Yazan: Andy Hamilton | 03 May 2013 | 3 Comments
Categories: Enivronmentally friendly, Herbs, Ishers Tips
Many thanks to our latest guest blogger Mandy Allen, aka Millymollymandy, one of the longest standing and most loyal selfsufficientish forum members. She lives the good life in over in Chateau Moorhen, France and is a prolific gardener, nature lover and blogger. Pollinating insects such as bees, hoverflies and many other flying insects are absolutely essential to the reproduction [...]
Yazan: Andy Hamilton | 13 March 2012 | 2 Comments
Categories: General Gardening, guest blogs, Herbs, Home Brew, Reference, Uncategorized
Huge thanks to our latest guest blogger, Rob Hopkins for allowing us to reproduce the following blog. Rob is the founder of the Transition network and author of five excellent books. Sometimes the simplest ideas carry with them, when thought through, such a powerful taste of how the future could be that they are quite irresistible. One such [...]
Yazan: Andy Hamilton | 14 August 2011 | 30 Comments
Categories: Budget living, foraging, Fruit growing, Herbs, Home Brew, Homemade, Wild foods
Despite the long lonely days (and sometimes nights) with just a keyboard for company, the occasionally twinge of RSI, the days of procrastination and the slow withdraw from everyday life, I love being a writer and especially a non-fiction writer. One of the main reasons is that I get to choose what to write about [...]
Yazan: Dave | 02 April 2011 | 3 Comments
Categories: Budget living, Herbs, Uncategorized, Wild foods
Foraging can be a very rewarding pastime and can add a whole new element to a walk in the country. At this time in the spring the scent of wild garlic fills woodlands and kitchens evoking memories and filling stomachs across the land. However, this idyllic picture is soon shattered as there can be darker [...]
Yazan: Dave | 30 October 2009 | 5 Comments
Categories: Herbal Medicine, Herbs, Lifestyle and Recipes, Wild foods
Common Comfrey is related to both the herb ‘borage’ and the similar plant ‘Russian comfrey.’ Herbalists have used it for centuries, including the classical Greeks and the Turks. Its old English name was ‘knit-bone’ or ‘bone-set’ because its ability to heal wounds. Comfrey – As a plant feed Comfrey is often eliminated as [...]
Yazan: Andy Hamilton | 03 May 2009 | 1 Comment
Categories: Herbal Medicine, Herbs, Lifestyle and Recipes
Rosemary is an aromatic herb from the libiatae (mint) family and is a gardeners friend as it is known to be a natural insect replant. If left unchecked it can grow to over 2m (6.6ft) tall, regular picking and pruning will keep your plant more manageable. It has needle like grey\green leaves and its flowers are small and pale blue/pink in colour. There are several decorative variegated types, but none are as hardy as the ordinary green rosemary
Yazan: Andy Hamilton | 24 November 2008 | 1 Comment
Categories: Budget living, Herbal Medicine, Herbs
I don’t have many hero’s but I will admit to having more than just a little admiration for a 17th century botanist and herbalist. Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) was a great man who believed that everyone should be able to treat themselves. I and many others believe that he was at least partly responsible for the [...]
Yazan: Andy Hamilton | 02 July 2008 | 2 Comments
Categories: Herbal Medicine, Herbs
I must start this page with a word of warning: the Internet is not your Doctor, asthma attacks can kill. You should talk to a health practitioner before using any of these remedies. Prevention My girlfriend suffers from mild asthma and she tells me that, for her, prevention is better than cure. One of her [...]
Yazan: Andy Hamilton | 30 June 2008 | No Comments
Categories: Herbal Medicine, Herbs
Thyme grows all over the world and it’s many differing varieties can be found from Greenland to Asia. Thyme is a perennial evergreen and is one of the 3 herbs commonly used in Bouquet Garni, the other two being bay leaf and Parsley. As with many herbs most thyme can be found in the Mediterranean [...]
Yazan: admin | 30 June 2008 | No Comments
Categories: Herbs, Lifestyle and Recipes
Sage is a member of the mint family and there are over 750 different varieties of sage scattered across our planet. This family consists of annuals, biannual and perennials. There is even a strange breed of sage, native to Central America, that is hallucinogenic. Known as Salvia divinorum, which means sacred sage or sage of [...]
