Kiko Constantinescu

I responsibly wildcrafted blue cohosh from a very large stand last autumn and made a tincture of the dried herb 1:5 as I thought I would need it for a patient who ended up not needing it. I would like to see if anyone could use this tincture and ideally I'd love to trade for a tincture of fresh thuja which is seldom seen here in GA.

What about just covering the greenhouse with some shade cloth ?

Eric Hanson wrote:
The most difficult weed for me though is Johnson Grass.  The stuff is incredibly resilient!  It grows by rhizomes and by seed, so it spreads easily.  I am pretty sure that it is a C4 plant as it grows very fast, thrives in drought.  And I really mean it THRIVES during drought periods.  Every other grass will turn yellow and then brown, but Johnson Grass is green and lush.  Mowing slows it down, but I have no idea how to get rid of the stuff.

It's a chore for sure. I've found that pulling by the root before it sets seed is critical and fortunately its not that difficult to do. You'll find that after a few years this reduces its vigor. You really have to stay on top of it before it sets seed because each flowering head can produce like 80,000 seeds and they'll stay in the soil bank for years apparently. Truly a tough customer.

I thinkkk they'd be okay with the heat as long as their roots have a steady supply of moisture. They naturalize in areas like creek sides, ditches, banks etc. Anywhere where the water is and the soil is fairly rich.

Check here for all the info you could ever want about nettle reproduction.

There's a lot of good guides out there but the most succinct and useful I've found is Excalibur's booklet.

Here's a pdf

or

in print

Growing clary sage for the first time. Currently in year 2 and is in flower.
The issue is the plants are not nearly as fragrant as they were in year one. You could smell them 100' away and now just the flowers have a barely perceptible clary sage smell and nothing from the foliage. They are otherwise super vibrant and healthy looking.
I'm disappointed because I wanted to make an essential oil from them but without the volatile compounds, the yield probably won't be worth it.

My question for clary growers: Is this par the course for clary sage to lose its fragrance in year two? If not I'd be curious to hear what the change could be caused by.

<3

edit: A reputable source informed me that clary sage leaves do not carry the perfume odor of the plant and that the blossoms are all that is used.. So I'm even more curious now why my foliage was so fragrant in year one of the biennial cycle...

There's a remedy mentioned by late herbalist Michael Moore in his materia medica :

"CLEMATIS (Virgin's Bower) [Clematis virginiana]
Frontal and migraine headaches with sweaty neck and forehead, not responding or no
longer affected by vasoconstrictor medicines; a vasodilator to disperse local
inflammation.
RECENT HERB. Tincture [1:5, 50% alcohol] 10-40 drops, to 3X a day. Standard Infusion, 2-6 ounces, to 2X a day. Tincture [1:5, 50% alcohol] 10-40 drops, to 3X a day.
CONTRA: Vasculitis, pregnancy; should not be used concurrent with other
medications."



Have not used it personally but Michael Moore's work is well respected. All of his work is public domain via swsbm.com

<3