Cold Sores

As if one weren’t enough, I have two huge cold sores on my lip. My normal procedure for cold sores is to take vitamin C, vitamin B and apply a lip balm that I made that contains lemon balm infused oil. Although I did that yesterday it has gotten worse. Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus. This virus will reside in a dormant state in the nerve tissue. In the case of cold sores on the lips the virus is typically in the trigeminal nerve ganglion (a collection of nerve cell bodies). For some unknown reasons this virus will travel down the nerve to the skin and start to replicate there cause fluid filled vesicles. Things that trigger these outbreaks include stress, sunshine, menstruation, injury or an immune deficiency. In my case it is typically stress that causes a cold sore. In the past few weeks I have been busy planting Nanking cherries, choke cherries, roses, lavender, cedar trees, roses, raspberries and some miscellaneous herbs. I am also finishing up teaching for the semester and getting grades done. Then the normal animal care and family activities that increase towards the end of the school year. Together, these and unnamed things have caused me a little stress.

Since this cold sore has gotten worse overnight I think I will have to do more than my normal regimen. Although there are antiviral drugs available to treat herpes, there have also been an increasing number of resistant viruses as a result of this. I would hate to think that virus’s will develop this life threatening condition that has occurred in bacteria due to overuse of antibiotics. I will pass on the antiviral drugs and try some other herbal treatments I don’t normally use. Perhaps I will apply lavender oil to the sore or Echinacea extract. I might also drink lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) tea or sage tea and have some garlic toast (my favorite cold remedy). I may use myrrh essential oil to relieve the pain as well. And what about relaxing a little? It’s a somewhat rainy day today which decreases what I can do outside so maybe I’ll sit around with my cup of lemon balm/sage tea for awhile.

130 plants

The local conservation district here sells small seedling plants cheap to people with acreage to use as wind blocks or other screens. These are the plants I bought in the back of my pickup truck. They include 50 nanking cherries, 50 choke cherries and 30 red cedars. We got these last week and planting them is taking a bit of my time! It may take a few years for them to actually do any good but don't they say the person who plants a tree believes in the future!

Springtime in the Rockies

I've been meaning to take some pictures of some spring growth around my place. I thought I'd better do it now as we are under a winter storm warning and my plants may be burried tomorrow under a foot of snow. Here are my chives, clary sage and spring bulbs. As I upload these images the hail has begun! Perhaps I will take pictures tomorrow of the snow.

Basil Benefits

Basil is one of my favorite herbs and I hope to have a good supply of it this summer. Enough to be able to distill, make pesto, and eat fresh with garden tomatoes and mozzarella. I sometimes don’t do well getting basil started from seed because I don’t water enough. I’ve been more successful at this by putting seeds in a large pot, watering and covering that pot with plastic wrap. This helps keep the moisture in and the seed soon sprouts. This year I have dug a small ditch, filled that ditch with horse manure, planted seed there. I covered that with a small plastic covered hoop until the weather warms up. I am hoping that this will allow me some early basil before I start my larger garden.

While I was researching basil (Ocimum) for an Herb Companion article I came across some interesting information on this aromatic herb.

1. Basil has been found to attenuate the stress response to excess noise in rats. This ability to help the body respond to stress is probably due to the wide variety of antioxidants found in basil which inclde flavonoids, phenols and carotenoids.

2. Human hair as well as sheep hair (wool) can fertilize basil increasing its growth. Next time you get a hair cut, work a little of the hair into your soil. Hair is a protein and so it is high in nitrogen. I’m wondering if my horse’s hair will also be beneficial.

3. Basil protects against harmful effects of ionizing radiation. This may provide protection to healthy, non-cancerous cells during radiation treatment for cancer or protect your skin from the sun.

4. Basil can help normalize blood glucose levels and thus prevent insulin resistance for borderline diabetics. Eat basil with high protein mozzarella cheese and whole grain bread and that’s even better for diabetics.

5. The shelf life of high protein food such as tofu can be extended with basil. This study was done in India where refrigeration is not as common in rural areas.

6. Basil contains antioxidants that can protect against damage to DNA resulting in mutations. It also protects against oxidative stress from a variety of sources. This important benefit protects us from free radicals that arise from environmental sources as well as within our own body. In this way it acts as an ‘adaptogenic’ herb.

7. Basil can help the skin in wound healing and may prevent formation of scars. Go ahead, rub it on!

8. Basil is anti-inflammatory agent and can decrease heat and swelling of an injured area making it a potential treatment for arthritis.

9. Basil has potential applications to lower blood pressure.

10. Basil is both antibacterial and anti-parasitic having action against Staph aureus and Giardia. It may also be active against mosquitoes.

11. Basil can inhibit growth of breast cancer cells in the lab and thus may provide anticancer activity in the diet. Is that enough reason to plant extra basil?

St. Pat's Day and mint syrup

We woke up to a few inches of snow on St. Patrick’s Day today. It should be just what those dormant plants need to get started though. We’ve just desodded a small area for our vegetable garden so as soon as this snow melts I will be planting my peas and lettuce.

