Today's Goings-On
The onion seeds have germinated!
Now if I can just get them to grow until planting time. I don't know why I have such a high failure rate on onions, but this could be my year.
Today I'm starting Toothache plant.
This is the craziest herb! It grows to be about a foot tall. It has beautiful, red-purple leaves and the blossom looks like a red and yellow gum drop.
It's called Toothache plant because when chewed up, the oils in the blossom create a numbing effect in the mouth. Well, it's more like a numb buzzing. I guess the only way I can describe the feeling is it's like pop-rocks on steroids. You just have to try it. My kids and I play with it, and it's fun to give to unsuspecting friends and family just to watch them freak out for a minute. 😏
It can be used to make a mouthwash to prevent and treat periodontal disease. It's antimicrobial, and can be made into a tincture to treat bug bites and scrapes. It's an absolute must have in our garden!
Thank you so much for your time and interest!
Toothache plant??? WOW! That's a new one for me!
Like you, I have had issues with onions too. One year I'll be able to boast about a bumper crop! (hopefully)
The best plant remedy for toothache I've tried is... cloves! Just put a single one in your mouth next to the problem area and it takes like 15-20 minutes for the pain to subdue. Also, a tincture of cloves is highly antiseptic, so we use it kinda like mouthwash in case of gum problems and also for treating nasty cuts and wounds.
My grandmother used cloves for toothaches, I had forgotten about that. Luckily, I haven’t had to use Toothache for a toothache!
Alright, you root for me and I'll root for you and we'll both win!
We should compare notes through the season and at harvest.
And yeah, you've gotta give Toothache plant a go! It's beautiful, fun and beneficial. There's nothing like it.
Have you seen my Bunghole? My people; we are without Bungholes...
Amazingly, onions from seed I actually do okay with. I really struggle with basil though. I wonder if climate has anything to do with it. Back in England my parents always used sets rather than starting from seed.
I'm fascinated by the toothache plant. I usually use cloves, but not sure if I could grow that here.
My grandmother used cloves. I had a toothache as a teenager and the clove burned the soft tissue in my mouth SO BAD. I had a sore for a while. It did have some pretty good antiseptic quality.
The scientific name for toothache plant is Acmella oleracea. Maybe you can find some on that side of the world. :)
I have good luck planting onions outside when the snow is almost gone, I think they really like the cold damp spring air. I have a lot started in my office right now including 12 lettuce heads, snap peas, cherry tomatoes.
Man, you're on top of it!
So, you plant the sets out in late winter, or do you direct sow the seed?
I plant seeds, for sets I wait till there is no more snow at all, so about march 15th around here. I do have chives doing well inside right now, I am going to try garlic as well. I should start posting these on my blog i guess.
I guess you should!
Hey, thanks for the great tips. I'm taking notes and plan to give onions a real effort this year!
Sounds like fun!
Too much fun! :D