Putting Up Honeysuckle and Other This~N~That

[00:00:06]Hello friends, Heidi here from Rain Country. God is good all the time and I'm here for another this and that where I talk about all kinds of different topics and I do these videos just once a week leading you back to videos I already have answering some questions giving you updates of what's going on around here especially things like what I'm putting up this week what's going on in the garden and whatever else I feel like talking about. So, let's get to the topics of today. Starting off with the honeysuckle. So, a lot of people will see my honeysuckle and go, "I don't have that honeysuckle. Mine's a yellow and white." Yep, I'm sure it is because that is the most common and also, as I understand, the most invasive, especially over on the east side of the states, but we have it here, too.

[00:00:58]However, I found this one at our local nursery several years ago and I knew right away it was honeysuckle, but they didn't have it marked. Unfortunately, I do not know exactly what variety it is.

[00:01:11]I have tried to look it up and I found two possible ones that could be one being the Marty Gro because of the pink and the gold. though sometimes the flowers when they bloom they can have a little bit they can be white on the inside like you can I don't know if you can see there's one there that's more white anyway there was another one too I don't remember what it was called it seemed like it might have had flame in the name so sorry I can't tell you exactly which kind mine is I don't know if it's as invasive as the Japanese but it does spread that's for sure um however I haven't had it spread out from the roots It's more the plant just keeps getting bigger and bigger every year and climbing along everything. And I love it. It's beautiful. And anyway, I wanted honeysuckle for several reasons. One, because I love honeysuckle. I adore the aroma of it. Just holding this basket next to my face, it's just wonderful. I love the smell of honeysuckle. It just it just really makes you happy. when I walk out in my garden where in all the places where I've got it growing cuz I've got some out front, some on the deck in a pot and then some in the back garden and um everywhere I go there's the honeysuckle and it's just wonderful to be able to have that aroma. However, I also knew that not only is honeysuckle edible and can be used in many ways, it does have medicinal purposes. one being very very good for the skin which is why I dehydrated up like this is the start of this year's uh harvest. I just put this up yesterday. I do crush them as I after they're dehydrated to make sure there aren't any damp spots cuz one of the issues with these is that um sometimes down here they don't fully dehydrate. So you got to check them. If they need more drying I'll put them back in the dehydrator. But um I'm not going to go into all the benefits today because I already have a video I did a few years ago. And please know that these benefits will apply to the white and yellow honeysuckle that most of you already know grows like crazy in your area. So I'll link to that in the description box down below. But right now what I'm doing, like I said, I'm dehydrating a bunch. This basket here I just picked. I'm going to shoot for maybe getting another whole quart jar this year, even though I still have a lot. I have another whole I think I have a quart and a half from last year. But still, I always like to stay way ahead on my herbs. And since I sell my skin cream as well as use it, I always like to make sure I'm well ahead on the herbs that I use in the infused oil that goes in that skin cream. And if you'd like to know more about that, I'll link to that in the description box down below because even though I sell it, I also give you the recipe for free so you can make it yourself. Anyway, so only dried herbs when infusing oils. I know some people use fresh. I only use dried, but when it comes to making tinctures or anything else, fresh or dried is cool.

[00:04:19]Now, this right here is a fermentation starter. the honeysuckle fermentation starter. I just started yesterday. This is one of the ways I use my honeysuckle.

[00:04:30]Now, I use I make fermentation starters out of anything really, but there's several that I really prefer. And one is the honeysuckle.

[00:04:40]And the other is the ginger and or dandelion. This has got some old dandelion in it. I'm probably going to pick a couple fresh flowers and throw them in here. But also has the ginger.

[00:04:52]And that's ginger root obviously.

[00:04:55]And if you and just like with a honeysuckle, if you'd like to learn more about how to make a fermentation starter and all the many uses for it, I'll link to that video in the description box down below along with the video of how I use it to make a yeast spread without having to use dry yeast. And that's what's going on right here using this one. So, I always use the matching top so I know which one I used last cuz I have three different ones. I have a rhubarb one, I have the honeysuckle, and I have this one. And I rotate through them to always have one to make sure they're all staying very lively. And so, right now, this is the one I'm doing for this week. And then the next time I make bread, I'll be using the rhubarb one.

[00:05:40]And the next time, I'll be using this.

[00:05:42]So, I just started this. It's going to sit on the counter for a few days. And then um when it's good and bubbly, I'll put it in the fridge just to keep it just to keep it basically where it's at cuz I don't want it to ferment totally into wine. I just want it to be bubbly.

[00:05:58]I also use that for making wines, for fermenting hard-boiled eggs, making kimchi, and all kinds of things. So again, I recommend you check out that video as well as the one on the bread making if you just like to see how I do it. My my method of making a yeast bread now is rather unique. It's just something that I worked on for several years to get it right. So that I don't always have to be dependent on dry yeast or on making sourdough, which isn't always our favorite thing. So this has a similar idea to sourdough, but to me it has a better flavor. I like it better.

[00:06:35]Anyway, these will be going in the dehydrator for that. But other ways I use my honeysuckles that's coming in fresh is I also use it to make vinegar.

[00:06:45]That'll be one of the next things I do.

[00:06:47]Once I at least get a pint jar of that up, I'll start a batch of vinegar and then I'll get I'll work on drying up another pint of the honeysuckle flowers.

[00:06:58]Um, but yes, you can use them in salads.

[00:07:00]You can use them in all kinds of things.

[00:07:03]And even after it's dehydrated, you can still use those in making any dried herb in making a vinegar. I've used dried herbs before. While I prefer using fresh herbs when making my vinegars, I have done them with dried herbs. When it was in the middle of the winter and I ran out of, let's say, my rosemary notorium vinegar I like to use for washing my hair with or I I use the honeysuckle for that, too. Then I'll just use a dried herbs and then make a vinegar out of that. It works just as well. Even though I still prefer using the fresh cuz I just make a bunch of vinegar in the season and most of the time it'll last me all winter long so I don't have to work through my dried stuff. But just letting you know that is an option. And then another thing I'm getting close to finishing off I just got to finish topping off this jar or this jar. They both look pretty full. It's this one um of my lovage leaves and I'll feel pretty good about that. I might still put up more, but um my lovage is just going berserk. So, I'm you know, I could put up easily put up a whole another quart jar. But since I'll be mixing this with the dandelion leaves and the nettle, um I need to focus more on the dandelion leaves right now cuz I haven't started dehydrating those yet for the season.

[00:08:25]They're starting to get to that point where they're getting really big. But once the flowering slows down on the dandelions, that's when the leaves really start getting big. Most of your herbs will be the other way around.

[00:08:38]They'll get lots of big lots and lots of really big leaves, and once they start flowering, the leaves get smaller.

[00:08:43]Dandelion's the other way around.

[00:08:45]They'll get some leaves, then they'll flower, then the flowering will slow down or stop, and then the leaves will get massive. So, it's kind of funny how that is. But anyway, yeah. So that's going to be the next thing cuz then once I mix I want equal amounts of the lobage leaves with the dandelion leaves and the nettle and then also the nori. So the three thing three of the main things I grow for my mixed greens. If you're new to my channel, um you can put any edible green in there that you've got coming in from your garden or you can forage for.

[00:09:15]It could be clover. It could be bean or pea leaves. It could be sweet potato leaves. It can be grape leaves and uh strawberry leaves and blueberry leaves or raspberry and blackberry leaves.

[00:09:31]Anything as edible and nutritious you can put into your mixed greens and then use that to go into anything. It's just a way to get more nutrition into your diet that you don't really even notice it's there. So adding it to gravies, soups. I even mix it in with when I'm making meatloaf, hamburger patties, meatballs, anything like that. And I just add a handful into whatever. And that way it just is getting more of those great minerals and other nutrients that you will find in these, such as with the lovage, very, very high in corsetin. So I'm getting that in there.

[00:10:08]And then all the benefits of the nettle, which is really good for your thyroid.

[00:10:12]Same thing with the nori. The one thing I don't grow because I don't have an ocean in my backyard. So then along with that are the lovage stocks. So I use these for celery because lovage and celery are very closely related. They have a very similar taste. It's just that lovage is a much stronger flavor especially especially in the leaves. But the stocks, especially when they're dried, they taste very, very much just like regular celery, but higher in nutrients than your standard celery. And because it's a perennial, it just keeps coming back and getting bigger and bigger and bigger every year. So, I get a ton. Anyway, I do also sell the lobbage seeds if anyone's interested or in any of the other seeds like the arnica, the marshmallow seeds, or any other herb seeds. I do sell a few vegetable seeds like the snow peas and the scarlet runner beans and a couple other things. So, if you're interested in those, just email me at rankcountry [email protected] and ask for a product list. That's where you'll also find the skin cream and a few other random things that we make and sell. And then another thing I wanted to say, one more garden related thing, and that is I was talking just I think it was two weeks ago about how I'd saved some seed from a ki nut squash that I had purchased and started growing them and initially the plants were doing really, really good. However, I ended up pulling up a whole bunch of them and I might just only keep one. And there's two reasons why. Once I transplanted them, they looked good for a little while. And I had at the same time transplanted a bunch of my pumpkin into the ground in the same general area, one on one side, one on the other, but I noticed that one by one, the Kogina is starting to die.

[00:12:02]And so I'm like, okay, it doesn't seem quite as sturdy, at least for transplanting, as the pumpkin does. But also, I had totally forgotten about it being a hybrid. Hybrid isn't necessarily bad, but when you save seeds from something that's hybrid, it could go back to one or the other of the original squash that it came from.

[00:12:29]And it may not even produce fruit at all. And even if it does, it may not produce viable seed. So, I'm thinking I'd be better off just focusing on my pumpkin. I think I'll keep at least one of the Kogi nuts if it survives because I did plant a few out in the open and they seem to be doing better just to see what it does. So, I'm just letting you guys know that. I totally forgot until somebody mentioned it in a comment of that video where I where I was talking about that and I'm like, "Oh, it's a hybrid. There's a good chance I may not get anything off of it. It might just be a plant and who knows what I'm going to get out of it even if it does get fruit.

[00:13:11]So some of the things you got to think about when you're saving seeds from things that you buy like that and you got to think is was this heirloom or is this hybrid cuz you just never know what to expect. So we'll see. I'll leave like I said I'll leave at least the one and see what happens with it. Then another thing I'm going to talk about Azure Standard again. And I know people probably get sick and tired of me talking about it, but there's some things that I don't always think to mention that people should understand when it comes to a drop point. If you have a drop point and you order stuff, even if you put all that stuff in your cart and you pay for it 2 or 3 weeks before the drop comes, if that item goes out of stock, well, I say pay for it, that means you checked out because you don't get charged for that until it ships. You're not going to get charged for whatever the item is. If it goes out of stock before your drop point shipments goes out, you're not going to get that item. This is very common. This isn't an Azure Standard issue. Someone's like, "I never trust Azure Standard again because I didn't get my whatever it was they were ordering." And I think they'd only tried the one time. I don't know. This happens when you're working through a drop point. This is very common. The same thing used to happen when we would order through Glorybe because Glory be was I think the OG of that kind of thing and it started off in the same area. I don't I'm assuming they're still in business but we don't have a Glorybe drop point anymore. We used to and that was where I first started buying things in bulk that were organic and getting good prices on them. And there was a coordinator.

[00:14:57]Sometimes she'd only do an order every six months, which was kind of frustrating because sometimes you needed things sooner than that. But you would place your order and you might get most of your stuff in, but there was very likely going to be one or two things that went out of stock before everything shipped together. That's just the way it is. Now, if you're ordering online for a from Azure Standard, the difference is is you're going to pay the UPS or USPS shipping depending on what you choose.

