Plantain

This Buckshorn plantain on the left is growing in my garden and you can see how much bigger the leaves are than the one growing on Paraparaumu beach above.

Plantain leaves are high in protein and they also contain vitamins C, E and K, plus boron, calcium, iron, magnesium, molybdenum, potassium and sulphur. It is good for respiratory disorders made into a tea.  I use fresh leaves in smoothies, pestos, soups and salads.  Such a versatile and plentiful plant.

There are three varieties of plantain as seen in the photo above. Narrow leaf Plantago lanceolata, Broadleaf, Plantago major, and Buckshorn plantain, Plantago coronopsis.  I love all of them and use all of them.  As you can see in the photo they all have different shaped leaves and different seedheads.  Narrow and Broadleaf plantain readily come up in your garden. Broadleaf is a real pioneer it is often found in really hard, compacted places like on the edge of a path or driveway.  It's leaves can be torn and damaged yet it survives.  It has very dense fibrous roots that hold soil and water to enable it to survive.  In earlier times people saw the way Plantain survived all cut and torn and thought perhaps it can help stop bleeding and heal wounds and sure enough it does that very well.  Wounds heal without infection.  I have numerous amazing stories for example a boy standing on a rake causing a hole in his foot. His mother bruised plantain leaves and applied them and it healed up cleanly.  Another woman used plantain leaves to heal an abcess in her horse's foot by putting bruised leaves in the hole when nothing from the vet worked.  Got the intense itch of mosquito or sandfly bites then rub on plantain leaves and it will calm that itch right down.  Cut up it can also be soaked in water for half an hour to purify it. And finally a leaf as a cup of tea helps to detoxify and give you minerals.

Buckshorn plantain is known in Kings Seed catalogue as Minutina - a salad green and it does grow lushly in a garden.  I have seen it growing wild though on Paraparaumu beach, where the plants are small and compact - little survivors in a harsh salty environment. You can see the salt accumulation on the leaves in the photo above.  I was so pleased to find it in the wild.

I got so excited when I saw this documentary and I wanted to share it in this newsletter again.  (it was in the last one but not free to watch) because I think it is so positive and hopeful for the future when we hear so much that is not as hopeful. So mark your calendar as  it is free to watch from 23 April for a limited time. Watch it here.

THRIVE II: This Is What It Takes brings viewers behind the scenes with the people and innovations that have the power to transform life for everyone. It follows a journey across the globe investigating the most promising solutions in energy, health, consciousness, and non-coercive self-organizing while unpacking the underlying science, principles, and strategies that make them possible. Inspiring trans-political, grassroots, and decentralized solutions THRIVE II offers practical tools for reclaiming authority over our lives, an endeavor more significant by the failures of governments and authoritative institutions amid the pandemic and civil unrest sweeping the globe.

Young Rampicante above and how prolific they have been to the left.  Those two on the right are the ones that fell down when they got too heavy and kept growing to nearly a metre long.  They turn a nice butternut colour when mature.  In the article I wrote I show how I pollinated the femail flower with the male flower. Do have a read of my blog here.

I'm very inspired to share this opportunity for you to be part of a global documentary.  It's an invitation to make a movie about trees and what they mean to you - a tree story.  Here's the video inviting us to make a story.

The team at Trees are gathering people from around the world to co-create a not-for-profit documentary that is too sacred to be told by one filmmaker alone.

THE TREES MOVIE is a love letter to the silent giants that control our fate. A global collaboration that shows what trees mean to you—to your life, to your community, and to the world we share.

Residential opportunity

The photo left is on my mother's 90th birthday last month. I'm so proud of both my parents reaching that grand agethis year in such great health!
Now for the opportunity at 289 Chadwick Road, Greerton, Tauranga:
Last year in March Gabriel a man from Argentina came to stay in my Air B&B and he ended up staying 13 months due to Covid and lockdowns and difficulty accessing his money and a ticket home.  It was an ideal situation of helping each other out because he worked in exchange for accommodation. I am looking to have someone replace him and come to help on the property in exchange for a place to live.  Utilities would be included but not all food although there are vegetables and fruit in the garden. The person could be part time or finished with work and must love gardening and be open to learning and living and working cooperatively.  They need to be mature, responsible and reliable, strong, creative, flexible, fun, easy to communicate with, non smoker and no alchohol.  If you know someone who might fit this role please make enquiries by emailing julia@juliasedibleweeds.com
You can view more about the property on the Air B&B site here

I also have a profile on the Wwoofing website here called Permaculture in Greerton

Look to this day,

for it is life, the very breath of life.

In its brief course lie

all the realities of your existence;

the bliss of growth,

the glory of action,

the splendor of beauty.

For yesterday is only a dream,

and tomorrow is but a vision.

But today, well lived,

makes every yesterday a dream of happiness,

and every tomorrow

a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore, to this day.

The beautiful flower in the photo is an Evening primrose
Oenothera glazioviana which is very edible and tastes buttery and smooth. Quite delicious as decoration on salads or even cakes.

I have raspberries that fruit in the spring and autumn and I'm amazed how many they are still producing now at the beginning of April.  I don't know the variety but I'm thrilled with them. Thank you Lexa my sister who gave them to me.

I've been soaking lots of seeds in water (or the pre-made smoothie) e.g. chia, linseed, sunflower, black sesame seeds as well as almonds and macademia nuts.  Then I add smoothie made the day before, cut up feijoas, raspberries and grapes from the garden. Finally a dolop of coconut yoghurt goes on top and a strawberry just finishes it off. I'm enjoying chewing at the moment as a change from just drinking the smoothie.

Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar