Cucumber
Folk names: Cowcucumber, Agurk, Haswey, Kheyar, Lekiti, Gurka
Powers: Chastity, Healing, Fertility.
Magical Uses: The fruit of the cucumber, when eaten, hinders lust.
The peel bound onto the forehead relieves headache pain, while the seeds are eaten to promote fertility.
Lettuce
Magical uses: Rub lettuce juice onto your forehead or eat the leaves to sleep easily.
String Beans:
Historical Medicinal Uses: Used to be used for the treatment of diabetes.
Current Medicinal Uses: String beans are a medium-strength diuretic, stimulating urine flow and flushing toxins from the body. Powdered or infused, beans are also hypoglycemic, reducing blood glucose levels in the treatment of diabetes. Powdered beans can be dusted on areas of weeping eczema to soothe itching and dry out the skin.
Eggplant
Current Medicinal Uses: Eggplant lowers blood cholesterol levels. Fruit can be applied fresh as a poultice for hemorrhoids, but is used more commonly in the form of an oil or ointment. The fruit and its juices are effective diuretics. A soothing, emollient poultice for burns, abscesses, cold sores, and similar conditions can be made from eggplant leaves [note: eggplant leaves can be toxic if taken internally.] The mashed fruit can soothe sunburn.
Basil
Folk names: Albahaca, American Dittany, “Our herb”, St. Joseph’s Wort, Sweet Basil, Njilika, Balanoi, Feslien
Powers: Love, Exorcism, Wealth, Protection
Magical Uses: The scent of fresh basil causes sympathy between two people, and this is why it is used to sooth tempers between lovers. It is added to love incenses and satchets.
Carry basil in your pocket to attract wealth.
Historic Medicinal Uses:
In parts of Africa, basil used to be used to relieve the pain of a scorpion’s sting. Ancient Romans used basil to relieve gas, to counteract poisoning, as a diuretic, and to stimulate breast-milk production.
Current Medicinal Uses:
Basil is good for the digestive and nervous systems, easing flatulence, stomach cramps, colic, and indigestion. It can be used to prevent or relieve nausea and vomiting. Basil is a mild sedative, useful in treating nervous irritability, fatigue, depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Applied externally, basil can as an insect repellant, and the juice can relieve insect bite stinging or itching.
Sources:
Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine by Andrew Chevallier
Encyclopedia of Magical Plants by Scott Cunningham
Showing posts with label medicinal vegetables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medicinal vegetables. Show all posts
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Plant Profile: Mint
By Nina Berryman
“The smelle rejoiceth the heart of man.” - Gerard
Many of you have been taking advantage of the U-Pick herbs. The reason they have just now become available is that we recently transplanted some perennial herbs along the fence line, giving them more room to grow. They were previously in the hoop house by the driveway, but with winter coming we needed to clear that space out and make room for crops that we want to grow under the protection of the plastic when the weather gets colder. One herb that we have in abundance is mint. Mint, Mentha (this is the genus, it has about 25 species and hundreds of varieties), is in the Lamiaceae family, along with sage and basil. Mints have many medicinal properties. Perhaps the most well known property is that it is a digestive aid. If you have an upset stomach, try mincing fresh mint leaves and putting them in hot water; add some honey if you have a sweet tooth. Mint is also a stimulant (temporarily quickens vital processes in the body), a carminative (expels gas from the intestines), an antispasmodic (relieves and/or stops spasms and cramps), a diuretic (increases flow and secretion of urine) and a febrifuge (reduces fever). It is also an ingredient in many toothpastes, soaps and skin lotions. Plants in the mint family have been valued since ancient times, being referenced by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Mint, anise and cumin were actually a tithe paid by the Pharisees. It is an especially hardy herb, as it spreads easily and is difficult to contain once it is established. This is the idea behind planting it where we did- along a weedy fence line where the knotweed is especially aggressive. We’re waiting to see which one will win!
Sources
Ashworth, Susan, Seed to Seed. Seed Savers Exchange Inc. Iowa. 2002.
Dawson, Adele G., Herbs, Partners in Life. Healing Arts Press. Rochester, Vermont. 2000.
