First Aid Kit for Gardeners

I don't know about anyone else, but when I am working outside in the yard or garden, I will sometimes get a scrape or cut on my hands, an insect bite, splinter in my finger, or some other kind of very minor medical emergency. While it may be minor, the wound or bite needs to be tended to before infection sets in or before I get blood every where. But it is very inconvenient for me to stop my work, come into the house, take off my shoes (so I don't track dirt through out my house), find the supplies that I need and then tend to the wound.

I have solved that problem by making up a first aid kit that I keep outside during the spring and summer months. I keep my kit under my gardener potting bench which is out of the sun and the rain cannot get to it. It is important that the kit is not exposed to the elements and direct sunlight. If you do not have a place like that outside, you could also store your kit in a tool shed, garage, or some other out building.

While you might not need or want everything on my list, the things that I include in my kit are:

• A empty, cleaned out, large ice cream bucket with a lid. This is what I store all my supplies in. It helps to keep the supplies together and the handle makes it easy for me to just grab it and go in an emergency.
• Suntan lotion
• Baby orajel. This is in case of a splinter. I rub the orajel around the skin by the splinter which numbs the skin and makes the removal of the splinter a lot less painful.
• Isopropyl Alcohol
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Bandages in all sizes
• Sterile 4X4 gauze sponges
• medical tape
• safty pins
• tweezers
• scissors
• Benzalkonium chloride towelettes
• Sterile gloves
• antiseptic hand wipes
• hand sanitizer
• antacid tablets
• insect sting relief pads
• electrolyte dehydration tablets
• antibiotic cream
• paper hankies
• rolls of gauze bandages

I hope this helps. If you have any suggestions of other things that would be good to include in the kit, please feel free to share them in the comment section of this post. Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Aspirin Substitute – Natural Remedies

A substitute for aspirin may be as close as in your own neighborhood, and that is bark from the Willow tree. The reason that this works is because the bark has most of the same components in it as aspirin. Willow tree bark has been used for centuries to reduce pain and inflammation. However, it will not reduce a fever.

***WARNING*** If you have any medical condition(s). especially an allergy to salicin, or take medication of any kind  (legal kind or otherwise), please consult with your doctor first. There have been some known interaction between some medications that has resulted in serious side effects. Also children under the age of 16 should not use Willow bark because of the danger of them developing Reye syndrome. And of course, if you are pregnant or breastfeeding you shouldn't use Willow bark.

You can buy the bark from a health food store or online. The kind of willow tree bark that is sold most often in the United States is usually a combination of white and purple Willow although any bark from any Willow tree can be used. If you do harvest your own Willow bark, please be kind and take the bark from a small branch. If you must take the bark from the trunk, go vertical with your cut and not horizontal. Girdling a tree can kill it.

To make Willow bark tea, boil 1-2 teaspoons of the dried bark in 8 ounces of water and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes. Let the tea steep for ½ hour more. Drink 3-4 times daily.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. 

Disclaimer: (Legal stuff my lawyer said I should include in this section of my blog.) I am not a doctor or a member of the medical community. The content of this post is solely from my own personal research and use and the information provided here has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This post is intended for educational purposes only and not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any condition or disease. Be sure to consult with a medical professional regarding the treatment of any condition or medical symptom you may experience. 

Apartment Homesteading

Some of the tulips in my flower gardens.

Apartment, Condo, or Renter Homesteading

I recently have received several emails and I have talked to a few people who were rather upset. It seems that they want to homestead, but they either live in a highrise apartment in a major city, or they live in condo or they rent a free standing house and are not allowed to dig up ground to plant a garden or raise any kind of livestock. It was also truly impossible for them to move from where they currently are living for a number of different reasons.

I explained to them that the beauty of the modern homesteading movement today is that the definition of homesteading is very flexible. That wasn't always the case. Back in the 1970's during the last major homesteading movement in order to be considered a homesteader you had to: live on at least 5-10 acres of land, have some chickens, cows, and a horse. That isn't so today. What I am finding is today 's definition and goals of homesteading is  to become  more self-reliant and self-sufficient no matter where you live or situation in life. In other words, homesteading is a way of life and thinking and not a physical location.

I won't lie to you. Homesteading is a lot of work and it is much easier to achieve the homesteading lifestyle when living in country and on your own property. However, you can achieve a homesteading lifestyle even with living in the city or renting.

