WALTZING TOW ARDS THE EQUINOX
N«vs From The Community Garden
in Cannon Reach
Augusta Benedict
Since my last missive from the
Grove, tendrils of quiescent change
have impressed their slender
presence upon the Gimm unity Garden
U e continue the meditative pursuit of
dirt wrangling To the uninitiated,
this is the less than fun part diguing
at Winter s still and sullen soil
mounding depleted and dull garden
beds, turning in the burdensome
catalyst of compost This is a quiet
summons, distinct from the braggart s
glory at Harvest And like so many
activities of this nature garden
preparation offers neither hint,
promise nor prophecy of future
reward Upon faith and intrinsic joy
of process does a garden begin each
season
There is a tactile and aural
resonance to each spade fu ll of soil
that slides from blade to plot
Properly done, there is a long and
leisurely wavelength to this rhythm
lending itself to comprehension The
parabolic curve of earth spreading
over a garden bed accomodates
careful reflection W ithin this context
the euphonic music of Christ s parable
of the mustard seed sings true and
w ith broad application as in the
kingdom of Heaven, so too. w ith the
simple seeding of our own gardens
But let s not get bogged down too
deeply in the fertile humus of
allegory Both humus and allegory
can get richly cark. complex and hot.
even to the point of burning After
all. mustard seeds do have gardening
applications apart from philosophical
abstraction What better moment to
inmate the Herbal Information
feature of this column By no means
comprehensive, each brief survey ol a
particular herb is meant to draw
attention to that modest corner of the
garden that might otherwise go
overlooked Those wishing a more in
depth study of anything mentioned
w ill find the following works helpful
fiQSllk s Illustrated Encyclopedia of
Herbs (Rodale Press) and A Modern
Herbal by Mrs M Grieve (Dover
Press) So. while on the topic, a quick
review of the humble mustard plant
Mustard Or in Latin, mustum
nr dens The name burning must
refers to the French process of
grinding the seeds of brasstca
crucj/ersp into the fermenting juice of
wine grapes Voila etymological
origins and the history of Grey Poupon
in a nutshell The plant itself has
been valued for its culinary and
medicanal properties since the ancient
Greeks Many mustard varieties are
available Most common are black
( brasstca n /# r* white or yellow I P
hirijb and brown ( P ju n ce * A
number of Japanese mustards I P
japonic* are worth searching out for
their qualities The Milke Purple
Osaka and a biennial, kyona Mizuma.
are tasty
Cultivate mustard by seeding
Plants can be grown for either greens
(X seed Young greens are vitam in
rich and provide a tangy fillip to any
salad If you want to harvest greens
several plantings may be made from
spring into early autumn To harvest
ripe seeds sow in the spring or late
summer A late summer planting w ill
carry the young mustard plants
through the winter and give you a
head start on the next season s seed
harvest The mustard plant likes rich,
well drained soil in fu ll sunlight
Plant seeds 1/8 inch deep and thin
the seedlings to stand 9 inches apart
Water mustard liberally or it w ill
become too hot to eat And don t
forget, it was w ith good reason that
Christ chose the tiny mustard seed for
that parable If you allow these
plants to go to seed the poetry and
romance of a good allegory becomes
one hell of a weed problem
Harvest all seed pods belore they
begin to open iw hy do I I eel as if 1 m
w riting the screenplay to a grade B
sci fi movie>I in a manner thus
collect the pods alter they ve turned
brown but before they begin to open
Place on a tightly woven screen for a
couple of weeks to ripen Abrade the
pods between your palms winnow the
seed store in ligh tly covered |irs
After you ve admired vour iars o
seed for awhile try this recipe from
Johnny s Selected Seeds Catalog of
Albion Maine li s a heftv dose of hot
mustard If you find it too hot.
temper it by altering the proportion of
yellow and brown seeds
Rod I ' 3 cup of cider vin egar 2 I m p of
cider 2 T of honev I T o f chopped
roasted hoi red peppers I S t of tu rm e ric
and I 2 l ol salt While hot combine viLh
I 4 cup of y e llo v mustard seed and I 4
cup of brown mustard seed and
im m ediately g rin d the m u tu re in a
blender or peslal When smooth add I i
of olive o il Makes I I 4 cup
Caution dictates a prudent study ol
any herb used medicinally Through
misidentification mislabelling, or
misinformation an herbal remedy can
be misused Adverse reactions to
im properly used herbs are varied
And to be blunt a number o f herbs
are downright dangerous Pokeweed
and aconite are toxic to the point of
killing Comfrey is a suspected
carcinogen Even good ol aloe can
cause a violent cathartic response of
taken internally Two important
references to consult on these matters
are James A Duke s CRC Handbtxik of
Medicinal Herbs (CRC Press) and The
Honest Herbal, by Dr Varro Tyler
(Slickley Co I
Taken internally, mustard is an
appetite stimulant In small doses it
stimulates the mucous membrane of
the stomach and increases the
digestive secretions of the pancreas
Large doses of mustard seed (a
tablespoon of mustard flour in tepid
water) w ill induce vomiting The herb
has a mild laxative effect due to its
high oil and fat content Used
externally, hot water poured over
bruised black mustard seeds is said to
provide a stimulating f<x>t bath Used
as a poultice or plaster powdered
mustard seeds are a cure for chest
congestion and respiratory ailments
Il relieves congestion of various
organs by drawing blood to the
surface Again, caution must be
exercised in the use of this remedy, as
the same qualities that make it a
powerful internal irrita n t can cause
blistering if left on the skin too long
If you would like to become a
Community Garden member and begin
grow ing your own vegetables flowers,
and herbs, the volunteer operated
garden welcomes new members
Regularly scheduled work parlies are
held at the garden each Sunday
morning from 9 01) i m to 10 00 a m
No experience, tools, or horticultural
enlightenment are required The
garden s Sprout Queen, Leslie Sroufe.
can be reached at 436 0738 for more
information The garden is located at
the east end of Madison Street, in the
Grove
if'
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