Wikipedia. 4 October 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentha
“The smelle rejoiceth the heart of man.” - Gerard
Many of you have been taking advantage of the U-Pick herbs. The reason they have just now become available is that we recently transplanted some perennial herbs along the fence line, giving them more room to grow. They were previously in the hoop house by the driveway, but with winter coming we needed to clear that space out and make room for crops that we want to grow under the protection of the plastic when the weather gets colder. One herb that we have in abundance is mint. Mint, Mentha (this is the genus, it has about 25 species and hundreds of varieties), is in the Lamiaceae family, along with sage and basil. Mints have many medicinal properties. Perhaps the most well known property is that it is a digestive aid. If you have an upset stomach, try mincing fresh mint leaves and putting them in hot water; add some honey if you have a sweet tooth. Mint is also a stimulant (temporarily quickens vital processes in the body), a carminative (expels gas from the intestines), an antispasmodic (relieves and/or stops spasms and cramps), a diuretic (increases flow and secretion of urine) and a febrifuge (reduces fever). It is also an ingredient in many toothpastes, soaps and skin lotions. Plants in the mint family have been valued since ancient times, being referenced by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Mint, anise and cumin were actually a tithe paid by the Pharisees. It is an especially hardy herb, as it spreads easily and is difficult to contain once it is established. This is the idea behind planting it where we did- along a weedy fence line where the knotweed is especially aggressive. We’re waiting to see which one will win!
Sources
Ashworth, Susan, Seed to Seed. Seed Savers Exchange Inc. Iowa. 2002.
Dawson, Adele G., Herbs, Partners in Life. Healing Arts Press. Rochester, Vermont. 2000.
Wikipedia. 4 October 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentha
Plant Profile: Fennel
By Nina Berryman
As you may or may not remember, in the first issue of the newsletter, we included brief paragraphs about ourselves. In my blurb I said if I could be any vegetable it would bulb fennel. Why? You may ask. I must admit it is very difficult choosing which vegetable best personifies yourself (give it a try), and so the exact reasons why I chose fennel are difficult to put in words. Perhaps this article will shed some light on the matter.
Bulb fennel is one of three varieties of fennel which all belong to the same species, Foeniculum vulgare. One variety is a leafy herb of which the leaves and herbs are used in baked goods, teas and flavoring in candy. There is also the Sicilian fennel which has tender stems that are eaten like celery. Lastly, there is bulb fennel, also known as Florence fennel, or finocchio. This is what we grow. This type of fennel is biennial (although I have seen it produce in seeds in its first year before). Fennel is in the Apiaceae family, along with carrots and dill. The ancient Greeks grew it for food, medicine and insect repellent. Fennel tea was served just before important battles to instill courage in warriors. It is also said that the ancient Greeks believed it had a slimming effect on overweight people, and that may be why it was called “marathon,” from the word “maraino” meaning to grow thin. Today, fennel is used to relieve abdominal cramps and flatulence.
Sources: Dawson, Adele C. Herbs Partners in Life. Healing Arts Press. Rochester, Vermont. 2000.
Ashworth, Suzanne. Seed to Seed. Seed Savers Exchange Inc., Iowa. 2002.
As you may or may not remember, in the first issue of the newsletter, we included brief paragraphs about ourselves. In my blurb I said if I could be any vegetable it would bulb fennel. Why? You may ask. I must admit it is very difficult choosing which vegetable best personifies yourself (give it a try), and so the exact reasons why I chose fennel are difficult to put in words. Perhaps this article will shed some light on the matter.
Bulb fennel is one of three varieties of fennel which all belong to the same species, Foeniculum vulgare. One variety is a leafy herb of which the leaves and herbs are used in baked goods, teas and flavoring in candy. There is also the Sicilian fennel which has tender stems that are eaten like celery. Lastly, there is bulb fennel, also known as Florence fennel, or finocchio. This is what we grow. This type of fennel is biennial (although I have seen it produce in seeds in its first year before). Fennel is in the Apiaceae family, along with carrots and dill. The ancient Greeks grew it for food, medicine and insect repellent. Fennel tea was served just before important battles to instill courage in warriors. It is also said that the ancient Greeks believed it had a slimming effect on overweight people, and that may be why it was called “marathon,” from the word “maraino” meaning to grow thin. Today, fennel is used to relieve abdominal cramps and flatulence.
Sources: Dawson, Adele C. Herbs Partners in Life. Healing Arts Press. Rochester, Vermont. 2000.
Ashworth, Suzanne. Seed to Seed. Seed Savers Exchange Inc., Iowa. 2002.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Hot Peppers We Grow
By Nicole Sugerman
We grow several different varieties of hot peppers on the farm. I like hot peppers because they are beautiful and usually very easy to grow. Hot peppers contain a resin-like compound called capsaicin which is responsible for their spice. The capsaicin is concentrated in the membranes around the seeds, so taking the seeds out of a hot pepper will reduce (but not eliminate) the pepper’s spice. When handling hot peppers, be careful not to touch your nose and eyes, because this will sting! Some people even harvest hot peppers with gloves on to avoid irritation. I have never had a problem harvesting hot peppers, but my hands burned for an entire day once when I made a big batch of jalepeno poppers.
