The Most Amazing Gift Ever

Before the pandemic hit, I had made a bucket list of things that I had wanted to do but had not gotten around to doing. As the list took shape, I noticed a pattern emerge. I missed my childhood connection to the outdoors and foraging for wild foods and herbs (though I still do this in a limited fashion). I longed to once again grow organic foods for our home. My list evolved into ideas for possible blog posts. The problem was that I was not an experienced blogger or writer. I had no idea how to start. I just assumed that my dream of blogging would stay just that, a dream.

My husband decided to give me a gentle push. Without telling me what he was up to, he started building a blog site for me on Word Press. When he presented me with the site, it was still in a rough-draft stage. But the bones were there, ready for me to give it life. His confidence in me pushed me past my fears and into an exciting adventure.

Forward from a List

The blog took on a life of its own. I started pulling items from my “possible blog-post list” and went to work. My first posts were about making grapevine wreaths and other things I had learned as a child in Appalachia. I knew that I wanted to write about my experiences growing up in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky. And based on those experiences, I started blogging about frugal living, crafting, gardening, and nature. All of these topics were basic to life in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.

The research and preparations that it took to write each post were very time-consuming. Then there was the planning for future articles. After writing those early posts, I started planning a small backyard garden.

I couldn’t wait for it to get warm enough to start working in the yard. My big project for the summer was going to involve garden-scaping and then recording my success or failure along the way.

How Does Your Garden Grow

With no-tiller, I had one choice and that was to do the work by hand. I pulled out a shovel, an ax, and a rake and went to work. We removed a dead tree from the yard the year before, so there were still roots embedded all over the yard. Using a shovel alone wasn’t going to cut it (pun intended!). Charles wasn’t too happy with my chopping the roots in the ground with his ax, there was just no other way to clear out the roots.

It took me several weeks to get the veggie plots dug, de-rooted, and raked smooth. The ground was hard and very compacted from foot traffic and roots. The texture of the soil was also very clay-heavy, it needed the soil loosened to aid aeration. I bought organic compost to turn into the plots as I turned the soil. Eventually, I was ready to plant. I visited a local Amish Greenhouse to buy the seedlings and got them into the ground.

Harvest

The growing season turned out to be very dry and I ended up watering the veggies nearly on a daily basis. I worried that I was wasting my time. But I refused to give up. My mother had often made use of a mixture of 1 teaspoon Epson Salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 sugar, and 1 gallon of water. Putting her old plant food recipe to use, I would use about 2 cups of the mixture around the base of the plants and then water the plants well. The garden took off.

Before long I had cucumbers, zucchini, and tomatoes coming in. I was able to can green tomato salsa, pasta sauce, zucchini bread-and-butter pickles, dill pickles, and garlic dill pickles. On top of this, we had fresh organic veggies to add to meals and salads. There was even an abundance of tomatoes for sharing with friends and neighbors. My experiment with growing popcorn was not as profitable. I ended up with a pint of popcorn (some little critters really enjoyed the young corn plants). The herb garden provided fresh herbs and tea. My pollinator garden was a joy to watch as little visitors buzzed about the blooms.

Was It Worth It?

I will admit that I made mistakes in my choice of how many seedlings to plant, and where I planted them. Meaning: I hated to throw away any seedings and tried to find space for them all which caused overcrowding of my plants. Even with the mistakes, the garden was well worth the work.

Investment vs. Payout

It is now the first week of November, and the time to pick veggies from the garden has passed. I have no idea exactly how much we saved by growing squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes this year. Looking at the prices of produce now, I know that we more than recouped the $65 that I invested in seedings and organic compost. That is not even taking into account all of the sauce, salsa, and pickles that we have on hand for use this winter.

Now as the days grow shorter, and the nights grow increasingly colder I am starting to plan for next year’s garden adventure. I dream of outings to the nursery with my dear friend Glenda, and days of planting seedings in the warm spring soil. I look forward to expanding my herb garden to include my favorites to make into tea blends, and for adding to my homemade soap. Did I make mistakes this year? Oh yes. Will I do things differently? Absolutely. Our mistakes push us to learn new skills and methods.

Harvest time is a time for reflection, a time to regroup and to plan, and for the soil and gardener to rest for a bit. The yard seems asleep now. The last of the flowers are nodding off for a long winter’s sleep. Halloween has passed, and the Holidays are approaching. The foods that I canned from my backyard garden harvest will not just give us quality organic foods during the winter, but they are going to provide unique gift-giving opportunities as well.

Planning your own adventure in backyard gardening? You can find heirloom seeds for starting your own seedlings at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Now is a great time to plan for next year’s harvest.

If you have enjoyed this post, you may want to want to read about the beginning of my adventure in garden scaping.

Thank you for visiting my site.

Come again soon, happy fall y’all.

Vikki

The post Harvest From the Backyard appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.

Planting the Seeds

Our property is a double-lot within city limits. Our yard is a nice size. This street is quiet for the most part and a bit off the beaten path. It has a park-like field at the far end of the street. The field is between our yard and a large sinkhole.

To prevent neighborhood kids from trying to play near the sinkhole, we decided to let the area around it grow up. Over the years I started bringing home seeds that I had collected in the wild. I would throw them into the area around the sinkhole, hoping that some of them would grow. First, I threw mulberry seeds into the weeds, and later wild grape seeds, and strawberries.

The Vining

I kept watch for several years and did not spot any mulberry saplings in the area around the sinkhole. What I did notice was that the wild grapevines had started to grow. In four years the grapevines have spread beautifully and nearly covered the whole area.

As of this spring, the grapes had not borne fruit yet. I decided to thin the vines. I was able to harvest enough vines to create six grapevine wreaths. My planting in the “wilding” area was paying off. Even though I wasn’t able to forage for wild food, I was pleased to be able to harvest vines to make wreaths to use as free inventory for my craft shows in the fall.

A Sweet Surprise

A few weeks back my husband came and got me while he was mowing the lawn. He informed me that he thought we had a mulberry bush starting to bear fruit. I was honestly skeptical but went to see what he had found.

