Bonzai Aphrodite » DIY

Wildcrafting In Winter (Featuring White Beans with Wild Weeds)

Sayward — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 07:15:53 +0000

“Wildcrafting” describes the practice of harvesting plants from their natural environment, for use in food and medicine. It’s something I’ve always loved, and it’s something I look forward to learning more about.

This past weekend we went wildcrafting with a small group of friends, in a nearby woodland. And despite the drought, and despite the fact that’s it’s December, we were able to find some wild edibles. Treasures . . .

California Bay Laurels produce leaves which are larger, and much more pungent, than the Mediterranean Bay that’s usually sold dried in stores.

Fuzzy giant wild sage.

And epazote, growing right up out of the creek. Epazote! That’s when I knew we had to make beans . . .

So, once we were back home, we turned our small but precious winter wildcrafting haul into a delicious meal: stewed white beans with epizote, California bay, and wild sage.

~~~

Just a quick note: I know I’ve been super MIA around here lately, and I apologize for that. This quarter will probably go down as the busiest, most maddening quarter of my Master’s career (oh gawd I hope!). And I’ll be back here soon – hopefully next week – to share a little bit more of what we’ve been up to over the past few months. In the meantime, I hope you all are enjoying the end of 2014!

♥ ♥ ♥

Eco-Friendly DIY: Homegrown Luffa

Sayward — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 06:26:07 +0000

Success! By far my favorite garden project of 2014, and a tutorial so easy it barely needs words. We planted sponges in our back yard and they totally grew. It worked! Amazing.

Like so:

A pair of seeds planted in a wine box under the jacaranda tree, with a hand-knotted twine trellis.

A little compost here and there.

Grow baby grow!

Luffa gourds look a bit like a cucumber, but they take a lot longer to mature. These guys sprouted in early spring but weren’t close to ready until early fall.

Un-trellised and moved to the back table to finish off. They like to dry out completely on the vine.

And when they’re totally dry, they’ll be light as a feather and shakey like a rattle.

Smash ‘em with a stick!

And peel off the shell.

And there you have it, a homegrown sponge to use for your shower, your housework, or your kitchen sink. Seriously, could it possibly get more natural, more eco-friendly, more sustainable than that?

Oh yeah wait, it could!

Don’t forget to save the seeds for next year!

Growing my own luffa sponges is definitely something I’ll be doing annually, forevermore. And I hope you’ll consider doing it too. If you want to order your own luffa seeds, I highly recommend the fine folks over at Baker Creek – keepers of heirloom seed strains. They’re good people and very much worth supporting.

♥ Cheers! ♥