Dream Cabbages

“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

We Celebrate Autumn Equinox 2011

Celebrating Autumn Equinox 2011
Friday   September 23
2:05AM West Coast       5.05 AM East Coast

It is a time to set the focus only on feeling and expressing gratitude with others all that has been received. Together we begin a walk into the West by slowing down. It’s a good time to get to know yourself by asking:

• What are the fruits of my harvest this year?
• How have I changed?  Thoughts?  Emotions?  Spiritual growth?
• How am I more aware?
• How has my consciousness changed?
• Who am I now?

Between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice, we reflect on all that has happened since the Winter Solstice 2010. Because it’s a time to get the ‘soil’ ready for planting new seeds at the Winter Solstice, December 21, 2012, ask yourself:

• Who do I want to be?
• What positive thoughts am I going to hold throughout 2012?
• For 2012 what seeds do I want to plant for self, family, others and earth wellness?
• What action can I take throughout 2012 that can sustain earth wellness, peace, love, joy or harmony for seven generations into the future?

When we open our eyes, we see beyond ourselves.

When we open our ears, we listen beyond ourselves.

When we give ourselves over to this attraction we grow in self-awareness.

Grandmother Twylah Hurd Nitwch, Seneca Elder & Teacher

How to Make an Eggshell Garden

Eggshells make perfect seed starters.  For the last several years I have sowed my seeds in broken eggshells filled with potting soil and a couple leaves from yarrow, moringa, clover or alfalfa.  As soon as 5 leaves appeared on the seedlings, the whole container was dropped into the ground. There was no worry about hurting the plant’s tiny roots which grow easily as the shell disintegrates. Strong stems and leaves develop as the calcium gets absorbed by the plant.

To learn more sustainable secrets, click here.

How to Build a Butterfly Cafe

Butterflies like to sip nectar from a large patch of single colored flowers and are most attracted to red. Here’s how to build your own Butterfly Café by seeding a red flower ‘sod’.

1.    Purchase seeds of your favorite red, butterfly flower.

2.    Cover a flat with one thickness of cheesecloth with extra overlapping the ends. Wet down the cheesecloth and cover it with a 1 inch layer of potting soil. Gently spray with water to moisten. Repeat to build a 2nd layer of moistened cheesecloth and 1 inch layer of potting soil.

3.    Broadcast the flower seeds evenly across the top of the moistened soil. Cover the seeds with a thin layer of soil and moisten gently. Firm gently to make the most seed contact with the soil .  Moisten again lightly and evenly.

4.    Set the prepared flat outside in a shady spot. When the seedlings have 5 leaves it’s time to lift the sod out of the flat holding the cheesecloth ends. Keeping the sod intact, gently place it on the prepared ground for your new butterfly garden.  Note the photo above is Globe Amaranth, Amaranthacae.