I had seen the bush that he was now pointing out. I hadn’t paid much attention to it honestly because its leaves were markedly like those of the flowering plant “Rose of Sharon”. A Rose of Sharon had come up wild in one of my flower beds a couple of years before, and I had just assumed that birds had dropped seeds near the sinkhole as well.

I was a bit confused. The fruit looked like a mulberry. But the leaves on this bush were unlike any mulberry I had ever seen before. The leaves that I was seeing on my newfound bushes looked nothing like those I had grown up seeing in the hills of Eastern Kentucky.

Learning New Facts About an Old Favorite

I was very tempted to just try the berries, I was pretty certain that they were mulberries. Instead, I came inside and started looking online at photos of mulberry plants. I wanted to be positive. It was time to investigate. The answer turned out to be simple. Not all mulberry bushes look the same.

What I hadn’t known until now, was that there is a variation that occurs in mulberry leaves, depending on the species of mulberry that you have growing. I found a very informative site that has a guide to growing mulberries, and common verities available (The article that I read by Paul Alfrey is cited in the reference section at the bottom of the page, it provided the information that I needed to positively identify my bush as being a mulberry).

Since our bush was indeed a mulberry, I set about picking the berries. On the first day, I ate every single berry that I was able to pick. So many childhood memories centered around my siblings, cousins, and me picking mulberries from a tree near the bee-yard on our farm. Picking and eating the berries brought back so many amazing memories. Finding these growing in the yard was like a gift from the past.

Fruit Yield

Mulberry Bushes had been at the top of my list of plants to add to our yard to increase my garden scaping project. So this little bush was a welcome addition. I decided to start gathering and freezing the fruit as it ripened.

I pick from the bush in our yard daily, and on average can pick between a cup and a pint of berries. The bush is bearing heavily, but I am only able to gain access to a few of its branches (due to the overgrown brush and grapevines).

I spotted about five more bushes while we were walking at a nearby park. These bushes are bearing abundantly as well. We returned a day later equipped with zip lock bags ready to berry pick. Between my daily harvest from the yard, and what we were able to harvest from one picking at the park, I now have one gallon of mulberries.

Was it Me, or the birds?

While at the park I noticed two distinct varieties of mulberries growing along the sides of the trail. Now more than ever I was curious about the origin of the little bush in our yard. I went back to the tree that I had gathered seeds from years earlier in order to see if they were the same. They were different varieties… so it was not me that had planted the little mulberry bush on our lot, it was birds. Either way, I was beyond thrilled. Wild animals need natural food sources, especially in cities and towns. That is why I had mulberries on the list of plants that I had intended to add. They would supply both my husband and me, and wildlife, with free organic-food.

Trouble at the Sinkhole

One would think that I would be feeling pretty pleased with myself at this point. I had planted wild grape seeds, and the birds had dropped mulberry seeds. Both plants were growing. I have harvested grapevines for wreaths and mulberries this year. This is indeed something that I count as a win. But, I have realized that I have created a mess that I am going to have to work to correct.

The grapevines are choking out the mulberry bush that is now bearing fruit, and two smaller ones that are growing nearby. This fall, as soon as the leaves die back, I am going to have to clear out the underbrush and the overabundance of grapevines. It looks to be a huge task, one that I honestly dread. But, it has to be done if I want the mulberries to survive.

Planning Ahead

I plan to make preserves from the mulberries that we harvest. I plan on sharing my bounty when friends and family! I love creating homemade gifts. Though it is only the end of May, I am already looking ahead to Christmas and planning the treats that I intend to give.

This year, when I give the small jars of preserves I intend to provide a tiny card that tells the story of how the bounty of nature, the blessings of God, and a few little birds, provided us with the gift of mulberry bushes. And, how these bushes have provided the fruit in our yard for me to share with others.

So You Are Interested in Planting Mulberries

If you are interested in planting mulberries in your yard there are several varieties that you can choose from. Some are more compact, allowing for easier fruit harvesting and planting in smaller areas. Many varieties grow much taller. There are also differences in the favor of fruit ranging from very sweet to slightly tart.

I would suggest researching what varieties grow best in your area, and what is best-suited size-wise for the space that you have.

Wild Sourcing

As also, if you find berries growing on other people’s property please get permission before you pick them.

Some berries, like Poke Berries for example, that are found in the wild are poisonous. Always make sure you know what is it that you are eating.

Watch out for ticks and snakes any time you are out berry picking. Know what poison ivy, stinging nettles, and poison oak look like and avoid them.

Wash your berries before eating. Tiny insects like to feed on the berries as well.

Related Posts and Resources

Foraging For Wild Foods: https://beeveecreativecrafts.com/foraging-for-wild-foods-a-skill-worth-learning/

Garden Scaping with Edible Plants; https://beeveecreativecrafts.com/garden-scaping-victory-garden-to-fight-inflation-and-prepare-for-food-chain-crisis/

A Guide to Mulberry Facts and Varieties: “Mo’ Mulberry — A guide to probably everything you need to know about growing Mulberry, by Paul Alfrey https://thepolycultureproject.medium.com/mo-mulberry-the-essential-guide-to-all-you-need-to-know-about-mulberry-28a0c11b611

Happy Picking

Though mulberry season will soon have passed us by, we have other treasures such as huckleberries, blackberries, and raspberries to look forward to. I hope that you are blessed with your own berry-picking adventure very soon. Even if you don’t have berry bushes in your area, get out and enjoy nature. You never know what you will find.

If you have enjoyed this post, please feel free to subscribe and share. If you have berry recipes that you would like to share, please drop a comment. I would love to hear from you.

You all come back now,

Vikki

The post Free Organic Berries: You Pick! appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.

Learning herb lore was one of the skills that was essential to the early dwellers of the Appalachian Mountains and foothills. The plants provided food, medicine, and building materials. When the white immigrants flooded the lands, unrest did understandably occur.

The Native Americans had called the hills home long before the Scots-Irish settlers found their way across Cumberland Gap. Yet, they taught the colonizers survival skills and how to live off the land. As the cultures blended, the Appalachian way of life emerged.

