Category Archives: Herbs and other botanicals

How to Naturally Repel Mosquitoes

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mosquito natural organic repellant

I was born and raised in Florida – the lightning, and (may as well be) mosquito capital of the world – but rarely has a mosquito dared come close to me. My brother and sister however, fresh and sweet from Illinois, are apparently irresistible.

Am I lucky? …nah. I just have bad breath.

Making an effort to repel mosquitoes the natural way is far better than the alternative – such as mosquito borne disease and chemical repellent side effects.

Unfortunately: most of the stuff they sell in stores is made to fail. Fortunately: you’re about thirty seconds from knowing what does work, but doesn’t harm you.

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March into Your Gardens!

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Get ready to March into your gardens and make them sustainable! One of the most fun and ultimately lucrative ways to garden is by polycultures. Do you remember driving by miles upon miles of fields of cotton or corn or rice? Great. Now totally forget about these monocultures and start with a clean slate. Polycultures are agricultural plots that contain a multitude of different crops. They create their own mini-ecosystem, in which a diverse group of plants is less susceptible to disease. The most common and simple combination are beans, squash, and corn (sometimes called the Three Sister’s Garden). The beans undergo nitrogen fixation, returning valuable nitrogen to soil for other plants. The corn and the squash shades and covers the ground, which decreases evaporation of moisture from the soil. This is great for you too! Not only will you not need to buy potting soil or use MiracleGro and its unlikely that a disease or pest will like both corn and squash, but you’ll also have several different kinds of produce from relatively little space. To start, you’ll definitely want a legume of some sort, as well as a ground cover (melons and berries work well for this). In my personal experience, I’ve found that tomatoes and strawberries work well together too! Good luck and post pictures!

Meet Eco Chic

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Earth Pledge Future FashionFashion Week in New York began with the Earth Pledge Creates Future Fashion Show, which included a hemp-based pant suit by Calvin Klein, a dress made of recycled cashmere by Michael Kors, and a Donatella Verace hemp-silk gown. Earth Pledge, a non-profit organization, which originally began as a United Nations committee and promotes sustainablity, produced the Future Fashion event.

So why is there a need for ‘green’ clothing? PBDE (flame retardants), synthetc dyes and fibers are one concern, due to the pollution caused by textile manufacturing. Even when cotton, wool, silk, or cashmere are used (all essentially natural fibers), they are often gathered using processes that harm the environment along the way, and then have to be transported all over the world for refinement and clothes production, and I’m not the only one who thinks this is a big deal. According to the Organic Trade Association, sales for organic fiber linens and clothing climbed to 203 million in 2006, up nearly 27% from 2005.”

I’ve told ya’ll before to ‘look at the labels’, so here’s a list of what to look for on clothing tags:
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10 Terra-Tips Take One: Kitchen

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Jeanne Besser, who writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, published Ten Ways to a Greener Kitchen this week. Here is a sum up of the article:

  1. Bye-bye bottles: invest in a water filter and refill a neoprene water bottle
  2. Buy Local: to reduce the need for shipping, buy produce from local farmer’s markets
  3. Dispose of Disposables: use washable china/napkins/silverware, NOT use paper goods (if you must you them, at least use biodegradable or recycled items)
  4. Banish Excess Packaging:buy in bulk and create small portions in Tupperware (yogurt)
  5. Paper of Plastic? – Neither (sound familiar?): bring cloth tote bags shopping with you
  6. Get a Green Thumb: plant herbs or tomatoes in small pots if you don’t have a yard
  7. Eat Less Meat: go meatless one or two days a week and be aware of where you’re meat comes from and what they eat [writer's note: animals break down nutrients very inefficiently, so you're better off eating the food they eat to gain the same nutrients]
  8. Use Appliance More Efficiently: use common sense; use a toaster oven when heating up something small and only run your dishwasher when its full [writer's note: appliances use electricity when they're plugged in, even if they're not on, so unplug 'em]
  9. Reintroduce Yourself to Your Stove/Oven: save gas, eat in
  10. Become Educated: learn about organic foods at www.georgiaorganics.org, www.ethicalchoicesprogram.org, www.sustainabletable.org, www.nrdc.org/health/foodmiles, www.nrdc.org/greenliving and www.vegecyber.com/others/about_vegetarianism.shtml.

Leave No Trace

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eco tourism

A new name and wrapping for an old idea, ecotourism is a spreading buzz word. The idea is to travel without negatively impacting the visited site. Indeed, many ecotourists attempt to help revitalize the area by buying from local business, helping the locals to improve their communities, and by practicing ecofriendly hiking and camping. While many nature-hungry tourists have made their way into tropical forests, coral reefs, and the Sahara with the ‘leave no trace’ attitude in mind previous to the ecotourism movement, the term has provided new parameters and less research for interested parties. Here are a couple of resources for ecotourists:

Nature Tours
Environmental Adventure Company
Pachijal Reserva Ecologica
Big Blue Unlimited

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An apple a day

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Crab apple
There’s little on the web about Quercegen Pharma, based in Newton, MA, however yesterday, Appalachian State University (Boone, NC) announced reception of a $1.027 million grant by Quercegen Pharma to continue their research of the health benefits of quercetin. If you are in the Boone, NC area: to participate in the study, e-mail asuresearch@appstate.edu

This is the largest one-year research grant awarded to the university and will involve the largest number of test subjects—1,000 participants over the next year.

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Hot

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I really do make a cup of tea when I sit down here at Health Patio. Today is Earl Grey, hot. Bergamot, or Monarda didyma, the flavor in Earl Grey tea that makes it so popular, is a simple garden herb and would look lovely growing next to anyone’s patio. (Bergamot flavouring used in Earl Grey tea actually comes from the rind of the Bergamot Orange, or Citrus bergamia.)
The whole plant is strongly impregnated with a delightful fragrance. Bergamot is used as an antidepressant, and is calming and refreshing for the nervous system. It is highly useful as an antiseptic and is used as an insect repellent. When using as an insect repellent use caution and avoid strong sunlight, bergamot contains furocoumarins, which can cause photosensitivity.

Bergamot received its name from the city where it was first cultivated, which was Bergamo, Italy.

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