Between the annals of medicine and the culinary traditions of the world, its merits are well documented. No cuisine I know omits garlic, and no doctor holds it in higher regard than does Dr. Weil. Garlic, the wonder root, the bane of the lunch meeting and the first kiss, with its medieval odor and all of its popular lore, is a true soldier in the fight against evil. If you read enough of Dr. Weil you might think a diet of dark chocolate and garlic might be sufficient to sustain your body. Alas, ajo con cocoa sounds almost as appetizing as instant-pizza-in-a-cup.

You’ve probably inadvertently grown garlic on your kitchen counter. Because garlic is a bulb, it will either send out shoots or, if dead, dry out or rot. Soft (which indicates decay) garlic cloves shouldn’t be used, but sprouted bulbs are still fine for cooking. Depending on the time of year, you can also stick a clove in fertile soil and it just might grow into a head. The initial bulb will provide energy for the first leaves and roots, which will in turn grow clove by clove around this central axis, each green sprout representing a new clove.

There are two types of garlic, softneck and hardneck. Softneck varieties are grown in milder climates with longer days; hardnecks are grown in cooler, northern climates. I believe most commercially produced garlic is of the softneck variety. Softnecks grow in a uniform circle around the center, while hardnecks spiral from the center. If you want to grow garlic and can’t find the variety you need, you can order garlic through many of the seed companies such as Territorial Seed or a specialty grower. The numerous varieties may surprise you: walking garlic, a tasty novelty plant, grows bulbs at the end of its green stalk as opposed to in the root zone.

Garlic likes a loose, well-drained soil with plenty of nitrogen. To prepare the bed, I fork in a couple inches of compost or organic composted mulch. In the past, I have added a small amount of blood meal. As an experiment, I didn’t use any blood meal this year, but the gophers got most of my plants. Blood meal is basically a slow-release source of nitrogen and, apparently, a gopher repellent, but I encourage you to find alternatives if possible. An organic, vegetarian, root-crop fertilizer such as Root Crops Alive! might be worth trying.

Once your soil is prepared, it’s time to plant the cloves. One head generally has six to ten cloves. I usually buy a couple of extra heads and choose the biggest cloves to plant. Each clove should be planted about six inches apart. The dibble, a tapered, pointed tool, can be used to poke holes in the soil or you can use a trowel or your fingers. One clove should be planted about four inches deep with the rough (root) end down and the pointed end up. Firm contact with the soil will assure good root development. I make a bunch of holes, plant the cloves and then cover them loosely with two inches of soil. On top of the soil, I place another couple of inches of compost and then I water.

Garlic doesn’t need a lot of water. In a good year in the desert our winter rains provide most of the water. I plant my garlic at the end of the hot summer, sometime in early October, and harvest in May. In colder climates, garlic can be planted in spring, when the ground has thawed enough to work.

At the end of the season, garlic will attempt to complete its life cycle by producing a scape and umbel; that is, a stalk and flower. Pulling off the scape and umbel will encourage plumper bulbs, as the plant will not put energy into the flower and seed cycle. Harvest with a fork to avoid damaging the heads.

Garlic is good for everybody. If you ever visit Dr. Weil’s ranch, you’ll certainly be greeted by Daisy, one of his two Rhodesian Ridgebacks. If she’s just eaten, you’ll notice her dog breath is overpowered by garlic. A little sprinkle of garlic powder on her food is good for her health and is supposed to ward off fleas. Garlic can keep pests out of the garden, whether as a companion plant or juiced and used as a spray. The uses and properties of garlic are quite extensive, and though space isn’t permitted here to expound on its many virtues, I encourage you to grow your own.

By Jace Mortensen, Guest Commentator
DrWeil.com News

The post appeared first on DrWeil.com.

In a world where schedules rule, gardening has taught me to love unpredictability. The amaryllis bloom at Dr. Weil’s ranch is an annual ritual that I have grown to love because it is both predictable and surprising, as it happens at precisely approximately almost around the same time every year.

To photograph the amaryllis robs it of its soul and stuffs it in a small box. But to see it in the flesh, to see it living, you will understand why Dr. Weil and so many others find this flower to be one of the most captivating of them all.