The ‘spiciness’ of peppers is measure by the Scoville Scale, so named for its inventor, Wilbur Scoville, who devised the system in 1912. The Scoville scale measures the amount of capsaicin present in a type of pepper. The hottest pepper on the Scoville scale is reputed to be an Indian hot pepper called the Bhut Jolokia. We attempted to grow this pepper, but it did not germinate. To be honest, I am a little relieved.
Hot peppers have many traditional health benefits. Some people think they cool you down in the summertime by inducing sweating. Medicinally, hot peppers are used to help stimulate blood flow, treat psoriasis, neuralgia, pain, and headache, and as a disinfectant. Mixed with lemon juice, hot pepper makes an effective gargle for sore throats. A tincture (made by soaking an herb in alcohol) of hot peppers is thought to help arthritis.
In descending order of hotness, these are the varieties of hot peppers you might see in your share:
Fish Pepper-
This is the hottest pepper we have right now (habaneros are hotter, but not yet ripe). An heirloom pepper from the Philadelphia region that dates to pre-1947, the fish pepper has been traditionally used to cook fish and shellfish. Grows on beautiful plants with green and white striped leaves. The pepper is short and triangular, with a matte finish, and is white, green and white, or red.
Cayenne pepper-
One of the most common hot peppers. Forms the basis of the powdered cayenne pepper as well as red pepper flakes. It is a long, thin, red pepper that curls slightly.
Poblano pepper-
I am putting the poblano here in the list because, even though poblanos are thought to be mild hot peppers far less hot than jalepenos, our poblanos are always more spicy than our jalepenos. Poblano peppers are native to Mexico, and are used commonly in Mexican cuisine. When dried, they are known as ancho chile. They are dark, dark, green, larger than any of our other hot peppers, and have a bowl-shape around their stems.
Jalepeno pepper-
Also native to Mexico. Very common. Ours are very, very mild. Dark green, ovular, with blunt tip.
Hungarian Hot Wax pepper-
An heirloom pepper from Hungary. Virtually impossible to distinguish from the banana pepper, except by taste. Light green, long, with a tapered point.
We grow several different varieties of hot peppers on the farm. I like hot peppers because they are beautiful and usually very easy to grow. Hot peppers contain a resin-like compound called capsaicin which is responsible for their spice. The capsaicin is concentrated in the membranes around the seeds, so taking the seeds out of a hot pepper will reduce (but not eliminate) the pepper’s spice. When handling hot peppers, be careful not to touch your nose and eyes, because this will sting! Some people even harvest hot peppers with gloves on to avoid irritation. I have never had a problem harvesting hot peppers, but my hands burned for an entire day once when I made a big batch of jalepeno poppers.
The ‘spiciness’ of peppers is measure by the Scoville Scale, so named for its inventor, Wilbur Scoville, who devised the system in 1912. The Scoville scale measures the amount of capsaicin present in a type of pepper. The hottest pepper on the Scoville scale is reputed to be an Indian hot pepper called the Bhut Jolokia. We attempted to grow this pepper, but it did not germinate. To be honest, I am a little relieved.
Hot peppers have many traditional health benefits. Some people think they cool you down in the summertime by inducing sweating. Medicinally, hot peppers are used to help stimulate blood flow, treat psoriasis, neuralgia, pain, and headache, and as a disinfectant. Mixed with lemon juice, hot pepper makes an effective gargle for sore throats. A tincture (made by soaking an herb in alcohol) of hot peppers is thought to help arthritis.
In descending order of hotness, these are the varieties of hot peppers you might see in your share:
Fish Pepper-
This is the hottest pepper we have right now (habaneros are hotter, but not yet ripe). An heirloom pepper from the Philadelphia region that dates to pre-1947, the fish pepper has been traditionally used to cook fish and shellfish. Grows on beautiful plants with green and white striped leaves. The pepper is short and triangular, with a matte finish, and is white, green and white, or red.
Cayenne pepper-
One of the most common hot peppers. Forms the basis of the powdered cayenne pepper as well as red pepper flakes. It is a long, thin, red pepper that curls slightly.
Poblano pepper-
I am putting the poblano here in the list because, even though poblanos are thought to be mild hot peppers far less hot than jalepenos, our poblanos are always more spicy than our jalepenos. Poblano peppers are native to Mexico, and are used commonly in Mexican cuisine. When dried, they are known as ancho chile. They are dark, dark, green, larger than any of our other hot peppers, and have a bowl-shape around their stems.
Jalepeno pepper-
Also native to Mexico. Very common. Ours are very, very mild. Dark green, ovular, with blunt tip.
