Natural Healers- Sweet Potatoes

  It is thought that the Sweet Potato originated  in Central or South America, and had been domesticated in Central America at least 5000 years ago. Outside the tropics, sweet potatoes thrive only in the warmer temperate climates, and do best in a loose sandy soil that is well drained. They produce more pounds of food per acre than any other cultivated plant.
 One sweet potato contains more than a days worth of beta-carotene and nearly all your vitamin C requirement for the day. They release their carbohydrates slowly, making them  useful for glucose control. They also contain adiponectin, a hormone that works with this carbohydrate release to keep blood sugar levels steady. Sweet potatoes are also high in vitamins B6, B1, B2, vitamin D, and a good source of copper, iron and magnesium, and a good source of the all important dietary fibre. They also contain choline, a very important and versatile nutrient in sweet potatoes that helps with sleep, muscle movement, learning and memory. Also of note, the vitamins C and E in sweet potatoes have been shown to support eye health and prevent degenerative damage.
   The yellow potatoes with the brown skins have high potassium levels, which may help regulate the heart, andcombat stress.
 The ones with purple skin and flesh have high amounts of anthocyanin pigments, to support and protect the gut from IBS and ulcerative colitis. The ones with purple skin but yellow flesh, contain the highest amounts of antioxidants.

  Sweet potatoes' high beta-carotene content fights the free radicals  that cause the skin to age, as well as, with the high vitamin C content, boosting the immune system. It may also have anti-cancer properties, particularly in respect of prostate cancer.
  They are best eaten with their skins on, steamed or boiled, rather than roasted. Eating them with a little oil helps the body absorb all the antioxidants.

 Go here for comprehensive instructions on growing your own sweet potatoes

Natural Healers- Radishes

  Radishes were grown by the Egyptians and probably brought to Britain by the Romans. There are two main types- small summer varieties, and large winter ones, the roots of which can weigh half a pound or more. They can be eaten raw or cooked like turnips. Leaves, flowers and seeds can also be consumed, apparently, as well as the root, but as I've only eaten the root, I can't comment on the flavours of the rest of the plant.

  Radishes come in many shapes and colours and are available throughout the year. Root and leaf is rich in vitamins C and B, plus potassium and  magnesium, as well as trace elements.
 Being high in potassium, radishes can help fight hypertension, support a healthy liver and fight inflammation and congestion. The very hot black radishes are high in antioxidants that protect the bowel, whilst the essential oils in red, purple and white radishes
have antiseptic properties. Daikon radishes are  used in Chinese medicine to cool, and to soothe coughs and laryngitis, and are now thought to have anti-cancer properties.
  Radishes also stimulate the flow of bile, helping in the digestion of fat, as well as cleansing the gall bladder, liver and blood. In the past, they have been used to treat gall and kidney stones, and the juice from radishes was once a standard remedy for coughs, inflamed joints and all gall bladder problems.
   The summer radishes grow very fast to edible size and can be grown all year round under cold frames or cloches. They  do not need deep soil as they are in the ground for such a short time, though a little extra compost will improve the crop. Winter radishes, however, like a previously manured site.

  Summer radishes can be grown under glass from January in the UK, then in the open from March. They are a good catch crop, due to their fast growth, and can be placed between slower growing crops.
  Winter radishes should be sown from June to August, with attention being given to keeping the ground moist during dry weather. Go here if you need more inspiration about radishes.

The Querulous Cat

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Natural Healers- Peas

Rich in vitamin K and manganese, various trace elements, and enough vitamin C in one serving to give you half your daily requirement,  peas can also help boost iron stores and fight fatigue.

  They have good insoluble fibre content, which promotes a healthy digestive tract and helps guard against heart disease and stroke. Peas and pea shoots also contain antioxidants that inhibit H. Pylori.
  Mangetout, because of its edible pod, contains a substance that helps strengthen sperm and improve its fertility, and is higher in vitamin C and beta-carotene than normal peas. Garden peas, however, tend to be higher in  minerals than mangetout. Green peas contain lutein and may help to reduce the risk of cataracts and  macular degeneration.
  Peas are best eaten fresh and raw, straight from the pod, before their nutrient content begins to decline and their sugar turns to starch. Failing fresh, frozen is

you next best option, as the peas tend to be processed immediately after picking.
  You can use the pea shoots as an alternative to lettuce, or to add to a stir fry, as these contain much the same nutrients as the pods.
  Peas are best grown  on rich, well-drained soil, where the plot has been well dug at least three or four weeks before sowing. A couple of buckets of well rotted manure wouldn't go amiss, either. Peas can be grown in succession from May to October in the UK, if you choose the right varieties. The Autumn sown seed will then be ready for picking in May/June.