A few weeks ago I bought a small mint plant from my local nursery so that I could have something green in the house. Now it’s grown to a usable size. Last night we made a mint syrup by first mixing a simple syrup (2 parts sugar, 1 part water) and put about a tablespoon of fresh chopped mint leaves into the syrup after it boiled; leaving them there while it cooled. This made a very nice syrup to use in a drink. We mixed about one part syrup with 3 parts soda water and lots of ice. Its also good with a squirt of lemon juice. This is our St. Patricks Day drink this year; well at least for the morning because I am sure we will have some Irish whiskey come evening!

In honor of St. Patrick’s day here is one of my favorite blessings:

Deep peace of the running waves to you.

Deep peace of the flowing air to you.

Deep peace of the smiling stars to you.

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you.

Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.

Old Irish Prayer

May Saints. Brighid, Brendan and Patrick guide you on your way.

New Bacteria Found in Toiletries

If you are a small (or large) producer of skin care or toiletries products here are examples of why it is important to test cosmetic samples for the presence of bacteria and fungus.

Researchers in Japan recently identified a new species of bacteria that was isolated from hairspray. The new bacteria is named Microbacterium hatanonis. This bacteria is related to another bacterium, Microbacterium oxydans previously isolated from hospital material. Scientists do not have enough information to know if this new bacteria species is pathogenic, but similar bacteria have not been found to infect humans. It is however a gram-positive, rod shaped bacterium. The original research was published this month in the International Journal of Systemic and Evolutionary Microbiology.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080307110337.htm

Another more serious case of a contaminated cosmetic product occurred in 2006 in the intensive care unit of a Barcelona hospital. Five patients there developed infections of Burkholderia cepacia that were traced to a moisturizing lotion used in patient care. In this case the infections ranged from bacteremia, lower respiratory tract infection and urinary tract infection. Infections of this type can be life threatening for severely ill patients.
http://www.newsmax.com/health/cosmetics_fatal_ill/2008/01/31/68943.html

It is not common for cosmetics to be contaminated with bacteria or fungus but it does happen. This contamination at times can be a threat to human health as well as damage the product integrity. Microbes can be introduced into a product during manufacturing from the air or equipment that comes in contact with the product, it can be present in one of the ingredients of the product, or it can be introduced into the product by the consumer. Preservatives used in a product should be able to inhibit bacteria or fungus that do occur naturally in a product as well as those introduced by the consumer.

In 1989 the FDA randomly tested department store cosmetics products and found that over 5% were seriously contaminated with a variety of microorganisms. Don’t let your product be one of them. Sagescript Institute offers microbiology testing.

Spring Kick Off & Herb Talk

Are you wondering what herbs to plant this year? I will be talking at Echter’s Garden Center and Greenhouse this Saturday from 10:30-11:00 on growing and using herbs. Echter’s will kick off spring with their annual Echxpo on March 7, 8, & 9. There will be continuous talks given by plant and gardening experts Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Representatives from a variety of gardening and plant companies as well as special interest groups including the Herb Society of America will also be on hand to answer questions.

My talk is entitled “Making the Most of Herbs”. I will focus on some common herbs and introduce you to a variety of uses for them including culinary, skin care, medicinal and crafting. I will include information on Calendula, herb of the year as well as chamomile, oregano, thyme and more. After attending Echxpo you will be ready to get your hands dirty! It may be too early to plant, but its never too early to plan.

Echter’s is located at 52nd and Garrison in Arvada, Colorado. For more information visit http://www.echters.com/.

Doomsday Vault Opens

In the far northern reaches of the Norwegian arctic in an area called Svalbard the world is entrusting the preservation of stock seeds of its major food crops. If you’ve ever wondered how the world might recover from an Armageddon type of catastrophe this is part of it. Hopefully we will not suffer the effects of nuclear war, political turmoil or climatic upheaval, but if we do there will be over 6.5 million different cultivars of crops properly stored that can be retrieved from the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. In today’s move towards genetically engineered crops there may also come a time when genetic diversity decreases to the point where these stored seeds can be a mainstay.

The vault officially opened today with stockpiling of a variety of grains and legumes weighing in at 11 tons and representing 92 different crops. Stockpiling will continue for several years with crop seed being supplied by plant breeding facilities most located at universities. It is impressive to see world governments coming together to work on such a project.

The vault is maintained by the Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT). The GCDT was established through a partnership between the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research as an independent organization to ensure conservation and availability of crop diversity. Genetic diversity is an important scientific concept especially when it comes to crops. Diversity ensures that there are a diversity of crops adapted to a variety of growing conditions. I only hope that the vault also contains a variety of herbs because in the case of “doomsday” these will be of utmost importance. But we should also all make sure that we are saving seeds from crops such as herbs that are of importance to us as well. If doomsday does come our lives will depend upon herbal medicines. You can read more about the vault here:
http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080226/full/news.2008.623.html