Foraging For Early Spring Wild Greens and Mushrooms:

Flat-farmable land was scarce in the mountains and hills. The land was rocky and could be very hard to work. Tillable land was a prized resource. People were also at the mercy of the elements. A poor growing season could bring food shortages. Any food that they could add to their diet was welcomed. The mountain people had learned to forage the hills for edible plants as the native inhabitants had before them. Especially in the spring.

After a long winter with no fresh foods, and months to face before gardens started producing vegetables, people turned to foraging. The plants provided much-needed vitamins and minerals. Some of the plants had both edible parts and poisonous parts. Other had deadly look-alikes. Being educated on what was and wasn’t edible was as essential then, as it is now, for anyone that forages for wild food.

List of Some Commonly Foraged Spring Foods:

• plantain leaves
• dandelion leaves
• wild onions
• violet leaves
• wild mustard leaves
• watercress
• henbit
• ramps
• dead nettle
• chickweed
• sheep sorrel, and wood sorrel
• poke
• Dry Land Fish

Keeping The Tradition Alive

As many others from the region, I hold the blood of both Europeans and Native Americans. The traditions taught those many years ago are still a vibrant part of everyday life.

Many folk in the mountains and foothills still forage for food. Some wild foods have remained more popular than others. Blackberries, raspberries, poke sallet, and dry land fish rank high on the list of favorites. Recent world events have rekindled an interest in the skill of foraging for food. It is a skill well worth learning. Here are a few of my favorites to “hunt” for when the weather starts to warm.

Dry Land Fish

Dry Land Fish is a common name for the Morchella, or true Morel, Mushroom. In other regions, they are known as Molly Moochers or Hickory Chickens. In Kentucky, the rains of late April and early May bring about a mushroom hunting craze. These mushrooms grow in wooded areas across the Midwest into the East Coast. They are one of the easier mushrooms to identify but educate yourself on what they look like.

I had heard of people getting sick from eating dry land fish, and could never figure out why. I only learned this year that there is a toxic mushroom that looks similar to the morel. To me, the false morel looks like it has already half-rotted, and honestly, if I had seen this in the woods, I would not have harvested it. If you plan to hunt for morels, or any wild mushroom, consult a field guide with color photos.

Violet Leaves and Poke Sallet

The violet and the poke plants both have parts that can be eaten, but care needs to be taken as both plants contain toxins.

Violet:

The bright color of a patch of violets is always a welcome change after the bareness of a long winter. I like to use leaves from the purple violet dried and added to tea. I also use them to make an infusion for my homemade soaps.

Violet leaves and flowers can be eaten raw or cooked, and are very high in vitamin C. The flowers can be used to make jelly and flavored vinegar. Never eat the rhizomes (root) of the violet plant because they are poisonous.

Yellow violets do not make a good food source as they tend to act as a laxative. I would advise waiting until the plant blooms before gathering to avoid accidentally getting the yellow variety, or a poisonous look-alike plant. The only plant that I know of that mimics the violet in appearance is the Ficaria verna . It is an invasive plant from Europe and Asia. The flower of this plant looks nothing like that of the violet, but the leaves have the same heart shape.

Poke Salad (or Poke Sallet)

The poke plant is regarded as a nuisance weed by most. Once established it is very hard to get rid of. As children my siblings and I would use the bright burgundy berry juice as plant for rocks. We also tended to get into poke berry fights and would return home spotted from head to toe in berry stains. As much as we loved using the berries to get ourselves in trouble, we knew that the berries were poisonous. We also know that the leaves themselves were not to be eaten raw.

As a child, I thought it was called “poke sallet” because we used paper bags (or paper pokes) to gather it in. The word “Poke” is derived from a native word meaning blood, because pokeberry juice is blood red.

The word “Sallet” is a form of the word salad used in early English (in the 14th and 15th centuries) and referred to cooked greens.

Poke Sallet should never be eaten raw: It is poisonous and can be deadly. Poke Sallet should be picked when it is young, and before it is taller than knee-high, and has to be prepared carefully to remove toxins.

To prepare:

1. Pick enough leaves to fill a good-sized paper bag (or plastic shopping bag).
2. Wash the leaves, then cut them into pieces. Add to boiling water.
3. Cook at full boil for at least three minutes. Drain the water. Rinse under cold water. Repeat this process at least three times. (Some folks repeat this another two times). Mom always went with three “boilings”.
4. In a medium bowl beat together three eggs, 1/4 salt, and a dash of milk. Set aside.
5. In a large iron skillet: heat about two tablespoons of oil or bacon grease. Add the cooked poke sallet. When the poke sallett is hot, stir in the eggs. Stir often until the eggs are cooked through. Remove from heat. Add crumbled bacon bits. Serve with hot cornbread and soup beans.

Spring into Action

Getting out into the wild to find plants is one of my favorite things to do. Whether I am taking photos, gathering plants for food, or using them in my soap, getting outdoors always takes me to a happy place. Herb lore, or wilding, is a skill that I would encourage everyone to learn. So “spring” into action, buy an edible plant guide, and get outdoors. Happy hunting. Let me know how your adventure goes.

If you have enjoyed this post, please subscribe and share.

Thank you for stopping by,

Vikki

Resources:

• For further information on preparing poke sallet visit the web site Wild Abundance.
• Appalachian History :This site has interesting articles related to mountain culture.

Acknowledgements:

Photography: Photos of Dry Land Fish: by Michelle Feltner

The post Foraging For Wild Foods: A Skill Worth Learning appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.

With an increase in both the loss of habitat and environmental pollution, pollinators can use all the help that we can offer. A thriving population of pollinators is necessary to ensure our food systems. And if Covid has taught us anything, it should be that the food supply chain that we rely on is fragile. All pollinators are considered keystone species. The National Geographic Society describes a keystone species as “a plant or animal that plays a unique and crucial role in the way ecosystem functions. Without keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether.”. Providing habitat for pollinators is necessary and easy to do.