  If you're planning a number of rows, allow 2ft between rows, and remember that some varieties could reach up to 4ft high and therefore cast shade. They will also need support of some kind, either in the form of twiggy sticks or netting. If you don't get them off the ground before they start to fall over, they will fall victim to slugs.
  Your peas will need regular watering during dry spells.

Natural Healers- Onions

 The onion plant is widely distributed throughout the world, and whilst it has been suggested that it originates from Central Asia, no one knows for sure. Its high sulphur content enables it to act as a strong disinfectant, and may account
for it being hung outdoors to absorb the infection that was the plague. The Chinese, East Indians and Ancient Greeks and Romans revered onions.
  Onions contain many medicinal chemical compounds, with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory properties, whilst promoting heart and gut health. The sulphur compounds in onions are responsible for their antibacterial  and antiviral properties, and for their taste.  They are also good for quercetin, a

flavonoid that prevents blood clots and cholesterol sticking to arterial walls. It will also, eventually, raise levels of healthier cholesterol in the blood. Other compounds in onions provide the right food in the gut to encourage healthy bacteria, and may subsequently help prevent bowel cancer.
  The stronger flavoured the onion, the better, and it is best eaten raw, its properties diminishing the more you cook it. The red onion contains pigments that gives it an antioxidant boost. Even spring onions contain immunity boosting compounds.
  Onion is believed to ward off colds, induce sleep and cure indigestion. Fresh onion juice is antibiotic, diuretic, expectorant and antispasmodic, making it a useful treatment for coughs, colds and other chest and throat infections.
  Onions need a site in full sun and do best on light deep loam that has been well manured the previous autumn.  Japanese varieties can be sown from the end of August, to be thinned in the spring to 2inches apart, and pulled up in June.

A maincrop can be sown from seed on site, mid- August, to be transplanted in March into a bed with firmed soil. Seeds can also be sown into a bed in March.
  Onion sets can be planted out in March/April. Space the bulbs 6inches apart and cover so only the tips are showing. Once grown (usually around the longest day), onions should have their tops bent over to encourage ripening. Two weeks later use a fork to loosen the roots. A further fortnight later, lift the onions and spread them somewhere to dry.

The Rat and the Cat

  No, not another poem, or a whimsical story about a rat and a cat who become friends. No, this is about trying to outsmart one of the cleverer and more numerous animals on the planet.
  The Spring holiday began two weeks ago, with a sigh of relief and a long list. We got as far as digging some of the allotment before it started- the sound of scurrying above the bedroom. Maybe it's the sparrows, we hoped. We'd been seeing them roosting in our gutter. Sounds a bit heavy footed for birds, think I. We'll sort it out next week, says the OH, obviously unconcerned, and with no sense of urgency whatever. Hmm, think I. Well, I'm not going to look, as if I don't look, it can't be what I think it is, can it?
  A few days later, the P&J advises he's heard something in the roof of his bedroom and his other room (I can't really call it his playroom any more. He's seventeen soon). Dad is at work. The P&J and I are brave. We decide to go up into the attic to have a look. Our worse fears are confirmed. And it isn't a mouse. There's no damage, just droppings, and two obvious entrances in the insulation. We have an unwelcome visitor.

