As our garden is ripe with luscious lavender, sunny calendula, refreshing mint, savory sage, and many more beneficial herbs, we’re enjoying the longer evening hours, harvesting in small bunches and delicately drying them for use later, in a variety of ways. While browsing online for a few new medicinal recipes, I came across this terrific idea: “Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game”

It’s a board game that teaches about 25 edible and medicinal plants and their uses in mostly first aid situations. It also teaches team work, for you will rely on each other’s knowledge of plants and good fortune to make it to the Huckleberry Patch and safely back to Grandma’s. Look’s like a winning gift for my nieces and nephews.

It’s peak season for herbs in the garden right now…the ones started from seed in February. Basil, fennel, cilantro, parsley, thyme, oregano, lemon balm, chives and a variety of sages are ready for any number of uses. Snipped fresh and thrown in salads and pasta; or wrapped in small bunches and hung upside down to dry. But what about the spices and herbs we can’t readily grow?

While perusing the spice shelf, I realized how long I’ve stored many of the spices on hand. How long do they last? What am I missing out on by sprinkling that 5-year old ground mustard on the chicken breast? A few days later, I came across a wonderful little company that specializes in freshly ground organic spices: Smith & Truslow. Their site is bountiful in products and cooking ideas for fresh herbs and spices and I’m smitten.

Another find on their site is the Health Benefits page, that has a wealth of information on how spices and herbs are used to heal the body, mind and spirit. Be sure to bookmark this one for reference! Two spices I want to try right away: Ginger Mustard and Lemon Anise.

In today’s meditation, a question surfaced: What is the sound of one hand clapping? I let go of a thought that wonders why this traditional Zen koan would pop up now….and simply watch what unfolds within.

I see one hand, apparently clapping nothingness. Then a whispered phrase – something that came in last week, that nothing exists in the universe without its opposite. Light and dark, seen and unseen. The unseen “other” hand materializes, like a ghost hand, so that I can “see” these opposites come together. What happens when they do?

A clap of light. Wholeness. Completion. Balance. Love. What is the sound of love? A sigh of relief that all our struggles are finally recognized as illusion, and we can simply BE?

Watch for this plant sale in Balboa Park, San Diego, sponsored by the San Diego County Master Gardener Association.

Besides being able to find local plant varieties at below retail prices, there will be info on identifying friends and foes in the garden, safe pest control, composting how-to, sustainable gardening tips and more!

I’m hoping to find safe tips for ridding my green patch of the green worms that are chowing their way through swiss chard and baby field greens right now. Anyone have any tips? Using diatomecious earth (DE) now, but does not seem to be helping.

Ok, my latest passion involves the concept of Farm to School programs, where local farms and schools join together so kids learn about where their food comes from, they get their hands right in the process of growing it, then the food grown is made use of in the school cafeteria so everyone eats healthier.

I looked through some programs already in existence, and know that I would love to get involved with this in some way. Checking out the California programs, I’m not seeing much in the San Diego area — most programs are in Northern California. So, looks like there is alot of potential here.

I’m thinking of heading up to the Womens Herbal Symposium over Memorial day weekend, and will be sure to discuss it with the women there. We’ll be doing classes on a wide range of garden, food and nutrition topics including Seed Saving, which would be an important part of the Farm to School programs. I’ll keep you posted as more develops.