Author Archives: Debbie

Our spring visitors

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Just about every spring, little and big black ants start coming into our kitchen. It really does not matter where we live they seem find us and announce spring in our home, like ladybugs announce fall in our home. I guess we create a warm inviting home for 6-legged critters. Unlike ladybugs, I do not care to entertain ants.

So every spring I find a couple of little jars, poke several holes in their lids and add a simple bait which seems to work like magic and in less than a week the ants have vanished.

ant trap and boraxAnts Begone Recipe

small jar with holes in lid

1 tsp. Borax

1 tsp. powered sugar

warm water

Mix ingredients so everything is fully dissolved into the water. Fill each jar half way, put on lid with several holes and place jars throughout kitchen. Make sure they are out of reach from children and pets. You can find borax in the laundry section of most grocery stores, 20 Mule Team is a fairly common brand. Borax is an excellent detergent booster and after I use some borax in my ant traps, I use the rest in our laundry. Adding just ¼ cup brightens up the load and helps get stains out.

Know Your Roots at the 6th Annual Herbal Hoedown

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Over the past 5 years, I have had the honor and pleasure of working with some amazing people while coordinating the Herbal Hoedown, a daylong Finger Lakes herbal celebration. The day is filled with classes, walks, an herbal market, and music. It continues to grow each year, as we introduce more people to traditional medicine and expand the local herbal community. This year we have more classes and walks than ever. Classes cover a wide range of interests and are designed for herbalist of all levels. The Herbal Hoedown is a great place for people who are curious and want to dip their toes into the herbal pool. It is great for the whole family since we have classes geared for kids too. And that’s not all; our herbal market has over 20 vendors.

Although this blog has the ability to reach countless people all over the world, it simply cannot replace the excitement of the physical interaction and feedback of old-school teaching. I love teaching and have so much fun at the Herbal Hoedown. This year, I’ll be teaching:

Plantain aka Life Medicine                                                                                       Some call it the band-aid plant, but Plantain is oh so much more. Come explore this very common and abundant plant to learn the numerous ways it can be used.  From mouth to anus, we will discuss the healing properties and understand why this herb was known as life medicine. After this class, I bet you will never look at Plantain the same.

Mike will be teaching for the first time at the Herbal Hoedown. He is very excited about using biodynamic plants (aka herbs) to support orchards and crops and simply wants to share. He will be teaching:

Biodynamic Plants and Orchards                                                           Biodynamic plants (wild herbs) as described by Steiner – and practiced by others – provide a nexus for truly sustainable farming and food production. However, understanding their powers and how to use them properly is lacking for most perennial (orchard) farming situations. He will discuss the biodynamic plants and preps in the context of orchards and perennial crops, and how to best use them for truly sustainable farming and food production situations.

For more information, check out our Facebook page.

Space is limited so do wait to register, do it today!

I hope to see you there!   flyer final