Plant Identification: Methods, habitats and native species in Halifax.

Walking into the North branch library on a damp rainy day, the last thing I expected was to be staring at a bouquet of local flowers. Something about the haphazard bundle of twigs and flowers set the tone for David Patriquin’s talk on Native Plant Identification.

The topic could very well have been a very dry dissertation on Linnaean nomenclature and dichotomous differentiation to arrive at a Latin name. Dr. Patriquin made the speech lively with his animated voice, prizes of local plants and books, and constant participation with the audience.

It was my pleasure to live tweet the event as @skyhsmith, with the #nativeplant moniker. I’ll include a few of the tweets as I go on.

Dr. David Patriquin introduces himself, not as an expert on native plants, but as an Oceanography student gone awry.

@skyhsmith: In 2004 dr. Patriquin decided to learn about his “biosphere” or 50km from his house to get to lawrence town and Polly’s Cove #nativeplant

He became interested in organic farming and gardening, and developed a love for what we call weeds. In fact, most of our food crops came from weeds that grew well in disturbed soils.

@skyhsmith: Most weeds are “friendly exotics” which are important for wildlife, pollinators, and organic management for farming #nativeplant

We started talking about introduced ‘exotics’ vs. native plant species. Most exotic plants are not much of a threat to our biodiversity. Plants like your garden impatients cannot survive without you, and cannot naturalize. Naturalized plants include clover and dandelion, which thrive in freshly disturbed soil. We freshly disturb soil, a lot, everywhere we go.

@skyhsmith : Nova Scotia has aprox. 2k wild plant species. 62% are native, pre European settlement. The rest are naturalized. #nativeplant

Dr. Patriquin shared some of his favourite resources for determining a plants identity, including the website for the Atlantic Canada Conservation Data Centre the best online source for identification. Since it is quite difficult to lug large books, this link may be the best way to have a way to identify plants on the go. Some books he suggests are Newcome’s Wildflower guide, and Carl London’s Native Orchids of NS.

Since Nova Scotia is an Isthmus, and it is relatively separated from the rest of the North American mainland there is very little biodiversity, though we have several biomes. These including Salt marshes, dunes, bogs, Acadian forest, boreal forest, and even some arctic areas in the Cape Breton highlands left over from the last glaciation.

Dr. Patriquin brings our attention to the flowers he brought. They are all from Point Pleasant Park, including, verbena, red maple, pin cherry, and honeysuckle, all gathered that morning.

@skyhsmith: There are about 300 types of plants at Point Pleasant Park. #nativeplant

He recommends that you do not take samples of plants from the wild. While there are few endangered species in HRM (such as ladyslipper) it is best to keep a digital herbarium: if you don’t need vegetation samples: take pictures.

@Skyhsmith: Hurricane Juan gave Point Pleasant Park a chance to biodiversify. Lots of goldenrods and asteracea in the first years #nativeplant

The deforestation from hurricane Juan allowed the park staff to bring it closer to the Acadian forest biome it would have been without our interference. For example, exotic linden trees are being replaced with local basswood trees. Most surprisingly, berries took off like weeds. How did they get there though? Dr. Patriquin suggests that some existed but were hidden by other plants, and that birds brought others.

We are becoming more aware of planting local, and it shows. With professionals like David Patriquin, we are moving forward. We cannot forget that naturalized exotics are now part of the equation, and are in some cases very necessary for the local fauna; including the red clover seeds the Ecology Action Centre gave us at the end of the evening.

So remember when identifying plants: vascular plants have veins, and non-vascular do not.

Follow this link to an incredible resource that Dr. Patriquin put together.

Written by Schuyler Smith

Our Food: See Us in Motion

So I am away from my Urban Garden Project post for the summer. I plan to spend time honing some of my growing skills out at a N.S. farm and the rest of my time learning some new pursuits.

But first I wanted to show you all our new video, that talks about the work that we do here at the Our Food Project, at the Ecology Action Centre.

The Our Food Project combines the garden work that you see here on this blog, with the food skills work (which you can read all about at the Adventures In Local Food Blog) to build positive food environments.

