Nikki Roche

I've made progress on a few.

1) At the edge of an an established forest, I transplanted hostas and sowed rose of Sharon seeds. Deer like them both, and this is a path well-traveled by deer.

2) For herb preservation, I air-dried sage (among others), froze Tulsi, and infused vinegar with rosemary.

3) When it comes to stamina, I'm not quite as intolerant of temperature fluctuations as I once was. Last winter, I was able to stay outside and play in the snow for well over an hour, and this past summer I stayed outside for over an hour in 90+ heat. I was in the shade with my feet in a kiddie pool rather than doing anything strenuous, but it's a definite sign of improvement.

4) My kid likes picking up litter, so we've done that more than once together.

5) I've been baking with various herbs, and muffins or quick bread are my usual go-to. It's a comfort food for me and an easy way to get veggies or herbs into my kid. Tulsi oat muffins were a wild card that turned out really well. For the batter, I ground fresh Tulsi basil leaves with my mortar and pestle and used oatstraw tea as the main liquid.
Rosemary has also been a fun one to experiment with. I've baked rosemary chocolate chip cookies, rosemary walnut  cupcakes with walnut frosting, and rosemary candied walnuts. All turned out delicious and things that I plan to make again.
As for cooking with herbs, I was on a veggie soup kick for several weeks in the winter, and my base always included a mix of fresh herbs from my garden. Thyme was a mainstay in it. I also made dressing with fresh sage.

I hadn't thought about using the leaves as a TP alternative! That'll be helpful since our outdoor "pee spot" is near a muscadine vine.

The raw muscadines make my mouth itch, but I can eat them cooked. I usually juice them for baking, reducing and concentrating the juice on the stovetop first. Our favorite uses after that are in muffins or quick breads or in soft granola bars. The golden ones (scuppernongs) add a fruity sweetness without an obvious grape-like flavor like the purple ones.

The first thing that jumped out to me was "the soil is terrible." That's where I'd start.
Nancy brought up some good questions, and those answers would determine what I'd do with the soil. If the soil isn't suitable for the plants you want to grow, then everything else will prove to be an uphill battle.

For example, wild blackberries have taken over where I want to eventually grow annual veggies. I *could* rip out the blackberries, add mulch, and plant annual veggies. But...all of those blackberries are telling me the soil is compacted, low in organic matter, and likely acidic. The soil in that area is conducive mostly for plants that can barrel through it, like the roots of blackberries. Annual veggies would suffer and die in that, and the blackberries would shoot straight through the mulch and nearly any barrier. For the moment, I'm cutting down the blackberries and adding as much organic matter as I can. Other "weeds" are starting to fill in so it's not a monocrop, and that's a good sign.

I'm interested in the concept! I have clay soil with low organic matter. In one spot, there used to be a pecan tree, but it blew over last year when hurricane winds came through. A mole had dug tunnels around the tree, and I think that weakened some of the roots to make it more susceptible to wind damage. Anyways, I planted a few things in that spot this year -- an elder bush, tomato, green beans, oats, kohl rabi, and watermelon. They're growing so much better than anything in my designated garden, especially the things planted directly over where the tree was. A significant amount of root was left in the ground, so I can only assume that's why the plants are doing so well.

Oak, sweet gum, and wild cherry trees are a large percentage of trees around me. I'm selectively letting a few grow in my food forest area, partly for temporary shade until the others fill in and partly to have their root mass when I'm ready to cut them down.

Thinking outside of the grocery store has helped my garden. We've allowed the grocery store to tell us what's considered food, yet they're limited to things that are easily grown on a large scale and will stay fresh for long enough on store shelves. Finding seeds from sources with a similar climate as me, native plants, or hardy "weedy" plants has been a game changer. Perhaps the cost is more upfront for the seeds when compared to collecting seeds from grocery store produce, but I find these plants needs less water, less fuss over pests, fewer soil amendments, etc. In the end, the cost and frustration are much less. In my area, purslane, lambs quarter, and chickweed are good eats that grow prolifically but are never found in a grocery store.

I don't know how true it is, but I remember a garden expert saying just urine and ash make a nearly perfect fertilizer (as long as your soil isn't too alkaline).
People buy blood meal, but a menstruating woman with a menstrual cup can easily collect the same thing. Don't know if you're comfortable adding that to your lesson, but it's certainly budget friendly...

Radishes -- If I don't pick them in time and they bolt, I use the green seed pods in my meals, like in soups or stir fries.

My daughter is too young for any of the troops, but the time is quickly approaching. I looked at Girl Scout troops recently, and it's just not what I want for her. I'd love something with a more outdoors/permaculture approach. I plan to homeschool her and am looking at ways to include badge-type stuff for it. Love seeing others ideas and how it could be implemented!

Sunny Kahlo wrote:Do you believe your hemoglobin resolved quickly with the Floradix? I am chronically anemic and I get iron infusions every year for the past 5 or 6 but they make me feel awful for a week after and I need 3 infusions over a month so that's a a long time of dealing with that. Plus they are very expensive. I asked my hematologist if I could try oral iron again and she is giving me 3 months to get my ferritin & hemoglobin higher. She said she would prescribe ferrous gluconate but when I picked it up at the pharmacy it was ferrous sulfate. When I asked, she said it was the same thing (which it obviously is not). So the trust has eroded a bit. Plus I have bad GI issues and reflux already. Your information is very helpful. How long did you steep  your nettle infusion and how much did you usually drink a day if you don't mind me asking?

That sounds rough! I can see why trust has eroded.some with your doctor. Do you have an idea what the root cause of your iron deficiency is? Without knowing that, it's so hard to address and correct... it's like continually trying to fill a bucket with a big hole in it. I've had several GI issues over the years as well, so I'm addressing that and liver health, and it seems that's been helping my body with iron absorption.

My hemoglobin had already raised to normal level before I started taking Floradix, but Floradix has been the only supplement so far to raise my iron and ferritin without causing more stomach problems. I hear good things about Mary Ruth's gummy iron from people who can't tolerate other iron very well, so I'm considering looking into that at some point, too. For now, I need the B vitamins that are in Floradix. For some people, the B vitamins in Floradix would be too much, so that's something to keep in mind.

I usually steep the nettle infusions in the fridge overnight. An internet search for Susun Weed's Nourishing Herbal Infusions can give you much more info about it. Many people who drink them go for a quart a day, but it usually takes me 2 days to drink a quart, and I'd have 1-2 per week. Nettles can be rather drying, so I also like it with a pinch of marshmallow root to balance that.

Have you tried a heme-based iron? Simply Heme is the one I see most often used, and I would have tried them but I can't swallow pills. I hope you find what helps you!

I agree, Ambrosia is great when I can find it. Otherwise, Pink Lady is my favorite and easier to access. I had an amazing Honeycrisp recently, but usually they don't live up to the hype for me. I grew up thinking I didn't like red apples because Red Delicious were the only ones offered to me. A crisp, juicy apple that's sweet yet tart is always my preference.

Chickweed is also my favorite weedy cover crop. For planting over winter, my favorites are red clover and oatstraw since I can use both in teas and such.