! Take the sprigs and rub the plant all over your pet. This is a natural way to relieve itching temporarily. Also works with lavender. In the summertime, I make my own itch relieving spray!!

Put water in a spray bottle along with sprigs of lavender and rosemary. Put in fridge and use to soothe!

Do you have your own herbal remedies?

Stayed tuned for additions to this thread!

Religious Legends

Basil is a part of religious traditions around the world, from Christianity to Hindu.Although there is no mention of basil in the Bible.

The plant is said to have grown at the site of Christ’s crucifixion and is associated with St. Basil. St. Basil – feast day is celebrated in Greece on January 1 by having basil blessed at church

Holy basil, Ocimum tenuiflorum, is particularly sacred in Hindu tradition. It is thought to be the manifestation of the goddess, Tulasi, and to have grown from her ashes.
There are several versions of the legend, but according to a widely known one, Tulasi was tricked into betraying her husband when she was seduced by the god Vishnu in the guise of her husband.

In her torment, Tulasi killed herself, and Vishnu declared that she would be “worshipped by women for her faithfulness” and would keep women from becoming widows.

Thus, holy basil, which also goes by the common name tulsi, an obvious reference to the goddess, became a Hindu symbol of love, eternal life, purification and protection. In addition to basil’s role in the death of Tulasi in the Hindu legend, basil has played a role in burial rituals and has been grown on graves in various countries.

Basil’s love symbolism isn’t limited to India.
It has been considered an aphrodisiac by some, is associated with the pagan love goddess, Erzuli, and is used in love spells.

In Italy, where sweet basil is called “kiss me Nicholas,” “bacianicola,” it is thought to attract husbands to wives, and a pot of basil on a windowsill is meant to signal a lover.

In Moldavian folklore, if a man accepts a sprig of basil from a woman, he will fall in love with her.

As is typical for its folklore, while being linked to love and attraction, basil has also conversely been associated with chastity.

In Sicilian folklore, basil is associated with both love and death when basil sprouts from the head of isabetta of Messina’s slain lover.

Protection and Luck

Basil is considered a good luck charm in some folklore. It is reportedly used in exorcisms, for protection and to attract wealth.

Language of Flowers

Basil’s symbolism in the Victorian language of flowers also reflects its dual nature. It signifies both hatred (for common basil) and best wishes (for sweet basil).

Join us – at Deltona Garden Club

How to Fight Spider Mites

How to Fight Spider Mites

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Top Producing Vegetables and Fruits: These 12 Plants Will Give You Plenty To Share

Top Producing Vegetables and Fruits: These 12 Plants Will Give You Plenty To Share

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Last year a cute little Downy Woodpecker came to spend the spring with me.

This year the tree favored by this cute little creature has since been cut down. I worried that this year they won’t have their nesting tree and won’t come back.

Well today I sat and watch several DWs visiting the yard possibly looking for a nesting site.

I hope you enjoy the little Spark Page I created from last year!

See the Downy Woodpecker close up and enjoy the “little” things in life.