1. Plant a Pollinator Garden

If you are thinking of adding flower gardens to your landscape, you may want to consider using plants that attract pollinators. Many wildflowers that are native to an area provide both nectar and pollen that are essential to pollinators.

Seeds for native plants can often be acquired from nurseries that specialize for your region. One such source is gardenforwildlife. They specialize in plants in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and Midwest.

You can also gather seeds from native plants in the wild. As you gather seeds, place each variety in a separate envelope and add a name, description, or reference number. If you are not certain of the species, take a photo of the plant to assist in your research. Do not plant anything in your yard until you know what the plant is. I had a friend bring back Kudzu shoots from a trip to Eastern Kentucky. Kudzu is an invasive species not native to the United States. If you do decide to gather seeds, get permission from the land owner.

2. Humming Bird Feeders

Hummingbird feeders attract hummingbirds and are very beneficial when flowering plants are in short supply. They allow close observation of the tiny beauties. There is nothing wrong with using them, but they have their limits (growing plants that feed hummingbirds is a better solution to protecting these species, and makes a great companion to the use of feeders).

If you choose to use hummingbird feeders, avoid mass-produced hummingbird food as they often contain preservatives and dyes that can harm the birds. The web post The Pollinators: Hummingbirds gives a recipe for creating homemade foods that are safe for these fragile birds and provides a wealth of information on attracting hummingbirds.

3. Go Batty With Bat Boxes

Most people think of bats as scary, flying rodents. We often associate them with vampires and Halloween. In truth, they are not rodents. They are more closely related to primates. They are the only flying mammal, and they play a critical role in the world’s ecosystems.

Many bats are insectivores, meaning that they eat a variety of insects, which aids in pest control. Without bats helping with pollination and seed dispersion, many ecosystems would eventually die. Bats often drink the nectar that occurs inside of flowers. As they move from plant to plant, they help pollinate the flowers with the pollen that attaches to them as they feed. Tropical bats play an essential role in maintaining the rainforests. This makes bats keystone animals to ecosystems around the world.

Bats are extremely important members of the ecosystem. Many species of bats are pollinators, they also disperse seeds of many plants, and many control pests of crops. A single Little Brown Bat can eat about 1000 mosquitoes per hour. 

Kentucky Wildlife Center

Bat boxes can be used to attract these little mammals to your yard. Thrift Diving shows you how to make building a bat house a family activity. Dunn Lumber also offers free plans.​

4. Butterfly Boxes: Why you should avoid using them.

When I started this post, I fully intended to add butterfly boxes into my pollinator gardens as I got them established. A few years back people were encouraged to build butterfly boxes to provide a winter habitat for butterflies. I have always wanted one, and this spring I started to research the boxes. To my surprise, everything that I have read is reporting that the boxes are not used by butterflies at all.

Instead, I learned that the boxes can do more harm than good for your pollinator garden. In an article on Backyard Ecology, it was stated that:

As part of his dissertation, Adam Baker from the University of Kentucky (UK) looked at monarch caterpillar predation in pollinator gardens on UK’s campus. He found that European paper wasps were a common predator of young monarch caterpillars. European paper wasps are an introduced species of wasp that is most common near human dwellings, making urban and suburban areas perfect habitat for it.

Backyard Ecology, Dec 1, 2020

If you intend to attract and aid butterflies in your yard, I would suggest avoiding the butterfly boxes and instead focus on providing feeder plants. Offering shallow water dishes, especially in hot weather is very beneficial. They also appreciate melon rinds and sweet fruit as a treat.

Backyard Ecology has a series of posts under the heading “Take Action”. Their site is very informative and offers tips on attracting pollinators and habitat protection.

5. Garden Scaping: Think Locally

Garden scaping differs from raised bed gardening in that it combines growing food for humans alongside flower gardening. It is a method that makes use of companion gardening and utilizes small growing spaces. Using urban gardening, and garden scaping, helps us to think locally. It protects the environment in several ways. First, the more food we grow, the less goods have to be transported using fossil fuels. Second, when we grow food for yourselves we are helping pollinators.

My blog post “Garden Scaping: Victory Garden to Fight Inflation and Prepare for Possible Food Chain Crisis” focuses on gardening in a small area. In it are several links to resources that you may find useful.

Giving Back

For far too long we humans have overused the resources of our planet. We have destroyed habitat, and brought about mass extinctions. If we do not act now to aid nature and set things right, the next extinction we face may very well be our own. Protecting and supporting our pollinators is key to protecting the future.

Get Ready, Get Set, Garden:

I know you must already love seeing pollinators grace your yard, or you wouldn’t have stopped by for a visit. Please drop a line and send photos of your pollinator gardens once you have established them. I would love to hear from you and see your ideas in action.

Resources:

Bat Brochure

Kentucky Wildlife Organization

Native Seeds.org

Pollinator Protection

Backyard Ecology

Thank you for stopping by,

If you liked this post please subscribe and share.

Come back soon,

Vikki

The post 5 Ways to Attract Pollinators: Protecting Honeybees and Other Pollinators to Protect the Future appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.

The Rise of the Victory Garden

Before World World One, Europe produced most of its food. The start of the war ushered in a food crisis in Europe. Two things occurred that brought about the food draught. First, agricultural workers were recruited into the military service, which left farms shorthanded. Second, many fields that once produced food were now battlefields. As a result, a severe food shortage emerged.

Even before the United States was drawn into the war, Americans were encouraged to grow gardens. In 1917 Charles Lathrop Pack organized a national garden commission to motivate American citizens to grow food to help contribute to the effort to feed the starving masses in Europe.

The food grown by individuals in the USA was not shipped across the seas. But, it did help to lessen the burden of our farmers by helping to supply enough food to feed the people in the United States, thus allowing them to grow food for export to our allies.

Helping the World by Feeding Ourselves

Many people of the time were used to growing small kitchen gardens, but now every family was encouraged to use any idle or vacant land to plant foodstuffs. Gardens sprang up on school grounds, backyards, vacant lots, and flower beds. Soon women’s groups, civic associations, and city commissions were spreading the movement by word of mouth. Even children were encouraged to become involved as “soldiers of the soil”. By the end of WW1, the movement had become known as the victory garden.

