We planted 10 Thornless Blackberry plants yesterday. Cut down my bamboo to use for stakes (it will grow more this year) Staked the Blackberry plants, the four Blueberry we planted a couple of weeks ago and found the Raspberry plants we thought we had lost. All now well marked and even transplanted some of my perennial flowers like a rose bush and mums. Today, I'll clean out my herb garden and see what needs replacing or thinning.

Yesterday I attended a gardening seminar presented by a couple of garden clubs in counties adjoining ours.  The Arkansas State Horticulturist gave some very interesting talks.  She is a wealth of knowledge and gifted speaker.

She asked us if any of us had suffered any damage to our Rosemary plants due to the unusually harsh winter.  Many hands were raised.  She said she also had "almost" lost her Rosemary bush but it was waging a fight to come back.  She told us all is not lost if some of the stems had died.  She said to strip them of leaves and use them as skewers.  They still retain some of the fragrance and flavor and can even be stuck into your roasts, etc. to flavor them.

I had also raised my hand.  I'm afraid my Rosemary is totally gone.  But I have not taken out of its pot so now I have a use for the dried stems.  He(She) who hesitates does not always lose.  I have purchased and planted another Rosemary bush though.

Note to self for the future.  Deer prefer Cilantro.  They had to reach across my Curly Leaf Parsley to get to it.  I was looking forward to continuing to cut Cilantro but will need to sow some again in a more protected area.  Don't understand how my Jack Russell's failed to deter them.  They sleep within 20 feet of the Cilantro.

My Thyme, Greek Oregano and Old Fashioned Sage are thriving.  What I thought was Peppermint is Bee Balm.  I was able to harvest a few leaves of Chives to put in the Potatoes Au Gratin the other day.  

March herb chores.

Now is the time to prune your perennial herb plants.  Some of them may already be putting on new growth so be sure to leave at least one bud joint on each branch.  

I am a big believer in doing my chores by the Moon signs.  I am not superstitious but there are gravitational and electromagnetic fields that interact between the Earth, Moon and Sun that affects the plants ability to absorb water and nutrients and withstand disease.  It saves a lot of time to utilize these natural traits.  I looked for years for a calendar that had the most opportune chores written on each calendar day.  I finally found one and it makes it so much easier to just look at the calendar and plan my tasks.  I took the time to go through each month with a pink and a green highliter and border each fertile day in green and each barren day in pink.  I use other colors to highlite full moons and new moons as I have learned without looking at the signs that it is better to harvest during the decline of the Moon.

Even the Bible says that the Moon and stars were placed in the heavens to help us to determine times and seasons.  It does not mean the heavenly bodies determine our fate.  It is just that by knowing when the moon is in a certain position in relation to the Earth and Sun, certain tasks will be easier.

God created a perfect heaven and a perfect earth but mans' sin marred the perfection.  We can still utilize  many of the harmonies that were established during Creation but we can not expect Nature to ever be as perfect as it was created.

Medicinal Herbs

Early pioneers did not have access to healthcare and learned to grow or gather their own medicines.

Many very beneficial plants can be found by walking around our neighborhood and looking on the most "unkempt" yards at the "weeds".  Or if you are fortunate to live near a forested area, you might find some real treasures.

We had a professional biologist speak to our Garden Club.  He stated that the more he studied medicinal herbs and plants, the more he realized that most of our "modern" medicines are actually derived from plants.  But "Big Pharma" can't make any money that way, so they "refine" the elements found in the herbs and promote them as "new discoveries".  Many other helpful elements found in the plants are refined away and we are better off making our own tinctures and salves to get the full benefits from medicinal herbs and plants.

If you are interested in Medicinal Herbs, here is a great site to bookmark:

Top 10 Anti-Inflammatory Herbs