So much to do. So little time.
The work on my homestead is never done and I can fall into believing that if I just get to work, do something, I will feel better. Get somewhere.
Or a problem pops up unexpectedly. And I want to rush into a solution.
Of course, if there is a real emergency, it’s time to fly into action and secure the situation.
However.
Whether I am facing a stressful event or a too long to-do list, the best thing I can do is…
STOP.
Take a long, deep breath. Or two. Or ten.
To avoid this dashing about, I have found this practice to be very helpful.
First thing in the morning, I grab a cup of coffee or tea, a pen and a pad of paper and I sit outdoors, if possible, or by a window. I sit quietly, sip and wait.
If it is difficult to be still, I just notice that. And go back to breathing, sipping, waiting. I thank the thoughts for their input, set them aside for just a little while. And I go back to waiting for stillness which is always there just below the thinking, as surely as a pond is quiet below the wind-rippled surface.
With practice, the mind quiets naturally. The stillness may be all that comes. If an inspiration or a fresh idea or approach arises. I jot these things down.
Over time, as I have practiced this stillness for as little as 5 minutes up to an hour a day, my tendency to go at a “rip and tear” has been traded in for an energized productivity. I get more done. I worry less. I notice more. I feel better.
And when things take a hard turn down a bumpy road, I notice how a greater patience and resilience come to my aid from the foundation I have laid in the stillness of the early morning.
Why not give it a try?
Don’t have time? 5 minutes. Just give it a try. Drop a line and tell us how it goes.
Biophilia refers to the love of living things and nature and the human tendency to interact or be closely associated with other forms of life in nature.
Humans evolved alongside the natural world and it makes a lot of sense that we would develop an affinity for this environment that provides the basis for our every need - food, clothing, comfort, inspiration, creativity. We are drawn to a forest or ocean landscape or a sunset. Deep feelings are evoked as we see wildlife, pet a dog, feel the cozy pressure of a cat curled up against our legs. And the sense of beauty and connection we feel sounds an inner tone as deep and as old as our species itself.
When we take the time to retreat to a forest, ocean, park; to plant a flower or grow a radish, we are returning to the loving arms of the earth as surely as a toddler too long away from their parent. In our busy, complicated lives, it is helpful, nay critical, to use some of our precious time to restore ourselves in nature. For such is our nature.
Gardening or tending houseplants are ways we can benefit from this relationship even when a hike in the mountains or a trip to the ocean seem a far away dream.
Contact us to learn more about Therapeutic Horticulture and how it can benefit you, your family, your facility or program
Sources:
Wilson, Edward O. Biophilia. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1984
From the beginning of time, gardens have been created for social interaction, spiritual retreat, physical convalescence as well as medicinal herbs and foods. Therapeutic Horticulture is the deliberate use of the connection between humans and Nature.
Countless times, when ordinary or extraordinary stresses weighed on me, I have said, “I need some garden therapy.” I pull some weeds, pick some radishes or simply walk amidst the plants and my mind comes to peace.
Therapeutic Horticulture is based on the understanding that spending time with plants helps to bridge the perceived separation between humans and nature. Humans evolved with nature. When we feel separate from it, we experience less resilience and peace. We lose touch with a connection that can nurture, soothe, inspire and repair our lives.
Scientific study has proven the effectiveness of time spent with plants.
One of the best things about this simple method for bringing health and healing into our lives is its accessibility. All you need bring is your attention.
Drop us a line and tell us how plants and gardens soothe, inspire, energize and heal your life.
Ask a question about how to get started implementing this inexpensive, effective healing method in your life.
Or contact us about running a program in your school or facility.
Here in Vermont, the ground is frozen solid all winter. Chickens are inhibited from their natural way of staying clean and preventing infestation of parasites.
All it takes is a pan or box and some clean sand. The chickens go wild for the experience and defend their turn until they have completed their toilette. It is really fun to watch and clearly a pleasure for them.
I use a rubber feed bucket. I tried a metal feed pan but the sides were so low that most of the sand gets kicked into the bedding. It does no harm if some gets spilled but requires more frequent refilling. The feed bucket is about 8” deep and 24” across and helps contain the sand. It accommodates a chicken very nicely and often another will climb in for a shared bath.
Use clean sand, such as Quickrete tube sand which is inexpensive and free of harmful additives. You can also use play sand which is made for childrens' sand boxes.