Bulbs should be purchased by mail or at the local nursery. Several mail-order companies send potted amaryllis for holiday gifts. Bare-root bulbs should be ordered no later than August. Bulbs are sold already potted or bare-rooted at the nursery. Potted bulbs should be purchased before the flower has opened. Bare-root bulbs should be substantial in size, symmetrical and free from any apparent mold. Though small bulbs will flower, they will not generally have enough energy to recover from blooming. If you plan on keeping your bulbs for next year, bigger is better.

Bare-root bulbs should look relatively fresh with plump roots forming at the base. If they look dry or damaged, soak the bulb in tepid water overnight. We plant our bulbs in Black Gold potting soil, mixing in a small amount of Bulbs Alive! bulb fertilizer made by Gardens Alive!. The bulb should fit the pot rather snugly, with just an inch or two between the bulb and the pot. Be sure to cover any drain holes (still allowing for some drainage) with a piece of broken pot or a small stone. Two-thirds of the bulb should be beneath soil level and a third of it above.

After the bulb is planted, water it thoroughly. Place the container in a warm location. Keep the soil slightly moist. The first growth will be an unmistakable diamond of green growing between the inner layers of the bulb. When this appears, move the bulb to a sunny, warm location. Continue to keep the soil moist.

When in full bloom, the plant can be moved to lower light to prolong its flowering period. Turn the pot occasionally when in bloom to correct any leaning. Often, the heavy flowers born on the end of long, tubular stalks need to be staked. Each bulb will produce two flower stalks over-lapping in succession. The flowers are each about as big as a hand. Each stalk will have four flowers, so each plant will have eight blooms. Be sure to remove the spent and faded flowers (the droopy petals of the more vibrant colorings will stain skin and clothing). After the flowers are finished, cut the stalk off at the base.

At this point, the strap leaves will begin to emerge. These leaves will partially replenish the energy (stored in the bulb) that the massive flowers used. Supplemental feeding will be necessary and should continue through the warm growing season. To get your amaryllis to bloom again the following season, you will need to give it a dormant period. At Dr. Weil’s home we coincide our dormant period with the beginning of the cool weather in October and November. The bulbs should be kept nearly dry and stored in a cooler, shadier location. The leaves will die back and should be removed. After six to eight weeks of dormancy, water and fertilizing should begin again. Six to eight weeks after feeding and watering has resumed, your bulb should flower.

Dr. Weil says that the amaryllis blooms like slow fireworks. I say, if the gloom of December weather and the doom of the impending holidays hang over you, buy yourself and everyone you know an amaryllis. It’s a great way to slow it all down. Invite the rhythms of nature back into your home. Taking a little time to check on the progress of your amaryllis will help you pause during the hectic holidays. You know, that brief period of time that begins precisely after you swallow the last bite of your Thanksgiving meal and ends at exactly right before stores close on December 24. Your amaryllis will be there for you through it all.

Instead of having to return your gift, give the gift that returns year after year.

Story and Photos by Jace Mortensen, Guest Commentator
DrWeil.com News

The post Amaryllis: The Most Captivating Flower appeared first on DrWeil.com.

“Do you know about baby corn?” I asked.
“Oh, yes. We know.”

Yet no one ever showed me an ear. Regional grasses were a delicacy. Fried watermelon was a luxury. Cicada larvae were presented to me, the guest of honor. But no baby corn.

If, in fact, you’ve wondered what baby corn is and you’ve scoured books on corn and nutrition and gardening and vegetables as I have and have found no information, welcome to the club. Maybe I shouldn’t even be writing about it. But I grew it. Once. At Dr. Weil’s ranch. So let me tell you about it. Let me lift the darkness that shrouds baby corn.

Baby corn is sweet corn harvested when still tiny and immature. The cob at harvest is roughly three inches long, and the tiny kernels and the tender cob are both eaten, not just the kernels. Grandpa John, as we drove through the cornfields of northern Michigan, always said, “knee-high by the fourth of July.” That was a mnemonic the farmer used to tell if his corn crop was on schedule to be harvested several weeks later. But it does not apply to baby corn. If the cornstalk is knee-high, about a foot and a half, the baby ears will already be slightly past their prime. From our trial, it appeared that the young and tender ears become unbearably saccharin sweet if they’re allowed to get much bigger than a finger.

On the other hand, everyone who tried a bite was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t anything like the flavorless cobs we ate as kids in Chinese take-out. Once, I think I noticed in a grocery store a jar of pickled baby corn. Certainly, no method of preservation could capture the crisp sweetness of fresh baby corn.

