A picture of the chicks that hatched.

After 6 weeks of sitting on eggs finally four hatched. The first batch of eggs were all duds, but this lot produced the four out of seven. Proud mum is taking no chances with them and has not ventured out in to the garden with them yet. I was a bit stuck as to which food to buy them because the chickens for some reason don't eat the chicken food. So I bought Italian Polenta and they love that.
While I was in the garden tying up tomatoes, I heard a plop behind me and turned to see a plum had fallen out of the tree. This was immediately followed by another plop and a fieldmouse fell on top of the plum! I wish I had my camera for that picture!! I would never have thought that a fieldmouse would climb a tree!

Artemisia afra - an extremely versatile South African herb

Artemisia afra

This wonderful shrubby plant is very generous with its foliage once it is established and can be cut back regularly and will sprout again with vigour. The leaves are quite delicate and feathery, and have a fruity aroma when crushed. A tincture made of the fresh leaves is fruity and deep dark green, whereas when made from the dried leaves it is dark brown, less fruity and more bitter. The fresh leaf is quite intensly bitter to chew, and interestingly will get rid of a headache as effectively as any pain killer. One might have to chew two leaves, but many a sissy will prefer to take a pill :)

Artemisia afra is complex chemically and in its actions. It contains complex volatile oils as well as terpenoids, coumarins and acetylenes. It is antimicrobial, antioxidant, analgaesic and antihistamine. It is a decongestant, and combined with the antihistamine action it is an excellent herb for upper respiratory tract infection and allergy. It can also be used to get rid of intestinal worms, so very good to add to dog food in small qualtities if worms are suspected.

It is also thought to be antimalarial. I have given the tincture to many people who are travelling into malaria regions.  As most antimalarials are anyway not 100% foolproof and come with sometimes hefty side effects, Artemisia is a good option.  Because of its thujone content, it should not be taken in excess. I always blend herbs to minimise the risk of side effects, and to maximise the synergistic action of a formula. Where anti malarial action is required I also give Echinacea.

I recommend that you see a practitioner for these tinctures. The tinctures or tablets sold in health shops are very often too weak to have a protective effect, despite what it says on the label!

Another important feature of any herb is its sustainability, and this herb is easy to propogate and very hardy.

From my herb garden : Medicinal weeds - nature's pharmacy

Many herbs are nothing more than common weeds. Weeds that drive farmers and gardener's nuts are often excellent medicinal herbs. Examples would be couch grass and dandelion, not to mention my beloved stinging nettle. I'm only too happy that nettle and dandelion have made their home in my garden, and I have referred to nettle quite a few times in this blog.

TARAXACUM OFFICINALE

Dandelion is an important herb for spring, when it can be employed to detoxify (how I hate that word) the body after the stodgy excesses of winter. All the warming foods like stews with starchy puddings to follow, are so comforting, but come spring it's a good idea to give the kidneys and the liver a little nudge with some herbs so that you can get the body in shape for summer as well as feel energised. A tea made from Dandelion leaf is perfect for this. Dandelion leaves are quite bitter and this bitter property is very important in stimulating bile flow. Traditionally dandelion leaves are eaten in salads in spring time, not just for the cleansing effect but also as they are a rich source of vitamin C

A herb that I like because of it's delicate appearance is shepherd's purse. This weed came into my garden by mysterious means, and has self seeded to add to the abundance and variety of spring foliage that is so delightful. It gets its name from the fruits which are shaped like a little purse. This picture shows the shadows of the fruits very nicely:

SHEPHERD'S PURSE

Shepherd's purse is best know for its astringent properties. Strangely enough it comes from the cabbage family. The leaves can also be eaten in spring salads and are rich in flavonoids which are good for your blood vessels. Medicinally it is used for bleeding in the kidneys, excessive menstrual bleeding and diarrhoea etc. It isn't used very much these days, but archeological records of its use date back to ancient times. One of my sources mentions that it has medicinal benefits for the heart. Looking at the heart shapes of the fruits that is hardly surprising. In the past, herbs were often used based on which body part they resembled. This was known as the Doctrine of Signatures. These days scientific research has confirmed many of these beliefs. Quite often herbs that are useful for the heart are also useful for the uterus which also could be said to have a heart shape.



Recipe for a healthy and scrumptious seed loaf

SEED LOAF

800g  Stone ground brown flour

200g  Stone ground rye flour

1 sachet dried yeast

75g sunflower seeds

75g flax seeds

75g pumpkin seeds

2 tspns salt

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 egg

500ml warm water

METHOD

Put all the dry ingredients including the yeast into the mixing bowl. (I use a Kitchen aid mixer with the dough hook). Mix well. Add the warm water, olive oil and egg and knead until the liquid is well incorporated and the dough does not stick to the sides of the bowl. (Sometimes one needs a bit less or more water depending on the flour.) Knead for at least five minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with a large plastic bag and allow to rise for a couple of hours.

Once it is well risen, turn it out onto a floured surface and lightly knead it until smooth and shape into two loaves. Place into floured tins and allow to rise again in a warm place (this usually takes about 30 minutes).

Bake in a very hot oven 200 deg for 30 - 40 minutes. I turn the temperature down to 175 deg for the last 15 minutes to make sure the inside is well baked.