You will find many suggestions of potential additives for a dust bath. One of them is diatomaceous earth. I strongly recommend that you don't use this. It is made of ground fossils. Under a microscope, you will see that it is made up of tiny shards. It is hazardous to your chickens. Breathing it can cause tiny cuts and it sticks to lung tissue causing scarring in the respiratory tract and lungs. It can cause great pain and irritation to the eyes. Giving your chickens a big pan of diatomaceous earth for dust bathing is to invite them to breathe clouds of abrasive, damaging dust.
Adding fragrant dried herbs (catnip, lavender, sage, oregano, rosemary, basil, pennyroyal, wormwood, yarrow) to your nesting boxes and replenishing them when the fragrance fades is a much more effective way of preventing pests in the coop, either in the bedding or nesting boxes. Essential oils of these herbs used sparingly, such as a dab on the wall, are another option.
There are countless ways to bring the benefits of Therapeutic Horticulture to life. It is helpful to understand that humans deploy two types of attention.
Voluntary (or Directed) Attention is directed by thought and concentration, such as working at your job. It requires tuning out extraneous stimuli in the environment in order to focus on the task at hand.. It is very useful and can also lead to mental fatigue after a period of time.
Involuntary attention is captured by what is happening in your environment. Studies show that it actually enhances subsequent voluntary attention.
Taking a few minutes to water the plants, stroll in the garden or look at photographs of natural settings is proven to lower the blood pressure, slow the heart rate and enhance subsequent voluntary attention when you return to it.
To get the full benefits
Choose an activity that
Some of the activities I choose are walking on a wooded trail, pulling weeds in my vegetable or flower gardens, tending houseplants, photographing insects, plants and landscapes.
What is your favorite form of garden therapy?
Sources:
Ohly, Heather, et al. “Attention Restoration Theory: A Systematic Review of the Attention Restoration Potential of Exposure to Natural Environments.”
There are several methods of preserving the harvest for later use. They are canning, freezing, pickling, dehydrating and fermenting. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. Let’s take a look at them.
Dehydrating
Watch Joyce talk with WCAX about dehydrating veggies, fruit and more
Advantages:
No electricity or space in the freezer is needed to keep dehydrated food.
Dehydrating preserves more nutrients because only low (or no) heats are used.
Fun, simple way to preserve your own herbs.
Some foods such as apple leather can be made in the oven.
Dehydrated foods are great to have on hand to toss in a soup or eat as a snack.
Disadvantages:
Dehydrators are an expense and many foods need a dehydrator to adequately dry foods. It is a romantic notion to make sun dried tomatoes, but it can be a challenge to get it to work in an area with late summer humidity, a run of cloudy days. Insects or mold can be a problem.
Dehydrated foods that are not tightly wrapped can take on moisture and spoil. Properly dried foods should snap and break when bent.
To make your own dehydrated ginger (or other garden fruits and vegetables):
Pick your produce and dehydrate it before it withers and wilts.
I grew ginger for the first time in my garden. It was just delicious and so pretty and I learned quite a lot growing it. One thing I learned is that fresh ginger doesn’t keep that long in the refrigerator. Realizing this, I decided to dry the bulk of it for later use in tea, curries, baked goods, etc.
Wash your ginger, scrubbing off any clinging dirt. Set aside to dry on a towel.
Cut off tops before the green section begins.
Cut bulbs into ⅛” slices.
Consider putting a few back bulbs into a pot and letting them overwinter there if you are in a climate where the ground freezes.
Place slices on dehydrator racks in a single layer allowing a bit of room between the pieces.
Most recipes tell you to peel ginger. Clean it, scrub it to remove any loose bits of dirt or skin, yes. But I don’t feel it is necessary to peel it. Make sure you clean any crevices where dirt may be hiding.
No dehydrator?? Try this in the oven: Place the slices on an oven tray at LESS THAN 150 degrees F. This will take 10 - 15 hours.
Set the dehydrator temperature between 110 and 140. When the ginger snaps and breaks upon bending, it is done! Let it cool and then store in an airtight container. Make sure you don’t leave it sitting for a long period of time after it is done cooling, as it may take on humidity and not keep well.
You can also do this with purchased ginger which has the brown skin that develops when the root has been out of the soil for awhile. It is a great way to make sure you have some ginger handy for a curry or batch of cookies. It is greatly superior to commercial powdered ginger.
