pattysplants's Blog

Let's Have A Tea Party
Feb 3, 2008 | 3:27 PM PST
Tag: herbs

Do tea parties still exist? I would have to say, “yes”. Tea parties may have changed in some areas of the country. They may not be as formal as the used to be, but do they really have to be. What are the reasons for a tea party anyway? There could be many reasons, from getting together to share stories, memories, to give comfort, even planning events or having an informal business meeting. When I was little I loved having tea parties with my mom. Having one on one “sharing” time with just my mom and me. I couldn’t wait to get out the special tiny set of china. I must have had and actually still have five little sets of china. My favorite one had a mama duck on the tea pot and all the cups had the baby chicks. I did the same thing with my daughter. She used a different china set for each tea party. Some of mine where pasted down to her as my mom gave me some of hers. My daughter would send out an invitation to meet up in her room. She would have everything set and ready to go. We would eat mini cookies and sip on lemonade . (her choice of beverage). As she got older, she would bring everything out to the garden while I was out weeding. She'd tell me I had to stop for a while because it was time for tea. These times she would bring the iced tea out & some very yummy breads. We would sit and talk about girlfriends, shopping and boys. Then we would count how many butterflies were in the garden. Good times, Good times!
Tea is also healthy for you. To help your immune system to better fight off colds and flu, drink tea. It can be an easy comforting way to relief your symptoms. They say healing comes from within so why not let tea help. Having “A Tea Party” is much like a flower luring a bee. Healthy plants release their scent( the volatile oils) to send signals to either attract or repel certain insects. The oil also helps a plant resist bacteria and viruses by acting like an antiseptic. When we make tea with herbs we are also releasing the volatile oils or organic compounds in a way to help prevent or counteract an unhealthy situation. Add green or black teas to your herbal tea for even more benefits. There was a Harvard study that showed people who drank 5 cups of tea a day (black or green) for two weeks transformed their t-cells into super cells that produced 10 times more cold fighting ability. Other germs like infected cuts & food poisoning were also defeated. Even drinking less than 5 cups helped.
Tea sales reached around 1.9 million last year with most of the sales in specialty teas. This is were herbal tea comes in. There are many herbal teas that are good for your health too. We can thank the “Daughters of Liberty” for starting us on herbal teas. During the days of the ‘Boston Tea Party’ the ladies made up their own teas using sage and other local plants, we call herbs. An herbal tea is actually called a tisane or herbal infusion. It doesn’t become a “real tea” unless you add some black, green or oolong tea to it. They all come from the tea plant– Camellia sinensis. So next time you want to have your daughter, granddaughter or even a friend over, think about a tea party for memories, comfort and health. Good Times X Good Times = Tea.

Save All Computer Work
Jan 11, 2008 | 2:48 PM PST
I have/had 12 years of garden files from pictures to gardening talks, articles etc.. I just wanted to say how important it is to save all your pictures and work on another computer in your home or on a disk. I shared my work computer at home with my 15 year old daughter. Can I just say we have a very nasty virus on it now. My husband took it to the computer hospital. It's been there almost a week now. I still don't know if any of my files are saved. I did save a few on my son's computer so not all is lost. But it just breaks my heart to know I may have lost years of work. I have an on-line help and advice gardening site which I've had to stop adding to for the moment just in case the rest of my files are recovered. TO think I might have to rewrite most of it is depressing. Totally my fault for thinking It couldn't happen to me. So please save all your pictures, stories etc. Don't let this happen to you.

