Friday, September 20, 2013

Farm Friday

This week I'm going to share a few odds and ends of what I've been up to lately.  

I've been working on slowly identifying and learning about wild plants that grow on the farm.  A few weeks ago I attended a natural salve-making class and learned a bit about plantain, a plant that grows all over our farm.  Apparently, this plant is extremely useful.  Earlier this week I researched another plant that is plentiful - goldenrod.  This plant was used to make what was called "Patriot tea" after the Boston Tea Party.  It can also be made into a tonic that is, among other things, an immunity booster.  Sumac (NOT the poisonous kind) is on my radar now and I'd like to make sumac "lemonade" from it.  

I've also started making kombucha.  After trying some at a friend's farm, I asked for one of her "mushrooms" and so am experimenting with making it.  I've been putting too much sugar in mine so decreased the amount for the latest batch.

Last weekend I attended a wellness festival in neighboring North Carolina, representing the local anti-uranium organization, to let residents know about the danger lurking just over an hour away - most people didn't know about it, mainly because as long as Virginia has the ban in place, it's a non-issue.  

We've harvested some figs from my mother-in-law's house and boy are they delicious!  

The weather has been turning chilly lately - I'm not looking forward to the winter.  However, given the crazy weather we had over the spring and summer, who knows what we'll get for the fall and winter.

Yesterday I harvested some of the basil I grew and made some vegan pesto to freeze (I should have chosen a better backdrop for the photo to make it look more appetizing):
Have a great weekend!

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