No matter where you live, homesteading takes not only hard work, but also determination, learned skill, and a willingness to fail in order to learn. A lazy, slothful, prideful, person will not be able to make it as a homesteader.

In no particular order, some of the ways that a person/family in the city or are a renter, can start homesteading are:

• Start thinking like a homesteader: Homesteaders look at ways that they can do tasks themselves and not rely on others or machines to do their work for them.
• Grow food and herbs in containers: Anything that grows in a traditional garden can be grown in a container. Even sweet corn can be grown in a container. You will need preferably a southern exposure, but a western exposure will work too. If you have a balcony, check with your apartment manager first before placing your containers on there to make sure fire code or your lease will allow for that. And please never place items on an outdoor fire escape. Your life, or someone else's life may depend on it. If you decide to grow your containers indoors. You might want to check out Window Farms  for products for growing food indoors. If you have neither a southern or western exposure, you can still grow food by using a grow light. Also check about rooftop gardening or check with your city to see if you can grow a garden in a vacant lot.
• Learn bread making skills: Nothing tastes or smells better than fresh baked bread.
• Learn how to grind grain to make your own flour: With the grain mills that are available on the market today, you will be amazed on how easy it is to grind your own flour.
• Learn how to preserve food: Learn how to can, dehydrate, or freeze foods and which method of preserving foods is best for you. Usually apartments do not have a lot of storage space so it would be difficult to find space for a large freezer or for glass jars of food. Still, learning how to preserve food in those ways are good. Also, you don't need and expensive dehydrator in order to dehydrate food. You can use your oven or the sun to dehydrate food.
• Learn how to make jelly and jams: If fresh fruit isn't available or in season, you can use regular apple or grape juice that you buy at the store to make jelly. You can also use frozen fruit to make jams.
• Learn how to make your own apple cider vinegar.
• Learn how to make your own pectin.
• Consider going vegetarian: I love meat!! There is nothing better to me than a thick, juicy steak fresh off the grill or a fresh fried egg. However, where I presently live at, we are not allowed to have livestock which includes rabbits or beehives. While this isn't for everyone, our solution to that was to have two days a week that are meatless. It is amazing how much we don't miss meat on those days. Our goal is to become completely self sufficient food wise, so that is one way that we accomplishing that. Like I said, that isn't for everyone.
• Offer to volunteer at a local petting zoo so you can learn animal husbandry for farm animals.
• Learn how to save open pollinated seeds
• Wash your dishes by hand instead of using a dishwasher. Washing them by hand saves both money and water...and your dishes end up being cleaner. Also, it takes about about 20 minutes to wash dishes by hand . The dishwasher takes about one hour. So it is quicker too.
• Learn how to sharpen knives using a whet stone
• Learn how to tell time by the position of the sun
• Get rid of the credit cards and get out of debt: Learn how to live on what you actually make and not on what you wished you made. I won't lie. That isn't always easy. Family and friends may not understand. But it is well worth it.
• Learn how to forecast the weather by the type of clouds and other things in nature.
• Learn how to make natural dyes for fabric and yarn from food.
• Make your own paper and ink.
• Learn how to weave baskets. Community Colleges, Libraries, Craft Stores, Park Districts, sometimes have classes on basket weaving. If nothing else, there are some excellent videos on YouTube about how to weave baskets that you can watch.
• Learn how to churn cream into butter.
• Learn how to use a solar oven.
• Learn about aquaponics and consider raising fish for meat.
• Learn about wild eatables in your area: Take a walk around your park and other public places and notice the weeds that are growing. Do research on those weeds to see if they are eatable or poisonous. See also if the weed can be used medicinal use. Please don't pick the weed in the park. An option might be for you to take a picture of it with your cell phone for further reference. Keep a notebook on what plants you found and where they were located for future reference.
• Learn basic first aid and have a first aid kit in your home for minor medical emergencies.
• Learn about herbal medicines: Then learn what works for you and what doesn't. Word of caution...If you are on any kind of medication, please check first with your physician to make sure the herb would be okay to take. Some herbs can cause serious side effects when taken with prescription or over the counter drugs.
• Make your own groceries: Learn how to make things such as baking powder, noodles, crackers, mixes of all kinds, soups, cookies, etc. from scratch.
• Stop using paper products such as paper towels, paper hankies, paper napkins and so on. Make it a habit to use cloth instead. Not only is it better for the environment, it will also save you money.
• Make your own cleaning supplies. You can easily make your own glass cleaner, scouring powder, furniture polish, laundry detergent, fabric softener, with just a few common every day products that you probably have on hand or easily could get from the store.
• Hang clothes on a drying rack instead of using a dryer.
• Learn how and what to upcycle
• Learn how to spin and weave. You don't have to spend a fortune on a spinning wheel to learn how to spin. You can use a drop spindle to learn how to spin. Most homes cannot handle a full size weaving loom, but you can learn the technique by using a table top loom (http://www.ashford.co.nz/newsite/weaving-wheels-looms/102/weaving/katie-table-loom/moredetail.html) [the loom may be compact but the URL isn't and was to long for me to be able to make as link.]  that is compact and folds up when not in use.
• Learn how to knit and crochet.
• Learn to make your own soap and other personal hygiene products
• Decrease your reliance on electricity. Don't get rid of it all, but learn how to hand chop and grate instead of using a food processor, stir by hand instead of using a mixer. Learn how to entertain yourself without electronics. Use kerosene lamps once in a while instead of electric lights.
• Learn to make your own candles and wicks.
• Learn how to repair things yourself instead of hiring others to fix it for you. If you are renting, and the problem is something dealing with your home, the landlord will probably want their people to do the work, but you can watch and learn from them to learn how to (or maybe how not to) repair something. Or even ask if you may help them.
• Learn basic sewing skills
• Learn how to make jerky
• Learn how to make pottery from clay
• Learn how to make cheese.

