Wise Woman Ezine ~ January 10, 2012

Greetings from Susun Weed~ http://wisewomanherbalezine.com/wordpress/2012/01/10/january-10-2012/

Dear friends of the green,

Mint honeys are a delicious way to prevent and treat winter miseries: the flu, colds, and coughs especially.
I usually make mine just before the frost takes down the tender mints, but January is not too late to get some started if you have access to hardy mints. (See last week’s green reports for some choices.)
Overwintering rosemary, sage, thyme, and lavender appreciate a haircut about now, for lush spring growth.
Outdoor hardy mints are best harvested on a warm sunny day with care not to steal too much from the plants; leave them enough to get through the coming cold days.
To make your honey: Fill a jar with your hardy mint, best if you cut it fairly fine. Pour real honey over the herb in the jar. No need to use raw honey; since you will be using these herbal honeys to make tea with boiling water, it won’t be raw after you brew it up. See if you can buy local honey. One of the ways to counter colony collapse in the beehives is to encourage more small scale beekeepers. The best way to encourage them is to buy their honey. (Smile) You may wish to view Vanishing of the Bees, an interesting look at colony collapse by Ellen Page.
After you have filled your jar with fresh herb and honey, put a tight lid and a label on it. Then the hard part: Wait for six or more weeks.
Once your hardy mint honey is ready (along about Valentine’s Day if you do it now), you need only scoop a large spoonful of the herb and honey into a cup, fill with boiling water and drink. Wow! Instant herb tea.
Yes, you can eat the honeyed herbs in your tea cup if you want to, or just add them to your compost pile when you have finished your tea. (The leaves tend to fall to the bottom of the cup.)
If you are unhappy because you don’t have any fresh hardy mints and can’t make a honey this week, wait until next week. I will tell you then how to prepare tasty, calcium-rich vinegars from herbal parts that you usually throw away.
Green Blessings,

Susun Weed
www.susunweed.com

To read the entire Wise Woman Ezine visit: http://wisewomanherbalezine.com/wordpress/2012/01/10/january-10-2012/