We arrived home from the food co-op* this evening to find a fruit box full of plants awaiting us at the front door - it was my first herb order from All Rare Herbs.
Everything arrived in good condition and was solidly packed so that nothing had spilt or been damaged.
Included in the order were:
Galangal
Golden Alpine Strawberry
Ammi visagna (seeds)
American Wild Yam
Barberry
Betony
Orris
Self Heal
Sweet Annie
Woad (I'm dyeing to try this when it grows up! :))
American Arnica
Also this week, my first seed order from The Italian Gardener turned up. Everything was well packed and the photos on the packets have me drooling and keen to get growing, even though some of them will have to be raised under cover to protect them from any late frosts.
I'm in plantaholic heaven and there's not much chance of anyone keeping me out of the garden this weekend....
.... although, I must confess that I'm going to visit the bee man on Saturday morning to get a spare hive box, just in case the bees decide to swarm in the next few weeks. Also, I'm going to check out about getting another nucleus hive and am keen to get a proper protective bee suit (my white pyjama pants aren't really that suitable LOL!).I'm also toying with the idea of a smoker, but it seems a bit cruel to smoke the bees and so far they've been pretty mild-mannered. Has anyone got any experience with this? I'd love some thoughts on the practicality and ethics of smoking the bees.
*The food co-op we go to is the ANU Food Co-op. For anyone living in Canberra interested in organic food, with deliveries of fresh produce twice a week, I highly recommend it. They also have a wide range of bulk flours, grains, cereals, dried fruits, nuts, fair trade chocolate, eggs, milks, breads and grocery items. You take your own containers and bags and so help to reduce the wastage of excess packaging associated with our food. There are discounts for members and workers, which make the products very affordable.
love and light
naturewitch
5 comments:
Hi Naturewitch.....the herbs are wonderful.....I can totally understand your excitement.....
self heal is one of my favourites....it grows wild all over my gardens.....so pretty......
I cannot help you with the bee question (smoking).....I personally do not like it (but then I don't keep bees, so do I have a right to quesion it?)
If the bees are not aggressive, do you need to smoke them??
Hi Cheryl
My thoughts exactly on the bees; they've been good so far. But others who keep bees are telling me I'm nuts and that they are much easier to handle if you smoke them.
I can see how it might be good when you're taking their honey or doing a major renovation on the hive (which is needed from time to time), but otherwise, I might just keep doing what I've been doing. xx
We live in Texas and I am going to do some research to find the local food Co-op, it sounds like they have great fresh produce!
Thanks for the info.
Hello NW, glad to see you blogging again :)
The Franchi Sementi are very generous packets; I was planting tomatoes a few days ago and realised how much more seeds they give you than most other brands :) Which ones did you get?
HI oureverydayearth
Yes, food co-ops are a great way to go; when we put our efforts together, we can achieve great things. xx
Hi Em
The packets are very generous, I agree. I must admit to getting quite a few packets of seeds *blush* - the tomatoes I bought were Red Pear, Costoluto Fiorintino, Pantano and Saint Pierre. Very much looking forward to growing them! xx
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