I hope that gives some of you some ideas on where to start at if you want to homestead but thought it impossible because of where you live at. The important thing with all of this not to become overwhelmed with it all. Just pick one thing and start there. After you have learned that skill move onto something else and learn that...and don't be afraid of not being able to do it perfectly the first time. It is through failing, and not our successes, that we actually learn.

Thank you for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Violet Tea

2 tablespoons of violets (heads only no leaves or stems)
1 cup boiling water

Rinse flowers and place in a defuser. Pour boiling water over flowers and allow to steep for 5 mins. strain and discard flowers. Enjoy!!

You also can dry the flowers so you can enjoy this wonderful tea later: Dry petals and leaves in a 150 degree oven until all moisture is gone. Store in an air-tight container until ready to make tea. Bring water to a boil, add violet leaves and petals, and steep for 10 minutes. Sweeten as desired.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-) 

Wild Violet Jelly

2 c. violet flower juice (recipe is given below)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 pkg. powdered pectin 

4 c. sugar

To make violet flower juice: Tightly pack 1 quart jar full of violet flowers (just the heads and not the stems). Fill the jar with boiling water, cover tightly and let steep overnight. Strain off juice. Discard flowers. Juice will be blue.

To 2 cups of the violet flower juice, add lemon juice and pectin. Bring to a boil and add sugar. Bring to rolling boil again and boil hard for one minute. Skim off foam, ladle into jars and seal.

I have used this recipe for years and now am unable to find the owner of the recipe. If you are the owner of this recipe, and are able to prove it, please contact me and I will give you credit for it. Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Planting Companions

Above image is from publicdomainpictures.com

Planting some plants close to other plants will help to enhance each others growth and help to protect against pests and some diseases to the plants. I have listed below what I was taught and so far it has worked for me. I have also listed how many plants or seeds to plant per person that will be eating from your garden. Since some people like some vegetables more than others, you might want to adjust the amount that you plant according to your family's likes and dislikes.