Why not organic garden?
Dec 29, 2007 | 11:27 AM PST
Tag: Organic gardening

Organic gardening used to be thought of as a way of gardening only hippies did living in communes. Some people may still feel that way. Some people think it’s the only way to save the planet. That could be true. How many of you are already using organic or more natural ways of gardening? And how many would like to begin or cut down on the amounts of chemicals you use?
For those of you already gardening this way, I high five you. For those of you who haven’t started , I’m not going to tell you to give up the way you’ve been gardening completely but I do want to say that there are safer and healthier choices for dealing with pests, diseases and fertilizers. Especially when growing edible plants.
Millions of gardeners all over the world are just beginning to consider the methods of organic gardening, “going green”. I have been gardening this way since 1981. The year I was married. I was using all kinds of chemicals in my job because I had a restricted use pesticide license and chemicals were what my Boss at the time wanted me to use. But at home I could do what I believed in, a safer way to grow my veggies. At that time I was only growing and canning veggies. Now, I’m also the “Herb Lady” and have lots of herbs and a few perennials growing in my gardens. I’m still growing and canning veggies, mostly salsa and tomato sauces now. I’m also not going to say it’s the easiest way to garden. At least not right away. You have to be a little patient. Because after using chemicals for years the natural predators may have packed there bags and left your yard. The birds might not think you have the tastiest worms or bugs in the neighborhood. So at first you might think you have more bugs they you can deal with and be very tempted to get that bottle of spray out because it’s easier. I know we are all busy people and we want results right now. The trouble with that is the good bugs die along with the bad ones. It will take awhile to get the good bugs back to eat that next outbreak of bad bugs.
Organic gardening is just a simple way to work with nature instead of against it. When I started working in the business, the place I worked at had very few organic products (over 20 years ago) now they have quite a few. The biggest part about organic gardening is building the soil. A healthy garden lies in the soil. Good soil promotes healthy plants and healthy plants are less susceptible to pests and diseases. There are quite a lot of safer controls out there now. We just need to use them or try other avenues like companion planting. So why not think about an organic garden this year. Happy, Healthy Gardening To All.

Why Use Worm Castings? Because It Works!
Dec 20, 2007 | 10:41 AM PST

 

I put worm castings in everything I plant. When I plant my veggies, I put some in the hole before planting. My tomatoes always had better flavor than any one else's (so I was told by my friends). If my houseplants needed repotting I always put a couple handfuls in with the potting mix. Sometimes I would just top dress my plants with the castings. In a container garden it’s a must for me. When I was in the greenhouse business I used it when repotting all the houseplants and containers for my customers. I had a customer that wanted me to plant his annual container for the first time one year. He said his just doesn’t grow well or look good anymore when he does it. I told him I’d use my secret ingredient, a little black gold. I told him it would be the best container he ever grew. He just laughed and said, “We’ll see”. Later that summer he brought in pictures. He said,” Patty, I’ve got to tell you whatever that was that you put into my container I loved it.” “I have to know what it was.” He told me it was the best container he ever had! He said his neighbor had the same plants in his container and his looked awful. I showed him the worm castings and told him it was a natural organic soil builder and fertilizer. That it gets your plants off to a good start and it also stays in the soil for your plants to drink it up when they need it. I had quite a few customers that would never leave without it after they tried it just once. I sold a lot of organic or natural products over the years. Thinking back on it now, I have been “going green” for the last 27 years and it makes me happy to know there’s a new generation that is learning all about “going green” today.

Purchasing Plants in the Winter
Nov 24, 2007 | 4:47 PM PST

Plants don’t like cold. They don’t have body heat like we do and we wear coats. You must never take them outside in the winter without some kind of protection. The cover only helps to keep the wind and chill off temporally. I know that sounds like common sense to us gardening enthusiasts. But I have been at shops were the customer is walking out the door in 15 degree temperature and no one has stopped them. I usually start telling them to "Go back and ask for a bag, it’s to cold out for that plant." Of coarse, they look at me like I’m crazy. I’m usually with my mom who is always saying "Let them go they’ll find out." I can’t save every plant but I can try. If the shop your at doesn’t offer you a bag, ask for one. Please don’t leave them in the car in the winter even with the protective covering on unless you have the heat on. Leaving your plants to do more shopping will surely damage or kill them once the temperature in the car dips. This can happen in less than 5 minutes when it’s freezing out here in the Mid-West. When you get them home take off the cover as soon as possible to prevent any more stress to your plants. Remember they are alive just as much as you and me. I know you don’t want to waste your money or time going back to purchase another one. If your giving it as a gift a few days after you purchased it please put in a bag or use the plant sleeve they came in (if they gave you one) to take them to their final destination. You don’t want to give a beautiful plant to someone only to have it die on them an hour later. Spread the word when you're out shopping and see the same thing happening. We must save those plants if we can. Thank you. Happy Holidays to all.