2024 Season in the Northern Hemisphere is coming to a close, but 2025 is just around the corner.
(coming to a close in the Southern Hemisphere as well - but we know - we are not alone)
Everybody should have a garden - call it a "Victory Garden" - call it what you will - but get out there and plant something - grow something - take an interest in plants that will share with you.
That is my council.
~
Gavin - hope you got my chat message - I'm gonna pick a few peppers to send to you in what I hope will be a barter transaction.
I just discovered your substack sideways (A Midwestern Doctor, your comments for growing ginger and tulsi) -- glad for the crooked path, as they say :-)
quick note, it seems Stephen Smith's Divine Botanist site has lost its internet domain. I have done several searches to see if there is a replacement, but no joy so far.
Happy new year, looking forward to catching up on your work and resources!
Another awesome and inspiring post Gavin, thank you so much, will be taking fav pieces of it for a post of my own. Our garden plans are 2-fold this year--more forage for our critters and more flowers for me and the bees!! Wishing you and yours a gracious new season!!!
I linked your Geoengineering resources page in my most recent article on Ginkgo ( https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/ginkgo-biloba ) as the leaves (when ingested as a tea or tincture) protect against Aluminum Neurotoxicity so I listed the tree as a powerful ally in protecting our bodies against the toxic fallout of weather modification operations.
I am glad you appreciate what I put together here :)
I look forward to seeing your post.
Regarding forage for critters and bees, do you grow any Amaranth for feeding the animals? I have heard good things about using it to enrich animal feed. I have also hear the same about nettle.
Also do you grow any Tulsi (aka "Holy Basil") in your garden? I find that the native bees here adore it's blossoms.
Wishing you and your family of humans, critters and bees a bountiful and prosperous 2024!
Another interesting tidbit I stumbled across researching for my most recently published article on Ginkgo :
"Effect of supplemental fermented Ginkgo biloba leaves at different levels on growth performance, meat quality, and antioxidant status of breast and thigh muscles in broiler chickens" :
Sure do, a balcony garden. Happily poring over organic and heirloom seed catalogs with visions of medicinal flowers, herbs & veggies dancing in my head.
That is beautiful. Planting seeds in your imagination can be just as nourishing as planting them in the living Earth :)
I have a bunch of extra medicinal herbs seeds that need a home so if you like the idea of growing some Tulsi, Bee Balm, Purple Amarnath, Black Sunflowers, Anise Hyssop and Lemon balm I could send you some seeds for those I collected from my garden if you covered the shipping costs (a monthly paid subscription would likely cover it).
One of the things I love about saving heirloom seeds from our garden is that nature always provides more than we could possible need for ourselves so she in essence invites us to share the seeds where they can find new homes to set down roots, grow and thrive. The act of saving heirloom seeds from the garden compels us to involve ourselves with a gift economy.
Thank you for helping making it possible for those gifts from the living Earth to be able to find their way to you and grow onto their true potential.
Given you chose an annual subscription I can throw in a few other seed varieties as well to help get your garden started.
I will send you an email once they are in the mail.
You're welcome. My mom, grandparents and greatgrands et al were farmers who swapped seeds with their neighbors. I am overjoyed to continue the tradition and look forward to planting what seeds you send. Thank you!
I think learning to forage for wild food is a great way to augment one's food security (as long as one is harvesting it in a way that follows some kind of ethical guidance such as "The Way Of The Honorable Harvest").
One can also combine foraging with gardening via creating a Food Forest. If one does not have the space for that, a garden of any scale is still a great idea.
It is also worth considering planting a garden (even if one is an expert forager and surrounded in the abundance of an intact forest ecosystem) as there are always situations that arise when foraging for food in certain years (and/or certain seasons) offers significant challenges. Thus, I both grow food, save seed, and forage simultaneously so that I am capable of feeding myself, my loved ones and preserving important resilient crop varieties for future generations.
I talk about some of the things I like to forage for in the spring in this post:
2024 Season in the Northern Hemisphere is coming to a close, but 2025 is just around the corner.
(coming to a close in the Southern Hemisphere as well - but we know - we are not alone)
Everybody should have a garden - call it a "Victory Garden" - call it what you will - but get out there and plant something - grow something - take an interest in plants that will share with you.
That is my council.
~
Gavin - hope you got my chat message - I'm gonna pick a few peppers to send to you in what I hope will be a barter transaction.
Regards,
BK
I just discovered your substack sideways (A Midwestern Doctor, your comments for growing ginger and tulsi) -- glad for the crooked path, as they say :-)
quick note, it seems Stephen Smith's Divine Botanist site has lost its internet domain. I have done several searches to see if there is a replacement, but no joy so far.
Happy new year, looking forward to catching up on your work and resources!