I hope that this will help others with planting their gardens. Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Vegetable	Good Companions	Avoid	How Many Plants or Seeds to plant per person
Asparagus	Tomatoes, parsley, basil	Onion, garlic, potatoes	Five crowns per person for fresh. Ten crowns per person for freezing.
Bush Beans	Eggplant, corn, sunflowers, lavender, cabbage, cucumbers, strawberries	Tomatoes, onions, kale, fennel	A fifty foot row will produce approximately 25 quarts of beans.
Beets	Mint, beans, onions, garlic, lettuce, cabbage,	____None_____	About ten to twenty feet per person. More if you want to can them.
Broccoli	Onions, garlic, leeks, dill, sage, rosemary, potatoes, beets, celery geraniums	Tomatoes, peppers, mustard	Two – four per person
Cabbage	Onions, garlic, leeks, dill, sage, rosemary, potatoes, beets, celery geraniums	Tomatoes, peppers, beans	Three to four cabbage plants per person.
Carrots	Leeks, beans. Lettuce, chives, rosemary, sage, peas	Strawberries, fennel, cabbage	30 plants per person for fresh.
Celery	Daisies, snapdragons,	corn	Five plants per person for fresh, ten plants per person for storage
Corn, sweet	Legumes, squash, cucumbers, sunflowers, beans, peas, legumes, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers, melons, parsley	Tomatoes, celery, cabbage	Figure one ear per stalk, two ears per stalk if you are lucky
Cucumber	Radishes, beets, carrots	Tomatoes	One plant per person for fresh, two plants per person for canning
Eggplant	Marigolds, mint	Runner beans	One plant per person plus 3 extra for family
Lettuce	Radishes, carrots, strawberries, cucumber, beans	Celery, Cabbage, Parsley,	Ten to twelve plants per person
Melons	Peppers, squash	---------	Four plants per person
Onions	Carrots, beets, strawberries, tomatoes, lettuce,	Peas, beans	Forty plants per person for fresh , Eighty plants per person if also used in canning.
Peas	Beans, corn., lavender, carrot, turnip, radish, cucumber, corn, beans	Onion, garlic	25 plants per person for fresh, 60 plants per person for canning.
Peppers	Tomatoes, geranium, basil, carrots, onion	Beans, cabbage, kale	Five to six plants per person for fresh. Ten plants per person if used in canning or for dehydrating.
Potatoes	Horseradish, coriander, marigolds, beans, corn, anything in the cabbage family,	Cucumbers, pumpkins, squash, melons, sunflowers, tomatoes	Ten plants per person for fresh. Thirty plants per person for canning
Spinach	Strawberries, peas	--------------	Ten plants per person for fresh. Thirty plants per person for canning
Summer/Winter Squash			Two plants per person
Potatoes	Horseradish	Tomato. cucumbers	Depends on how often you use potatoes. Each potato plant usually yields five to ten pounds of potatoes..
Tomatoes	Carrots, celery, parsley	Corn, peas, kale, potatoes	Two plants per person for fresh. Six plants per person for canning or dyhydrating.

Missing People

Just some random thoughts this morning...

I am  missing people today....I am missing “the old wise ones”. The ones that while they didn't have a lot of formal education, yet they were the smartest people that I have ever met. The ones that you could take any bug or weed to and they knew right away exactly what it was and if it wasn't good to have  around they knew exactly how to get rid of it without it harming nature. The ones that knew when to plant what simply by the size of leaves on the lilac bush. The ones that didn't give knee jerk reactions to the drama around them, but instead gave good, solid, sage, advice in how to take care of the situation in practical ways. The ones that worked hard and quietly with their hands, yet they always had a joke or story to tell and was never to busy to tell them.

...I am missing the compassionate and kind people. The ones that would do the right thing out of the goodness of their heart and love for God. Not because there was anything in it for them. Not because there was any kind of monetary gain for them, but simply because they cared and showed it. If they heard a neighbor was sick, they just showed up at the door and announced that they were there to do the chores. And they did them. They didn't ask “What can I do?” they found what to do and did it without being asked. Nor did they expect even a thank you for what they did.

.. I am missing the ones that truly believe in “Do unto others as they would do unto you.” They thought “am what I wanting to do going to disturb those around me?” BEFORE they did it. And if they saw where it would hurt, disturb, or bother others they didn't do it simply because that was the right thing to do

..I am missing the honorable people. The ones where their word and a handshake was good enough. If they said that they would do something, they would see that it got done even if it was inconvenient for them to do so, because their word meant something. The ones that were honest and accepted responsibility and consequences for what they did. They did so without complaining or trying to pass the blame off on others.

...I am missing people that believe that the answer to getting what they needed or wanted was to work for it. The ones that believed that they, and they alone, were responsible for providing for their needs and wants. Not the government. Not the rich, Not their neighbor who had a nicer house or nicer car. But only themselves were responsible for providing for their family and they put in a days work for a days pay in order to get it.