What is a positive food environment, you ask?  Well, we think of it as a situation, or a culture where communities are equipped to grow, access and enjoy healthy, sustainable, local foods. Positive Food Environments include communal resources like community kitchens, greenhouses, root cellars, food box deliveries. It means sharing food, teaching each other what we know, and working together to create equitable, healthy and sustainable community food systems.

Marla, (of the Food Connections Project) and I (with the Urban Garden Project) have been doing this work for over 5 years and in the past year we’ve been able to bring this work together under the Our Food Project.  We have had an amazing year, working with so many great organizations and communities and learning so much along the way.

I hope everyone has a great summer and get in touch if you would like to include your stories of photos on the blog.

Written By: Garity Chapman

Permaculture and Food Forest Gardens- Native Plant Talk Series

Jayme Melrose began the discussion by outlining her premises, guiding theories and values of permaculture. She then discussed the importance and nature of ecological gardening, of permaculture, and the idea of a food forest. From there she moved into explaining some patterns and processes, and native Nova Scotian plants that would be useful in food forest garden in our region.

Six Principles:

1.  Everything we consume has a landscape impact whether we see it or not, and this matters.  The more we can consume or create things that have positive instead of negative impact, the better.

2.  Peak oil and climate change are real and happening, and we need to take both into account.

3.  We need to get to sustainable design, but even more than that, we also need to do restorative design.  We need to restore health in ourselves and in the landscape.  Permaculture is a design methodology working to that end.

4.  There are many people who want to move from being consumers to being producers.

5.  There is room to decolonize our notion of food and landscape.  We can eat native foods, not just broccoli; we can have a food forest, not just a lawn, in our urban lots.

6.  Fr. Thomas Berry, a Catholic environmental activist and spiritual leader, suggests that every culture has a great work before them.  This includes us, and our task is to carry out the transition from a period of human devastation to being part of the planet, as “participating members of a comprehensive earth community.”

Permaculture:

Jayme studied permaculture at the Linnaea Ecological Garden School, Cortes Island, B.C., under Oliver Kelhammer, who argues for a new commons, for landscapes that can be art.  He also argues that there are two kinds of succession at work in permaculture, the first in the land, the second in the type of gardening itself.

A common pattern of succession in land, for instance after a fire, is the move from devastation to annual plants to perennial plants and grasses, then to shrubs, to softwood trees and pines, and finally to hardwood trees. Each stage makes changes to the ecosystem – to the qualities of the soil, the amount of light and nutrients available, and so on – that then create the conditions for the next stage.

Likewise, urban gardening moves from guerilla gardening, trying to reclaim unused spaces, to community gardens, to community orchards – which require commitment of time, place, energy – and finally to community forests.  This is happening around us, particularly in Seattle, where a food forest is in the process of being established.

Both of these kinds of succession are important for us in thinking about gardens and food production.  Our gardens are often in the first stage, of annual plants – which in wild nature is the post-devastation stage.  After a devastation come weeds, which pull up nutrients from down below the surface turmoil and are medicinal for both the land and the animals in the ecosystem.

Permaculture is a kind of post-modern gardening calling for regenerative design.  It is trying to design so that we live in a way that has the stability and resilience of natural ecosystems.  It has to be both socially and ecologically regenerative.  In order to do this, it has three main components:

1. Ethics.

2. Techniques.

3. Principles

Ethics: To care for people, to care for the earth, and to share fairly.

Techniques: Anything fitting the ethics above.  Permaculture focusses on relations — the relative locations of things, adjacencies and mash-ups.

Principles: Permaculture has a value system to make decisions, including:

- work with nature

- observe and interact

- catch and store energy

- obtain a yield

- use small and slow solutions

- use biological resources

- make it multifunctional and redundant

- integrate rather than segregate

- treat the problem as the solution

Forest Gardening

This comes along a spectrum, from the deeply cultivated and hands-on approach to the hands-off wilderness.

landscaping — organic farming — ecological gardening — forest gardening — eco-forestry — parks

Parkland is treated as something to be admired, but also as something where we should “leave only footprints” — the same attitude as high-energy public gardens.  Neither of them are treated as productive food sources, though they could be.

Forest gardening is both gardening, which is to say tending, the forest, and bringing the woods into the city.  The goal is to create systems that function like native land but also feed us.  It is something ideally held in common, a way for us to relearn how to manage and govern our resources in a community.

