This is the month for seasonal Christmas carols, lots of home baking, giving and receiving of gifts. Need I say more? This is also my final Grainews column for 2021 and more Singing Gardener wandering words to come in 2022. If you’re looking to buy a Christmas gift for someone you’ve not seen for a considerable while, might I suggest a subscription to Grainews? While you’re at it, you can also extend your own subscription. Do both by phoning toll free 1-800-665-0502 and a friendly voice will take your order.
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There’s no Christmas plant more iconic than the poinsettia. Other merry and bright, jolly floral choices include an amaryllis bulb, azalea, Christmas cactus and cyclamen. Are you planning to have a real Christmas tree? Test the freshness of a pre-cut tree by running a hand along a branch or two. They should be flexible without a handful of needles coming off. Also, does it have a colour you like and does it smell fresh? Before placing your chosen Christmas tree in water, saw off about one-half inch straight across the bottom of the trunk. Secure the tree in a water-containing stand that fits without forcing it down to avoid scraping bark off the sides. The outer bark layers are needed to efficiently take up water. Position the tree away from heat sources and keep the container filled with water. A purchased cut Christmas tree will drink a lot during the first week, so check it every single day. Despite tips we may have heard about, experts agree there’s no need to feed a Christmas tree anything other than water as that is what it drinks in the great outdoors. A cut tree can remain fresh for a month with proper care.
If you watched “The National” on CBC TV during a past Sunday evening newscast (Oct. 17, 2021) it showed the winemaking grape harvest to be well underway in the southern Okanagan at that time as the desired outdoor temperature had sufficiently chilled the clusters. Here in my neck of the woods — grape picking is also long since completed. Straight ahead we’ll meet Jonita Johnston and more on grapes.
Well good people, we’re at the point in my flow of words where I tip my hat with a welcome to y’all that’s bigger than a ten-gallon hat and that’s really big.
Introducing Jonita Johnston
At age 25 she relocated from Norway to Thompson, Manitoba and now resides in Portage la Prairie where I met Jonita and her husband Rob. “It’s in me to travel,” said Jonita. She remarked: “My father was a sailor and chief engineer on oil tankers and later in life chief engineer on a catamaran watercraft boat ferrying people and goods among fiords and Norwegian coastline.”
During grape harvest I caught up with Jonita while she was snipping clusters of Bluebell and other grape varieties. The speed and enthusiasm with which she picks loads of grapes, apples and other fruit and veggies is amazing — a ‘born natural’ you might say at harvesting Mother Nature’s goodness. Once grape picking is complete, Jonita processes the bounty into juice, jelly, jams or whatever; lickety-split.
Jonita’s love for things green and growing goes way back to earlier years. “I actually got a steamer as a gift for my wedding in Norway,” she told me. After cleaning and washing fruit, Jonita places grapes, apple pieces or whatever to be juiced into the top compartment of her steamer. “There’s holes in the bottom of the top section through which the juice flows into another container in the bottom with a drainage spigot on the outside.” Jonita enthusiastically talked about some other goodies she makes. For example, she said, “when making apple juice I put cinnamon and fresh ginger in with the fruit while it’s juicing and no sugar is added.” Later, I, Ted had the opportunity to sample a warm mug full. The combo of pink-coloured apple juice, ginger and cinnamon makes a delightful hot toddy and quickly takes the edge away when you’re chilled. Overall it’s eye attractive with superb taste. Not surprising, Jonita’s skill at juicing various fruits also extends to home canning. Winter provisions in the Johnston cupboard also include such additional mainstays as squash soup, tomato soup, beet pickles and on and on. Jonita concluded: “there’s nothing like getting the fresh stuff and making it yourself.”
The sundial, new moon and full moon weather lore
There’s an old expression on a sundial that says: Horas non numero nisi Serenas. It means: I only count the sunny hours. Just as humans require sunshine — likewise grapevines, apple trees and most plants also require sunshine. Ancient weather lore says if the weather is clear and dry at time of a new moon and/or at full moon and doesn’t change or changes very little in between, it will mostly remain that way until the following new moon or full moon for a month or more. Become a moon observer and see it if holds true in your area. The next full moon is Saturday, December 18, 2021 at 10:36 p.m., CST and the next new moon is on Sunday, January 2, 2022 at 12:33 p.m. CST (approx.).
Carrot roots and carrot tops
What a wonderful vegetable the carrot is and how do you make good gold soup? Put in seven carrots OR to make really good gold soup — put in 14 carrots, I’m told! Our health friend the carrot if eaten daily will ensure a good supply of vitamin A, especially when eaten raw. Way back in the late ’50s and ’60s, Eric F.W. Powell, a naturopathic doctor from Britain had some specific uses for carrots and their tops, some of which I’ll share. He prescribed a small plateful of grated fresh carrot every morning with no other food to be eaten until an hour later. It was said to be a means for quickly clearing thread-like worms from children and he recommended it first thing each morning until the condition cleared. Carrot pulp, once the juice had been extracted made a wonderful poultice hot or cold when placed over cuts, bruises, and inflammations of all sorts. Carrot pulp poultice also worked very effectively back then to treat piles and hemorrhoids.
What do you do with carrot tops? Some gardeners use the tops as a dressing alongside onions to dissuade maggot flies. Others chop carrot tops and add them to the compost pile. Dr. Powell said, “carrot tops are one of the finest strengthening agents for the kidneys and bladder.” He recommended covering a handful of fresh carrot tops with a good measure of hot water, allowing it to steep, then take a wineglassful before meals three times daily. He also said drinking carrot top water was beneficial to the eyes or could be used when cool as an eye bath. The water in which carrot roots were cooked was taken as a beverage with similar claims made for betterment of the optic nerve and eye lens.
He’s a good egg, she’s a good egg
Most of us have heard that expression before and we don’t mean a fertilized chicken egg that hatched into a baby chick. Yes — we know the good eggs of our area, district, region, hometown or city where we live. A lot of praise and hoopla gets heaped on the outrageous, the well to do, the rich and famous. But what about those people in our everyday lives? They are the folks who give their immediate assistance, dedication, skills and time with no thought of compensation, recognition nor reward. They aren’t the ones who say I’m too busy — I have no time. I like the statement: Some people just do good things because good things need to be done. Do you know someone or some people — who are also the good eggs — who help or have helped make our world or someone else’s world a better place? Let’s hear about it. Share the good news with our family of Grainews readers.