...I am missing people today. Where did they go? God help me to be “those kind” of people to those around me.

Bathtub Chickens

I am rather hesitant to write about this because the last thing that I want to do is to discourage someone from trying to become more self-reliant or self-sufficient. However, I have been seeing a recent trend among the urban homesteaders that is not only troubling, but downright dangerous, and that is raising chickens in your home in the bathtub  Aside from the fact, that it is very cruel to the chickens to be kept in such a cramped and confined space, never seeing the outside world, it also, in my opinion, can be a huge health risk. In fact I will go so far as to say it also is a life threatening thing to do.

There are many diseases that people can get from chickens. I know this to be a fact because my Dad had to have part of one of his lungs removed because of his exposure to chickens that resulted in tumors in his lung. The only time he was exposed to chickens was at chore time. We absolutely did NOT keep chickens in our home. We kept them in 1,000 sq ft chicken house that had plenty of ventilation and they had outdoor space as well . If you doubt me on the health risks from being exposed to the dust and chicken poo, I would invite you to research airborne pathogens from chickens. I can assure you that the results from your research will give you cause to at least pause and reconsider doing that.

The main reason given by homesteaders and preppers for raising  chickens is that they do so for the protein from the eggs. Here is a surprise...there really isn't that much protein in a egg. A large grade A egg only has 6 grams of protein in it. Since protein is present in almost everything that we eat, let us compare the amount of protein in an egg to other foods:

1 large egg – 6 grams of protein

• ½ cup of green sweet peas – 8 grams of protein
• 1 cup milk – 8 grams of protein
• 4 wheat crackers – 2 grams of protein
• 1 slice of bread – 2 grams of protein
• 2 Tablespoons of peanut butter – 7 grams of protein
• ½ cup of peanuts – 18 grams of protein
• 1/2 cup tofu – 10 grams of protein
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes – 1.53 grams of protein
• 1 cup bean sprouts – 3 grams of protein

And the list goes on, but I think that is enough to show that there are other foods and means (like buying dehydrated eggs for example) where one can get protein without having to risk the health and well-being of not only yourself but also your family.

Of course all of that does raise the question of, “How much protein does a person need each day?” The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the following:

Recommended Dietary Allowance for Protein
	Grams of protein needed each day
Children ages 1 – 3	13
Children ages 4 – 8	19
Children ages 9 – 13	34
Girls ages 14 – 18	46
Boys ages 14 – 18	52
Women ages 19 – 70+	46
Men ages 19 – 70+	56

Women who are pregnant should eat 10 more grams a day and women that are nursing should eat 20 more grams a day.

Another thing to consider about raising chickens inside your home is, if there is a WROL situation, how are you going to feed your chickens? How will you discard their feces? Some breeds of chickens get sick easily, how will you handle that?

I am not wanting to discourage anyone from raising chickens IF you have outdoor space to do so. Chickens make for awesome pets as well as a food source. Just please, do it in a responsible and safe manner. 

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Thoughts and Prayers

Homestead Updates 15 April 2013

My hyacinth (and the weeds) growing my north flower garden this spring.

I thought that I would give some quick updates today on things that have been happening on the ole homestead...Our experiment of being off the grid last week went very well. In fact it was very awesome.

• We found that we ate less food than we thought that we would. Which is good thing.
• We were right on the mark on how much fuel we would use for our alternative cooking and running the generator. Again, an awesome thing.
• We didn't get bored because there was always something that needed to be done.
• Our water usage was right on target. However, it would be nice to have more put back in case other people would be in need of water. We are not to concerned about the water situation though since both our water company and sewer plant are both totally operated from bio-fuels that are generated from, and are processed at, our local sewer plant.

However we did find a few areas that we needed to work on and improve in case the grid ever goes down for an extended period of time. Such as:

• It rained all week so there wasn't enough sun for us to be able to recharge our solar charger. After the first use, the charger was totally useless. We ended up having to charge our cell phones and tablets using the car battery, which might not be an alternative in a grid down situation.
• We did need more light for after sun down than what we had planned for. It was difficult for us to be able to read without straining our eyes in the kerosene and candle light.
• It never was cold enough for us to need to use our kerosene heater, so we were unable to test to see if that would be adequate heat source.
• The big lesson we learned was if one leaves kerosene in their lamp for a long extended period of time, one should light the lamp at least once a month. Other wise it s-t-i-n-k-s when it is lit.