The Food Forest

A food forest is an edible ecosystem.  It is a consciously designed community of mutually beneficial plants and animals intended for human food production.  It uses less energy to maintain, particularly in Nova Scotia, where most of the land, left to itself, would be forest.  Our agricultural systems are high-energy because we have to resist the forest.

The goals and needs of an agricultural system are the “7 Fs”:

- Food

- Fuel

- Fibre

- Fodder

- Fertilizer

- Pharmaceuticals

- Fun

A forest garden can produce a multitude of human needs, by gardening the land in woodlandlike patterns.

Key Characteristics of a Food Forest:

Like any other forest, the food forest is a multi-storied affair, from underground, surface, undergrowth, shrubs, understory trees, and the canopy.  The basic building block is the Tree Guild.

This consists of:

1. the tree at the centre

2. an insect attractor

3. nutrient accumulator

4. mulch maker

5. nitrogen fixer

The tree at the centre is likely to be one a nut or fruit tree, such as one of the nut trees native to north-eastern North America: the black walnut, beech, butternut, hickory, beaked hazelnut, chestnut, pecan.

The insect attractor has to attract beneficial insects, both predators and especially pollinators.  For this purpose it needs to bloom at the same time as the main tree.

Nutrient accumulators have deep roots to bring up nutrients from the subsoil.  Generally, these are tap-rooted plants, such as burdock, comfrey, yarrow, dandelions, or some trees such as oaks.

Mulch makers, like comfrey or hostas, help with water retention and build up the humus in the soil by returning carbon.

Nitrogen fixers include legumes and also several native shrubs, bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica), sweet fern, and alder.  They have bacterial symbiotes on roots that help fix airborne nitrogen into a form that plants can use.

Patterns

The basic pattern of the Tree Guild can be put together in many different ways. In a food forest, it is very important to remember the importance of pathways, to avoid compacting the soil and to enable people to be active participators in the forest.  It is to be used — and harvested!

A good resource is Edible Forest Gardens, in two volumes, by _____.

Our forest system in Nova Scotia is the Acadian, a combination of the Boreal and Carolinian forest systems.  The Carolinian, to our south, includes heartnuts, pecans, hickory, pawpaws, and persimmons; butternuts are native to the Saint John River valley in New Brunswick.  Although it would be best to stick with plants native to Nova Scotia itself and we certainly need to be careful of invasive species, we live in an era of climate chaos, and it makes sense to look to the next system south of us as well.

Useful Native Plants

Bayberry (Myrica pennsylvanica)

- nitrogen fixer

- good in poor soil, near the sea, forms thickets at the forest edge

- many virtues — you can even make candles from the waxy berries

Sweetfern (Comptonia peregrina)

- dry forest edge plant

- nitrogen fixer, insect attractor

- good for tonic tea

- hard to propagate and transplant, because of bacterial symbiosis, so one needs to be very careful to bring a lot of soil with it.

Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta)

- dry forest edge; wind-tolerant

- quite tall, around 20’

- productive of nuts, shade, coppice (for pole wood)

Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)

- wet or rocky forest edge

- tolerant of salt, pollution, drought

- spring insectary

- fruit high in anti-oxidants

Wild Raisin (Viburnum nudum)

- spring insctary

- edible (though seedy) fruit

- shade tolerant

- good for bird food

Amelanchier spp. — includes serviceberry/ Saskatoonberry

- spring insectary

- edible fruit high in pectin, iron, copper

- wind tolerant

- wood good for tool handles

- forms rootstock for Malus spp.

Also, here’s a link on Seattle’s food forest:
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/projects/jefferson/food_forest.htm
http://www.takepart.com/article/2012/02/21/its-not-fairytale-seattle-build-nations-first-food-forest

Written by Victoria Goddard.

Steps to Get Your Garden Ready

The buds are starting to pop on the trees and whether you’ve noticed or not your garden has started to wake up and is working to get ready for the season ahead. Here is a short to-do list to help it along its way and boost your soil fertility this season. Love your soil and it will love you back.

