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How to grow valerian, a plant whose roots are a gentle and effective sleep aid. Its scented flowers are also loved by bees, and the roots are irresistible to cats. It’s easy to grow valerian and even though it can grow tall and be knocked down by the wind, it’s pretty tolerant of both heavy…
Yurts, Polytunnels, and Green Solutions. A tour of a low-impact homestead and learning about how it’s been designed using permaculture zones. On the second day of our Introduction to Permaculture course, our two instructors kindly brought us to the home they share with their two children. Over the last five years, Amanda and Jim have built…
In the north of the Island is a Permaculture smallholding Paul Crocker met us at the end of what looked like a long grassy lane jutting off a main country thoroughfare. We’d driven past it already but on the way back his light straw hat and waving arm helped us locate the entrance to his…
Scouring the Internet for Alkanet Seeds A story of finding seeds and growing alkanet. Alkanna tinctoria roots are common and used to naturally tint soap, food but the plant remains a mystery As a producer of natural beauty products I mainly use plant extracts to infuse colour. I use natural colours because not only are…
Skincare recipe for making neem balm for eczema & psoriasis. It’s all-natural and the oils in the recipe help soothe inflammation, itchiness, and flakiness Skin conditions of any sort can be uncomfortable, but eczema and psoriasis are probably two of the most irritating. Both are genetic auto-immune skin conditions that result in flaky, inflamed skin….
Alexanders are an edible wild plant that you can find growing from February to June. Pick the tender young stems and steam them for a unique flavour experience. They taste like a combination of asparagus, celery, and elderflower In early spring Alexanders are the biggest and boldest plants in hedgerows across Britain. If you’re looking…
This homemade Baileys Irish cream recipe requires just a handful of ingredients and a few minutes of your time to make When food and drink come in fancy bottles we sometimes have it in our head that it’s complicated to make. This is often not the case and my recipe for homemade Irish cream is…
I gathered another load of rose-hips on Friday and processed them into tea over the weekend. When making tea it’s not such a big deal to leave the seeds in so it took me a lot less time than when making rose-hip powder a couple of weeks ago. What I wanted to point out this…
The first sprouts of our future allotment wildflower meadow popped their heads out of the soil over the weekend. Tiny and perfect with their fragile baby green leaves and representing more than sixty varieties of flowers and grasses, these tiny seedlings will germinate and grow for the next month or so and then bunk down…