Watch Joyce demonstrate making fruit leather with WCAX
Dehydrating Herbs:
Watch Joyce talk with WCAX about dehydrating herbs
Most herbs can be air dried. Just tie the stems in small bundles and hang them up to dry. Keep the bundles small so there is adequate air circulation. Trapped moisture spells mold. If sprigs of herbs are too small to tie in bundles, lay a towel on a sheet tray and spread the sprigs there, again allowing adequate circulation. The drying time varies with the plant and the humidity level. Make sure to take them down before they begin to gather dust. Store in an airtight container.
Freezing
While it may seem tempting to toss your vegetables in the freezer just as book book they are, hold up just a moment. You need to know that even after you pick them, your vegetables continue to ripen because of enzymes present in them. This will continue even in the freezer. You need to blanch them to stop the action of the enzymes and retain the greatest amount of flavor, quality and nutrition.
This is called blanching. It is basically dipping your vegetables into boiling water for 1 - 3 minutes and then chilling in an ice bath, draining and then packaging for the freezer.
Many berries and fruits can be frozen without blanching. Even though Ball has stopped producing it, I rely on the Ball Food Preservation books. If you don’t have one or can’t get one, a comprehensive guide on food preservation is available here - USDA Guide to Home Canning. You can also purchase it as a print USDA Canning Guide, Spiral Bound.
Food expands when it freezes! You must leave adequate “head space, ” usually ½” is adequate, to prevent the cover coming off or the container breaking.
As much as I dislike plastic, I use plastic for storing food. I have tried glass jars, but they seem particularly prone to breakage when full of frozen food. So I use BPA free containers and bags.
One cool device that I employ frequently is a vacuum sealer. It sucks all the air out of your food and so helps to prevent that freezer burn taste. It can also crush some food, so try it and see if you like the results.
Put bagged food in the freezer laying flat until it is frozen for easy stacking.
Freezer “boxes” stack easily. Square ones are the most space efficient.
The instructions and recommendations are different for each food. The above resource is a good guide.
Watch Joyce demonstrate making raspberry freezer jam with WCAX
Or
Read my freezer jam article featured on the University of Vermont website
Canning Food
Watch Joyce talk with WCAX about canning tomatoes
It is the current consensus that canning is only safe for high acid foods. My upbringing would argue that. But let's stick with that rule for safety’s sake. The concern is that botulism can develop even in a sealed environment and a case of botulism is a very back case of illness at best, or deadly even.
By following the USDA guide, you will avoid problems, but you must follow instructions.
Keep your canning jars in a pot of simmering water until you are ready to use them. (Your canning kettle can be used for this).
Fill the jars with hot food.
Add lids. Place in the canner and process according to instructions for that food.
Take the jars out of the canner with a jar lifter and set them on a wooden board or other heat resistant surface. A hot jar placed on a marble countertop can shatter.
I cover my jars with a towel because my mother told me to. It may be an old wive’s tale, but I get to think of her every time I do it.
I use a pressure canner. They are more expensive, but I feel they are worth it. They use a fraction of the water so come up to boiling quickly. Then you just wait for the pressure to come up and time from there. You will want to read the instructions carefully for your model. If you find an older model at a yard sale, you may need to purchase new weights and a new rubber seal.
Every few years, you will likely need to replace the seal. You will know because the kettle won’t come up to pressure. It is wise to get a new one before you need it.
Read my article about canning fresh tomatoes
Pickling
Pickling is basically preserving in apple cider vinegar. The high acid content keeps pathogens from forming and gives us… PICKLES !
Watch Joyce walk you through the process with WCAX TV
Fermented Foods
Fermented foods use naturally occurring bacteria to naturally increase the acidity and thus preserve food and prevent the growth of pathogens.
Coming soon: Sauerkraut with carrots and Kombucha
Let’s get you growing!
Whether you want to grow a tomato in a pot, some flowers or a vegetable garden, you're in the right place.
Gardening in Winter
Winter is no time to plant outdoors in Vermont. It might seem like gardening is done until spring. But I say not. There are plants you can grow indoors.
Want to give it a try? Find some ideas here - Growing Food in Winter
But for the most part, winter is the time for resting, contemplating, enjoying food you’ve put by and planning for next year.
SEED CATALOGS
Many companies will send you a free copy. They are full of color and beauty and hope that spring will come again and the spirits are lifted.
