Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Zitrones Muddergraut / Lemon Beebalm / Monarda citriodora

New addition to the garden this year.

 


The way it flowers reminds me of Spotted Beebalm, which is, perhaps, my very favorite plant of all time in appearance. The Lemon Beebalm is blooming far earlier than my Spotted ever has, and the shades of pink are really beautiful.



Sunday, September 13, 2020

Grudelrewe / Groundsel

Grudelrewe (pdc), (tax: Senecio vulgaris and en: Common Groundsel): Groundsel is listed as a noxious weed in many states and even in many countries. It is poisonous to cattle and horses. It is toxic to humans with prolonged exposure. The plant is native to Europe and Asia but has spread throughout most of the world.

die Grudelrewe
die Grudelrewe

In the past, it was used in Deitsch herbalism as a remedy for epilepsy and for treatment of worms. However, there are far better herbs out there to use instead of one that is documented to be toxic.

There are some benefits to the plant, though. For starters, finches, sparrows, and some other birds consume the seeds as part of their diet. The plant is frost-resistant and runs on shorter cycles, which means the birds have groundsel seeds available much of the year. It is also a food source for the caterpillars of some moths (mostly in Europe and Asia), and it plays host to some pollinating flies and other insects.

At this time of year, many Milkweeds are releasing their floating seeds. Groundsels seeds look similar, so a Groundsel seed might be mistaken for a Milkweed seed and be caught by a Deitsch child, who, thinking it is a "Gwinschi" ("Wishy") or "Wischli" ("Wisp"), will make a wish on the seed and release it back into the wild.

DEITSCH VOCABULARY

die Grudelrewe: Common Groundsel; Senecio vulgaris

Potential Pitfall! Grudelrewe vs. Grundelreewe. The former is this toxic Groundsel; the latter is Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea), a beneficial herb of the Mint family and one of the Nine Sacred Herbs of Urglaawe.

es Gwinschi: informally, a "wishy." Something one makes wishes upon. In Deitsch lore, it is often the floating seed of a Milkweed. The floating seed is caught; the wish is made upon it. The seed is then released and is carried away to those who will hear it (folklore varies here among ancestors/forebears, Elwe, Idise, etc.). If the floating seed lands within sight and germinates, it is said the wish has been heard and granted.

es Millichgraut: Milkweed. Allgmeenes Millichgraut is Deitsch for Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca.

es Wischli: Similar to Gwinschi, but the original meaning is less about the wish and more about the wispy appearance of the floating seed.

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Catnip / es Katzegraut

One of my friends started a new garden this year, and stray cats in her neighborhood completely trashed the Catnip that she had planted. This matched my first experience with Catnip over a decade ago. I have experimented with a few different options for dealing with this problem:



"Set it and they'll get it; sow and they won't know."

Anecdote from my experience:

When I first started gardening, I planted a Catnip (Nepeta cataria) plant that had a solid season. The next year during Spring cleanup, I uprooted the plant, so it never came back. So, I acquired more plants, and they did well... for about 20 hours. I came out to my backyard and startled the stray cat (who now lives with us strictly indoors) we since have named Mama. She had totally trashed all the Catnip plants that we set. It was a catnip carnage. So I tried setting a plant in a hanging pot. That worked sufficiently, but that summer was brutally, and the soil would dry out rapidly, so the plant withered quickly. I usually have at least one plant in a container each year, though.

The next season I tried a combination of sowing and setting into the ground. I set small plants right at the May 15 threshold. The smaller plants were easier to handle without damaging them than were the larger plants. I planted them in the middle of Daabnessel (Purple Deadnettle) stands that were fading out for the season.

This has worked for me every season. I think the trick is to avoid as much as possible doing any damage to the Catnip plant that would cause the volatile oil to be exposed to open air in a sufficient quantity. Speaking from my experience only, Daabnessel serves as a companion plant in a couple of ways: the texture and appearance of the leaves that branch from the stem are similar to Catnip, but the aroma is far more earthy. Daabnessel grows widely on its own throughout Pennsylvania, so most of us probably do not need to cultivate it; we can just use what is already there. Daabnessel also releases its oils and aroma at least as easily as Catnip, so, if the Catnip is set among the Daabnessel, the Daabnessel aroma might mask the Catnip aroma. They are both Mints and, while Daabnessel can grow rapidly and aggressively, its Spring season is fading out when Catnip's is coming in. Catnip requires space, so, as the plants grow, I pare back the dying Daabnessel.

Setting stakes or dowels around a set Catnip plant won't stop a cat from finding the plant and eating the aerial parts, but it will make it more difficult for the cat roll on the plant or to uproot it, which increases the chances of a set plant surviving.