1. Nutrient Test: Know what you are starting with

Start with a simple home nutrient and pH test of your garden, as this will give you a good starting point of what your garden needs this summer to be healthy and productive. It is really best to test in the fall, especially to get an accurate reading of your soil pH levels. If you didn’t test your soil last fall, wait until the end of this season before you make any decisions to add lime to change your soil pH.

You can buy an inexpensive home soil testing kit at your local gardening store (such as Halifax Seed). This test will tell you what your soil pH is and where your levels of your 3 basic nutrients are namely: Nitrogen, Potash and Phosphorus. This isn’t essential, but if you don’t feel like you have any guideposts, or having trouble getting to know your soil, this information can be helpful.

If you just brought in nutrient rich soil the previous season your pH will likely be just right and you’ll simply need to add a bit of compost. However if you are gardening in the ground, or your soil has been in production for a couple of seasons its quite likely that your soil is a bit on the acidic side and that your nitrogen levels are running a bit low (nitrogen is water soluble and so often gets washed out with the ice thaw and spring rains).

2. Add Amendments

Your soil test will give you a great idea of what you will want to add to your soil before planting. You will want your soil pH to be around 6, having neutral soil is important to making the nutrients in your soil available to your plants. If you are adding lots of compost and organic matter to your soil, you don’t need to worry much about your soil pH and compost is a great neutralizer.  If your soil is slightly acidic you can add  large quantity of eggshells to your garden. This is a great option if you think your soil is acidic but aren’t sure or want a more gentle approach than using lime. Collect your eggshells in the freezer or get them from your local bakery for a great alternative. If you know your soil is really acidic and you want something to work a bit faster than eggshells use calacidic limestone, or even clean wood ash, put on a week or more before you plant.

When you are trying to change the pH of your soil you need to take it slow (i.e. change the pH over multiple growing seasons).  Be careful not to add lime and animal manures within a couple of weeks of one another as they don’t react well to each other.

It is also likely that your nitrogen levels are low. If this is the case there are a few options to build up nitrogen:

• coffee grinds and/or coffee chaff
• chicken, sheep and horse manure (do not add with your lime)
• grass clippings
• bloodmeal

If your potash (or postassium) levels are low you can add:

• woodash or
• greensand

And if your phospourus levels are low you can add:

• rock phosphate
• bonemeal

For a great understanding of your soil check out our blog post Soil Health.

3. Digging In

If you planted a cover crop such as fall rye or used sheet mulching last autumn, now is the time to dig it into the soil. It is good to dig in any of your organic matter (this includes cover crops, mulches, leaves, straw etc.) and then leave it for two weeks or so before planting. You don’t need to dig deep (in fact this can disturb your soil life), think of it more as a turning action, giving air to the mixture. Giving it a week or two to start breaking down will wake up the microbial life in your soil and start making nutrients available to your plants.

If you haven’t added any of these things in the fall then add in some compost to your beds, and some well rotted leaves if you have them (this is called leaf mould and is wonderful and fungi rich).

4. Wake up the Microbial Life

There is a whole world in your soil, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, worms and more. They all have their role to play in making your soil healthy and nutrient rich. When you add organic matter you are feeding this microbial community and building up the resilience of your soil.

As a final step to preparing your garden bed, consider taking it one step further this spring and adding a batch of compost tea to your garden. This will add a great boost to your mircrobial soil life and will help break down all that organic matter you just added to your soil, making it readily available to the plants you are about to add.

If you can’t get your hands on a compost tea brewer, then add a layer of worm castings to your garden instead. Fish and seaweed fertilizers are also great microbial foods, and kelp meal helps replenish lots of micronutrients, giving your soil a well rounded support system for the season ahead.

Your plants will thank you for the prep work and you’ll be happy to see your harvest’s bounty this year.

Written by: Garity Chapman

Ecology Action Centre Job Posting: Urban Garden Project Summer Student

We wanted to send this far and wide, please share and distribute:

Ecology Action Centre Job Posting: Urban Garden Project Summer Student 

The Urban Garden Project supports community run gardens and food projects here in Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). We are currently looking for a driven and enthusiastic summer student looking for an amazing and challenging summer job opportunity.

The job will consist of working with and supporting five community organizations in HRM with their community food and garden programming. The summer student will work with both youth and adults to build strong community relationships and gardens at the same time. We want someone who loves people and a full schedule. This position will work closely with the Food Connections Summer Student in a team environment and be supervised by the Food Connections Coordinator.

