Today in the Garden

Today was a sunny, hot and steamy day. I came home from work and went straight to the garden with a glass of Dry Comal Creek Cabernet (I know it's a faux pas but I had a little ice in it to cool off). The Meyer lemon is doing great and is filled with about 30+lemon babies. These lemons are juicy and smooth with no seeds. We look forward to these lemons each year. I saute them in olive oil and salt - peel and all. The saute is great over fish. The barrel it's in was purchased at Becker Vineyard in Fredericksburg, TX and is a recycled Cabernet wine barrel....perfect for the Meyer lemon tree.

The grape/tomato/potato/onion garden bed is doing well too. This is the first year for these grapes so the fruit was very vulnerable and most of it was lost to insects in early spring; however, the leaves are being infused in olive oil for lotion making. Grape leaves are very high in minerals and vitamins. The onions have a long way to go, but the tomato plants (next picture) are doing quiet well.

Also growing in the garden is catnip (Nepeta cataria). Catnip is in the mint family and the flowers and leaves can be collected from June - September. Catnip has been used as a cold/flu remedy. It's actions are anti-spasmodic, diaphoretic, sedative and astringent. As an anti-spasmodic it has been used to ease upset stomachs, flatulence and colic. It has been used to ease diarrhea in children and helps ease and relax the nerves. As a tea, one to two teaspoons of the dried herb can be infused in a cup of boiling water according to David Hoffman's, "The New Holistic Herbal".

Reference: David Hoffman's, "The New Holistic Herbal" 1983 and 1990.