Garden Medicinal Herbs to Start or Transplant in the Fall

Fall is fast approaching, again.  I didn’t make as much progress in the garden as I wanted.  I never do.  If I achieve everything on the list, then clearly the list wasn’t long enough and I need to set the bar higher next year.  Sigh.

So this summer we had a bit of a scare with Aaron’s health which then had us contemplating having to move.  Fortunately, the concern was unfounded and all is well.  However, it did get KOTPE and me talking and motivated.  Of course, Aaron and I will have to move at some point.  This property is not for the faint of heart or anyone in the senior citizen category.  We’ll enjoy it while it lasts.  KOTPE and his family live a short distance away in a good location.  When we downsize, it will ideally be to their neighborhood.  So our plan is to start transplanting many of the medicinal herbs from here to KOTPE’s property, so that we can eventually transplant them or their descendants from his place to our future location.

KOTPE’s house isn’t a fixer-upper, but the yard sure is.  And he’s ready to start working on it.  Fortunately, his hopes and ours dovetail quite nicely.  He wants his land to produce food and medicine, and equally important, be attractive and low maintenance as far as planting each year.  He wants perennials.  As he is planning to quit his job and become his own boss, there are no extra funds at this point for buying these from the nursery.  Even if there were, garden shops in this part of the world are just about depleted of stock.  And yet, fall is a perfect time for transplanting perennials.

And fortunately, I have plenty here to transplant. 

So here we are, laying the foundation for KOTPE’s low-maintenance/low-cost/high yield medicinal garden.  And the best approach in this situation is to start off with those medicinal plants that will keep coming back year after year.  And that’s the case with a great number of the herbs in Armageddon Pharmacy and listed below.  A huge advantage to growing your own medicine at home instead of foraging is that you can watch their growth daily and more easily identify the best time to harvest, unlike traveling a distance for foraging to find out whether that herb is ripe for the harvesting. 

And like I’ve said before, just start with ten or so herbs when you’re beginning.  That’s what I’ll be moving from here with KOTPE.  Calendula, bee balm, oregano, chamomile, elderberry, johnny jump-ups (an article on these will post in two weeks), raspberry, peach, hollyhock, catnip, yarrow, chrysanthemum, plantain, peppermint, spearmint, and lemon balm.  They will all keep coming back year after year.  In fact, many of them will spread like weeds.  They could actually become an additional income stream at some future date.

Other herbs to transplant in the fall, though perhaps not so weed-like in their tendency to spread:  blackberry, dianthus, snowball bush, forsythia, oak, willow, Japanese barberry, Japanese honeysuckle, cinquefoil, juniper, and echinacea.

Now’s a great time to get a jump on the spring planting.

Prepping for Painful Wisdom Teeth

Modern American practice when it comes to wisdom teeth is to just have them removed, preferably before they begin to do any damage, like mess with very expensive orthodontic treatment.  What will happen when oral surgery isn’t an option?  What will millions of teenage and young adult Americans do when pericoronitis (painful wisdom teeth) strikes?

Personally, I think my family will be spared—Aaron and I had ours removed long ago.  Professor and Blueberry Girl didn’t suffer to terribly when theirs were removed.  Both the KOTPE and QOTPE were wasted for days, but QOTPE wasn’t as bad, since she had only two wisdom teeth.  Ellie, wisest of them all, didn’t suffer because she never got any.  And I really hope the challenges we have to face will be resolved by the time my grandchildren are dealing with wisdom teeth.  Still, there are many who do have to prepare for dealing with wisdom teeth.

Here’s what The Ship’s Medicine Chest and Medical Aid at Sea has to say:

Painful Wisdom Teeth (Pericoronitis)

Pericoronitis is an infection and swelling of the tissues surrounding a partially erupted tooth, usually a wisdom tooth (third molar).  Often a small portion of the crown or a cusp of the offending tooth can be seen through the soft tissues.  The soft tissues appear swollen and the degree of inflammation or redness may vary considerably.  When the infection is severe, the patient may complain of difficulty in opening the mouth.  When the area is examined carefully, pus may be found coming from underneath the soft tissues in the area of the partially erupted tooth.

Treatment

For a painful wisdom tooth, the area between the crown of the tooth and the soft tissues should be flushed with warm saline solution (a quarter teaspoonful of table salt in 8 ounces of warm water).  Also the patient should be treated as directed under Toothache With Swelling.[1]

That’s it for the Ship’s Medicine Chest.

Survival and Austere Medicine, 3^rd Edition notes that a painful wisdom tooth can mimic peritonsillar abscess or pharyngitis, but to differentiate, a painful wisdom tooth usually doesn’t have any drainage or pus involved, whereas the former two may.  In addition, muscle spasms in the chewing muscles are common.  Antibiotics are usually unnecessary and removing some of the gum tissue may help.[2]

The Merck Manual suggests that pericoronitis may be treated with chlorhexidine 0.12% rinses or hypertonic salt water soaks (1 tablespoon of salt mixed in hot water—no hotter than the coffee or tea a patient normally drinks).  The patient is directed to hold the salt water in the mouth until it cools and then spit it out.  Repeat this 3-4 times each day until the patient can be seen by a dentist.[3]

Having wisdom teeth removed prior to TEOTWAWKI may be the best way to go for teenagers and young adults.

