Shamanic Gardening

Timeless Techniques for the 

Modern Sustainable Garden

By Melinda Joy Miller

Integrating sustainable ancient and traditional gardening methods with shamanic principles and modern permaculture.  The myths, stories and historical facts about medicinal edibles and Native American culture, make it an incredible read. This book will enhance your relationship with self and the earth, it includes practical tips for sustaining health of the soil, detailed coverage of companion planting, is a delight to your senses and nourish your soul.

Just the list of herbs to use as a reference guide to make teas, homemade beauty masks, or what to take on a daily basis to keep yourself healthy is a reference guide you will have for a life time. It includes a cultural history of sustainable gardening techniques used by Cleopatra, the Japanese, the Pueblo People, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and many others.

Shamanic Gardening: Timeless Techniques for the Modern Sustainable    Garden • ISBN: 978-1-934170-36-6 • eISBN: 978-1-934170-38-0 • 322 pages

You can view the book’s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/ShamanicGardeningBook

Purchase it now on the  Shambhalla Institute home page.

What people are saying about the book 

“Melinda Joy Miller’s new book is chock full of everything you want to know about gardening.  There are the essential how to’s of creating a healthy and vibrant garden in alignment with the flow of one’s landscape.  There are tips on what to plant and the nutritional value of specific herbs.  Also, she shares how to be in relationship with your garden in a way that is deep and meaningful. I felt, after reading it, that I’d spent an afternoon with a wise friend who had brought me the secrets of nature.”

-Susie Arnett, Curriculum Developer, Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Rhinebeck, NY

“A Seminal work whose time has come… This book could not be more timely and Melinda Joy is the perfect conduit to share this ageless wisdom with the world.”

-Becky Gilbert, Life Coach and Founder of Quantum Consciousness Initiative.

“Shamanic Gardening is a treasure! Melinda Joy Miller has compiled a lifetimes worth of experience into a beautiful book.  A labor of love, Shamanic Gardening combines the practical with the spiritual reminding us that our gardens are alive on many levels.  Melinda’s passion for the healing power of plants and connection to the earth is infectious. I am looking forward to introducing Shamanic Gardening to our community garden!”

-Tara Radzinski, CEO, Sustainable Solutions Corporation

“I loved the book… I can pick this book up and turn to any page and find a passage that grounds me to the earth and makes me feel present… alive and grateful.”

-Dana Congdon, Screenwriter/feature film editor, Basketball Diaries, Godfather III Topanga, CA

“Lovely and wise, Shamanic Gardening is a practical, inspiring guide for creating a relationship with nature that doesn’t require anything but heart and intention.   Melinda Joy Miller explains how Spirit can be conjured from the tiniest seed in the most modest of garden spaces to become food, medicine, and wondrous beauty. What could be more soul satisfying?”

-Randi Ragan, Green Living and Holistic Beauty Expert, Founder/Owner GreenBliss EcoSpa

“It’s as if the author is having a personal conversation with the reader and spiritual insights are backed up by practical tips, about a wide range of garden choices and activities.”

-Graham Bell, Author The Permaculture Way, The Permaculture Garden

“Melinda Joy writes about her historied connection with Mother Earth and showcases her incredible talent and ideas for creating harmonic, healing gardens. I especially found the section on morphic resonance to be fascinating. Thank you Melinda for showing us how to create harmony in our lives in such a magical and beautiful way.”

-Deborah Lindquist, Sustainable fashion designer, Eco-Couture, Los Angeles CA

This year’s winter solstice is a personal and a global event. The Mayan Long Count Calendar completes a 13 Baktun Cycle of 5,125 years on Friday, December 21, 2012, *UTC 11:11am. Tomorrow clear some time in your day to connect to thousands of people around our Planet who are holding a focus of gratitude and remembering that  WE ARE ONE;  ONE IS ALL – ALL IS ONE.  As we have learned over years of observing solstice and equinox times, the Winter Solstice is a powerful opportunity to set the stage for the next year. Ask yourself, “Who Am I?”  What do I want to have happen in my life next year?”

Write down a goal for your personal, business and spiritual life that you want to manifest during 2013. Make 2 copies. Place one in a special place to read again at the Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox time. (See pp 175-179 in Shamanic Gardening: Timeless Techniques for the Modern Sustainable Garden.)

