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Here I Stand

Yes, here I stand in front of one of the original 500 Seaberry plants in Seboeis Plantation Maine.  It has been in this ground for 14 months.  The passage of time has been favorable.  Most of the plants are very healthy. There are a few casualties and those mainly are the result of mice chewing and girdling the bark on the plants under the 7-10 feet of snow which covered the ground over the winter.  I could tell you I don't like those mice and that would be true.  Even so this article in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology (click), makes me think and smile a bit thinking about those mice.  Sea Buckthorn bark contains a significant amount of serotonin, sort of a happy chemical.  More specifically a mood balancing brain chemical which, when deficient could lead to depression.

Mother nature can be brutal.  We know that.  Sometimes she does the strangest things and even fewer times she surprises.  Those mice had a good winter.   So did some of the other plants here at Foxgreen Farms.  

These are Egyptian Onions or Walking Onions.  They are extremely hardy and prolific.  They have the unusual ability to produce bulblets at the top of the stalk and when the little bulbs increase in weight, the stalk bends to the ground and the new bulb takes root.  

This is a nice stand of Yarrow, another super hardy plant.  Yarrow is a long stemmed member of, believe it or not, the sunflower family.  It grows wild throughout the Northern Hemisphere.  Native Americans used a ton of it.  The Micmac tribe chewed or stewed the stalk to induce sweating to break fevers and colds.  They also pounded it into a pulp and applied to bruises, sprains and swelling.  I am a decedent of this tribe.  It originated not far from here in Seboeis.  As the story goes, there was a great, great, great, great grandfather or something close to that (I'll call him Hugh) who was alone with his fellow exploring companions for one hundred and five days.  The Micmac woman watched secretly and decided to approach my ancestor. Honestly I don't know how they did that back then without the internet and texting but it happened anyway.  

Greek myth tells of Achilles painting himself with a tincture of yarrow to make himself invulnerable to arrows. It worked but he missed a spot.  You guessed it, his heel.

Today it often is prepared as a tea and in addition to the Indian uses is said to be beneficial as a relaxant and helps with dry skin. 

 Shrimp with Yarrow and Baked Lemon

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 lemons

6 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh yarrow leaves, plus a few sprigs for garnish

24 large shrimp–shelled, deveined and cut almost in half lengthwise down the back

Salt

Cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 450° and light the grill, if you”re using one. In a small bowl, stir together the olive oil and garlic. 2. Cut the pointed ends from the lemons so they will sit flat, then halve them crosswise. Set them flesh side up in a glass or ceramic baking dish and spoon 1 tablespoon of the sugar on each half. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the sugar is melted and the pulp is soft. Preheat the broiler, if using.

2. Sprinkle the chopped yarrow inside the shrimp and pinch closed. Brush the shrimp with the garlic oil and season with salt and cayenne. Grill or broil the shrimp 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque. Squeeze some of the lemon juice over the shrimp and garnish with the yarrow sprigs. Serve at once with the baked lemons.

SERVINGS: 6 FIRST-COURSE SERVINGS

ADHD

Admitted Daily Happiness Double-Play -   Sometimes lots to do and not enough time is a catalyst to success. I've been working way too much at my ordinary job and double-time at the passions which fill the best parts of every day.  That pretty much describes Craig too.  Coffee sales an seed sales have been going well. Forest farm seed sales are good too.  Sea Buckthorn is, still, by far the most popular.  We have a collection of seeds available at a great value price. See - http://r.ebay.com/TuUtPl  And don't forget to have some fun visiting http://www.fartboxcoffee.com/  We haven't put together a 3 pound combo-collection yet at a special price, but if you want to choose 3 different or the same variety, I'll take care of the shipping costs for you.  Just go to the contact page - http://www.fartboxcoffee.com/contact-us-.html and let us know which 3 types you want (1lb bags each) and we will send you an online invoice for $45.00 (shipping included).  Craig is still very much missed while he is in Afghanistan.  (By the way, Fartbox Coffee is a huge hit with the soldiers)

If you have read this far along in this post, close your eyes for a moment and wish him well.  There are a lot of people over there trying their best in a dangerous place.  They all deserve your good thoughts.

jiovi Agro-Ecology http://r.ebay.com/TuUtP

Food Forest Seed Collection!  See collection contents below-------

Why Grow an Edible Forest Garden?
While each forest gardener will have unique design goals, forest gardening in general has three primary practical intentions:

• High yields of diverse products such as food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizer, 'farmaceuticals' and fun;
• A largely self-maintaining garden and;
• A healthy ecosystem.

These three goals are mutually reinforcing. For example, diverse crops make it easier to design a healthy, self-maintaining ecosystem, and a healthy garden ecosystem should have reduced maintenance requirements. However, forest gardening also has higher aims.

As Masanobu Fukuoka once said, "The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings." How we garden reflects our worldview. The ultimate goal of forest gardening is not only the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of new ways of seeing, of thinking, and of acting in the world. Forest gardening gives us a visceral experience of ecology in action, teaching us how the planet works and changing our self-perceptions. Forest gardening helps us take our rightful place as part of nature doing nature's work, rather than as separate entities intervening in and dominating the natural world.

Contains - 

1. Rose Hips - (Dog Rose- Rosa Canina) 50+ extra seeds 
2. Yellowhorn Shrub (Xanthoceras sorbifolia) - 5 seeds
3. Siberian Pea Shrub (Caragana arborescens)- 50+ extra seeds
4. Rocky Mountain Elderberry *Rare*(Sambucus melancarpa)- 100+ extra seeds
5. Red Ederberry (Sambucus racemosa) - 100+ extra seeds
6. Blue Elderberry (Sabucus caerulea) - 100+ extra seeds
7. Bearberry Seeds (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) - 50+ extra seeds
8. Seabuckthorn (Hippophae rhamniodes) - 40+ extra seeds

Price if purchased individually including shipping is over $42.00.  Collection Price $29.50!  Save over 25%