I found this thread extremely helpful! Thanks guys, Iv been growing dill with my plants for a long time, had no idea it repels spider mits. I'll be checking the organic area from now on!
Do you harvest the flower heads while still in color, or after the bloom is finished and dried, when making teas? I have 'Parkers Gold, Achillea millefolium, and 'Anthea' and 'Moonshine' cultiviars; will the gray leafed varieties work as well as the green ones? I was also wondering when pruning my Pervoskia (Russian Sage) if the foliage from this plant would have beneficial qualities if used in teas? Thanks PW
PW The Russian Sage shares a couple of terpenes with the Lavender plant - camphor and limonene. These two compounds are the main ones that makes Lavender as effective as it is. Russian Sage will provide you with a powerful insecticide. Process the flowers like lavender. Your question about the different Yarrow cultivars is interesting because I was talking with a friend who stopped by a couple of days ago and I was showing him the 5 different ones that I had picked-up at a nursery. The question about any differences between this one or that came up - I suppose anything is possible and perhaps one is a better choice over another. Possible and pretty unlikely I'm thinking. Harvest the flower heads and process like you do your medical flowers - hang them to dry, put them in glass and store in the dark. When you want to make a tea, take about 1 cup of the dried flowers and add to 1 gallon of water. Let this sit for 7 - 10 days or so. Strain and mix 1:15 (one cup tea to 15 cups of clear water = 1 gallon). Water into the soil and spray the leaves, branches, etc. thoroughly. As you move through the summer months harvest as much as possible without damaging the plant. I believe you'll find a great benefit by applying Yarrow teas. HTH LD
I was curious about Russian Sage as well, thanks LD! That stuff grows all over here and it smells very strong. I wonder if the leaves would have some benefit as well? They are dried and smoked in other parts of the world. They are just about to bloom, so I am going to collect plenty of flowers to dry for winter use! Bees love those plants. I have some pink yarrow that is just about ready to get cut.
Stankie You're more than welcome. Today is the final day of the 5th Annual Clackamas County Lavender Festival which is held at the Oregon Lavender Farm here. 100 acres of Lavender - Oregon Tilth Certified Organic (OTCO) and this farm is also the home base of Liberty Naturals which handles a large line of botanical products like Mountain Rose Herbs. Should be a hoot! At least I can talk with some more lavender experts on this plant. There's going to be a lavender distillation demonstration which should be interesting. I'll post what I see and learn later this evening. LD
LD Thanks for the quick reply on the processing and harvesting of the yarrow. When you say to process the Russian Sage like the lavender, I take it you harvest the flowers for use in the teas, not the foliage or stems, then use as I am now using the lavender teas. I have noticed over the years growing Russian Sage, that there was never any insect damage in the blocks of Russian Sage or in the rows growing near the plants. Thank you for the informative tips and I look forward to adding this to my natural arsenal of insecticides. PW
I love finding these oldie but goodie threads, great info on companion planting. I must expand the herbs in the yard to include Borrage and Yarrow.
Stinging Nettle, besides the Silica, nettle also increases the potency of herbs around it, i SPECULATE that it would also help increase the potency of bud, plant nettles in a 1nettle:10herbs ratio i got borage this year, also mullein need to get some pedicularis growing...
^legal smoke alternative to bud, supposed to taste pretty good too indian warrior is most potent, or pedicularis densiflora, but i can get a variety of pedicularis growing here just fine...
^i would normally say the same but i like growing different plants and it does benefit me if i can stoned without being illegal...
I love to be barefoot, thus I hate nettles. I might have to soften my hatred for this plant (right there with poison oak and ivy) and let one live.
i could see nettles being a problem if your barefoot lol there are ways to handle nettle without gloves and not get stung, it also makes great fiber for ropes and nets (a word that actually directly connected with nettles) and the seeds, like hemp are highly nutritious, plus the leaves are edible and some people use them pretty often
Sorry for bumping an old thread. I am a newbie that is experimenting with gardening. Currently am germinating my seeds. I am going to plant each into a medium to large pot of about (edit) 18" in diameter, and was wondering if it would be ok to plant the cannabis in the middle with dill/ marigold surrounding it? Not really sure what to do. I have borage growing in a pot about 7 feet away from the designated cannabis pot. Should i companion the cannabis with the dill+marigold in the same pot, or should i go with borage/ sage? Sorry, am a little inept in picking up horticulture jargon. Thanks in advance!
No experience with dill/marigolds but a FOAF has grown cannabis and oregano in the same pot without any detrimental effects to either plant. Now as far as benefits.. unsure. But both were completely healthy.
Plant Chamomile next to your plants. <a>Chamomile</a> - Known as The 'Plant Doctor' because of it's ability to encourage other plants to increase their essential oil & so taste & smell more stronger & more vital... Chamomile is easy to grow, & looks beautiful anywhere, though keep it well trimmed to avoid a straggly look. Many other plants enjoy it's company, especially Mint, which will become tastier when grown next to Chamomile. Plant Chamomile next to ailing plants to help revive it. Cabbages & Onions love Chamomile, though keep it approx a meter away from Onions. Collect & dry the Chamomile Flowers, then make a tea by soaking a handful in cold water for a day or two. This can then be used for any plant which is looking sickly, or a young plant is in need of assistance. And finally, Chamomile will help activate the Composting process if added to your Compost pile! <a>Tansy</a> - Tansy is a good all-round bitter Insect repellent. It is great planted near Cabbages, Roses, Raspberries & Grapes. It concentrates Potassium in the soil, so benefits any plants nearby! Plant it for protection against Japanese Beetle, Striped Cucumber Beetle, Squash Bug, Cut Worms, Cabbage Worms, Ants, Flies, Mosquitoes & Fruit Moth. It is noticeably helpful under Peach Trees, which it assists greatly by warding off flying insects & keeping Borers away
You can make tea with those clovers too btw. White clover is good for skin ailments. Since I'm mentioning it, purple clovers make a great tea as well (a relaxing, mild tea; not near as strong as chamomile). I believe, and I'd have to look this up again, that purple clovers are good for cleansing the liver Again, could be wrong with the specifics on that. Both white and purple flowers are high in nutrients as you know. I do have a list somewhere if you'd like me to dig it up? EDIT: I'm referring to teas for human consumption. Chamomile is a strong relaxer. Great for help getting to sleep.
I grow basil, garlic, and ginger with my girls every time. Basil helps cannabis to produce more terpenes, ginger adds defense to the rhizosphere, and the garlic adds defense to the rhizo and heliosphere. So far the result match up with my hypothesis. Peace grasscity