Chicagoland Gardening Magazine ISO Young Gardeners

Chicagoland Gardening Magazine ISO Young Gardeners

via Chicago Garden by Mr. Brown Thumb on 9/17/09

Are you interested in gardening and under 35? If you found an Ed Hardy t-shirt in your closet would you throw it in a compost bin before ever wearing it?* Do you and your friends use around buzzwords like "sustainability?"If you answered yes, then ChicagoLand Gardening magazine wants to talk to you. They're conducting a 35 and Under Garden Focus Group to help direct the magazine and garden dialogue in Chicagoland. You'll discuss edible gardening, ecology, sustainability, environmentalism.When: Saturday, October 17, 2009. A second meeting takes place in April of 2010.Time: 9:30 a.m to noon.Location: Chicagoland Magazine's Office. 915 Parkview BLVD., Lombard, IL 60148 (near I-355 and I-88)To volunteer for the Garden Focus Group send an Email with your Name,...

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Dorm room gardening

Dorm room gardening

via Garden Variety on 9/17/09

 

 

Photo courtesy of Matt Lehman

In my garden column in The Baltimore Sun today, I talk with Matt Lehman, a 19-year-old college sophomore who carried a garden with him when he return to college in Kansas.

Matt's family owns Lehman's, an Ohio, hardware story and catalog outlet that caters to Amish and others who do not have or use electricity.

After working in the family store all summer - and contracting a bit of cabin fever - Matt said he found refuge working outdoors in his mother's garden when his shift was over.

Attracted to Mel Bartholomew's book on square-foot gardening, he decided to build his own (1 foot X 3 feet), cart it back to college, and place it under his dorm window. With the help of some extra lighting, he is growing some fine tomatoes, beans and cukes.

Matt said his little garden gave him the same kind of pleasure working in his mother's had during the summer - something constructive and contemplative to do during down time.

Matt discovered what we all know....gardening can be a refuge.

And a good source of fresh vegetables!

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The Obesity Gene

This isn't herbal, but nevertheless health related.

Science Daily reports that University of Michigan researchers have identified a gene that acts as a master switch to control obesity in mice. Deleting the gene seems to switch off the weight gain that is result of a high fat diet and also to protect against conditions that can lead to type 2 diabetes.

But what about other harmful effects of eating a high fat diet? Weight gain and type 2 diabetes aren't the only thing we need to be protected against. What about heart disease, diminished cognition and physical endurance? Do they know that deleting the IKKE gene ONLY stops weight gain? What else might it effect in the long term?

We really need to wake up and take responsibility for our own health. The "There's a pill for that" mentality has definitely gone too far. Is this what we're calling "health reform"?

Science Direct reports that exercise can reverse the harmful effects of high fat diet. Why mess around with the genes? Are we so lazy that we'd rather alter our genetic make up than exercise? Yes, obesity is on the rise especially in children and adolescents. This may be a direct result of a high fat diet, or it may be a combination of an unbalanced diet that doesn't provide all the various nutrients the body needs and the fact that most children and adolescents seem to be glued to a TV, computer or game station and get no exercise.

Garlic

Garlic has probably been used since the beginning of the history of man. At least it's use goes back to Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine. It is used to treat any type of infection including Staphylococcus. Dr. Albert Schweitzer used it to treat cholera, typhoid and typhus infections.

Garlic is an immense boost to the cardiovascular system. It reduces plaque in the arteries, prevents the hardening of the arteries that lead to many heart problems and lowers blood pressure.

If you only have one medicine in your herbal medicine chest I would suggest it be garlic. Garlic it easy to grow. Just plant the bulbs in the spring in a loose well drained soil. Allow to dry out between waterings. Harvest in the fall when the tops begin to dry up.

Calendula

Bright yellow blossoms of calendula keep an herb garden beautiful all summer long. Just pick them as they open. The more you pick, the more you encourage new blossoms.
Calendula has many uses. The petals are a bright sunny nutritious addition to a salad or can add a slightly nutty flavor to breads.

There is an old saying where there is calendula puss cannot stay. Calendula drives out all kinds of infections whether you drink an infusion or make a poultice or salve for external application.

Calendula is antibacterial,antiseptic, alterative, astringent and vulnerary. It has been used to sooth outbreaks of chicken pox, to clear up yeast infections, and any type of infection in or on the body.