No Plagues

In the church when we think about the word "plague" we might have visions of hordes of locusts descending into the fields or clouds of gnats surrounding the fruit trees.  Gardeners often use the word "plague" to describe insect, fungus, disease or animals which destroy or cause damage to their crops.

I recently attended a food security forum during which an agronomist said:  "We never use the word "plague" to describe an invasion of insects.  Each creature was created by God to fulfill its purpose.  We want healthy crops, so we use preventive medicine."  In other words, when growing food products we want to protect them from damage by insects and little critters, and we can do so without killing the insects or harming any animals.  We can discourage them from coming to our gardens in the first place, so that they can go do what they were created to do somewhere else.

At All Peoples Church we use natural gardening techniques to prevent and to control damage which might be caused by insects or animals.

1)  One technique is to plant "smelly" plants near the edges of garden beds.  By choosing plants that bunnies, squirrels, possums and other animals do not like, and planting them as "protection" around plants that they do like, we can often discourage these animals from munching on our food.  "Smelly" plants include marigold, mint, basil, dill, chives, and onions.

2)  Sprinkle cayenne pepper on corn silk.  Grow pumpkins and squash below the corn to help fend off raccoons. Plant radishes and lettuce together.  Plant potatoes and beans together - each fends off the insects that like to eat the other.

3)  Preventive Medicine Pest Formula:  Chop one onion and several cloves of garlic, add a small hot pepper cut in half.  Put it all into a recycled milk jug and add about 2/3 gallon of water.  Let it sit in the sun for an hour or more.  Pour the liquid (not the chunks) into a spray bottle.  You can add a little bit of natural dish soap to help get rid of aphids.  Spray about once a week or after it rains hard.

4)  Got weeds?  Vinegar water (the tougher the weeds, the more vinegar in the water), salt water, or salty vinegar water in a spray bottle are great for killing weeds - spray on a hot sunny day.

What are your favorite tips for keeping your garden naturally healthy and productive?  Please share in the comment section!

Submitted by Linda Muth

Got Cilantro?

Reposted from Linda's El Salvador Blog

For anyone who grows cilantro or buys cilantro, you know that it is a short-lived crop and does not keep very well in the fridge or on the counter.  So, when you have a batch, it's important to find good ways to use it. It's also important to wash it well by grabbing the bundle by the stems and swirling the leaves in a bowl full of water.  Repeat this step if your bundle is pretty dirty.  Then remove any slimy stems or leaves.


One of my favorite things to make with cilantro, whether in El Salvador or the US, is chirmol.  It's easy, it's tasty, it's healthy and it goes with everything.

Ingredients:
3 medium tomatoes, chopped small
1/2 medium onion, chopped small
Juice of 1 large lime
Chopped cilantro to taste
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Mix up all the ingredients and let it sit for a bit, then enjoy!  You can keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for a week.



No matter how big a batch of chirmol you make, you will no doubt have leftover cilantro.  A good way to keep it is to let it dry.  You can dry it with the stems on or off.  I do it on the kitchen counter on a clean cloth and cover it with a second clean cloth.  In El Salvador during the rainy season, it takes a while to dry.  Once the leaves are crispy, remove them from the stems and put them into a recycled spice jar. I prefer to crush mine right before use.

Dried cilantro is great in chicken soup, beans, rice, salad dressings ... any number of things.