Yet it is amazingly elusive. Maize, a.k.a. corn, was introduced to China in the mid-1500s. Though China is one of the world’s leading corn producers, I never saw the baby variety – or any other kind, for that matter – while I was there. And outside of my own experiment, I’ve never seen baby corn growing in this country, either.

So if you want some, you’ll have to grow it yourself. First, you’ll need to find some seeds. I ordered mine from a Chinese seed company in Ontario, Canada, but it’s also available from some domestic seed companies, such as Park Seed. You could, if you’d like, try using sweet corn seeds of any variety and simply harvest early, but you will probably have better success using a variety specially bred to be delectable at the immature stage.

When I gave Dr. Weil the first few ears off the couple of plants we grew, he commented on how sweet they were. The pleasure of growing baby corn is well worth the limited effort it takes to have successful results. If you have kids, they will be especially delighted to eat a few fresh little ears. And if you’re as serious – and as impatient – as I am about gardening, these little corns are a quick fix while you wait for your cabbage to mature.

by Jace Mortensen, Guest Commentator

The post Baby Corn Mystery appeared first on DrWeil.com.

Thanks to decades of relentless lobbying by their manufacturers, the two-cylinder engines that drive leafblowers have never been regulated by any Federal or State agency. The engines, as a result, are crude, cheap, and inefficient, as well as harmful to the environment and everything living in it. Because they are designed to be air-cooled, the engines release 100% of their tailgate emissions directly into the environment, and since they also burn fuel very inefficiently, a leafblower running for one hour emits as many hydrocarbons and other pollutants into the atmosphere as a car driven at 55 mph for 110 miles.

The noise leafblowers make is hideous. Although they operate on only two cylinders, these machines run at at speeds roughly three times faster than a car’s. In the process lots of energy is released in the form of high frequency sound waves with decibel levels that far exceed acceptable limits. The incessant, high-pitched whine of a single leafblower in the distance is enough to set peoples’ teeth on edge; a couple of blowers going nearby can push almost anyone to the brink of homicide. The idea that leafblowers save time – which is the one and only argument for using them – is outrageous, since it implies that the time stolen from the rest of us is worthless.

Using these hideously noisy, highly polluting machines on sidewalks and driveways is bad enough. Turning them on lawns and gardens, beneath shrubs, between hedges, and around the trunks of trees – as everyone is obviously doing these days – is irrational. Unless, that is, the people who are doing it are landscape professionals, in which case it is negligent, almost to the point of criminal.

If that seems extreme, consider that wind blows from the nozzles of these machines at speeds in the range of 180 mph. Winds of that force do not occur naturally on Earth, except inside hurricanes and tornadoes. Worse, still, because the wind is carrying away large quantities of heat from the hyperactive engine, it is also very hot and exceedingly dry.

Subjecting everything at ground level to blasts of hot, dry, hurricane-force winds would be ill-advised at any time, since it cannot fail to injure plants and open pathways for pests and disease, while at the same time aiding and abetting the pathogens by distributing them over the widest possible area. In the summer, though, when the air is hot and the ground is dry and the plants are dehydrated and badly stressed to begin with, subjecting them to tornadic blasts of hot, dry air is, nonsensical, to put it kindly.

Leafblowers literally scour the earth: stripping off topsoil, desiccating roots, and killing vital soil-dwelling organisms, while, at the same time, propelling into the air clouds of dirt, dust and dangerous contaminants: volatile compounds, mold and fungal spores, weed seeds, insect eggs, pollen, molecules of the myriads of toxic chemicals people spray and sprinkle on their gardens, trees, and lawns, not to mention bird and rodent feces, and more.

It goes without saying (but must be said anyway), that leafblowers pose the greatest threat to the health and hearing of the untold numbers of landscape workers who use them on a daily basis, in most cases without adequate protective equipment, for intervals that far exceed OSHA guidelines. Unfortunately, the workers themselves tend to exaggerate the benefits and deny the risks of blowing leaves with machines, which they strongly favor over rakes, for reasons that probably have more to do with symbolism than practicality.

Ironically, leafblowers were not invented to blow leaves; they were originally designed as crop dusters. In other words, they didn’t come about in response to a genuine need for a mechanized solution to the leaf-removal problem. Because there wasn’t any problem. Now we do have a problem, but it isn’t leaves, it’s these infernal machines.

