Laurie Burton

Loofah Seeds Edible?

I can't find information online about loofah (luffa) seeds. I have the smooth, not spiney kind. Can someone tell if there seeds are edible? If course they are inside the fruit cooked like a zucchini, but I'm thinking dried and roasted like pumpkin seeds? They produce way more seeds than I need for replanting every year, and it seems a shame to waste them. Thanks for any tips.

Dry enough parsely leaf to make a tea, infusion, or decoction

We love parsley and grew it in several places around the garden this spring. ¡Muy delicioso!

Jennifer Richardson wrote:This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in Natural Medicine.

For this BB, you will harvest, dry, and store enough parsely leaf to make a tea, infusion or decoction.

To show you've completed this Badge Bit, you must post:
- a picture of the fresh herb being harvested
- a picture of your herbs drying (hanging, in a dehydrator, in a bag, etc.)
- a picture of your herbs in a sealed and labelled container, with the label indicating where the herbs came from, the method of drying, and the date

I used to use the more common method of darning, but I found it wasn't stretchy and would sometimes tear out, so I started filling the opening with crochet instead. I find it's more comfortable and more durable as long as the whip stitching is deep enough.

Dave Luke wrote:For the dry foraging  badge it says cherries are fine, but does it count to dry and grind the pits for flour? And would I count the weight from cherries off the tree or pitts?

I would research this. I think I read recently that cherry pits are toxic.

Ferment Something

I made 2½ quarts of pickled beets from my garden (I think I need to pour the red beets into two quart jars, though, because they're close to overflowing). Two jars are cylindra beets, one is chioggia. I used the pickled beet recipe from Nourishing Traditions, but to the red beets, I added picking spices, cloves, and cinnamon.

Volunteers in my garden.

I don't do anything in particular to encourage any of them, other than let them grow once they appear.

Going to try for my first BB here! I know this is straw level, but that's what's going on in my garden right now.

Opalyn Rose wrote:

Every badge is different and it ranges from 3 in gardening to over a dozen in food and nest. Some badges have a specific list of required badge bits while others have a long list that you need to pick a certain number (any 5 in animal care) or complete  5 points (metalwork). Reviewing the badge pages can give you insight.

Yes, after reading more of the badge activities, I think I see now. Thank you!!

Mike Haasl wrote:Give this a read and check out the badges and it should make sense:  All about SKIP

Thank you, I explored the link extensively and bookmarked it for future reference - it looks very useful. But I'm still not clear how many BB are needed to earn each badge.

Mike Haasl wrote:Hello SKIPpers, let's try something.  If you're looking at a BB and need clarification on a requirement, try posting in this thread to get an answer.

Super excited about the program! I have a general question about how to earn BB and badges. I see that we can choose, for example, 16 of the 22 available optional badges to complete the PEP1 program. But how many BB do we do to earn a badge? Thank you.