Another great companion plant for Catnip, also from the Mint family, is Hyssop (Hyssopus officials), which one may often find in white and blue subspecies. The two plants improve the conditions for each other. Hyssop is a critical ingredient for one of my salves, so I appreciate the relationship between the two.

Usually a few volunteer Catnip plants show up in June from last years seeds sowing themselves. Those volunteers often turn up in areas where plants in the Brassica (Mustard) family are growing, which is often for me in garden beds where there are remnants of Pennsylvania Bittercress (Cuckooflower) are still there, but I try to keep the Cuckooflower out of the main garden beds because it just takes over. However, the companion status between Catnip and the Brassicas covers pretty much anything in the Mustard family. Catnip deters many of the pests (particularly the flea beetle) that attack Brassicas. Catnip can also serve as a good protector of plants in the Gourd (Curcurbit) family by deterring pests like the squash beetle.

Setting Catnip among other fragrant plants can increase the likelihood of survival. Lavender and Rosemary have worked sufficiently for me, but the one that seemed to do the single best job was Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium, which is a "true mint"; the distantly related American Pennyroyal is Hedeoma pulegioides and would work, too). I experimented with setting a medium-sized Catnip plant that had to be moved among three Pennyroyal plants. Pennyroyal has a distinct fragrance that is released easily, and it is, to my sense of smell, more volatile than is Catnip. Unfortunately, there is conflicting information out there about whether Pennyroyal is toxic to cats, and mounting evidence leads me to be hypercautious about placing an enticement amid potential poison.

Construction at my house this year resulted in the loss of my sole Rue (Ruta graveolens) plant. Rue is also said to be good deterrent to cats, but the area it was in was too small for Catnip to share the space. This is the weekend I will be acquiring stater plants or sowing seeds, so I may replace the Rue in the same place and then get another plant or two to test its success with protecting Catnip up in the cemetery.

Another option that many choose, for ornamental purposes primarily, is to plant a Catmint (Deitsch: der Katzebalsem; tax; Nepeta spp. other than cataria but especially Nepeta racemosa, Nepeta nepetella and hybrids of the two). Most Catmints won't be attractive to cats, so the plants will typically thrive. However, this also means that it is not "true" Catnip (which is not a hybrid). While I actually like the smell of Catmint, I stick to Catnip because it has more medicinal value to me and because I grow Catnip for my feline overlords. I was given a Catmint plant once (and I am not kidding when I say I dig the aroma of it), but I had to keep it in a container because I the likelihood of it hybridizing with my Catnip plants was way too high.

So this weekend is a great time to sow Catnip seeds directly and to transplant (carefully) seedlings or small plants into the ground.

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Urglaawe Live Gebt Acht (#8) Chatcast

Urglaawe Live Gebt Acht is the eighth in our Facebook Live chatroom broadcasts. This weeks topic will be the Nine Sacred Herbs of Urglaawe / Neine Heiliche Gegreider, which are derived from Braucherei. 

Sunday, May 10, 2020
19:00 / 7:00 PM EDT


Presentation File: https://tinyurl.com/ycyhjcob



Thursday, May 7, 2020

Wonnezeit Night / Day 7: Magnolia

WONNEZEIT NIGHT/DAY 7: MAGNOLIA

Deitsch: Maagnoli
Genus: Magnolia

Several types of Magnolia grow throughout the Deitscherei, and the Deitsch communities in Virginia, North Carolina, and other southern areas have certainly taken on some of the lore of the South that relates to the tree, such as representing nobility and strength.  In the Southern Diaspora, the flowers have come to represent the very land in which the people live, and white magnolias often are features of bridal bouquets to represent purity. 

Magnolia acuminata
Image source: https://canr.udel.edu/udbg/?plant=magnolia-acuminata


Across the Deitsch culture, magnolias will turn up in artwork, often adorning the edges but sometimes also serving a the primary subject of the work.

Purinton Pennsylvania Dutch Honey Jug
Image source: https://tinyurl.com/y9veymlu
Medicinally, tea from magnolia bark has long been used as a remedy for anxiety. People chew the bark as an alternative to smoking. Even to this day, some people snuff the warm tea to aid in sinus issues, or they put a poultice of magnolia tea around the site of a toothache. Older uses also include serving as a replacement of quinine in the treatment of malaria.

If you have magnolias on your property, today is an appropriate time to pour libations to the tree in order to encourage strong blooming of the flowers. Folklore states that, if you honor the tree properly, you might get a second round of blooms within the same season. Indeed, some species of magnolia do sometimes bloom twice.



Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Wonnezeit Night 6: Hawthorn

Deitsch: der Schpellebaam; die Weissdorn (specifially white hawthorns; several variants in spelling)
Genus: Crataegus

Hawthorn trees are common across the Deitscherei as ornamental trees with beautiful, fragrant flowers. During Wonnezeit, the tree is honored in its budding or blooming stage in order increase the yield of flowers and berries. Hawthorn is used as a medicinal herb by traditional Deitsch herbalists.

Hawthorn
image from: www.quickcop.ie

In Deitsch folklore, the tree's spirit can sense danger to itself or to one who bears the wood of the tree, and the tree's spirit will intervene to thwart energetic attacks. Hawthorn, therefore, is considered to have proactive defensive properties, which is consistent with some of its traditional medicinal uses.

Disclaimer: This information is for educational and discussion purposes only. Nothing in these posts is intended to constitute, or should be considered, medical advice or to serve as a substitute for the advice of a physician or other qualified health care provider. 

Contraindication: Patients taking digoxin should avoid taking hawthorn.

Hawthorn has served as a hedgerow plant for Germanic peoples from the ancient times to the present. Earlier uses included the herb as a remedy for kidney and bladder stones, but the primary medicinal use to this day is to aid in keeping a healthy heart and circulatory system. Hawthorn increases blood flow to the heat and can help to restore a normal heartbeat.

The parts used in traditional Deitsch herbalism are the berries (fresh or dried) and the flowering tops (fresh or dried). Most common methods are tinctures or decoctions, though the flowering tops can be ground into pills, too. 

Many studies have supported the versatility of Hawthorn use in addressing many different diseases and conditions. Please see the National Institute of Health's article on the "Effect of Crataegus Usage in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: An Evidence-Based Approach."

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Hawthorn image viked from https://www.quickcrop.ie/product/common-hawthorn-bare-root-hedging-plants

Monday, May 4, 2020

Wonnezeit Night / Day 5: Crabapple, Apple

Deitsch: der Holsabbel, der Abbel
Genus: Malus

Deitsch "rural legend" says that we are the "Pie People," who have more distinct variations of pie than any other cuisine in the world. Whether this is true or not, I cannot say. However, we really do have a lot of pies counted among our traditional fare.

http://www.welcome-to-lancaster-county.com/amish-pies.html

On Day 3, I could have written an article similar to this one about Pawpaw, of which I have three trees on my cemetery property, but I was otherwise engaged. So, tonight, as Night 5 has begun, I'll write just a bit about the Crabapple and Apple.

Image from Home Depot
https://tinyurl.com/yb5blxoo

Although Crabapple is a particular type of Apple and the whole of the Apple Blossom Blessing description could just have been listed under "Apple." However, the lowly Crabapple has a special place in Deitsch cuisine because the three species of Crabapple that are native to Pennsylvania were the only apples to which the earliest settlers had until trade and orchards became more established. Crabapple pies and Crabapples used as flavoring in meals my reach back to that time of the Colonial Era.

Apples play a large role in Deitsch food production and industry. Even today, many of the larger applesauce producers are Deitsch or stem from Deitsch roots. Apple Butter is a very traditional Deitsch food, and the vast majority of those producers are Deitsch.

Apples are a major component of Urglaawe Erntfescht celebrations in September, and, although Idunna is not known in Deitsch lore, the importance of apples most certainly is. The apples on the tree that cried to be shaken off provided one of the tests that the heroine of "Fraa Holle" passed, and there are many other references to apples' benefit throughout our lore. 

Apples play a large role in traditional Deitsch social practices. "Schnitz parties" were (and still are) multi-family or community events in which people cut the apple harvest to prepare for the processing of the apples for applesauce or apple butter. Similar community harvests were common for other crops as well.

http://www.lynnheidelberg.org/schnitzingshooting.html

In order for us to enjoy all the foods and social aspects that surround Crabapples and Apples, we have to have a bountiful Apple harvest. To that end, ritual blessings of Apple trees take place throughout the region, frequently during the beginning of May. The original article about the Wonnezeit blessings (https://urglaawe.blogspot.com/2020/05/wonnezeit-tree-shrub-and-plant.html) describes a few methods of blessing, but we are still working on taking a few of them and creating some Urglaawe rituals.  Since we have not yet finished that process, we suggest that folks who do not have other plans utilize one of the straw methods:

The more practical (and somewhat common) ways to honor fruit-bearing trees includes straw in the following manners: 1. tying straw around its trunk; 2. strewing straw among is branches (which I think is a contributor to tree garlands); 3. tapping the trunk of the tree, particularly toward the base, with wisps of straw. I have used option 3 during Wonnezeit in the past.

We will continue to write about the Wonnezeit blessings and to work on the rituals, and we'll post them to Urglaawe fora as soon as they are completed.

Hail to the Crabapple! Hail to the Apple!