All in all, we are very pleased in how things went. In fact, by the end of the week, we were very rested and ready to go back to our paying work this week.

 

 

Herb, Tomatoes and Green Peppers Update

I am very happy with the growth of my herbs and other seedlings. Since planting time for outdoor planting in my area isn't until next month, I couldn't be happier with how they are doing.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Off the Grid

My darling hubs and I will both be off work and on a “stay-cation” next week. Never fear though, we won't be bored staying at home. We have often wondered just how well we would do if we were without electric for awhile and how much fuel we would need to store in case power ever goes out for a long extended period of time. Soooooooo next week, starting on Monday, we will be shutting off our electricity for seven days.

We will only be running our generator for two hours per day so I can check emails and do other things connected with my business. (When one owns a business, you never actually get a vacation.) We also will not be going to store for any kind of food product nor will we be spending any cash (or using our credit, debit card, or writing checks) during the week. We will also be logging our water usage for this week.

Some of the things that we are wanting to look at and will be keeping track of are:

• How much fuel does it take to heat the warming room using our kerosene heater and how well does it do the job.
• How much food do we actually consume a day.
• How much fuel does it take to cook our meals with our alternative cooking methods.
• How much water does it take to bathe, do laundry, flush the toilet, dishes, cook, and for us to drink and still have some sort of normalcy to our routine.
• Is our alternative sources for lighting at night sufficient for us to be able to read, play games, or to do work.
• Does the solar charger for the cell phone and tablet work as anticipated.

I will be keeping a diary of sorts through out this time, but depending on the amount of emails and so on that I will need to tend to for my business, I may or may not have time to blog about our experience.

Have you ever tried doing something like this? If so, I would be interested in hearing how that went for you and any tips that you might have.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. I do appreciate each and everyone of my readers and subscribers. :-)

Mini-Greenhouses

Sometimes an individual plant just needs a little extra help while it is sprouting. What I have found to help is to give the needy plant its own “greenhouse”. Whether inside or outside, invert a glass jar over the plant to allow the heat and moisture to be trapped around the plant. I have found that glass works best. It has been my experience, that anything plastic that is used to cover a plant like that, will cause the air that is trapped inside the mini-greenhouse to actually become colder, which could be damaging to the plant.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Intestinal Flu – Natural Remedies

One of the best ways that I have found to deal with... ummmmm...intestinal flu (which means diarrhea for the sake of this post) is to drink a tea made from the dried leaves of blackberries. It sounds to good to be true, but most of the time, one cup of this will take care of the problem. Two cups at the absolute most. This is very safe to drink for both adults and children without any known side effects. It tastes wonderful and you can drink it even if you don't have the flu.

My step-dad was in a very serious accident a few years ago, and was hospitalized for several months. While he was there, he caught a virus and came down with intestinal flu. The hospital tried several medications to alleviate his problem, but nothing helped. I suggested that they try blackberry tea. Thankfully the doctor was very opened to alternative medicine and to my suggestion, and "prescribed" blackberry tea for my step-dad. Within an hour after my step dad drank the tea, the problem had cleared up. The doctor was very surprised, and now he suggests drinking blackberry tea to his other patients that have the flu.

A couple words of caution though:

• There is a difference between blackberries and black raspberries. You need the blackberry tea.
• So called blackberry tea that you buy in the grocery stores in handy-dandy tea bags usually are not made from blackberry leaves. They only have have artificial flavoring in them, or the flavoring in the tea is made from the juice of the berry instead of the leaves. These will not work. You need real blackberry leaf tea. So be careful what you buy.

To make blackberry tea:

Pour 1 cup of boiling water over 3 teaspoons of dried blackberry leaves and allow to steep for at least 10 minutes. Strain tea and drink. Repeat after one hour if needed.

Thanks for reading and visiting my blog. :-)

Disclaimer: (Legal stuff my lawyer said I should include in this section of my blog.) I am not a doctor or a member of the medical community. The content of this post is solely from my own personal research and use and the information provided here has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This post is intended for educational purposes only and not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any condition or disease. Be sure to consult with a medical professional regarding the treatment of any condition or medical symptom you may experience.  blah, blah, blah.....