Links to related posts:

The Ship’s Medicine Chest and Medical Aid at Sea  review

Toothache in TEOTWAWKI  

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[1] Ship’s Medicine Chest and Medical Aid at Sea, 1978, 153.

[2] Survival and Austere Medicine, 3^rd Edition, 2017, 306.

[3] Bernard J. Hennessy, Merck Manual Professional Version, February 2022, https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/dental-disorders/symptoms-of-dental-and-oral-disorders/toothache-and-infection?query=pericoronitis.isolated (accessed 2 May 2022).

Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café—Ranch Dressing Mix

As we prepare and attempt to prepare at home the convenience foods we used to buy at the grocery store, we come across some recipes that just don’t work as well as we would like.  But we hang onto them until something better comes along. 

Such was the case with the ranch dressing recipe included in the Simple Salad Dressings for TEOTWAWKI article posted earlier this year.  And I noted that it didn’t taste anything like Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, which is what we know and love here.  The following recipe is much, much better.  And as it is a dry mix, you can have it ready to go for dressing or dip.  In addition, you can even scale down the recipe for use in a single meal in case refrigeration is unavailable or unreliable.

Dry Ranch Dressing Mix

1/2 cup buttermilk powder

2 tablespoons chopped freeze-dried mushrooms* 

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dehydrated onion

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon dry dill weed

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Give the mushrooms one or two whirls in a blender to break up the larger pieces.  Add the remaining ingredients and pulse a few seconds until smooth and blended. Pour the mix into a canning jar.  Label, date, and store in the pantry for 2-3 months or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

*One tablespoon dehydrated mushrooms may be used instead.

2 tablespoons of this mix = 1 envelope of store bought ranch dressing mix.

This mix can be used for dips, salad dressings, and any other recipe that calls for dry ranch dressing mix.  

Ranch Dip

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons ranch mix

Mix and chill.

Ranch Salad Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

2/3 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons ranch mix

Mix all and shake well, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Family reviews:

This isn’t quite Hidden Valley Ranch dressing, but it is very good.  And you can pronounce all the ingredients and make it at home!

Links to related posts:

Simple Salad Dressings for TEOTWAWKI  

Getting the Most Out of Your Dehydrated Onions  

Buttermilk Substitute  

Homemade Mayonnaise  

Eggless Mayonnaise  

Shelf-Stable Sour Cream Substitute  

Tex-Mex Zucchini Skillet—Good Eats at the TEOTWAWKI Café

It’s the same thing every summer—boatloads of zucchini and other summer squash.  That’s the way it is now at my place simply because summer squash grows well and looks good in the yard.  In the future, I anticipate growing a lot of squash because it produces well—a crop is virtually guaranteed.  (Yes, I am speaking as one who doesn’t suffer from squash bugs.)  I firmly believe that people fortunate enough to survive and remain in their homes will be growing a whole lot of squash in the future.  We all will need a variety of tasty dishes to avoid food fatigue.

No one would complain about zucchini cupcakes and chocolate zucchini cake every week, or even two or three times a week.  ‘Course, we’d all be like wearin’ XXXL t-shirts and sweats.

So we have to scout out recipes that are a bit healthier.  Make them food-storage-friendly and quick, and you’ll have grand slam winners.

Which is what we have below.  Get this—King of the Picky Eaters proclaimed it really good.  Yeah, I was shocked myself.

 Tex-Mex Zucchini Skillet

1 pound hamburger (optional)

½ cup finely chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

1 cup frozen corn kernels

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (don't drain)

1 can (15 oz) black, pinto, or white beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (4 oz) green chiles, drained

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon oregano

¼ teaspoon paprika, smoked or sweet

4 cups finely chopped zucchini (about 2 medium zucchinis, may also substitute yellow squash)

1 - 2 cups shredded Colby jack or pepper jack cheese

 

Toppings

Tortilla or corn chips

Sour cream

Fresh, chopped cilantro

Avocados

Salsa

Olives

 

In a 12” skillet over medium heat, brown the hamburger, onion, and garlic.  Season with salt and pepper. Add the corn, tomatoes, beans, chiles, cumin, chili powder, oregano and paprika. Stir to combine.

 

Stir in the zucchini and bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the zucchini is tender and the mixture is heated through.  Salt and pepper to taste.

 

Reduce heat, sprinkle with cheese, and cover.  Let rest until the cheese is melted, about 3-4 minutes. 

 

Serve warm with your choice of toppings.

 

Family reviews:  Basically, it’s an instant favorite.  I’m sure we’ll indulge in it at least once or twice each season. 

 

Links to related posts:

Dealing Doomsday to Squash Bugs  

Chocolate Zucchini Cake 

Zucchini Cupcakes