Again in World War 2, Victory Gardens became in vogue as a patriotic way to support the war effort both at home and abroad. People were encouraged to grow as much of their food as possible. With rations in place, this extra food became a necessity.

After the war ended, many people forgot the importance of providing food for themselves. Once again, those in urban areas relied on grocery stores for all of their food.

A New Need For Victory Gardens

When Covid-19 spread across the globe, we were all alarmed to learn just how vulnerable the food supply chain was. This experience made me aware that the American people needed to once again be educated on the importance of growing much of their food, even in urban settings.

Food-producing plants are easy to incorporate into a landscape, and lately, I have seen this referred to as garden-scaping (or food scaping). With prices escalating as a result of Covid, we common folk need a victory over inflation. Growing even a small amount of your food can help offset the price of living increase and assist in frugal living. It will also help you to be prepared in case of another supply crisis.

A Very Berry Garden

Several types of berries can be added throughout a yard or to a small lot. Among these are strawberries, blueberries, thornless blackberries and raspberries, mulberry bushes, gooseberries, cherry, elderberries, and lingonberry.

Small Berry Plants:

• Blackberries and raspberries make good hedgerows. Go for the thornless varieties, you will thank me later.
• Lingonberry makes a nice ground cover that produces edible fruit.
• Strawberries can be grown in both containers and small beds. I have used them as border plants.
• Elderberry makes a beautiful bush that can either be used by itself, or as the center of a large bed. They are not only good for producing fruit for jelly and juice, but they are also a favorite of many bird species.
• Gooseberries grow on bushes as well, only they are very compact. This makes them perfect to incorporate into exciting flower beds. Gooseberries are not good to eat raw, but they make amazing jellies and pies.

Larger Berry Bushes and Trees:

Mulberry Bushes: Mulberry can range in height from small to very large. Read carefully to make sure that the variety you choose will fit the space as you intend once it has matured. There is a variety of everbearing mulberry known as Black Beauty. This variety grows to 15 feet in height. Morus nigra is a dwarf everbearing mulberry variety that can be cut back to between 2 to 3 feet. Black Beauty is a short tree variety that grows to 15 feet. Some Mulberry trees do reach nearly 60 feet in height. Choose with care.

Cherry: Cherry plants also come in a variety of sizes. I had cherry bushes that grew to around 12 feet in height that bore small but tasty fruit. Cherry trees can grow to a height of up to 35 feet.

Huckleberry Bushes: Huckleberries are native to the USA. I have a wild variety of huckleberry bushes that my mom gave to me from her property before she passed away. Huckleberries taste very similar to blueberries. I love to pick the tiny berries as they ripen during the summer. My one plant does not produce enough fruit for canning, although I have picked enough to make scones. They are always such a treat. My huckleberry graces an oval plant bed in our front yard. The photo in the header is of my huckleberry plant in bloom.

Incorporating Vegetables and Grains into Flower Gardens

Many HMOs do not allow for vegetable gardens. But they do allow for flower gardens. Vegetables are added throughout flower gardens, not only to produce food but are also to appealing to the eye.

Grains:

This year I intend to plant amaranth, chia, popcorn, and buckwheat in a large bed in my backyard. Amaranth, chia, and buckwheat are both beautiful and showy plants when added to beds. The corn will be at the back of the bed. It will work to help camouflage the side of the shed. The Amaranth will go in next, as it is the second tallest. Then will come the buckwheat, and in the very front will be my chia.

Tubers:

Tubers include potatoes, sweet potatoes, and Pear of the Earth.

• Pear of the Earth: This plant is new to me, but is one that I am highly considering. It is a tuber that has a fruit-like taste. They grow to 6′ tall and have yellow flowers in summer. E- Burgess Seeds: Source of “Pear of the Earth” Seeds.
• Sweet Potato: This plant is one of my favorites. They can be grown in containers to yield food for storage. I grow them in flower pots as well. They make a beautiful showy vine for the container on my porch that I source for free from starts of sweet potatoes that we use for meals. HGTV offers an educational post on growing sweet potatoes in containers.
• Potatoes: Potatoes from well in pots, as well as in gardens. YouTube offers many videos on container gardening. The MIgardener offers a very good instructional video, “How to Grow Potatoes In Containers – Complete Growing Guide“.

Vegetables:

Many vegetables grow well alongside flowers. Look for information on companion plants. I plan to grow sweet bell peppers in my front flower bed. Tomatoes, banana peppers, squash, and some herbs will grace a small vegetable patch in the backyard. I have read that others have success with eggplants, chard, garlic, onion, and other vegetables. It depends on what your family will eat, and the type of light that your growing space receives.

Considerations

If you intend to grow vegetables and herbs alongside more traditional flowers, make sure that you use organic fertilizers. Be careful of using pesticides as well. With careful use of sprays, backyard gardens can be beneficial to the environment your budget as well.

Think about your source of water. Will you have access to a garden hose? Can you use a rain barrel as a catchment system? Plants require a lot of water. Most container plants need special attention to ensure that they have the proper amount of water.

Growing even a small amount of our food helps the environment and helps to fight inflation. It also assists in preparing for a crisis by growing food-producing plants within our landscapes. Currently, our yards are green deserts. We need to change that.

Below are resources that you may find helpful as you begin your garden scaping journey.

Resources and Books

None of the resources listed in this post are affiliates.

The Foodscape Revolution: Finding a Better Way to Make Space for Food and Beauty in Your Garden; Hardcover book- March 2017, by  Brie Arthur (Author)

Edible Landscaping: Edible Landscaping; Paperback- November 2010, by Rosalind Creasy.

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds

Urban Farmer Seeds

Stop Back for Updates

As the year progresses, I plan to add new posts about successes, and any failures. Stop back by for updates. Admittedly, I am a little nervous about my new adventure in gardening. Some of the plants and methods that I want to use are new to me. I will be starting over as I learn how to grow and harvest my urban corps.

