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 Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 4:07 am
What are some of your favorite herbs for cooking, and healing? Do they even exist? And what would be ideal growing conditions?
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Posted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 6:58 am
Garlic. Definately garlic. It's been hailed as a cure-all and there's some decent scientific evidence that there's truth to that folk wisdom as well. When I cook I like to use garlic in just about everything. Mostly because it tastes yummy. Heh.
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Posted: Sun Jun 25, 2006 8:40 pm
Starlock Garlic. Definately garlic. It's been hailed as a cure-all and there's some decent scientific evidence that there's truth to that folk wisdom as well. When I cook I like to use garlic in just about everything. Mostly because it tastes yummy. Heh. Oh, definitely. And in my case, mint. I have three mints that I keep- chocolate, peppermint, and catmint (catnip, more commonly). They can soothe nearly any upset. ^_^ Stressed, upset tummy, ate too much? Mint can fix it up!
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Posted: Wed Jul 19, 2006 12:00 pm
Ah, so catmint IS catnip. I was wondering about that. My mom and I recently started an herb garden, (mainly for cooking) and we were going to get catmint, but we were wondering if our cat would attack it if it really was catnip. ^^
Besides making cats crazy, what are some common uses for catnip? What do you use it for?
And to answer Koiyuki, I like to use parsley and basil.
1) They're yummy.
2) If ground up they can help with acne spots. Which is much cheaper than buying that crap at the drugstore.
3) They're actually quite versatile.
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Posted: Fri Jul 21, 2006 3:03 pm
Catmint, catnip, catnep... they're all the same thing. It's a really good children's mint sedative, actually- for some reason, it's very calming to children (and adults, too). And she probably won't -attack- it, but she'll nibble and roll in it. XD
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Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 11:13 pm
Aloe vera is a personal favorite of mine.
Good on burns, for dry skin, and smooth hair.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2006 8:33 pm
AisilnnTheoron Aloe vera is a personal favorite of mine. Good on burns, for dry skin, and smooth hair. I find that I can't use it so much on my housemate... he's very.... >> Furry. XD So aloe really bugs him, since it slicks and glues his hair down.
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Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2006 11:17 am
Kyoki Marie AisilnnTheoron Aloe vera is a personal favorite of mine. Good on burns, for dry skin, and smooth hair. I find that I can't use it so much on my housemate... he's very.... >> Furry. XD So aloe really bugs him, since it slicks and glues his hair down. LOL! Poor critter.
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Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2006 2:54 pm
AisilnnTheoron Kyoki Marie AisilnnTheoron Aloe vera is a personal favorite of mine. Good on burns, for dry skin, and smooth hair. I find that I can't use it so much on my housemate... he's very.... >> Furry. XD So aloe really bugs him, since it slicks and glues his hair down. LOL! Poor critter. *giggles* Critter? I'm not sure he'd be pleased to be called a critter. XD Although I can imagine his face, and it makes me laugh. *giggles* He's a member of the guild, although he never comes in. I've recently discovered that I adore chamomile. Auron has trouble sleeping some nights, and a cup of tea knocks him right out.
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Posted: Wed Aug 23, 2006 2:01 am
i'm trully jealous that chamomlie tea works for your friend! i love drinking it, but it doesn't seem to have any sedative effect on me. Ginger is another fabulous cure-all, great for calming/prevention of nausea of any form, and also meant to boost cilculation and possibly fight od colds too 3nodding Shame it's a tropical plant, BUT i did look it up before posting and it saying it can be grown easily indoors in the UK during the summer months, so that should be the same for any temperate climate 3nodding Quote: Ginger - grow it
Ginger is a low-growing tropical plant which is easily grown indoors during the summer months in the UK. You can grow ginger plants from green ginger which you buy from supermarkets, although you are not likely to produce a big crop of rhizhomes.
Growing outdoors in the tropics, it needs a minimum annual rainfall of 150cm, temperatures of 30°C or over, a short dry season and a deep fertile soil. It usually takes nine months to produce a crop.
Hardiness
Best grown as an annual in the UK. Cannot be grown outdoors even in the hottest part of summer: minimum temperature around 28°C.
Propagation
Grown from the end 'finger' pieces broken off a root or 'hand' of ginger. Existing ginger plants can be divided and the roots grown on, although they are difficult to keep alive during the UK winter because of low light levels.
Cultivation
In early spring or late winter, find some fresh ginger in the shops. Choose fingers which have a shoot bud developing - this looks like a small pyramidal horn at the end of the root - and cut off at least 5cm from this bud.
Bury the finger bud upwards in a 20cm pot of loam-based compost. Keep warm and constantly moist during the growing season. Move to a larger pot as the plant grows, (ultimately you might need a 35cm diameter pot if your ginger is growing very well.)
Once the ginger has started to grow, feed every two to three weeks with a general pot-plant feed.
In the autumn, reduce the watering and let the pots dry out, which will encourage the plants to form rhizhomes. Lift the rhizhomes carefully and use in cooking.
Pests
Usually healthy, although red spider mite can be an occasional problem. Increasing the humidity by misting plants twice daily with warm water helps discourage these pests. WOW, i want to grow some right now! Shame it's the wrong time of the year now, but i'm DEFINITELY going to try it next Spring 3nodding
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Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 9:24 pm
Auron is my RL husband. XD Ennosuke is our roommate... erm... housemate. Whatever. XD
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Posted: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:49 pm
My most favorite edible and medicinal plants are ginger, garlic, fennel, calendula, mint, chili peppers, lemon balm, chamomile, wintergreen, and nettle.
fennel/anise/sweet cicely! great for the digestion, and yummy to munch on. My 4 year olf neice LOVES nibbling on fennel plants! xd lemon balm is good for digestion too.
Calendula is wholly edible and is good for skin. The young leaves and flower petals are great in salads!
Hot peppers are great for sore throats, and general health.
wintergreen is good for aching muscles and fresh breath!
nettle is a good overall health promoter, as it's packed with vitamins and minerals. Just pick it with gloves on!
FYI:
aloe should not be taken internally unless under doctor supervision. It can harm if you're sensitive or it's excessive.
There are many species of Nepeta (catnip/catmint) and each species is more or less ornamental or attractive to cats. I use catnip to mean Nepeta cataria and catmint to mean any of the other Nepetas. I believe this is a common usage of the terms. Google "catnip" and nearly all the pages will be about Nepeta cataria. Catnip is the most attractive to cats and the most medicinal, though catmints make good teas too.
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Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 10:46 pm
*Warning*
Do not plant Catnip (if you have a cat) near any other plants..LOL I did this and my cat trampled, rolled, and dug up everything because she was trying to get at my catnip! I was growing it for her so i can make her toys but she couldn't wait!
My favourite herbs would be ginger, garlic, mint, thyme, and rosemary for cooking! I have a large pot in my house to grow my herbs! I have lots of snow outside my house so i had to start an indoor garden!
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Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:53 pm
The neighbor cat crushed my catnip into dust. crying
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Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 8:59 pm
Kyoki Marie The neighbor cat crushed my catnip into dust. crying Awww! I know how you feel. Catnip needs to be put up or hidden somewhere where no cats go!
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