Please note, this position is subject to funding approval. 

UGP Summer Student’s duties include: 

• Working closely with five community organizations to deliver garden and community food programming and support on a weekly basis. This includes facilitating workshops, checking in on the needs of the community and sourcing and delivering needed materials.
• Organizing gardening workshops with these specific community groups, which includes: collaborative workshop development, scheduling the programs for each of the sites, procuring workshop materials, workshop facilitation, documentation and follow up debriefing and evaluation;
• Writing weekly articles for the Halifax Garden Network blog;
• Facilitating the Halifax Garden Network. This includes updating the website with current garden events, communicating to gardeners via email and generally highlighting resources and support available to the Halifax gardening community;
• Supporting the work of the Food Action Committee and the Ecology Action Centre.

Required skills and experience:

• Experience working with diverse communities on community development projects.
• Strong knowledge in organic vegetable gardening and some related topics (composting, rainwater catchment, native plants, garden construction etc.)
• Excellent communication skills, able to seek out assistance and feedback.
• Loves working with people, able to facilitate large groups, build capacity and create momentum.
• Strong organizational skills, able to create schedules and budgets.
• Self-directed but also collaborative. Able to facilitate using consensus and capacity building techniques.

Desirable skills:

• Comfortable transporting workshop materials via bicycle trailer, bus or car.
• Knowledge of local food, food security and food politics.
• Experience developing and facilitating workshops and programs.

Important note

Eligible Applicants must:

• Have been registered as full-time students in the previous academic year and intend to return to school on a full-time basis in the next academic year;
• Be between 15 and 30 years of age at the beginning of employment.

The Ecology Action Centre is committed to employment equity and encourages applications from traditionally underrepresented groups such as women, visible minorities, First Nations, and persons with disabilities.

Terms of Employment

Monday June 4th to Friday, August 24th, 2012

30-35 hours per week @ $14.50/hr

Location: Ecology Action Centre, 2705 Fern Lane

Position and details are subject to funding approval.

To Apply

Please email a cover letter and resume (including 2 references) to garity@ecologyaction.ca

Application Due Date: 5:00 pm Wednesday, May 16th, 2012

We thank all applicants for their time and interest, however only short-listed applicants will be contacted. Interviews will take place the week of May 28th, 2012.

The Ecology Action Centre was founded in 1971 and is one of Nova Scotia’s most active environmental organizations. The Centre welcomes new members and volunteers: www.ecologyaction.ca.

Harvest Local: Medicinal Plants of Nova Scotia

On Thursday, April 12, as part of the Ecology Action Center’s “Native Plant Talk” Series, Savayda Jarone talked about medicinal uses for plants that are native to Nova Scotia. The following information is provided to you via notes from her lecture.

Plants have been used as medicine for centuries. As you may expect, several plants which are native to Nova Scotia have medicinal values. This article is intended to teach you some important things about medicinal plants native to Nova Scotia as well as how to properly use them. You may not need to shop at the grocery store for the remedy for your ailment, after all!

Learn the Lingo
Knowledge is a huge confidence builder! After you learn ways to prepare herbs for consumption, you’ll feel better about preparing plants that will… make you feel better! The following is a list of common ways to draw out the medicines from the plants.

An infusion is a tea which uses leaf, flower, and/or stem. How to prepare an infusion: Per cup of boiling water, use 1-2 tsp. dry herb or 2-4 tsp. fresh herb. Place the herb in the boiling water. Cover and steep for 15 minutes. Strain.A decoction is tea which uses root, bark, berries, and/or seeds. How to prepare a decoction: Per cup of water, use 1-2 tsp. dry herb or 2-4 tsp. fresh herb. Place herb in a pot with water. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain.

A tincture is made with an alcohol extract. It is generally the most potent preparation. How to prepare a tincture: Steep leaf, flower, stem, root, bark, seeds, or berries for a minimum of 2 weeks in an alcohol extract (like brandy or vodka). Make sure the container is covered. This is a great way to reuse jars!

There are other ways to extract medicine from plants, including: glycerine, vinegar, oil, and honey. Don’t be afraid to be creative. For example, you can make salad dressings with vinegar or oil and herbs.