You Are Ready to Dig In!

I would love to hear how your gardening adventure goes. Please feel free to leave comments on any tips, and resources, that will assist others with garden scaping or container gardening. We all could use a victory over inflation, and it never hurts to be prepared.

Thanks for stopping by,

Vikki

The post Garden Scaping: Victory Garden to Fight Inflation and Prepare for Possible Food Chain Crisis appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.

I have listed some of my favorite herbs and spices for soap-making, and have provided resources where you can find recipes, lye calculators, etc. Hopefully, they will guide you to becoming a successful soaper, and may even inspire you to start your own herb garden.

A List Of My Favorites

Cinnamon

Who doesn’t love the scent of cinnamon? We all know that cinnamon is a favorite spice for baking, and for use in scented candles. It is just as popular for use in soap. To give soap that same aromatic appeal, soap makers often infuse their wares with cinnamon essential oil.

Powdered cinnamon can be added in small amounts to handcrafted soaps. This wonderfully versatile spice pairs well with most fruity scents, one that probably comes to mind easily is apple-cinnamon. It works just as well with combinations of goat’s milk, oatmeal, vanilla, aloe, and honey. This combination is reminiscent of fresh-baked oatmeal cookies. Cinnamon lends a beautiful color to your soaps giving them a natural appeal without added colorants. Soap recipes that use powered Cinnamon can be found on several sites, two of my favorites are listed below.

Country Hill Cottage

Rustic Wise

Pumpkin Pie Spice

When I think of autumn, the first thing that pops to mind is the scent of pumpkin pie spice! It reminds me of bonfires with family and fall festivals. What is not to love about this nostalgic scent?

A small amount of pumpkin spice used in combination with pumpkin seed oil, honey, vanilla, and goat’s milk creates one of the most lusciously scented soaps to be found. It was one of my top-selling soap blends. Below is a link to a wonderful Pumpkin Spice Soap.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Soap Recipe

Ginger and Gingerbread Soap

Another nostalgic scent is that of ginger. Who doesn’t remember the scent of gingerbread baking in a warm oven? Ginger can be blended with vanilla, honey, and oat milk to produce a gentle and soothing scent similar to that of gingerbread. Gingerbread soap is a wonderful hand soap to display or use in your kitchen. Ginger works well with fruit based scents of apple and pear. The more fruity blends are well suited for luxury baths. Either way, ginger soap always finds a place on my list of favorites. I have provided a link to a very educational YouTube video for making cold process soap with turmeric, ginger, and honey. I love her video and think that you may as well.

Turmeric Ginger & Honey Soap

Peppermint

Peppermint is one of my favorite herbs to use in soap. It is essential for any herb garden as it is easily grown in pots and small areas. Mint will fill your yard with its stimulating fragrance especially in the early morning and after rain showers. Dried peppermint leaves can be crushed and added to soap in small amounts, along with peppermint essential oil.

Peppermint blends well with many other herbs such as lemon verbena, rosemary, or sage. One of my favorite blends made use of peppermint essential oil, honey, cocoa butter, and vanilla. Many sites offer free soap recipes and even videos that you can watch to help you learn the ropes. The Nerdy Farm Wife uses mint from her garden. I love this amazing site and the recipes offered there.

The Nerdy Farm Wife

Anise

Anise is best known for its use in candy, such as black licorice ropes and black jellybeans. But, did you know that it has long been used traditionally in fisherman’s soap? Some believe that it attracts fish. Others have said that they use it when fishing because it removes the human sent from their hands and prevents them from tainting the bait. Whether or not these old fish tales hold truth, I have found that anise soap bars make a nice kitchen soap.

I use ground anise seeds to make a hand-scrub soap. Many soapers use anise seed essential oil instead. As with any essential oil, take care to keep it off your skin in its undiluted form, especially if you are pregnant. Read warnings of any essential oil that you intend to use, and follow directions and recipes carefully. Below is a link for yourbeautyblog’s Fisherman’s Soap. It uses a soap base instead of handmade soap.

Yourbeautyblog

Rosemary

Did you know that in aromatherapy it is thought that Rosemary offers both stimulating and uplifting qualities? Artisan soaps combine the benefits of aromatherapy with the calming abilities of a hot bath to offer up an affordable home spa experience.

One of my favorite blends is derived from using Rosemary and lavender essential oils. Rosemary offers a clean and slightly spicy scent to soaps. In its dried form, it offers a pretty texture to soaps when used in small amounts.

I was lucky enough to have a grandmother to teach me, but I would have loved to have had the resources available today. YouTube offers many soap-making tutorials. This YouTube Video Tutorial on making cold process Rosemary Soap is very easy to follow.

Sage

Sage is an herb often used by traditionally Native Americans as a healing herb. It is also used in cleansing ceremonies. I find the scent of sage very calming, and I’ve used it in several blends of my soap. Often, I use dried sage in small amounts in combination with Clary sage essential oil.

Peppermint-sage soap is a family favorite at our house. Another blend that I have made combined small amounts of dried sage and chamomile, with other additives that included ground oatmeal, goat’s milk, Clary sage essential oil, and chamomile essential oil. Sage can be grown in most home herb gardens.

The Sage offers a Cold Process Soap that uses an oil infusion made from dried sage. Their site also offers the use of such tools as a  Lye Calculator, a Fragrance Calculator, and a measurement Convertor.

Chamomile

Chamomile is best known for its use in tea because of its soothing and relaxing qualities. Many think it shares those same qualities when added to soap. This gentle scent combines well with many different herbs and essential oils. As you research soap recipes, I do not doubt that you will run across many that include chamomile. In my experience, when customers see chamomile listed as an ingredient they are more likely to buy the product.

Again, I am listing The Sage as a recipe source. Although, this is a different recipe than the one I have used in the past it looks to be just as good. I can’t wait to try it for myself.