  My fears are confirmed even more when I come back from shopping and find a wood pigeon sharing the bird food with a brown rat. The rat scarpers into my neighbour's garden as I come through the gate. The pigeon carries on eating, oblivious.
  I relay the news to the OH and take him on a tour of the rat droppings. I show him where they're getting in. I relay to him what information I have gleaned from the internet. They are not going to go quietly, or voluntarily. And we need to empty the attic out.
  While I'm waiting for the weekend to arrive and the OH to ferry me around to get what we need to deal with the problem, I try a few recommendations from others who've had a similar problems. I try the sonic alarms. They might work, if you have enough of them, and nothing in your attic to get in the way of your sound beam. The cat didn't like them, and the activity did diminish, concentrating in the area over my bedroom. I threw a couple of bottles of peppermint around as well, while I was at it.
  The bird feeders have been removed. The sparrows are not amused and the wood pigeons are visibly panicking. Sunday, we do a thorough inspection and are of the opinion our visitors are getting in through the roof somewhere.
  I ring our local Pied Piper ( his name's Joe) for advice. He is very helpful and agrees we need to stop them/ it getting in before we do anything else. He advises us to use scrunched up chicken wire to block any holes.
  We get the ladder out. The OH holds on to it while I go up. I stuff the gaps under the tiles with chicken wire. I make carefully crafted cones of chicken wire to block access to the roof via the down pipes. We do all of the back and the bit above the  porch (very scary), before calling it a day, as the next bit needs cutting back first.
  We have an night of no visitors. Are we on the right track? I'm on tenterhooks next morning. Am I hearing things? There's no scurrying, but there are... sounds. Little bangs, mostly, and right in the eaves.
  We have coffee in the living room. The P&J reports he's heard nothing. Maybe we've cracked it. Then there is a thud on the widow sill. A brown rat has just landed there, evidently on his way down from the roof. He steadies himself before jumping off and running into my neighbour's garden. Has the little bugger been trying to get in, and that's what I'd been hearing?
  The rat is quite brazen. He's climbing the tree in my front yard and I'm only a few feet away from him. My brother-in-law advises me rats are very short sighted. This is to be proved a few hours later.
  I'm watching the rat from a bedroom window. He's found something to eat and is sat bold as brass in my front garden munching. Suddenly, Jemara the Cat wanders into the yard. She  freezes. She has seen him, but he hasn't noticed her. She slinks under the car. Rat is oblivious. Slowly, her body slunk low, and looking uncannily like a walking rug, the cat inches nearer. The rat looks up. Jemara freezes. Rat continues looking for more food. He looks up. Again, Jemara stops, statue still. I'm beginning to wish I could video this, she's that good. Never will my kids not understand what "still as a statue" means, if they could see that cat. It is open ground she's covering, and the rat is oblivious.

  Finally, when the cat is barely a foot away, the rat notices her and bolts. But Jemara knows he's there now. She sits waiting, carefully changing her position every now and then, watching. She was watching for him next day, and I expect she's watching tonight. She may be fifteen years old and have only two teeth in her head, but she's got her eye on Rat now.

  Today, we finished blocking holes. We also discovered a broken roof tile, which explains why the P&J wall socket went bang- water is getting into the wall. Another thing to sort out. The OH was very brave and went onto the roof to try and deny Rat any kind of access.
  The garden has been cleared of rubbish and the compost bins decommissioned. We are using the wormery, which is sealed top and bottom. When we're happy we've denied Rat all access, the traps are going down. I was told peanut butter or chocolate are the best baits. Chocolate, hey? A moment of bliss and then SNAP! In your dreams, Rat. You're not having any of my chocolate!

Allotment Tales- Natural Predators

  This was going to be a long(ish) detailed blog about natural predators and companion planting, but, unfotunately, there has been a mini-crisis in  that the OH's computer is having a hissy-fit which we're unable to cure. So I've managed to save his files onto a usb pen, and promised him I'll sort something out in the morning. Or maybe next week.
  So, I regret this is going to be a short round-up, which you'll have to further investigate yourselves. Sorry. It's late. And don't let me forget to tell you about Rat.
  Your main predators are:
  Birds (they feed on grubs, caterpillars, slugs and aphids). Encourage them with food tables, bird baths and nest boxes.
  Ground Beetles (they feed on eelworms,cutworms, insect eggs, other larvae). Encourage them with plenty of ground cover ( leaves, deep beds, green manure).  

Frogs and toads (they feed on slugs, woodlice and other small insects). They'd like a pond. Not necessarily in your

garden. Encourage a neighbour who's got more money than sense.
  Centipedes (they feed on lots of different insects and slugs). They like ground cover (see beetles).
  Hedgehogs (they feed on slugs, cutworms, woodlice, millipedes and wireworms). They are difficult to attract, so if one does come

visiting, encourage it to stay with extra food and water. And don't let your dog into the garden if you know the hedgehog's about.
 Hoverfly lavae (they like aphids). Plant marigolds and nasturtiums.
  Lacewings and ladybirds (they also like aphids) They like a good variety of planting. Ladybirds seem to quite like fennel, and frequently overwinter in mine.
  Nematodes (strictly speaking, not a predator, rather a parasite) See this article for information, including how to "make" your own nematode brew to tackle the slugs

  We could go into Plants, Companion on Monday, but as I'm back to work then, you might be lucky to get anything. I'll tell you about The Rat tomorrow. Promise.