Plants can also be applied topically (to the skin) by means of: compress, poultice, oil, ointment, liniment, cream, and baths. Again, be creative! Think about taking a hot bath with aromatic plants…

Now, back to the basics. There are some general guidelines you should take into consideration when using herbal medicines.

First, follow these guidelines for harvesting plants.

Identify. Only use a plant if you are 100% positive of its identity. When discussing plants with others, use of the Latin name (scientific name) for the plants is the only way to be sure you are talking about the same plant. A valuable resource for plant identification is the Peterson Field Guide, “Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central Region”, which you can find at most local bookstores.

Harvest In-Season. Harvest each plant and each part of the plant in the proper season. You may not want to harvest leaves during the same season that is best to harvest roots.
Know the area. Make sure that the area from which you are harvesting plants is clean and free from contamination. The best way to do this is to grow the plants in your own garden.
Don’t be greedy. Harvest plants only from areas where the plants are abundant. Always, always, always leave some behind.

Be cautious. Know how to identify endangered or rare plants; and avoid harvesting or damaging them in any way. Avoid harvesting plants that are sensitive in the wild — if you want to use them, grow them in your own garden.

Taylor Head Provincial ParkAlso remember these guidelines for plant use.

Quality counts. Medicinal quality and herbal quality go hand-in-hand. Be sure to select the highest quality herb for best results. The best way to ensure that you are using high-quality herbs is to grow them yourself or to harvest them from a healthy environment which you are familiar with (an uncontaminated site). You should also keep in mind that herbs have ‘peak seasons’; and it is best to harvest herbs during their season of harvest. Seasons of harvest vary from plant to plant, so do your research before you harvest.
Use whole herbs. An herb will work best when it is taken in its whole form. So, try to avoid using supplements.

Take on an empty stomach. Your body will absorb herbs better if you take them when your belly’s growling.

Taste it. Many reactions begin in the mouth. So, it is essential that you taste the herb. If you are taking herbal supplements in pill form, it is better to break open the capsule and taste the herb.

Be aware of proper dosage. Herbs have different strengths, from mild to moderate to strong. You must be aware of the proper dosage of the herb you are using. Don’t forget to take into consideration a person’s weight and state of health.
Take a break. If you continue to use a specific herb over a long period of time, it can lose its effectiveness. Use the changing of seasons and seasonal harvesting to help you ‘change it up’.

Close your eyes and be grateful. When you’re taking herbs, be sure to pause and be grateful for these herbs are doing for you. Visualize your healing.

By now, I’m sure you are itching to read about specific plants’ medicinal uses. Here’s the scoop on a handful of medicinal plants that are native to Nova Scotia.

Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea
This plant grows in open areas. Its white flowers are dry; and it is used to create dryness in the body. It is a good remedy for colds with phlegm or for diarrhea.

Goldenrod, Solidago canadensis
Goldenrod is one of the most abundant wild plants. It is helpful in treating seasonal allergies. It also helps to sooth inflammation. Perhaps best of all, it is tasty in teas!

Bearberry, Artocstaphylos uva-ursi
This forest-dweller grows among moss and coniferous trees. Its use encourages urine flow, so it is good for bladder infections and spring cleansing.

Sweetfern, Comptonia peregrina
This plant is very aromatic, with a tree-like scent. This scent is calming and it soothes nerves. A great way to use this plant is to crush the leaves and put them in your bath water. You may also crumple up the leaves and inhale the aroma; and it tastes good in teas. Sweetfern grows in open areas, on the edges of forests, along roads and along driveways. You may harvest Sweetfern anytime of year.

Bunchberry, Cornus canadensis
Bunchberry gets its name honestly — it grows in bunches of red berries on forest floors. The berries have little flavor, but the leaves are medicinal. It is used to treat muscle aches and pain as well as urinary- and respiratory infections. It can also be prepared to use as an eyewash.

False lily of the valley, Maianthemum canadense
This plant grows in big sprawling patches. It is characterized by two big leaves and white flowers.  Early in August, the flowers disappear and berries appear. These berries are first red, but later become purple. The berries are edible and they have a unique flavor, similar to cranberries. The leaf and flower may be used in tea form to treat headaches.

