Update on Dried and Drying Roselle

Dear Folks,

Back on October 26th, I posted about sun drying my Roselle (Hibiscus Sabdariffa).  I started with 4 trays and it took a couple of days and they were not quite finished drying when I left for my trip so they finished drying inside the house.  Turned out just great.

This is what they look like completely dried. I got a little less than a quart from the 4 trays.

The dried petals can be used for beverages, of course, like tea, but I also used them to top some turkey soup I made which imparted a lemony flavor to the soup.

You can use the dried petals dry, or reconstitute for use in salads and other fresh/raw foods.

You can add the Roselle to or replace lemon, lime or cranberry with Roselle petals.  Give it a try and you will be pleased with this Vitamin C rich addition to your ingredient options.

I started trays of the whole calyx and it is going to take longer to dry them, but I was trying to save my back a little.  I will see if the short cut is worth it :-)

. . .

I have been playing more with my food :-)  so watch for my next post on a great tasting condiment to add to your cooking enjoyment.  Straight from the garden!

Don't forget my 2017 month-by-month gardening calendar for yourself and holiday or birthday gifts.  You can use November and December NOW for garden sowing/planting information, maintenance and gardening tips.

Have a best day!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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2017 Gardening Month-By-Month Wall Calendar Is Out! Early Bird Pricing!

Dear Folks,

My 2017 Month-By-Month Wall Calendar Is Finished!

All the timely/seasonal gardening info you need to be successful in the desert and USDA Zone 9b and above.  Get your herbs, fruits, vegetables and edible flower growing on!

Earl Bird Pricing is in effect Until Midnight September 14, 2016

SRP is $19.95 BUT the Early Bird Price is $15.96
 

Know any family in the desert southwest or deep south who needs a little help?

Whether here in our wonderful Valley of the Sun, or in the Gulf, interior or Coastal areas USDA Zone 9b or above, it is more than the air temperatures or heat, it is about daylight hours and soil temperatures.

Some of the beloved foods like peas and kale like their feet cool and are happy with short daylight hours, while tomatoes and basil love their feet warm with long daylight hours.

If you are just considering starting or extending your garden, the 2017 calendar can be used this September and forward for all the seasonal planting/sowing and maintenance information, and then all of 2017 too!

What are you waiting for?

:-)

Calendar Link

Have a best day in the garden!

-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

Website

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What If . . .The Market Shelves Were Empty?

Dear Folks,

I am very concerned about the economic impact of the political fights going on right now.  Not just for now, but also for the future.  I am concerned about a worsening problem of access to quality food.

And there is a simple solution which gives a family or individual, food, a peaceful activity, and more control over their own destiny.

Grow Food!

What if you went to the grocery store tomorrow, and you found that the shelves were mostly empty?  Would it be too late for you to learn to grow your own food?

That was part of the lead paragraphs in an email I received from the Grow Network.  http://thegrownetwork.com/

Which made me remember the phrase:

Grow food not lawns?  It is estimated that there are 35 million lawns in the US.  What if many or most of them were turned into food gardens?

The average lawn is 5,000 square feet.

Which made me remember a great article in Mother Earth News.  

Edible Landscaping: Grow $700 of Food in 100 Square Feet!

In 2008 well known edible landscaping author Rosalind Creasy (the link is to her author page on Amazon) with Cathy Wilkinson Barash (well known edible flower author) began a test of how much food and food savings could be achieved from just 100 square feet (5 x 20 feet). The result?  $700 over 6 months.

A little simple math will show you how much your lawn could be producing or a new garden bed.  AND in the desert, since we can garden year-round the math looks even better 2 x $700 from 100 square feet.  Image if you had more area to grow in?

http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/edible-landscaping-zmaz09djzraw.aspx

Rosalind wrote a follow up blog to the article.

http://www.rosalindcreasy.com/edible-garden-how-to/

Creasy's first book published in 1982 was what pushed my "growing" interest in edibles going forward.  The Complete Book of Edible Landscaping: Home Landscaping with Food-Bearing Plants and Resource-Saving Techniques

I ultimately published my book "Edible Landscaping in the Desert Southwest: Wheelbarrow to Plate," to address the year round growing capabilities of our desert gardens.

As an aside, Creasy's  book The Edible French Garden, showed me for the first time the "Alpine" type strawberry.  It was some years later that I discovered those berry seeds for growing in my own garden.

Back to growing food instead of lawns, or just adding too or staring a vegetable bed.  What are you waiting for - the grocery shelves to be partially empty?


I am not trying to be one of those end-of-the-world people who are telling you to build shelters, I am saying - Growing some or most of your own food gives you remarkable control over your future.  If you can grow some or most of your own food, you won't go hungry. Period.

AND you will have a possible source of extra income. Most of the farmers markets welcome backyard gardeners and many now have "community tables" where you do not have to set up your own table - they sell for you for a small percentage.

You can share your extra with your neighbors and food banks.

What are you waiting for?


Growing your own food is a win/win.



-- Catherine, The Herb Lady

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