Turn the loaves out onto a wire tray to cool down. The texture of this bread was moist and spongy. Very nice for a seed loaf, not heavy at all. Good for sandwiches or toast.

Protecting my garden from my two bantams

My two bantams are much loved, and truly free range. They have at least 500sq metres to scratch about in, and they do a very thorough job. It does seem that they could do with 2000 sq m and maybe even that wouldn't be enough, because they go over the same ground twice or three times in a day.

I get upset when they dig up freshly planted seedlings or eat my lettuces, so after much previous heartache, where they've ruined a bed of newly planted seedlings (raised from seed), I have learned!! Nothing gets planted without adequate protection. My garden is draped with enviromesh, netting and I make use of lots of chicken wire.

Heavy mulch in the herb garden.

This does look a bit odd; for instance I planted bush beans and they all emerged through the holes of chicken wire, which I put down to stop the chickens from scratching off the heavy mulch I had put down. The beans look great so far! Thanks to the chickens I have very few insect problems on the ground. Cutworm, snails and most leaf eating bugs are hardly evident. Because the chickens turn the mulch continually, it can't be accused of harbouring unwelcome pests. At the same time their poops are very useful fertilizer, which is spread evenly over the garden, and is firm enough to pick up if it lands on the pathway. (I remember trying to keep ducks at one stage, and their squirts were a pain.)

Enviromesh is wonderful stuff for the organic gardener! It not only keeps the chickens off the vegetable beds, but also cats, dogs and birds. It is designed to keep insects off (such as the cabbage butterfly), while allowing light, wind and rain through. Unfortunately I don't think one can get it in SA - I've always bought mine in the UK. Once you have it, it lasts for years and years. I also bought fine green netting this year (also in the UK) to drape over my youngberries. It has also been employed to keep the chickens off certain beds which I had covered with straw - and they were most determined to scratch that off!!

Another way of protecting my newly planted seedlings and small plants is by placing slate or bricks on either side. The chickens like moist areas and tend to go straight for where one has just watered the new plant. So the garden is dotted with stones and slate or bricks which not only keep the plants in place, but also trap the moisture for the plants and give them a better chance of getting established.

Before I had chickens it was quite easy to collect a bucket full of snails at a time in my garden. Now it is difficult to find one. They do their best work eating slug and snail eggs, but will eat small snails and even big ones, when there is an insect shortage. As I've said before they are good at catching mice too! This does force me to keep my mind on the delicious egg at breakfast time, and NOT how it was produced!!

Butternut and pumpkin seed bread

Baking always perks me up if I'm in need of a bit of a boost. I developed this recipe and it makes a lovely loaf, light in texture and an interesting yellow colour. Yummy.

Butternut and pumpkin seed bread




I Kg stone-ground brown flour

1 sachet dried instant yeast

2 teaspoons sea salt

500g cooked butternut squash (steamed or baked)

¼ cup olive oil (25g)

1 egg

100g pumpkin seeds and some for decorating the top of the loaves

300ml warm water

METHOD

In a bowl, mix the flour, salt and dried yeast together. Add the pureed butternut, olive oil, egg, and warm water and mix thoroughly. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead well until the dough is smooth and elastic. (You can use a machine to do this). Add the pumpkin seeds and knead them into the dough. Allow the dough to rise for a couple of hours in a warm place.

When it is well risen, punch it down, knead briefly until smooth, and shape into loaves. Press them onto some pumpkin seeds and place on a floured baking tray to rise again. When they are about double in size, bake in a hot oven 450 deg C for about 35 minutes.

Water matters

We've just had some very welcome rain here in the Cape. From now on every shower is a blessing because soon we will reach summer and three months of possibly no rain at all with a dry month or more added on, depending how kind the rain Gods are!
For the veggie patch, herb garden and the olive trees I have water tanks which give me 4000 litres of rainwater. This just about sees me through the dry season. I'm hoping to add another tank in the future, depending on how kind the money Gods are!

It can be quite a struggle to ensure that the garden doesn't die off as it did in the severe drought we had a few years ago. In fact the herb garden has never really recovered and I am trying to establish a secure microclimate by planting hardy shrubs like Artemisia afra around which I can establish softer herbs. This is a work in progress.

All around the garden are bird baths (often used by the dogs on a hot day, returning from a walk!) It's lovely to see the birds enjoying the water on a hot summer day and there are many birds that love the herb garden because it is lush and shady, with plenty to eat as they either share the chickens food or help themselves to fruit or even, in the case of mousebirds, eat spinach.
Under the dripping geyser overflow from the roof there is a water feature which at present houses some very fat tadpoles! The chickens like this water and make a beeline for it when they leave the coop in the mornings.

In one section of the garden is a fish pond which attracts dragon flies - always a lovely sight in summer. I have heard that pond water is nutritious for plants, so I periodically water the olive trees with bucketsful of pond water, and fill the pond with clean water. It doesn't have a pump so keeping the algae levels down has to be done manually (or should I say womanually).

All the water from the kitchen sink is directed into the herb garden. It was very easy to modify the system. I am very careful that no strong detergents or very hot water go down the sink. Luckily the dishwasher and washing mashine are in the laundry room, so the water from them drains away separately. In summer there is a bucket in the shower which fills up nicely from a shower or two, and is then carried out to help subsidise the watering. Lots of extra weight bearing exercise!