BYC gardening thread!!

[Wendy High]

The only thing I asked for for Christmas was some bees wax!  I intend to use it to make some lotions and potions.  One recipe I want to try is a concoction of Jewel weed and plantain to make a salve to treat poison ivy.

Well, I gave an ovation for post but it is not showing up. Says ovation added. Not sure. Tried 3 or 4 times. So may have multiple ovates from me on this post.

I am highley allergic to poison ivy. I would be very interested if potion works. Once you get bees wax, keep us posted.

 

[ChickenQuail007]

A wild patunia




Holy basil.


My pride and joy, a pineapple guava seedling I started form a fruit off my tree.


I started some more artichokes.

It's a nice flower!

 

[jerryse]

Checked my mulberry grafts yesterday . They are putting out callous tissue . So some should take . I have had trouble getting them to take . It seems they need more heat to heal than other fruit trees . Always did summer bud grafts . This is a wild selection . I have not had any luck with hardwood cuttings . So I dug down and got roots and grafted scion onto its own roots . Root cutting did not send up any sprouts last year .

 

[Arielle]

Love how you think LG. Son just yesterday had the welts on his forearm that screamed poison ivy. Had him wash up asap, dump all clothes and take full shower to prevent spreading the oil......tis the season for poison ivy and usually it is the animals that give it to us humans...lol

We made grafting wax a few days ago starting with a parafin wax that is very hard and brittle at room temps so with a bit of reading learned to change that by adding products that softened the wax like coconut oil and petroleum jelly. We were very happy awith the mix having a better softness. For a lip balm I would rather go the route you are taking and start with bees wax...... and add coconut oil.... not sure what the substitute for the petroleum jelly would be but I sure liked the effect of the medium chains in the mixture.

Was looking at the rare seed catalog yesterday and there are so very many herbal plants available to us now....sure wish I had better knowledge. Might start with stevia just to get the ball rolling.

 

[lazy gardener]

Well, I gave an ovation for post but it is not showing up. Says ovation added. Not sure. Tried 3 or 4 times. So may have multiple ovates from me on this post.

I am highley allergic to poison ivy. I would be very interested if potion works. Once you get bees wax, keep us posted.

I have the bees wax. But Jewel weed does not come into full glory until late summer. Plantain is all over the place, and that by it'self is supposed to be a great skin soother. If you do a google search, I'm sure you should be able to find a recipe. It's made up of a tincture of olive oil, with the plantain and JW, with melted bees wax added in, if I remember. I've never made any home made product like this before, so it will be a learning experience. Love my home made laundry detergent though!!

Checked my mulberry grafts yesterday . They are putting out callous tissue . So some should take . I have had trouble getting them to take . It seems they need more heat to heal than other fruit trees . Always did summer bud grafts . This is a wild selection . I have not had any luck with hardwood cuttings . So I dug down and got roots and grafted scion onto its own roots . Root cutting did not send up any sprouts last year .

Interesting. Be sure to keep us posted.

 

[Arielle]

Checked my mulberry grafts yesterday . They are putting out callous tissue . So some should take . I have had trouble getting them to take . It seems they need more heat to heal than other fruit trees . Always did summer bud grafts . This is a wild selection . I have not had any luck with hardwood cuttings . So I dug down and got roots and grafted scion onto its own roots . Root cutting did not send up any sprouts last year .

Good luck with those new grafts!!! The remaining three mulberries I have have not woken up yet but then only the lilacs are leafing out ......still too early here.

 

[lazy gardener]

It's exciting to see that ALL of my orchard trees have survived their first winter.

 

[dan26552]

@dan26552

Wonder if you could take a clone cutting after fruit season?

I've been trying to root cuttings off it for the last 3 years with no success.

Very nice Dan. I am spying on my turnips, they are bigger and bigger every day

but please oh please we need rain!
Btw is someone crazy like me about growing herbs and using them in teas for cold and flu,tummy aches ect? My grandmas and grand grandmas were great with this stuff. It was very popular back in the days in Europe and still is.
I think that mother nature is phenomenal and absolutely brilliant. Nothing better in the world !

Thanks.

 

[jerryse]

Here are my Bluebells . White ones too . I started these from a friend . They grow wild in my woods .

 

[dan26552]

Here are my Bluebells . White ones too . I started these from a friend . They grow wild in my woods .

Pretty!