Gasoline-driven leafblowers have been banned in scores of California counties, including Los Angeles and hundreds of municipalitiesacross the U.S. and Canada, and none of the horrors that were predicted by landscapers – untidy lawns, escalating costs, declining property values – has ever come to pass.

The phenomenal proliferation of leafblowers has far more to do with marketing than efficiency; indeed, when all the real costs are factored in their alleged benefits don’t even begin to justify their penalties and risks. Cheap to produce, priced to sell, and aggressively marketed, the real function of leafblowers is to rake in money for the huge corporations that manufacture them.

By Winifred Rosen, Guest Commentator
DrWeil.com News

Winifred Rosen is co-author with Dr. Weil of “Chocolate to Morphine: Everything You Need to Know about Mind-Altering Drugs.”

The post Ban Leafblowers! appeared first on DrWeil.com.

Though grasshoppers seem to like it, it is a trouble free plant to grow in a pot or in a sunny position in the garden. The real argument for growing your own basil is not how easy it is but the sheer number of varieties of basil that you can get if you start your own seed.

Basil, Ocimum species, is a great plant to grow in containers. It can be kept in a bright, warm windowsill in the kitchen for easy access. I start my seeds a couple of months before the last frost. Some are transplanted into the garden and others are planted in pots that I give away to my friends. When tomato plants go in the ground, I always sprinkle some basil seed nearby because they go so well together. The young tomatoes stay watered until they are well established and the excess water goes to the basil. Basil also likes to be protected from too much sun so the tomato plant shades the basil.

Though the seeds are easy to germinate, basil grows slowly in cooler temperatures. Once the long, warm days of summer hit its leaves, don’t be afraid to start harvesting enough to season your dishes. Growing it in organic potting soil in containers or a well-composted garden bed are its only requirements.

One mature, large-leafed plant provides enough basil for a couple batches of pesto. A half-dozen or so plants will bear enough for fresh use and drying. Pinching off the growing tip when the plant is six to eight inches tall will promote a bushier habit and increase the plant’s productivity. Pinching off the earliest flower buds can slightly prolong the usable life of your basil leaves, whose flavor is said to be most intense just before the white flowers open at its tip.

Inevitably, your plant will flower and go to seed. Collecting basil seed is one of my favorite garden chores. I know of no sweeter smell than that of the dry seed pods. In fact, the smell is so similar to that of Fruit Stripe gum that it sends me on an olfactory memory trip down the dimly lit aisles of the old A & P Supermarket.

There are several varieties of basil. Thirty to 40 varieties or more can be found commonly in various seed catalogues. New varieties emerge each year. Though the Italians once produced most of the new cultivars, recent interest in basil has caused the addition of newer varieties from places not traditionally associated with basil, like America. I generally grow a type of sweet basil, Ocicum basilicum, sold as Salad Leaf Basil. As the name implies, it has large, light green leaves and consistent good flavor throughout the season. Recent cultivars added to commonly available stock include lemon, lime, anise and cinnamon flavored basils. Thai, Siam, holy and purple basil are all very tasty, too. I’ve grown so many different basils that I now grow Salad Leaf for its productivity every year and other varieties to add depth and interest to the garden.

Though basil is mostly used as a seasoning, it has a rich medicinal history. It is said to work well as a digestive aid and a sedative, as well as for the treatment of headaches and migraines. Chinese medicine employs basil to treat intestinal, kidney and circulatory problems. It has also been used as an antiseptic. Though it contains vitamins and minerals, its traditional medicinal role and its most common use as a flavoring mean that it will only provide modest amounts of potassium, calcium, vitamin C, iron, phosphorus, magnesium and vitamin A on a per-serving basis.

Basil can also serve as a lesson in the need for gentleness in life. “I pray your Highness mark this curious herb: Touch it but lightly, stroke it softly, Sir, And it gives forth an odor sweet and rare; But crush it harshly and you’ll make a scent Most disagreeable,” pointed out 19th-century folklorist Charles Godfrey Leland. If basil can teach us all to touch rather than crush, it will have earned an honored position in any garden.

By Jace Mortensen, Guest Commentator
DrWeil.com News

The post Basil Basics appeared first on DrWeil.com.