 Basil

Basil is a plant that can be easily grown in kitchen gardens. It comes in a variety of different scents. I am planting a new herb garden this spring, and intend to grow several varieties of basil. Two that I am planting are the lemon and cinnamon scents. As you well may have guessed I intend to do a bit of experimenting with basil in my soap making this year.

Hearts Content Farmhouse Homestead Recipes and Tutorials: This site is focuses on topics that are related to homesteading . She offers tips on cooking, canning, and soap making among other interesting subjects.

Hearts Content Farmhouse Homestead Recipes and Tutorials

Thyme

Thyme has been used as a healing herb throughout history. In his book, The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy, Salvatore Battaglia talks about the historical use of Thyme Essential Oil saying that, “It was extensively used to medicate gauze and wool for surgical dressings. It resembles carbolic acid in its action, but it is less irritating to wounds and in its germicidal action is greater.” I am not making a medical claim. Yet, I have found Thyme soap to be good to use as a gardener’s soap. My personal favorite incorporates Thyme, Jewel Weed, Chamomile, and Plantain.

The Soap Queen offers a nice Thyme and Witch Hazel Soap recipe on their site that I plan to try.

Seed and Plant Sources:

Below you will find links to companies that sell herb seeds: Most seed companies offer tips for your planting zone.

 Kitaza Seed Company: This company carries seeds for many of the herbs that I have listed.  

Burpee: If you have been into gardening very long, you probably know Burpee as a trusted supplier of seeds and plants. This is one of my husband’s favorite companies to buy from.

Now you are ready to add a bit of nature

into your soaps!

Soap making can be a very rewarding hobby, or side income. Always read recipes carefully. Follow safety procedures closely and consistently. Never let children or pets in your work area.

I hope that you have found some of the resources helpful. Good luck in your journey to producing Natural soaps.

Happy Soaping and gardening!

Thanks for Stopping by,

Vikki

The post 10 Herbs and Spices You Can Use In Soap (That Are Likely In Your Pantry) appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.

Bee Keeping in The Appalachians

Early spring in the mountains was a time of renewal. The cold winter had passed, and the hills were waking up again. Once again, there were things we could harvest from nature to add to our meals. The fish were running in the rivers. It was birthing time on the farm, and the bees would start to swarm.

We had two bee yards (apiaries) on the farms that we lived on. One was at the farm on Flacky Creek, and the other was at the homestead on Hurts Creek. Mom had moved the family back to the Hurts Creek homestead because it was closer to town, and easier for the kids to walk to where we could board the school bus.

My dad stayed at the Flacky Farm, and we stayed at Hurts Creek during the school year. The Flaky Creek farm was very isolated and Dad did not have a phone. If the bees swarmed, we had to call the neighbors that lived across the river from him and ask them to relay the message. They would then cross the Cutchin river, in a john-boat, to tell him he was needed at Hurts Creek.

The swarming season was always a time of excitement. The way we reacted, you would think that we had never seen a swarm before. But to claim the honor of finding that first swarm gave one bragging rights among the siblings, and we just couldn’t wait until dad got there to tell him who had found the prize.

Keeping Bees Was No Easy Task

Before the swarming season began, preparations were made to have extra hive bodies, frames with comb foundation, and extra supers ready and waiting. The hive bodies are the first and second boxes where the bees lived. Supers are the boxes that are added above the hive bodies where honey is stored. They had to be added to the existing hives once the honey flow started.

It was a busy time. The beehives each had to be inspected regularly for ants, mites, and foulbrood. There were also inspections to keep queen cells broken out to prevent over-swarming.

The whole family helped with the bees. We all knew how to assist dad as he retrieved the swarms from trees around the farm. Seeing a swarm in the air was a sight to behold. You could hear them long before they came into your line of vision. They would usually fly in a tight formation, looking like a small dark cloud as they searched for a place to land. Sometimes the entire swarm would circle in the air looking for prime real estate for their beloved queen. It was a beautiful thing to see, and I never tired of it.

Harvesting The Honey

Extracting time came with a new set of challenges. The extracting machines had to be carefully cleaned, a work area had to be prepared, and the tools for processing the honeycomb had to be readied as well. Usually, my father and brothers would retrieve the supers from the bee yards and bring them to the extracting area. Even with Dad using the bee-smokers to try to dislodge the honeybees before transport, a few stragglers would always manage to hang on to the honeycomb until it reached its destination. It was pretty much an accepted fact that you were going to get stung at least once if you were helping with the extraction. But, we were used to it, it was just a normal part of the process.

Frames of honeycomb would be pulled from the super, and the very top layer was removed to expose the cells of honey underneath. This was usually my mom’s area of expertise. A tool called an “uncapping knife” was used to slice the top layer of the honeycomb. The knife was heated to allow it to slice easily through the honeycomb without damaging it. Sometimes when she needed a break, she would let one of us girls step in to take her place. It was such an honor to be chosen to help.

The “cappings”, as we called the top layer of honeycomb, went into waiting bins that were outfitted with wire strainers. Honey would eventually drip down, from the small sheets of wax honeycomb caps, into the bucket below.

We kids could not wait for the chance to be allowed to sample the fresh honey as we extracted it. We would take cappings from the strainer buckets and chew them as one would bubble gum. The sweet taste of honey that was still slightly smoky, from where dad had used the bee-smokers to remove the supers, was irresistible. We would end up eating so much honey that we all had tummy aches by the end of the day. The next day would find us gorging on the honey again.

By the end of the honey extraction, we would have barrels of honey. It was then transferred to waiting jars, and the labels were put in place. It was then ready to be taken to roadside stands and flea markets to sell.

Between swarming season and extracting season, spring held many more adventures. It was also a time for gathering wild foods from the hills, but that is another story for another time.

Saving The Honeybees

Sadly, honeybees have begun to decline and no one really knows why. Without pollinators, humans cannot survive. You can help protect honeybees by allowing wild areas such as bush rows to grow on your property. You can also plant wildflowers that attract pollinators.

Another way to help ensure the survival of honey bees is to work carefully with your local farm co-op agency to learn the proper procedures for spraying insecticide on lawns and crops.