Hungarian Hot Wax pepper-
An heirloom pepper from Hungary. Virtually impossible to distinguish from the banana pepper, except by taste. Light green, long, with a tapered point.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Medicinal Vegetables
By Nicole Sugerman
This is the second article in the ‘medicinal vegetables’ series. I am particularly interested in writing these articles because I do not think I am alone in my surprise that common vegetables have both traditional and current medicinal uses. In a general sense, one’s diet is clearly a direct, and perhaps the most important, connection to one’s health, but I often think only of medicinal herbs as direct remedies for particular ailments. Not so! Treat yourself (in more ways than one) with vegetables:
Cabbage
• Rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, and C.
Historical Uses:
• In Greek myth, cabbage came into existence from Zeus’s sweat.
• Greek ritual required expectant mothers eat cabbage before birthing to produce good supplies of breast milk.
Current Uses:
• Cabbage makes a helpful poultice for swelling, tumors, or painful joints. Leaves are blanched, chopped, crushed, or ironed. This poultice should be removed within an hour or two, as it can leave blisters if left on longer.
• Wild cabbage in particular can help ease digestion and break down liver toxins.
• Cabbage can help in the long-term treatment of arthritis.
Carrots:
• Cultivated carrots contain sugars, pectin (helps jams jell!), carotene, vitamins, minerals, and asparagines. The leaves contain porphyrins, which stimulate the pituitary gland and help release hormones.
Historical Uses:
• Carrot seeds were used to stimulate menstruation in the 1st century AD.
Current Uses:
• Juice made from organically grown (not conventional—carrots concentrate pesticides and fertilizers in their root) carrots acts as a detoxifier for the liver and kidneys, and stimulates urine flow.
• Carrot seeds stimulate menstruation
• The seeds have also been used as a hangover cure.
• Leaves and seeds relieve flatulence and settle digestion.
Caution: carrot seeds should not be eaten during pregnancy.
Information from: Encyclopedia of Herbal Medecine by Andrew Chevallier
This is the second article in the ‘medicinal vegetables’ series. I am particularly interested in writing these articles because I do not think I am alone in my surprise that common vegetables have both traditional and current medicinal uses. In a general sense, one’s diet is clearly a direct, and perhaps the most important, connection to one’s health, but I often think only of medicinal herbs as direct remedies for particular ailments. Not so! Treat yourself (in more ways than one) with vegetables:
Cabbage
• Rich in vitamins A, B1, B2, and C.
Historical Uses:
• In Greek myth, cabbage came into existence from Zeus’s sweat.
• Greek ritual required expectant mothers eat cabbage before birthing to produce good supplies of breast milk.
Current Uses:
• Cabbage makes a helpful poultice for swelling, tumors, or painful joints. Leaves are blanched, chopped, crushed, or ironed. This poultice should be removed within an hour or two, as it can leave blisters if left on longer.
• Wild cabbage in particular can help ease digestion and break down liver toxins.
• Cabbage can help in the long-term treatment of arthritis.
Carrots:
• Cultivated carrots contain sugars, pectin (helps jams jell!), carotene, vitamins, minerals, and asparagines. The leaves contain porphyrins, which stimulate the pituitary gland and help release hormones.
Historical Uses:
• Carrot seeds were used to stimulate menstruation in the 1st century AD.
Current Uses:
• Juice made from organically grown (not conventional—carrots concentrate pesticides and fertilizers in their root) carrots acts as a detoxifier for the liver and kidneys, and stimulates urine flow.
• Carrot seeds stimulate menstruation
• The seeds have also been used as a hangover cure.
• Leaves and seeds relieve flatulence and settle digestion.
Caution: carrot seeds should not be eaten during pregnancy.
Information from: Encyclopedia of Herbal Medecine by Andrew Chevallier
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Radish As Medicine
Constituents: Radishes contain glucosilinates, which yield a volatile oil, raphanin, phenolic compounds, and vitamin C. Raphanin is antibiotic, and the phenolic compounds are antioxidant.
Historic Uses:
• The builders of the pyramids in ancient Egypt were paid in radishes, onions, and garlic, according to Herodotus.
• Ancient Romans used radish oil to treat skin diseases.
• The Tang Materia Medica, a Chinese text from the year 659 A.D., lists radishes as a digestive stimulant.
Medicinal Uses:
• Stimulates appetite and digestion
• Can be “dry-fried” to treat chest problems
(Information from: Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, by Andrew Chevallier)
Historic Uses:
• The builders of the pyramids in ancient Egypt were paid in radishes, onions, and garlic, according to Herodotus.
• Ancient Romans used radish oil to treat skin diseases.
• The Tang Materia Medica, a Chinese text from the year 659 A.D., lists radishes as a digestive stimulant.
Medicinal Uses:
• Stimulates appetite and digestion
• Can be “dry-fried” to treat chest problems
(Information from: Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, by Andrew Chevallier)
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