Glad to meet your acquaintance :)
Yes the crooked, mossy, soft ancient and green path is something I am grateful for as well.
Choosing and being grateful for the soft, green and less travelled path is part of a prophecy I have written about in a past post:
https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/the-three-sisters-and-the-time-of
Thanks for the heads up on Stephen Smith's website. I think his life path took him in other directions so that initiative is no longer his focus.
If you are interested in exploring the world of seed saving and preserving rare varieties, Rowen White of Sierra Seeds ( https://sierraseeds.org/rowens-story/ ) and Matt Powers ( www.thepermaculturestudent.com/ ) are a couple seed savers doing important work.
Happy New Year! I look forward to hearing what you think of my past and future posts and engaging with you in the comments sections.
Another awesome and inspiring post Gavin, thank you so much, will be taking fav pieces of it for a post of my own. Our garden plans are 2-fold this year--more forage for our critters and more flowers for me and the bees!! Wishing you and yours a gracious new season!!!
Your post is amazing! Thanks so much for the kind words, I really appreciate the hopeful and honest outlook you share with the world.
For anyone that has not checked out Mishelle's excellent website, I highly recommend it:
Kenshohomestead.org
So generous of you! Here’s the post, hope you enjoy. 😊 https://kenshohomestead.org/2024/01/06/leap-of-faith/
Thanks for coming back to share the link :)
I linked your Geoengineering resources page in my most recent article on Ginkgo ( https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/ginkgo-biloba ) as the leaves (when ingested as a tea or tincture) protect against Aluminum Neurotoxicity so I listed the tree as a powerful ally in protecting our bodies against the toxic fallout of weather modification operations.
I am glad you appreciate what I put together here :)
I look forward to seeing your post.
Regarding forage for critters and bees, do you grow any Amaranth for feeding the animals? I have heard good things about using it to enrich animal feed. I have also hear the same about nettle.
Also do you grow any Tulsi (aka "Holy Basil") in your garden? I find that the native bees here adore it's blossoms.
Wishing you and your family of humans, critters and bees a bountiful and prosperous 2024!
Thanks for the thoughtful comment :)
Another interesting tidbit I stumbled across researching for my most recently published article on Ginkgo :
"Effect of supplemental fermented Ginkgo biloba leaves at different levels on growth performance, meat quality, and antioxidant status of breast and thigh muscles in broiler chickens" :
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579119316062
I wonder if it could help increase the health of other animals when added as a supplement to feed.
Thank you and happy new year.
You are welcome! :) Do you have any plans for a garden this year?
Sure do, a balcony garden. Happily poring over organic and heirloom seed catalogs with visions of medicinal flowers, herbs & veggies dancing in my head.
That is beautiful. Planting seeds in your imagination can be just as nourishing as planting them in the living Earth :)
I have a bunch of extra medicinal herbs seeds that need a home so if you like the idea of growing some Tulsi, Bee Balm, Purple Amarnath, Black Sunflowers, Anise Hyssop and Lemon balm I could send you some seeds for those I collected from my garden if you covered the shipping costs (a monthly paid subscription would likely cover it).
Happy garden planning and seed hunting! :)
Thanks for the comment.
You're welcome. How generous of you to offer. I'll gladly take you up on it!
One of the things I love about saving heirloom seeds from our garden is that nature always provides more than we could possible need for ourselves so she in essence invites us to share the seeds where they can find new homes to set down roots, grow and thrive. The act of saving heirloom seeds from the garden compels us to involve ourselves with a gift economy.
Thank you for helping making it possible for those gifts from the living Earth to be able to find their way to you and grow onto their true potential.
Given you chose an annual subscription I can throw in a few other seed varieties as well to help get your garden started.
I will send you an email once they are in the mail.
Thank you for the generous donation!
You're welcome. My mom, grandparents and greatgrands et al were farmers who swapped seeds with their neighbors. I am overjoyed to continue the tradition and look forward to planting what seeds you send. Thank you!
Nature is already growing a crop for me according to ofthefield.com
I think learning to forage for wild food is a great way to augment one's food security (as long as one is harvesting it in a way that follows some kind of ethical guidance such as "The Way Of The Honorable Harvest").
Are you familiar with the concept? (for more info: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lz1vgfZ3etE )
One can also combine foraging with gardening via creating a Food Forest. If one does not have the space for that, a garden of any scale is still a great idea.
It is also worth considering planting a garden (even if one is an expert forager and surrounded in the abundance of an intact forest ecosystem) as there are always situations that arise when foraging for food in certain years (and/or certain seasons) offers significant challenges. Thus, I both grow food, save seed, and forage simultaneously so that I am capable of feeding myself, my loved ones and preserving important resilient crop varieties for future generations.
I talk about some of the things I like to forage for in the spring in this post:
https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/embracing-the-abundance-of-spring