Tag: The Garden Journal
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This Week’s Mushroom: Lactarius
Lactarius mushrooms – aka Milkcaps – are known for the milky substance they exude when damaged. The flavour can vary, being hot, bitter or mild, and, like the Russula mushrooms, it has a granular texture akin to sugar cubes. Ones to avoid: Ones to eat: Given there are over twice as many poisonous ones as…
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Things To Forage In June
There are several key plants to look out for in the gorgeous June sun: I do love elderflowers, and try to make elderflower cordial whenever I can. It’s delicious, light, and makes a lovely refreshing drink without all the unknown additives you get in squash drinks! See my recipe below: Elderflower Cordial Many also make…
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This Week’s Mushroom of Interest: Brittlegills
Brittlegills, or Russulas, are simple-stemmed mushrooms without rings. They tend to have brightly coloured caps, usually red, purple, yellow or green. They’re often convex (curved) when young, and become flat or funnel-shaped as they mature. The flesh tends to be granular, like a lump of sugar. The gills are brittle, hence the name, and are…
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Vinegars
Making a herbal vinegar is much like making a tincture: you take a herb, shove it in a jar and fill it with vinegar. Easy peasy! But they’re weaker and don’t last as long as tinctures, so why bother? Well, vinegars are more cost effective to prep: a 5l bottle of white vinegar is much…
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Tinctures
Tinctures are when you preserve the useful properties of a plant in alcohol. Historically, people would boil herbs in wine, as we see in the case of mulled wine. But boiling the alcohol is not always needed, depending on what type you use. I tend to get a jar, shove as much of the herb…
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Daisy Tea
Spring is finally here! And the first thing I’ve done? Pick and dry daisies for tea! They smell gorgeous, but they’re also great in that they: Even better: they’re everywhere! So make them into a tea or a poultice, or whatever else takes your fancy! Stick them in a salad, or make a nice lip…
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First Proper Post!
Hi everyone! Now this is exciting! I’m Sam, a lass who likes to blend prepping with a little hedge-witchery. If that sounds a wee bit too eccentric, I can sum it up simply as: I love nature, and I love learning about what I can do with it. So, these first few posts are going…