[00:15:26]So, that's going to add more cost to your order. Like for us, because of where we're located, the drop point, we get our stuff shipped for free. But if you're wanting to make sure you're going to get that item cuz you need it ASAP, then that's going to be the better way to go. So, I watch for things to come back in stock before we had the drop point. And as soon as it was back in stock, I would order it, have it shipped because I can't guarantee that it's not going to go out of stock. So, don't just blame Azure Standard because you didn't get your stuff. When any of these companies that work that way, so far I only know of the two, Azure Standard and Glory B. And when you're ordering through a drop point, even if you check out, you're still not going to be charged for those items until it ships until after it ships. Then they'll then they'll charge you. in that way too. The re one of the reasons it works that way, which most places do work that way. They don't they won't charge you until your all your items ship. Well, also with a if you're going through a drop point, you check out, you can at least when you check out, the only thing you can really secure is a sale price that's going on at that time. At least I I know at least with some things I've been able to secure that sale price. So, if it goes off sale by the time the order ships, I'll still get that sale price. However, you can still change things for that whole 3 or 4 week period. Oh, I decided I don't want this. I need more of this, whatever. And that's what I like about that. But to make sure that like with the milk when I first they first got that milk in the organic valley milk and I was ordering it um twice when I first started ordering it, it didn't come because a lot of times when they start carrying something for the first time, they don't know what the level is of sale they're going to get. So they have to base it on how fast things sell. And now I've been able to get it every time.

[00:17:28]However, I still stay way ahead just in case suddenly more people want to start buying that and then it goes out of stock before I get my shipment and so I'm not worried about it. So that's another thing you've got to think about.

[00:17:41]That's part of being prepared. Always staying ahead just in case, right? So that's what I do with stuff like that.

[00:17:48]The butter, the cheese, the milk, the things that we go through on a pretty regular basis, the chicken feed, the grains, etc. So anyway, just some tips there and I just want to clarify that because if you're new to Azure Standard and you're going through a drop point, you might not know that is a common scenario no matter what the company is.

[00:18:09]It's because of the way everything works. And then the last thing, I'll just say this real quickly. Somebody was asking me to possibly do a video on things that chickens can and cannot eat.

[00:18:20]Maybe I will. I don't know. But here's what I do. If I'm going to introduce a new grain or something into my chicken's diet, I just look it up. Is this, you know, is this going to be okay?

[00:18:32]Especially if I'm mixing the grains together. But most of the time, like with the things just growing naturally in my garden or just like kitchen scraps I throw out there, they're going to pick through and eat only what they know.

[00:18:48]Chickens, like most animals, are very instinctual about what they eat. They know what they can and cannot eat by instinct. But if you blend things up, they may get stuff in and you don't know if it's good for them or not, they may end up inadvertently eating things that they shouldn't. So, as long as you understand that, it's usually pretty simple. But I know when I first got my chickens nine years ago, I was kind of freaked out like, "Oh no, can they eat the the mints? Are these safe for them?"

[00:19:18]Then I learned that it's not something I have to worry about because I really freaked out when they started reaching through the fence and pecking the leaves, eating the leaves off my potato plants. I'm like, "Oh my gosh, is that going to kill them?" No, obviously not.

[00:19:32]Obviously not. They know this. So knowing that just brought a lot of peace. But again, if I'm going to mix something in, like with the grains, I still look it up because I had some rye grains, for example. I've never given rye to my chickens. I was thinking about mixing it in with their feed that I make for them, but I figured I better check just to make sure. And sure enough, of course, they love rye. It is good for them. But like with some other types of grains, you just want to make sure you're not giving them too much at a time. Same thing with dairy. Chickens are not lactose intolerant. They love dairy. It's good for them, but you don't want to give them too much. So, there's just these things you learn. You How I've always figured out is I'm like, "Oh, let me let look this up just to make sure."

[00:20:23]And that's it's really quite simple. You just put it in your browser. Is such and such safe for chickens? Is it okay for me to feed this to my chickens? It's not that hard. So maybe I'll do a video, but it'll probably take me a long time to go through all the many things and try to figure out what other things are people going to want to know is safe for chickens when it's just as easy enough to look it up for yourself and know that when you throw stuff out there or you got stuff growing, they know by instinct what they can eat. So, um, anyway, just want to throw that out there. But it was a great question, great idea for a video. I can tell you what I give my chickens and what's safe for them based on what I've given them. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my this and that for the week. And any thoughts, ideas you'd like to share, please put those in comments down below. And don't forget, check out the links I'll be putting in the description box by clicking on more show more. And thanks for watching. Take care and God bless.