It snowed a bit, and we're expecting another 20cm shortly. Ah, wintertime. *laugh*
I'm feeling immensely grateful that we chopped so much wood last summer/autumn!

If you've already established a food & medicine garden, what are you growing? Are you adding more plants this year to supplement your diet?

If not, are you planning to start one?

Food insecurity is going to affect more people than ever very soon, and one way to combat it is for communities to grow as much as they can in the space they have, and share it with one another.
One person's yard may 8+ hours of sunlight, making it ideal for fruiting plants like tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and so on. Meanwhile, their neighbour's partially shaded yard would be perfect for leafy greens and tender herbs.

There's no time like the present to focus on both self-sufficiency, and building a strong community.

Ask veit ek standa,
heitir Yggdrasill,
hár baðmr, ausinn
hvíta auri;
þaðan koma döggvar,
þærs í dala falla,
stendr æ yfir grænn
Urðarbrunni.


https://youtu.be/49h0gy523RY?si=9ILn_t2Cog2o-u2A

Will you be celebrating Jul this year?
If so, what do your plans include?

Currently listening to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMggvPIeVlU&t=2102s

Track 5 is particularly good.

'Tis the season when a lot of people end up getting ill—often thanks to sick relatives who show up at family gatherings to cough on everyone. ;)
A tincture made with bee balm (Monarda didyma and/or Monarda fistulosa) and old man's beard lichen (Usnea barbata) can work wonders for speeding up the healing process.

Monarda contains the antimicrobial compounds thymol and carvacrol, and can be used treat or prevent infections — both internally and externally. Usnea is a fruticose lichen species that contains usnic and barbatic acid, which have been proven to inhibit bacterial, fungal, and viral growth, including candida, E-coli, and staph infections.

If you make a tincture of equal parts of these herbs, you end up with a powerful infection-fighting medicine that's invaluable to keep in your home apothecary cabinet.

To make a standard tincture, aim for:
1 ounce of herb to 5 ounces (liquid volume) of solvent if you're using dry herbs, and
1 ounce of herb to 2 ounces (liquid volume) of solvent if you're using fresh ones.

The solvent (aka "menstruum") should be 40% alcohol content (80 proof) to extract the plant's healing properties and ensure that no bacteria or mildew can grow in there. Vodka is ideal for this, but I also use brandy.

One can never have too much medicine available in case of emergencies. Our ancestors used plant medicines exclusively for thousands of years, and they're remarkably effective if used correctly.
Be well!