Written by Margaretha Haughwout | 14 July 2010

"Borage, White," Photo by Zoey Kroll, March 22, 2008

B Is for Borage: Edible Flower for Courage

B is for borage, a much loved plant, not only for its lovely action on the adrenals, but for its beauty and value in the garden. For the past two years, I’ve harvested borage from the garden, dried it on a rack in a dark, dry room, and the bottled it in a jar for use in tea. I use all the arial parts of the plant: the flowers, stem, and leaves. This is good medicine for grief and depression, especially when it’s come from overtaxed adrenals—basically exhaustion. Anne McIntyre notes that borage is especially good when the adrenals are compromised from the use of steroids.

READ MORE AT BITTER PATTERN...

Alphabet Garden: Pick a Letter and Plant with Us!

Initiated by Edible Office eco-superhero Zoey Kroll, the Alphabet Garden is an open collaboration celebrating garden actions from A-to-Z. Each week we will focus on two letters of the alphabet. We'll have a planting and picnic party on 10/10/10, the day of 350.org's Global Work Party. Everyone is welcome to participate in the project by picking a letter of the alphabet and doing an interpretive planting, cooking, homesteading, or creative action. Learn more, participate, follow, and share at Flickr, Tumblr, and 350.org. Stay tuned for more about this exciting project!

Written by Amanda Leigh Morrison | 13 July 2010

"Hayes Valley Farm," Photo by Zoey Kroll, May 4, 2010

I recently published an article about the small things we can do in our everyday urban lives to increase our conscious relationship to the healing elements of nature while still living in the city. Participating in urban and community farms is number one on my list.

Practices to Help You Access the Healing Power of Nature in the City

In just over 200 years, the percentage of people living in urban settings worldwide has gone from 3% to more than 50%. As our population continues to increase exponentially, so too will the number of those of us living in cities. Large cities and megalopolises seem to be the wave of the future. In just a blip on the Universal time scale, we have gone from a species that lives in close proximity to the wild and pastoral landscapes that we co-evolved with, to one that is confounded at even the simplest of natural phenomena. For most of us living in developed countries, we have forgotten where our food comes from (the soil of the earth, not the aisles in the supermarket); we have lost track of the cycles of the sun and the moon; we have forgotten that many medicines grow wild in our own backyards; and we are less likely to look to the earth for insight, solace, and inspiration.

READ MORE AT HOLOS INSTITUTE...

Written by Dash Peters | 12 July 2010

Today we planted barley, basil, beets, vaguero beans, bronze minionette and bean pole kentucky wonder. The vaguero beans look like bean-shaped cows.

Dash plants B for Beans, Photo by Zoey Kroll, July 11, 2010

Written by Margaretha Haughwout | 11 July 2010

"Margaretha and Achillea," Photo by Zoey Kroll, Juy 8, 2010

A Is for Achillea: Wounds, Flare-Ups, and Bugs

Achillea, or yarrow, is blooming in San Francisco right now. I harvested a few different Achillea Millefolium cultivars from Hayes Valley Farm this week. A “Moonshine” and a pink. According to most herbalists I’ve consulted, these cultivars aren’t as medicinal as the white, wild yarrow that grows in meadows, along road, and many border areas across North America. Rosemary Gladstar does note that in Switzerland the pink yarrow is considered to be the most medicinal yarrow, and indeed this is the most common yarrow that grows in Switzerland. I am interested in updating and expanding our knowledge of A. Millefolium cultivars. In the 21st century, and particularly in the urban setting, where we have to make due with the seeds we have, the plants that have been given to us, where so much exchange has taken place, it seems we should take note of the other varieties and cultivars; perhaps they have specific values that have been overlooked, or that have been genetically developing in particular local contexts.

READ MORE AT BITTER PATTERN...

Alphabet Garden: Pick a Letter and Plant with Us!

Initiated by Edible Office eco-superhero Zoey Kroll, the Alphabet Garden is an open collaboration celebrating garden actions from A-to-Z. Each week we will focus on two letters of the alphabet. We'll have a planting and picnic party on 10/10/10, the day of 350.org's Global Work Party. Everyone is welcome to participate in the project by picking a letter of the alphabet and doing an interpretive planting, cooking, homesteading, or creative action. Learn more, participate, follow, and share at Flickr, Tumblr, and 350.org. Stay tuned for more about this exciting project!

Written by Booka | 10 July 2010