Horsetail, Equisetum arvense
Horsetail is a prehistoric plant that is high in minerals and silica. It is used medicinally to restore tissue in the body and to heal lung and urinary ailments.

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana
The leaves and roots of wild strawberry are full of tanins. They are also an astringent, which means they promote dryness. Harvest the leaves before the flower and berry appear. The roots are helpful in treating diarrhea. Harvest the roots in autumn.

Blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium
Blueberry leaves are used to manage blood sugar levels. They taste good, too. Prepare the leaves fresh or dry in tea.

Balsam fir, Abeis balsamea
This coniferous tree can be identified by its flat stem and flat leaf; and white stripes on the backside of the leaf. It also has boils, or pockets, all over its trunk. These pockets are full of medicinal sap, which is very strong and potent. The sap, which has antibacterial compounds, is used as a dental remedy for people with mouth infections. To use this sap, simply locate a Balsam fir, pop one of the sap blisters, and rub the sap on the gum that hurts. This sap can also be used to aid with infection and bleeding on cuts, scrapes, or wounds. The same medicine can be derived from the leaves, especially new growth. These are high in vitamin C. They are good for seasonal allergies, for coughs and cold, and to improve digestion. You can prepare the leaves in a tea, which needs to be steeped only 5 minutes in boiling water. You may also boil the leaves and inhale the steam to relieve sinus infections and lung congestion.

Labrador tea, Ledum groenlandicum
Labrador tea can be used for drying things up. So, it is good for respiratory ailments, lung infection or congestion, a diuretic, and urinary issues. It forms a nice brown tanin, making it rich when prepared as a tea. You can find Labrador tea in damp places, by the sea; and the underside of its leaf is fuzzy orange or white.

Evening primrose, Oenothera parviflora
Seeds from evening primrose can be harvested and collected to help with hormonal imbalance and acne. The root can be used as a pulpice.

Jewel weed (Touch-me-not), Impatiens capensis
Juice from the leaf and stem of jewel weed is good for mosquito bites.

Here is a list of additional plants that are native to Nova Scotia and which can be harvested for medicinal use.

Herbs for Harvest, Native To Nova Scotia
Wild sarsaparilla, Aralia nudicaulis
Hairy sarsaparilla, Aralia hispida
Horsetail, Equisetum arvense
Boneset, Eupatorium perfoliatum
Bayberry, Myrica pensylvanica
White pine, Pinus strobus
Plantain, Plantago major
Wild rose, Rosa virginiana
Blackberry, Rubus allegheniensis
Elder, Sambucus canadensis
Rowan, Sorbus americana
Bluebeed lily, Clintonia borealis
Cinqeufoil, Potentilla canadensis
Self-heal, Prunella vulgaris

Mark your calendar with these dates if you are interested in following medical herbalist, Savayda Jarone, on one of her herb walks from 6:30 to 8:00 pm:

June 25: Point Pleasant Park
July 5: Seaview Park Lookoff

You can find more information about herb walks and herbal medicine at Savayda Jarone’s website, www.mayflowerherbs.ca

On July 22, the Herb Society will host its annual Herb Fair. This is an all day event.

Also, check out the online database created by Wolfville’s Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens: http://botanicalgardens.acadiau.ca/.

The next Native Plant Talk will be April 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the North End Public Library in Halifax. It will be presented by Jayme Melrose, who will talk about working with native plants for landscape design, permaculture, and plant communities.

Written by Alexis White

We Want Your Garden….on this blog!

The Halifax Garden Network is an informal grouping of urban gardeners and community food workers. We now have a website, a listserve and a blog, but even more importantly we have more and more community run gardens and amazing gardeners every year. I have watched our community learn so many new skills and build beatiful garden spaces all around town and this summer we’d like to see more of these gardens up here on this blog.

This blog is OUR blog, us gardeners and foodies and community builders. We’d love to hear what’s happening in your community or school garden, see some pictures, learn more about an awesome trellis you built, or a new favorite heirloom seed you are growing. Don’t be nervous about the writing, use your own words and we’re happy to help with editing.

Want to write or submit a photo? Contact garity@ecologyaction.ca We’d love to have your input.