Why use compost tea instead of just using compost directly? There are at least three important reasons I can think of immediately. First of all, it is not always convenient to add compost directly to the soil. A good example is a lawn. Most of the time, it is inconvenient to add compost to a lawn. A compost tea will allow you to get much of the good stuff out of the compost as an easy-to-use liquid which is convenient to use in almost any horticultural application.

It also is becoming apparent that these microbes are essential inhabitants of what is referred as the phyllosphere (the surface of leaves and stems of a plant). They take up space on the plant, sometimes directly assisting the plant, sometimes just taking up space that might otherwise provide entry by a pathogen. You cannot add compost to the foliage of a plant, but you can spray it down with the tea (many microbes will stick themselves to the leaves under their own self-made protective covering).

Another reason is that when done properly, compost tea will be a concentrate of activated microorganisms, more concentrated than compost itself. The process of making the tea allows the microbes to “wake up” and multiply. When you add this to your garden, you are adding a rich brew, teeming with creatures that will enliven your soil, and help it convert your dirt into a living biome. In short, the microbes eat and excrete. The excretion is plant food, and usually just about all a plant will ever need.

Compost does this too, and is important to add when you can. But it is not as potent. Compost has advantages over compost tea, adding more carbon to the soil, and other essential soil ingredients, so this is not to suggest that compost tea replaces regular compost. It is just another very convenient tool to help your soil become alive.

How to Make Compost Tea

For home use I suggest using a five-gallon bucket, the best aquarium aerator you can afford, about three cups of compost, and depending on whether you want a bacterial or fungal brew, two tablespoons of non-sulfured molasses (bacterial) or two tablespoons of kelp powder (fungal). Don’t use liquid kelp in this compost tea recipe, it often contains sulfur or other anti-fungal agents. There are many other foods for bacteria and fungi as you get more involved in making compost tea. In fact there are many ways to go about this, and you can experiment. But let’s start with a simple brew and show you how to make compost tea with this easy to follow compost tea recipe:

• First, add your air pump to the bucket. The more thoroughly it aerates the entire 5-gallon bucket, the better. Try not to have any dead spots (non-aerated).
• Fill the bucket with water, leaving a few inches from the top, and let the water aerate for an hour or so to outgas chlorine and other anti-microbial materials in the water (especially if using water from a municipality). When you do this, the chlorine will evaporate from the water.
• Next add your ingredients: the compost and kelp or molasses.
• Let the compost tea brew for about 24 hours. Make sure the opening to the air pump is distributed evenly (cheapest is an air stone) and secured to the bottom, so it does not get pushed to the top overnight. This will keep the tea sufficiently aerobic.
• The next day, check your compost tea. It should smell nice. If it smells like an outhouse, vomit, or otherwise unpleasant, start over. Sometimes teas will have a slightly unpleasant smell. This is okay to use, but not ideal. Ideally teas will smell fresh and earthy.
• Strain out the compost and immediately apply your tea to the garden, on both the soil and over the entire plant (sometimes people put tea in a convenient bag made of panty hose. I like it loose myself to ensure no dead spots).
• As soon as possible thoroughly clean your compost tea brewing equipment. Things will get stinky if you don’t. Clean all corners and surface areas with a gentle natural soap and let dry. Don’t use your brewing equipment for anything else and don’t clean with anti-microbial soaps (so common today).

Compost tea brewing is best done in the balmy, not too hot, not too cold seasons. Brew tea in the same temperature as the area you will apply the tea to, so outside. However, find a shady spot. If temperatures are too warm, the tea will likely get anaerobic fast. If cooler, brew longer (up to about 48 hours). The water will be dark, like coffee. Again, use your nose and intuition. In many climates, winter is not the time to have water outside in a bucket. In those same climates you are probably not gardening much either! There are some excellent and easy-to-use compost tea brewing kits available online.

Compost tea is a regular addition to our soil. We use it on the garden, and on all the plants in the landscape. Since I have started our compost system, I have been trying to move us toward not ever having to purchase any kind of plant food. And I feel really good about the fact that we are making our piece of the earth more healthy and teeming with life rather than poisoned, lifeless and damaged as is much of the land we humans have inhabited or otherwise utilized. And it makes much healthier, vitamin-rich food too.

By Jared R. McKinley, Guest Commentator
DrWeil.com News

The post Brewing Compost Tea appeared first on DrWeil.com.