Because this day is such a powerful transformational time we have the opportunity to take part in the Great Mystery’s light-blessings that are pouring into the air, the water, the earth and into our hearts, emotions and minds. It’s a perfect time to:

• Vision your greatest DREAM.
• Imagine the JOY of having PEACE in all relationships.
• Have every action be ruled by LOVE and compassion.
• Be aware and acknowledge miracles.
• Feel and sense the HARMONY that is within all creation of the Circle of Life.

*(UTC=Coordinated Universal Time) Other exact times to observe in United States: 6:11am East Coast; 5:11am Central Time; 4:11am Mountain Time; 3:11 West Coast Time; Hawaii Time 1:11am

A master BIRD ARCHITECT at work, RECYCLING nature’s debris in the most gorgeous of ways!

The circle is a sacred shamanic form that relates to the Truth of Harmony and the spiritual essence of wholeness. As the bird’s inner wisdom determines a creation of circular design, the result is one of living within harmony and knowing the Wholeness of the natural world. A shamanic gardener seeks to become whole and to live within the balance and harmony that’s present in the Circle of Life.

For an incredible collection of shamanic stories and tips check out another great Process Media book, Shamanic Gardening: Timeless Techniques for the Modern Sustainable Gardener

“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
  “To talk of many things:
 Of shoes–and ships–and sealing-wax— Of cabbages–and kings–     The Walrus and The Carpenter, by Lewis Carroll

Cabbage is delicious, nutritious, low-calorie, fat-free and likes to grow in cold weather. No where in America is its history as interesting as in the Matanuska Valley of Alaska. Cabbage research began there in the late 1800’s by George W. Palmer and continues today at the Palmer Center for Sustainable Living in Palmer, Alaska.

Palmer was a gold prospector turned entrepreneur after he realized there was a serious market for the high nutrition found in vegetables that could be added to a diet mostly of meat. Working with seeds from the Federal Government, he successfully cultivated cabbage, carrots, radishes, kale, rutabagas, lettuce, parsnips and turnips. Palmer was able to feed his family throughout the winter, sell the produce in his grocery store and share extra harvest of seeds with his Native neighbors who also lived in the valley.

Cabbage is high in vitamin C, Iron, potassium, calcium beta-carotene and ingredients that prevent cancer. Working with the Palmer Center for Sustainable Living, the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) recommends the best cabbage varieties for cold climates. For more detailed information about high-nutrition crops visit the links below in Resources. What’s your favorite Brassica oleracea?  Share your comments here and on our new Facebook page. 

Brassica oleracea (Capitata group)

Glory of Enkuizen Golden Acre:    Heirloom, moose favorite; blue/green colors, small tight head, good for sauerkraut. Seeds became available in America in 1903.

January King:   Heirloom, Originating in Victorian England; Pinkish/purple, slightly savoyed, cold hardy; and has many hybrids developed from it.

Savoy Ace:   Excellent raw in salads, very tender with deep green leaves.

Resources:

FREE:  http://processmediainc.com/planting-for-health-shamanic-gardening-excerpt/

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ShamanicGardeningBook

UAF: http://www.uaf.edu/files/ces/publications-db/catalog/anr/HGA-00030.pdf

SEEDS: http://www.victoryseeds.com/cabbage.html

PALMER CENTER: http://www.uaf.edu/snras/afes/palmer-research-extension/

PALMER: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~coleen/gwp.html

 The following analysis of dried Moringa leaf powder is per 100 grams of edible portion.

Moringa contains all the essential amino acids.

Protein (g) 27.1

Fiber (g) 19.2

Calcium (mg) 2,003

Magnesium (mg) 368

Phosphorus (mg) 204

Potassium (mg) 1,324

Copper (mg) 0.57

Iron (mg) 28.2

Sulphur (mg) 870

Oxalic acid (mg) 1.6%

Vitamin A-B carotene (mg) 16.3

Vitamin B – choline (mg) – 
Vitamin B1 – thiamin (mg) 2.64

Vitamin B2 – riboflavin (mg) 20.5

Vitamin B3 – nicotinic acid (mg) 8.2

Vitamin C 0 ascorbic acid (mg) 17.3

Vitamin E tocopherol acetate mg) 113

Arginine (g/16gN) 1.33%

Histidine (g/16gN) 0.61%

Lysine (g/16gN) 1.32%

Tryptophan (g/16gN) 0.43%

Phenylanaline (g/16gN) 1.39%

Methionine (g/16gN) 0.35%

Threonine (g/16gN) 1.19%

Leucine (g/16gN) 1.95%

Isoleucine (g/16gN) 0.83%

Valine (g/16gN) 1.06%

Links:

www.moringanews.org/doc/GB/Posters/Broin_poster.pdf

http://www.moringatree.co.za/analysis.html

www.moringasource.com/nutrition.php

http://www.naturalnews.com/022272.html

As we welcome everyone who visits Shamanic Gardener, we especially appreciate comments and questions. Our last post before the Autumn Equinox generated a lot of questions about finding Moringa (Moringa oleifera).

