Second in my "weed" series is the hearty plantain. These little plants seem to pop up everywhere. They look to thrive in dry hard soil, or even where there is no soil in the cracks of my driveway. Much like the purslain, the plantain has also made a home in my garden this year, as if begging me to try it out. The larger leaves can be a bit tough but if picked young they are nice and tender. It is said to be high in iron and can be sauteed and tastes a bit like asparagus or swiss chard.

But better yet these little plants make fantastic medicine. The juice from the leave reduce pain and swelling treating everything from sunburn, bites and stings, to sprains, sore muscles, and arthritis. It is recommended to chew the leaves then apply to the affected area, making a spit poultice if you will. Glamorous? No, but if you have a bee sting that's probably the least of your worries. You can also make an infused oil from the leave, I plan to do this so I have it on hand year round. Just another little gift from nature.

Until next time!
The Hippie Homesteader
www.TheHippieHomesteader.com

So often when we think of gardening we envision perfectly spaced vegetable plants dotting beds of fluffy black dirt where no weed would even dream of laying down roots. I have been to gardens like this and I leave scratching my head, how on earth do they do that. Let me tell you my garden has never and will never be so perfect. We tend to be a little more free range here at the Hippie Homestead. I pull weeds to give my seedlings a fighting chance and to keep things as tidy as possible but there are just some "weeds" that I just can bring myself to uproot.

As soon as the snow begins to melt I start getting the gardening itch. Of course that is also about the time the seed catalogs start showing up at my mail box. I always have to hold myself back a little and remind myself that the tiny seeds I tamp into the dirt today have a long time to wait before they will be safe from frost in the garden. This year I held off till the first week in March to start my planting ritual. And now as my little seedlings have already out grown their first planter and it is currently snowing outside my window I am beginning to wonder if perhaps I will soon be living in a tomato jungle.

No homestead is complete without a handful of chickens running around. Not only do they give you fresh eggs almost daily (as if that wouldn't be enough on its own) but they are also great garden helpers, eating pests, scratching up garden beds, and providing fertilizer. Though sometimes chickens get a little overzealous in their weeding task and take out carefully planted seedlings. Oh well, their hearts are in the right place.

 Yes, I realize that I am a few months late to be welcoming in 2016 but January 1st just never feels like a new year to me. Stuck in there right in the middle of winter, I'm barely over the Christmas hoopla and now I'm supposed to be thinking about new beginnings and resolutions for this new year? No, it's dark and cold and feels old and the same, not new and exciting. But today, today is a new beginning. Today is like hitting the reset button. Everything is equal and fresh. We are moving forward into a new season of warmth, light, and fertility.