I am hoping to get something going like you have now. Our trees are still young, I’m experimenting to see what can grow as carefree herbal companions around their drip line. Calendula is working well so far. Chamomile reseeds readily in our big raised beds but I am not sure it would make it around the trees—but I’m going to try.
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Do you cook them or eat raw? Mostly the young leaves?
Yep, they do indeed grow like ginger. Plant some and you’ll get a plant with a bunch of little fingers of tumeric
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I mostly chop them up real thinly and add them to beans, quinoa, grains, etc. I eat them raw, because I think that most Americans hardly eat anything raw and it harms our health. Many medical professionals suggest that. Raw veg is said to be better if you want to get thinner, and I definitely want to get thinner.
John S
PDX OR
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I think that both ginger and turmeric are subtropical and grow best in really hot places. Since I live in PNW, I buy them.
John S
PDX OR
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they are in the same family. I’ve grown them out in the garden from June until early oct. i basicly quadrupled my harvest in 4 months. i harvest just before a frost and store them in slightly moist sawdust in the unheated spare room. i get mine through esty.
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Great info. I might try that myself.
John S
PDX OR
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You’re in northern Maine? Do you get good summer heat? Very curious about your ginger / turmeric experience, as I too was under the (mistaken) impression that one requires a more tropical clime for those plants.
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a warmer , longer summer will get you better results but i at least quadruple my plantings with good soil and a lot of moisture. we rarely see 80 and 90 is even rarer but the last 10yrs. has seen that steadily increase. our days in summer up here average 16-18hrs so that also helps. i don’t plant them until mid June and only in raised beds where the soil is close to 70f by then. in your climate they should be a perennial.
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Ginger is easy to grow here if you get it started inside early. You leave it as long as you can in the fall…usually sometime in October. Our summers are hot and humid so that helps.
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I have this lb of organic yellow ginger, i’m going to break apart and start soaking this week. I’ll be growing it in #5 nursey pots.
I’ve never tried to grow ginger before, I might need some advice.
Thanks
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i break mine into fingers a few days before planting. letting the breaks dry up some before potting up. i put them just under the soil about 4in. apart. by oct they have filled in the spaces.
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Great info, thanks
Love comfrey…works wonderfully for aches, pains, broken bones, sprains, great for skin care…also wonderful for loosening soil and the leaves are excellent fertilizer. Must have plant. Works super fast. Another favorite is Plantain, super safe to use everday, i have used it many times for bee stings(ground bees), pain gone under a minute, great anti inflammatory. Was given mullein last year, and it seeded plenty more plants…also have the usual potager herbs like rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano make excellent teas. Gotu kola is a great herb for nerve conditions and keeping brain healthy. Herbs are not one size fits all. Ayurveda and TCM both provides great explanations into how to match herbs to right body type.
I would not take any pharma product, it is only recommended in dire situations…any other chronic type health issue can be resolved first with nutrition, excercise and then supportive herbs.
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BEST HERBS are FOOD
Top 3: Comfrey, Sting Nettles, Horsetail…
…Deadnettle, Chickweed, Cleavers, Violet, Garlic Mustard, BitterCress, Dandelion…
Passion Flower Leaf…
Burdock, Dock, Motherwort…
Et Cetera…
(Plant Info Database) PLANTS FOR A FUTURE
pfaf(dot)org
Also on pfaf site, look for this article:
“Green Gold - The Leaves of Life!”
If you want a forum, try “Ask Barefoot Curezone”
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Thank you! Seeding some Burdock this year, another stellar herb. Plentiful dandelions in my yard
Chickweed is a spring weed. Very good for lymph and has so much supportive potential for the body. Cant be preserved for long us the only downside.
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Every year in late winter/ early spring I harvest a lot of chickweed and make pesto with it. It freezes well and then I get to use it all year. I often mix it with other herbs I have on hand, often yellow dock leaves, parsley, and/or oregano. Sometimes I add cleavers too for more medicinal power.
Chickweed is actually one of my favorite greens of all, I really love it just steamed. And it’s tasty in pesto too
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True, my son had all the symptoms of pertussis or whooping cough only at nigh, he would not let us sleep. I read online that salt water helped with coughing, gave him a little, no coughing after that, been doing it for like a week until weather is warmer here on Tuesday. Worked Great. He sleeps like a baby now! 
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I struggled with night coughing for a long time too. Salt water before bed and then another sip when I woke up in the night worked wonders. Nowadays I’m pretty generous with adding salt to my food so I no longer need to add it to my water.
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