HedgeWitch (29 page)

Drying Your Herbs

Harvest your herbs in the morning after the dew has dried. I usually sing or chant as I cut the plants, shake off dirt, and remove dead or unsightly leaves now, rather than having to go through the herbs later. While still in the garden, I use rubber bands to make one-inch-thick stalk bundles, then tie with long cotton cord, leaving plenty of length at both ends so that I can easily hang the bunches later. I loosely tie the bundles on the garden fence until I'm ready to bring them all in. This saves time and keeps the bundles out of the dirt. I also label the bundles with tags from the craft store, looping one end of the cord onto a tag while I am still in the garden. This way I can easily identify the herb bundles at any given time. Bring your bundles inside and lightly rinse them, being careful not to get the tags wet. If you have not used pesticides and do not live in a high-pollution area, you don't need to wash off the leaves. Some organic gardeners believe that washing the leaves destroys some of the oils in the plants. You might wish to wash the herbs you will consume, but not the ones you will use in potpourris or gris-gris bags (such as patchouli, which isn't edible). Whether you wash your herbs or not is entirely up to you.

Hang bunches upside down in a warm, dark, dust-free area with good ventilation. When bunches are dry and brittle (about two to three weeks), take them down and carefully remove leaves. Store leaves in jars or plastic bags. Do not crush leaves until you are ready to use them in cooking or magick.

For short-stalk herbs such as thyme or needle-type herbs such as rosemary, I poke a small hole in the bottom of a paper bag, then insert the herb bundle in the bag with the cut stalks at the top of the bag and plenty of empty space in the bottom of the bag. Twist the top of the bag, secure with rubber band, tie cotton cord around bag, and hang. This will keep the small leaves from falling all over the floor and help to retain the flavor of the herb. These herbs can also be dried loose on a clean window screen placed on a few bricks (to allow air circulation under the screen). Flip herbs every few days until dry, then store as indicated above.

Pumpkin Seed Recipe

In magick, the pumpkin is a symbol of abundance and good fortune. Toasted pumpkin seeds are a great snack, and they can be ground (once toasted and flavored) and added to your favorite bean dish (also served to draw abundance and good fortune to the home). Being able to eat the seeds makes Halloween pumpkin carving even more magickal, especially if you have empowered your pumpkin for abundance and good fortune!

You will need:
Pumpkin seeds; cooking oil, olive oil, or butter; garlic salt or other herbal flavorings such as onion powder, cayenne pepper, or one of the no-salt recipes given in this book; cookie sheet; paper towels.

Instructions:
Wash and pat dry pumpkin seeds. Lay out seeds on paper towels and allow to dry for 24 hours. In bowl, toss pumpkin seeds in oil, then add your herbal flavoring. Preheat oven to 250 degrees and bake for one hour, tossing every 15 minutes until golden brown. Cool thoroughly. Store in airtight container. Lasts about three months at room temperature.

Yule Hostess Good Fortune Gift

A lovely basket of your herbal delights will be most welcome at Yule! Add this recipe and a bottle of wine for a truly heartwarming gift.

Long Life Mulled Cider Spice

1
½
cups smashed cinnamon chips

1
½
cups dried, chopped orange peel

1 cup whole allspice berries

½
cup whole cloves

1 tablespoon dried nutmeg
(smashed, not powdered)

½
teaspoon star anise (smashed)

4 small pieces of dried ginger root
(add one root to each bag)

4 small cotton bags

Plastic wrap

4 glass mugs

Ribbon or pine or holly sprigs, optional

Mix ingredients thoroughly and pack in cotton bags. Wrap in plastic. Place one bag in each glass mug. Add ribbon and sprigs of pine or holly as decoration.

Summary

In keeping with the flow of the seasons and Spirit in Nature,
I began this HedgeWitchery course in the spring of the year, right before the first thaw. Now, as autumn leads to winter and my magickal garden lies sleeping,
it is time to celebrate the harvest!

I do hope that the rites, tips, techniques, and formulas provided
in this book have brought you hours of fulfillment and months of pure joy. Remember: changing your life is as simple as a choice.

Believe!

Sincerely,

Silver RavenWolf

Recommended Reading

If you liked this book, or would enjoy more information on various topics, you may wish to read those listed below:

Witchcraft

Solitary Witch
by Silver RavenWolf (Llewellyn)—a full-bodied reference on modern Witchcraft/Wicca.

The Witches' Sabbats
by Mike Nichols (Acorn Guild Press)—an excellent reference on Wiccan holidays.

Herb Gardening and Herbal References

A Heritage of Herbs: History, Early Gardening and Old Recipes
by Bertha P. Reppert (Early American Society Publishing)

Beginner's Guide to Herb Gardening
by Yvonne Cuthbertson (Guild of Master Craftsman Publications)

Brother Cadfael's Herb Garden
by Rob Talbot and Robin Whiteman (Little, Brown and Co.)

Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs
by Scott Cunningham (Llewellyn)

Gardening on a Shoestring
by Rob Proctor (Johnson Books)

Giant Book of Garden Solutions: 1,954 Natural Remedies to Handle Your Toughest Garden Problems
by Jerry Baker (American Master Products)

Herb Mixtures and Spicy Blends, Introduction
by Maggie Oster (Storey Publishing)

Herbs and Spices: The Cook's Reference
by Jill Norman (DK Publications)

Herbs for Health and Healing: A Drug-Free Guide to Prevention and Cure
by Kathi Keville (Rodale Publishing)

Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs
by Claire Kowalchik and William H. Hylton, editors (Rodale Publications)

Spiritual Gardening: Creating Sacred Space Outdoors
by Peg Streep (Inner Ocean Publications)

The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy
by Valerie Anne Worwood (New World Library)

The Gardener's A–Z Guide to Growing Organic Food
by Tanya L. K. Denckla (Storey Publishing)

The Herb Gardener: A Guide for All Seasons
by Susan McClure (Storey Books)

The Organic Garden Book
by Geoff Hamilton (DK Publishing)

Soap Making

300 Handcrafted Soaps
by Marie Browning (Sterling)

Making Transparent Soap: The Art of Crafting, Molding, Scenting & Coloring
by Catherine Failor (Storey Publishing)

Melt & Mold Soap Crafting
by C. Kaila Westerman (Storey Books)

Melt & Pour Soapmaking
by Marie Browning (Sterling)

The Soapmaker
by Janita Morris (Watson-Guptill Publications)

Feng Shui Techniques

Feng Shui Life Planner
by Lillian Too (Hamlyn Publishing)

Lillian Too's Easy-to-Use Feng Shui: 168 Ways to Success
(Sterling)

Practical Feng Shui
by Simon Brown (Cassell Publishing)

Total Feng Shui: Bring Health, Wealth and Happiness Into Your Life
by Lillian Too (Chronicle Books)

Candle Making

Great Candles
by Stewart D'Arcy Hyder (Sterling)

[contents]

Appendix 1
Your Garden Journal

One summer I ordered some beautiful rubber stamps from the Stampington company, many of them focusing on artistic herbal themes. About a month or so after I received my box of goodies, a package came in the mail. Someone at the company took a composition book and covered it with interesting paper designs and stamped artwork, with the finishing touch of a brad and a bow. I knew immediately that this surprise gift would become my gardening journal.

This journal grew into a combination of the business of gardening (what I bought, where, when, and why) to small entries on what I'd accomplished over the growing season. When the moon turned to new in April 2008, I dug out the journal and reviewed what I'd written last year in preparation for the gardening year to come. I was amazed at how invaluable the information I'd written proved to be. Use some of your April days to create your own truly magickal gardening journal. To give you some ideas, here's how I originally set up my entries:

Plants purchased:
By the end of 2007, I had three pages filled with plants purchased, noting where I bought them (a note that proved invaluable as a shopping guide for the following year). I also recorded the number of plants purchased. For example, one entry read: “3 Rosemary—Country Market.” Another: “8 White Sage—poor condition—Blinkers—6 survived.” The “6 survived” means that six of these plants survived through that growing season.

Supplies and tools purchased:
Again, another three pages here by the time the season was done. Under this category, I wrote down everything from mulch and tools to garden goodies (statues, fountains, supplies for my toad house, etc.). Here, too, I wrote down where I purchased what. For example, I bought twenty garden stepping stones with a Celtic knot design from a large retailer. When spring 2008 rolled around, I found seven of these stepping stones either completely disintegrated or broken in half, so I updated the entry to show they were a poor long-term buy. Granted, I should have collected the stones in the fall and brought them in, but they added a bit of mental light to the autumn and winter gloom, and so I left them. If I choose to replace them this year, I'm now more informed on maintenance, but to save myself money and lugging, I think I'll just stick with the colored flagstone and be done with it. So, a note to self on this one: choose wisely when purchasing concrete manmade items for the garden.

Purchased fertilizer and repellants:
When I first began my HedgeWitch project, I decided that I would go totally organic unless something drastic should occur (which it didn't). I read every label thoroughly before I bought the product to ensure that if I said the plant was raised organically, it really was! I also learned a few inexpensive tricks along the way, like using three doses of white vinegar to kill dandelions, strong sea salt water for getting rid of weeds around the patio stones (just don't put it where you want something to grow), soap spray for getting rid of aphids, and fox/wolf urine (yup) on the stones of the raised beds to keep the bunnies, groundhogs, and cats away. For these entries, I added how many bottles or bags of the product I bought and whether, over the season, it worked or not.

Planting hints:
On these pages, I kept a record of plant compatibility. For example, put chives with roses to keep black spots off your fragrant blooms. Basil goes with tomatoes (both need a lot of water). Add hot peppers to all your garden beds to discourage bug pests, and plenty of marigolds to ward off the vicious, long-fanged bunnies! This page helped me to choose what and how many plants of this type to buy and grow in my next year's crop.

Plant-buying guide:
To all things there is a season and timing, and each locality will be different, and each year will vary based on the weather. Last year, due to my granddaughter's birth, my growing season started late. On top of that, we had a cold spell in early July, and nothing wanted to ripen. When I first put in my herbs last year, by the time I got to the greenhouses and began choosing what I wanted to raise, many of the plants I needed were sold out. This year, I recorded in my journal which plants were available when. For example, it is April yet, and although it's a warm one, the greenhouses follow the traditional timing for this area: don't plant much outside before May Day due to fear of a late frost. Even so, every flat of green peppers was sold out of the local greenhouses by the end of the second week in April. This led me to believe that many folks buy early and then place the plants in a protected area, most likely in the home, until they can plant outside. That way they get the healthiest, earliest choices.