Ok, so your roses have pretty much stopped blooming right now. If you have perhaps ignored them a bit lately and not bothered to deadhead the bloom, you might have some of these little beauties, rose hips.
Rose hips (or rose heps) are the seed pods or fruit of roses. Some varieties have hips are larger or more colorful than others. They really add to the season of color one gets from roses and here in the desert, more color, especially in fall and winter is quite welcome.
Did you know that both rose petals and rose hips are edible? And roses are in the same family as apples so it is no wonder the rose hips resemble a small apple. Rose hips are high in vitamin C and kind of tart like a crabapple. Remember to only consume from plants that have not been treated with pesticides.
Rose hips also have been known to be beneficial in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis apparently due to their anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. A small study was conducted of 74 Rheumatoid arthritis sufferers who were followed for 6 months by Charite University Medical Centre in Berlin. Half of the group took rose hips and half used a placebo. In the group treated with rose hips, activity increased by 20-24% and the number of joints causing pain, decreased by 40% over the placebo group. And with their vitamin C content, rose hips are sometimes used to help prevent colds and flu.
Wait until after the first frost to harvest rose hips to discourage any unwanted new growth on your rose. Harvest firm, colorful fruits. Slice in half and remove the seeds as they are unpleasant to eat. The seeds have been know to be used to make itching powder. The best use for rose hips is to make a tea. Steep 4-8 fresh rose hips in one cup of boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes. Use about half the rose hips when using dried rose hips.
Another new Composter meeting is scheduled. Just to let folks know about it. It is a fun and interesting “new” way to look at your garden.
Yes, the training is free!
There will be a Master Composter Training Class on Saturday, November 23 from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM at the Victorville City Hall, Conference Room D.
During the class, discussion will include backyard composting, vermicomposting (composting with worms), grasscycling, recycling, and becoming a Master Composter Volunteer.
Space is limited, so please RSVP by contacting Don Woo at MC_Coordinator@dnbvisions.com or 951-265-8699 to reserve or if you have any questions.
Gosh! I had so much fun preparing for, and giving a little talk on some options for organic weed and insect control for Lyn Shirley’s Environmental Horticulture class at Victor Valley College this afternoon. In order to be clear-headed, I did some review on materials in preparation for my talk so I could keep my thoughts organized. I got to reminisce about the olden days before Round-up and weedeaters. Yes folks, I really am that old. AND I (as I usually do in these things) learned something new. Actually it is quite old, just new to me. ROCK DUST as a soil amendment. Keep that thought. I plan on researching that and will offer up new info here on this blog real soon.
The Victor Valley Master Composters are meeting next Tuesday, September 10 from
6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Victorville City Hall, Conference Room D. After the
short Master Composter meeting, Cindy Poore, owner of Perfection Landscape will
be giving a presentation on drought tolerant landscaping. The public is welcome
to attend, so feel free to invite your friends. Don Woo, project coordinator has also invited the Barstow
group in case they were interested in the presentation.
We like to feed our humming birds. I’ve always just put some sugar and water into our hummingbird feeder and shook it up until it dissolved and they seem to like it. HOWEVER, recently the boss ( who is kinda getting into cooking lately) decided to try a hummingbird food recipe. He cooked it up and the birds have been flocking to the feeders! I could only capture 1 or two in the frame of the picture, but there are now usually 4 or 5 hummingbirds at any given time.
Try this recipe. It’s easy!
Nectar for the Birds 1 part sugar to 4 parts water Place the water in a sauce pan. Stir the sugar into the water while bringing the mixture to a boil. Apparently the boiling removes any chlorine and kills mold or yeast spores that might be in the sugar.
Boil for two minutes, no more. More will change the dilution ratio and won’t be as attractive to the birds. No need to add the food coloring. It is not necessary to add the food coloring and it may even be harmful to the birds. Cool the solution to room temperature and fill your feeder only part way so it wont spoil before they finish it. Store extra nectar in your fridge. Try it your birds will LOVE it.
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