Moringa is not easy to find at American nurseries and seed companies; it’s up to all of us to ask for it at our favorite garden centers and seed companies. Although there are numerous online sources for moringa powder, I recommend purchasing seeds and growing your own. Every community garden, local food bank, church soup kitchen, health center, yoga center, etc., could be growing hedges of moringa trees to provide a free source of nutritional food.

Presently I buy my seeds from ECHO, http://www.echonet.org, in North Fort Myers, Florida. The moringa tree grows very quickly from seed. Because the long roots tend to grow straight just under the surface of the ground they can be carefully dug up and cut into shorter pieces for a substitute to horseradish – it’s commonly known as the ‘horseradish tree’. The tree will die back from freezing temperatures, but when the weather warms, the main trunk sprouts several more trees. People are having success saving the tree over the winter months by placing it in a container to place in a sunny, warm room of the house.

The photo of a moringa hedge is from: http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treedb2/speciesprofile.php?Spid=1169#

Today is the best day of the year to focus on sharing your gratitude with someone.  A year of explosive change has supported a closer look into stability. The sun and the moon can be a good place to start as they are always around,  give life and value.  Trees serve the planet majestically, never complain, supply shade, comfort, protection and also provide nourishment to every member of the Circle of Life.

This year consider imagining yourself in the center of your favorite tree. Breathe with the tree, breathe your love and gratitude into the tree. As you express your grateful thoughts for the tree, expand your mind to reach out to all trees on the earth, in your yard, in your city, in gardens and parks. Take another deep breath in and become ONE with the tree. Then, ask your self:

• What, for this year 2012, are the fruits of my thoughts? Goals?  Desires?
• How have I changed:  My thoughts?  My emotions?  My spiritual growth?

To know what ‘seeds to plant’ for 2013 at the time of the Winter Solstice, reflect and ask yourself:

• Who Am I now?   Who do I want to be in 2013?
• What do I want to happen in 2013

NOTE: The photo was taken this week at Kanapaha Botanical Garden in Gainesville, Florida. This tree has been reinventing itself  by being a tall tree, an exceptionsl bridge to walk under and nourishment for a variety of plants and teams of wildlife on its branches. My husband Bob & I are very grateful for its presence each time we visit the gardens.

A welcome change when the weather cools, the clouds show a change in the weather and the Autumn Equinox is close. Here in Florida the 4 o’clock showers slow down from daily to only 2 times a week. This is when my morning trip to the herb garden includes picking 5 special herbs – one is eaten and the rest are added to my green tea brew.

Each day until the Spring Equinox I eat a tiny leaf of artemisia vulgaris (mugwort). To a teapot of green tea I add: 6 sage or lavendar leaves, 1 small branch of moringa leaves (Moringa oleifera), ½ teaspoon of rosemary leaves & 2 Gotu Kola (Centella asiatica) leaves. After breakfast, the remaining tea is poured into a glass bottle with a tiny bit of sugar to become the iced-tea jug for the day.

Aloes are not hardy in the winter frost or snow. To get one ready for moving inside plant it in a container now but leave it outside until the weather changes. A strong economical container that can hold a tall aloe is an old paint can. The aloe’s architectural leaf shapes will add aesthetic drama to any sunny room in your home.

Consider various colors to paint the can: Deep chocolate-brown or a rust-orange offers a comfortable earthy feel; Cherry red promotes good luck and cheerfulness; Yellows support confidence and optimism; Pink can be romantic; Soft ocean blues or turquoise allow relaxation.

How to: Clean out any paint residue; Lightly sand the surface; First coat is a primer, then follow with paint.

Growing medium: Fill halfway with a pile of wet twigs and small leaves; Follow with wet green sand and pebble mixture; Surround the roots with a good potting soil; Water well; Cover the top with more pebbles or gravel. Aloes are very drought tolerant so water well, but infrequently.

The veil of illusion resembles the moment before dawn when the world of familiar things is seen through the fogs and the streamers of mist. Alice A. Bailey

A bird sees the illusion of the garden’s reflection and chooses to stay even through the pain of beating its body against the windowpane. The shaman in you though senses harmony in a garden along with soft coos of a nearby dove.