Photo credit Michelle Johnsen Photography
By Mary Ellen Graybill
Garlic and Calendula are the two recent plants harvested by work-traders at Lancaster Farmacy acreage on Gypsy Hill Road- What do these plants have in common, other than they were ready to harvest July 7, 2016 when I showed up for my two hours of field and barn work. Both are ancient, both are edible, both are healing.
Garlic, a tasty flavoring in sauces, delicious when roasted, is famous for keeping parsley in business. That is, to refresh the breath after consuming a lot of garlic, we all need parsley! (And, salt and lemon juice will get the smell of garlic off your hands!) Garlic reportedly can thin the blood, help heart health, bones, brain and the immune system. It is anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal according to sources on the internet and in books. It is most effective for medical conditions when taken raw. But, too high doses can interfere with blood clotting. In some medical conditions, it has actually been known to cause bleeding in the eyes.
When I arrived for my two hours, Kathe Shadd, Katlyn Doughtery and our tireless and energetic leader/founder Elisabeth Weaver had already picked the garlic from the fields. Elisabeth directed the operation of harvesting the many different types. With wheelbarrow in hand, we worked to keep the various types separate. Then back at the barn, we bunched the garlic in pairs using a cord to hang them up to dry in the barn.
We all remember the culinary uses of garlic and the recipes from grandmother's about garlic and vinegar and other concoctions, for example.
Calendula, or marigold, on the other hand, was known to the ancient gypsies, has soothing qualities for the skin and eye. Calendula reportedly can soothe itching eyes de to air pollution or allergies. It has antiseptic qualities. It contains essential oils that made our fingers sticky while picking.
Bright golden and orange colors of "Mary's Gold" flowers (calendula) can make an artist want to paint, drink a cup of the tea, or have a stir fry made from the flower tops, rather than pick! The flowers can be made into tea useful for digestive conditions. They can be tossed into a stir fry and served in a food dish. Fresh is useful in teas and medicine from the marigold/calendula petals. But after picking, this batch would be dried in the drying room upstairs at the barn.
Later, when we washed our hands, we might have used a calendula cream, salve or gel, calendula to heal wounds, cuts, or scrapes. And, we might have a lip balm made of calendula, the soothing flower.
One thing we all needed was a cooling spray of water, as it was a hot day in the sun.
Sources for this writing have been a "stir-fry" of my own internet and old book searches in my library. As always, consult your doctor on both garlic and calendula uses, and be aware that this writing does not state that any of these anecdotal comments are scientifically verified, although some may be.
One thing is certain: the art of the calendula flowers are beautiful in colors ranging from yellow to gold to orange.
Calendula, a flower of the gypsies in ancient times, was cheaper coloring than saffron, back then. Now it is at home painting the earth orange and gold in the fields at Lancaster Farmacy's organic farm.
Garlic, a gangly bulb plant we all love for its burst of flavoring in spaghetti sauce, has edible and healing properties, is now strung up in the barn to dry.
These two contrasting harvest experiences were yet another educational and interesting time for learning about how this CSM (Community Supported Medicine) is working from the exciting fields of Lancaster Farmacy. Here, a "picture is worth a thousand words."
Photo credit Michelle Johnsen Photography
Photo credit Mary Ellen Graybill
