THE OPPORTUNISTIC GARDENER III - Free Flowering Herbs
More free useful plants just from being creative and opportunistic!
Part of my current job in lawn maintenance is the removal of weeds. Often, entire areas are preferred to be weed free and just covered in rock. However, persistent little plants will frequently creep up through the dirt or rock.
Trust me, I do not like eradicating useful plants, and I especially do not like using weed killer. Therefore, when I noticed these little guys growing, I chose Plan B!
CHAMOMILE
Growing in this runoff ditch, which happens to be in a “weed-free” area, were a whole bunch of little Chamomile plants. When I saw the first one, I broke off the top to smell it, and sure enough, it was Chamomile. I had tried to get some to grow from seed before, but was for the most part unsuccessful.
Growing our own food plants and herbal/medicinal plants is part of our vision for our future, so finding a bunch of free seedlings is a huge bonus. Since my job is to make sure that no “weeds” are in that area, uprooting these little seedlings counts!
KEEP THEM ALIVE!
In the end, I obtained about 20 Chamomile seedlings. They were mostly growing in some very wet clay mud, so the roots were saturated with water. This was helpful. It would be a day or more until I could properly plant them, so keeping them moist and alive was key.
Since I had some quart jars with me, I chose to put about four to five seedlings per jar, and then fill them part way with water. I knew that the hot sun would be beating down on them, and I did not want to risk losing them because they withered.
Because they were growing in such a wet environment anyway, flooding them in the jars did not seem to be too risky of a choice.
HOME SWEET HOME
When I got them home, I made a compost, rabbit manure, and soil blend to fill some pots with. I’ll let the root systems recover in this controlled environment prior to finding a long-term home for them. So far, they seem to be doing excellent.
As they grow and I incorporate them into our landscape, we will now be able to have some beautiful flowers that can make great teas and tinctures, and these cute little flower plants will be able to continue their existence.
The plants got to live, and I received a blessing in the process! Oh the joy of taking advantage of opportunities!
To check out my previous Opportunistic Gardener post, click below:
THE OPPORTUNISTIC GARDENER – FREE ASPARAGUS SEEDS
THE OPPORTUNISTIC GARDENER II - PROPAGATE THE PRUNINGS
Until next time…
BE OPPORTUNISTIC – STEEM ON!
Hi @papa-pepper, I just stopped back to let you know your post was one of my favourite reads and I included it in my Steemit Ramble. You can read what I wrote about your post here.
Thanks again! I'll check it out!
Keep up the awesomeness!
I'll try! LOL!
Thanks @virtualgrowth!
At your rate of progress you had better price the farms/sections next door to allow for future growth.
We have been discussing that!
The Chinese market gardeners came to Levin like that. One would set up on a small section of land, work 30 hours s day 8 days a week, all hand push looks, growing vegetables, mainly cabbage. Sell them at the gate, or auction system that was running here. When they were getting ahead they would get the next piece of land, bring over a "brother" and the two would work both patches, Now some of theose patches are worth over 4 to 5 million dollars because of the towns expantion.
Are we going to see the same in your village? all done by Seemit Powered Peppers?.
How many supermarket push carts with wheels have you got left? How much shed space/ barn space have you got? how cold is your winter? is there a 'farmers market within reach? how much road traffic do you have?
Nothing is better or healthier than our own plantation. Awesome @papa-pepper you and your amazing work.
Thank you once again!
Ah. No proof of opportunistic gardening?
Nice going, I am enjoying your posts where you make use of what other people regard as useless, these and the shopping cart posts etc.
Yeah, it was late, I was in bed, and realized that I had missed taking that photo. Thanks for noticing, and for your encouragement @shaunmza!
It will be interesting to see if you get the white flowers like the domestic Chamomile. These look like the wild chamomile -- I know it as Pineappleweed (Matricaria discoidea). The little flowerheads should taste like a light-flavored pineapple. It's a tough little weed that grows in hard, compacted soil -- the tough places, lol. That's about the size they get. I eat the whole thing, from the ground up, in salads, but the flowerheads are the tastiest, I think.
A fan of chamomile tea, good stuff!!!
Do you have any of your own growing?
Nope, just drink it at work, tazo.
What are the health benefits of chamomile?
I like to use it as a relaxing evening tea, but there have been many claims made, including the following :
Is it easy to make the tea?
I think so, just steep the dried plants in boiling water.
Awesome man, people like you are my heroes. I am also a gardener but stoped working because its way to much comercialiced for me . Urban Farming and Permaculture everywhere is the way to go :D
Thanks for the encouragement!
Another daily dose of inspiration - thanks @papa-pepper
Glad you liked it!