If you are interested in becoming a beekeeper, I have listed some resources below that you may like.

Dadant Beekeeping Supplies

Kelly Beekeeping Company

Reading on Pollinator Gardens

What To Do If Bees Show Up On Your Property

If you find a swarm on your property, call your local co-op. They should be able to put you in touch with a beekeeper who can tell you what type of bees they are. If it is Africanized Honey Bees, they can be dangerous and will need to be exterminated. This type of bee is a hybrid and is often found in the more southerly states. But, if it is European honeybees (regular bees) then the beekeeper will most likely remove them for free.

Other stinging insects are often confused with honeybees. Most are types of wasp, including yellow jackets and the Bald-faced Hornet. There are no true hornets native to the United States. The Bald-faced Hornet (a cousin to the yellowjacket) is responsible for building the huge paper-like nests that so many add to art as “bees nests”.

YouTube video on the importance of bees and what to do if they show up on your land.

Further Reading About Joe Feltner

and the Flacky Creek Farm

If you would like to read a story about my dad (and see amazing artwork that features my little brother, my dad, and cousin) then you may be interested in the book Mirrored Souls- A Study of Paul Murray’s Art.

None of the links are affiliates.

Paul Murray and his wife are amazing people, and I love all of his art, especially that which features my family.

Dadant and Kelly were household words for us. Walter T. Kelly was a wonderful person. He donated beekeeping manuals for my father to give out at the Breathitt County Honey Festival. Many of the honey-based recipes that I still use are from Mrs. Kelly’s cookbook.

Although my family had no personal connections with Dadant, my brother and father sometimes used them as a resource for supplies.

Other acknowledgments: The art used in the Header is an original by Marshal Mills. It is a pencil drawing of our cabin at Flacky. Contact information for the artist is available upon request.

“Bee” Happy and Enjoy This Beautiful Spring

Thank you for stopping by today and taking this trip with me down memory lane. Drop a line to say hello, and let me know how you are doing if you are new to beekeeping.

Y’all come back soon.

Vikki

The post Springtime Found Us Busy As Bees appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.

It was easy to find wild grapevines in Eastern Kentucky. Some of my best memories are of my siblings, cousins, and I stopping along the gravel road to pick and eat fall grapes. We’d get home with hands and clothes stained with grape juice, knowing full well that Mom was going to be upset.

Wild grapevines have long been a source of both food and crafting material in the Appalachian Mountains. Wild grapes make flavorful jelly, and the vines are used for creating wreaths and baskets.

I am going to show you how I craft my grapevines wreaths. If you love working with your hands and getting outdoors to find nature-farmed craft supplies, then I think you will love wreath making.

You Will Need:

• eye protection
• grapevines
• shape knife for cutting vines
• space to lay out vines and work
• long pants

Safety Matters

Creating Grapevine wreaths is not hard to do, but you may end up with a few splinters and scratches on your hands and arms as you work. Protective eye gear is recommended. Take care using the knife in tangled areas while harvesting vines. Also, it’s very wise to make sure that you know what a grapevine looks like. I have heard of people cutting poison ivy thinking that it was a grapevine. Avoid both poison ivy and poison oak, as both plants tend to grow in wooded areas along with grapevines.

When to Harvest Vines

You can use domesticated grapevines to create wreaths. Here, I am harvesting wild vines from our property. Make sure that if you are harvesting from someone else’s land, that you have the landowner’s permission. Spring is a good time to harvest and work on your wreaths as the sap starts to return to the vines from the roots making them more pliable. Vines can be harvested in summer and fall as well. Although, you will have to deal with sap that will drip from the cut ends during the summer and until the sap has receded in the fall). You do not want to harvest in the dead of winter because the vines will be more brittle and harder to work. Working in early spring will also help you avoid finding ticks and snakes in your vine thicket.

Choosing Your Vines

When you begin gathering your vines, you are going to want to harvest 5 to 6 grape vines that are about the size of your thumb on one end, tapering down to about the size of your little finger. Size of the vines doesn’t matter so long as you can work them and does not have to be exact. The vines each need to be about 20 feet long. For a larger wreath, adjust the size and length of your vines. Make sure that you lay your vines separately as you stretch them out on the ground (this will keep them from becoming tangled).

Once you have your vines cut and laid out, choose one to be the base for your wreath. Carefully shape one end of the vine into a hoop the diameter that you want your finished wreath to be. Hold the area near the end of your vine, and carefully pull the loose end through the hoop you’ve established.

In the photo below, I am tucking in loose pieces as I work. You can also see the angle that I position the vine in, to prepare pulling it through the hoop. Holding the hoop with my left hand, I move my right hand to the bottom of the wreath. I push the vine through the opening in the middle of the hoop (near the bottom of the wreath).

Make sure that when you began to pull your vine through that you do not try to make it bend too sharply or it will break.

As you pull it through, wrap the vine in and out as you move around the hoop. When you get close to the end of your first vine, look for an area where you can tuck the loose end inside your hoop.

Choose your next vine, take the end of this vine, move back about two inches from where you tucked the end of the last one, and insert the large end (the end where you cut it loose from the near the ground).

Work your new vine into a space within your hoop. You then will continue working this vine exactly as you did the first. Add the rest of your vines, one at a time, until your wreath has reached the thickness that you want.

Wreathmaking is something that takes a bit of practice to get the wreath to hold together tightly. Try not to be discouraged if your first attempt at making a wreath is not perfect. It took practice on my part as well. After your wreath has cured for at least a week in a dry environment, you can begin decorating your wreath by adding a beautiful bow and anything else your heart desires.

If you have enjoyed learning about this Appalachian craft, you may want to check out the Foxfire book series. The series is a collection of works that teach many of the skills used by mountain folk for centuries. You can find them at amazon.com and most public libraries.

Join me in an upcoming post as I work to add embellishments to my grapevine wreath. Have fun creating your first grapevine wreath. If you do create a wreath, I’d love to see photos.

Thanks for stopping in,

Vikki

The post Making A Grapevine Wreath You’ll Want To Decorate appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.