An Herb Magazine

This time of year gardeners like me can get pretty anxious waiting for spring to arrive. Here in the Rocky Mountain state spring can be very elusive; one day its warm the next day we could get 3 feet of snow. Besides perusing seed catalogues I suggest you download a sample copy of The Essential Herbal magazine. This is not one of those glossy, fluff filled magazines written by writers who like herbs, rather it is written by herb enthusiasts who like to write. You can be assured that the articles are written by herbies for other herbies and that the suggestions are tried and true not something pulled out of a hat. I count the editor, Tina Sams as a friend and she is someone overflowing with good ideas. This magazine sample is sure to keep you busy until planting time with good ideas, recipes and even a crossword puzzle. Heck, if you like it you can even order a subscription to it to keep you with ideas all year round. And if you're lucky, you might even read an article I wrote.
You can download your free sample here:
http://www.essentialherbal.com/March%20April%202007.pdf

On another note, Tina has collected a group of us herb enthusiasts to blog on a common blog. You can check it out at http://merryblogsters.blogspot.com/.

Valentine's Day Sugar Herb Hearts

Need a Last Minute Gift for your Valentine? I had heard about sugar hearts being sold at tea houses and wanted to try it myself. What I found is that it is an elegant way to use herbs for flavor. For the first hearts I made I added ground rose hips in an attempt to give the hearts a pink color. That didn’t work so I added cinnamon and clove as well. They are more brown than pink, but very yummy. I also made lavender hearts, viola hearts and rose petal hearts. The rose petal are my favorite, but next time I might cut down on the amount of red rose petals to give a more pastel color. Here is how to make them:

1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon dried herbs

Put these together in a blender for several seconds. Remove and put in a shallow bowl. Add a scant 1 tablespoon of water and mix well. It should not be wet but rather just damp. That dampness will hold the sugar together. Note that the color will darken slightly with water. Press the dampened sugar into molds and let set overnight. I used plastic tray of heart molds intended for candy making. Turn the molds upside down and tap the hearts out. Use hearts as a decorative way to serve sugar with your tea or give them as candy treats which is what my family will get for Valentine’s Day.

Herb Society Tea Party

I can’t think of a better way to spend a blustery Sunday in February than with fellow herbies at our annual Herb Society of AmericaRocky Mountain Unit)tea party. This year’s theme was Mardis Gras.The pot luck dishes included gumbo, pecan pie bars, spicy spinach balls and of course King Cake with a tiny plastic baby hidden in inside for someone to find. My contribution was Vegetarian Jambalaya (see recipe below). A commemorative herb tea was designed to mark the occasion.

This year’s tea was held at the Denver Botanical Gardens as it often is. Attendees came dressed for the occasion wearing purple, blue and green and dawning feathered masks. In addition to the feathered masks a demonstration on fresh facial masks was given by Tonja Reichley of MoonDance Botanicals and we all went home with a sample of chocolate rose face mask to try in the privacy of our home! Our Herb Society group meets once a month at theDenver Botanical Gardens for a business meeting and an herbal presentation. I believe our next presentation will be on chocolate (one of my favorite herbs)! Do stop by.

Vegetarian Jambalaya (adapted from: http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/r/Jambalaya.htm)

Saute:

1 chopped onion

3 cloves minced garlic

2 ribs chopped celery

1 chopped green bell pepper

1 chopped red bell pepper

1 cup sliced mushrooms

Add:

2 cups brown rice

6 cups vegetable broth

Cook for 15 minutes

Add:

2 sliced zuchinnis

1 large can chopped tomatoes

2 cups sliced vegetarian sausages (Morning Star links)

2 tsp oregano

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp cayenne pepper (more to taste)

3 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sage

1 tsp dried marjoram

Cook 20 more minutes or until rice is done. Eat up and enjoy!

I struck gold when I checked the laying boxes in the chicken coop this week and found several eggs! Our flock of seven birds hasn’t given us eggs for a few months. Although chickens will typically slow down during the winter months due to decreasing daylight, ours have never completely stopped in previous years. For some reason they just haven’t seemed too happy after moving to our farm this year. Perhaps it’s the raptors flying overhead or the coyotes that come out at night, I don’t know. But hopefully they are out of their slump and we have gotten 8 eggs in the past 3 days. We have a variety of types of chickens, some laying brown eggs and some laying bluish green eggs. Some we bought as baby chicks and some we bought as adult layers. We don’t have any white egg layers so I will probably buy some at Easter so that we can color them.

Chickens are an interesting and entertaining lot and a small backyard flock is certainly something to consider. We first got chickens 7 years ago when we lived in the suburbs. After that several of my neighbors got them because they realized how fun they were and how good fresh eggs taste. Chicken manure is a good fertilizer for the garden and is high in nitrogen. Eggs are a good source of protein and a good gift for friends and neighbors just for being there. Chickens don’t like to be alone so if you get chickens get 2 or 3. You can set up a small run for them next to your garage. Do protect them though as they are prey to many animals including raccoons, foxes, coyotes, hawks, even neighborhood dogs.

There is a documentary I saw on TV once called “The Natural History of the Chicken”. This is a funny and serious look at the joy of chickens. Part of the movie focuses on a hen that wanted badly to be a mother. If you have chickens you will love this movie, if you don’t, it will make you want them.

Today is my brother’s birthday; Happy Birthday Corey!