Since the middle ages, people have recognized the soothing effect of looking at plants and flowers. Even looking at a scene out the window or pictures in a hallway or gazing at a seed catalog, are uplifting to the heart.
Practically speaking, you need to know :
What you want to grow. (that’s where the seed catalogs come in)
How much space you have and how you will use it
How much time you have to give to your garden
Planting Method: I use a very simple planting method that optimizes garden space and has many benefits. The method was created by Mel Bartholomew. Once I tried Square Foot Gardening, I have never veered very far from it. I have never found a better way.
Mel Barhtolomew’s book Square Foot Gardening is a great guide to this space effective, fun manageable gardening method whether you’ve been gardening all your life or are just beginning.
The above assignments will fill your winter with inspiration, hope and education (and if you are very lucky a cat snoozing on your lap and a warm blanket or woodstove to keep you cozy. Somewhere in the midst of all this coziness, consider ordering a few packets of seeds.
Late Winter / Spring Gardening
Here in Vermont, we plant in the ground around Memorial Day. We start garden plants indoors 6 - 8 weeks before that date, depending on the plant.About the first week of March, we begin planting seeds indoors. Peppers come first as they take a long time to get started, then come tomatoes a week or so later and finally broccoli, kale, etc which grow much more quickly.
Seed packets tell you when to start seeds indoors, relative to the weather in your area, often in relation to your last date of frost. Pay attention to this. Plants will tend to get leggy and weak if you start them too early. You will need a simple light setup and start your own plants.
Go to this website and enter your zip code. Easy peasy.
The benefits are having living things around you 6 - 8 weeks earlier, greater choice of varieties and the pleasure of tending the plants and knowing where they come from and what soil is used. The downside is fussing around with plant lights and watering for months before planting in the ground.
You may opt to plant no seeds indoors. You can also buy your plants at a quality nursery in your area close to the time of planting.
Determine whether the timing is right. Here in Vermont, we plant in the ground around Memorial Day. We start garden plants indoors 6 - 8 weeks before that date, depending on the plant.
Get Step by step instructions for indoor seed starting.
Watch Joyce in Starting Seedlings 101: Choosing Seeds and Containers with WCAX
Starting Seedlings 101: Proper Light and Soil
Starting Seedlings 101: Planting Tips and Tricks
Next you need a spot to put your plants or seeds.
To start a vegetable garden, you can have an area tilled. You can turn it by hand with a garden fork or shovel, removing grass, weeds, large stones.
You might need a fence to keep out those who would eat your garden faster than it can grow.
Another way to start a veggie garden is with raised beds. Dig out existing plants or solarize with black plastic until plants there are dead. Dig out any roots. Build a boundary for your bed out of untreated wood. Hemlock is inexpensive in my area. Untreated pine or spruce is also a good choice. Yes they will rot eventually. But pressure treated wood is toxic and will leach chemicals into your soil (and food). Fill the beds with garden or potting soil. Use organic potting soil to avoid the many problems of high nitrogen fertilizers. Don’t line your raised bed with any kind of barrier. It prevents proper soil life.
If a patio garden seems just right for you, watch Joyce talk with WCAX about container gardening and transplanting into containers
Watch Joyce talk with WCAX about Getting Garden Beds Ready
Harvesting is such fun after a summer of working on the garden. Here are a few things you may have in your garden and some tips on harvesting them.
Onions - Harvest onions when the tops fall over. Lay them out on newspaper and let the tops dry out. Once the tops and roots are dried up, you can snip them off and store in paper bags with the tops rolled down. Do not store them in plastic.
Garlic - Harvest when 3 leaves have died back. In my garden, that can be as early as mid-July.The thing to know about garlic is that each leaf goes all the way down and covers the whole bulb. If you let too many leaves die back before you harvest, the individual cloves may separate while you are harvesting. Wait longer yet and the cloves will admit moisture and the cloves may mildew. Many people tie groups of bulbs together and hang them. I just spread them out on newspaper. Once the roots, tops and skins are dry, you can cut off the tops and roots and store them in closed paper bags. Save the largest cloves to replant. I find that garlic keeps longer in individual cloves rather than left in bulbs.
Learn how to plant Garlic - the proper time is in the fall !!
Melons - When melons approach ripeness, the stems close to the melon will begin to wither and die. The color of the melon usually lightens somewhat as it ripens. Save the seeds for the chickens!
Zucchini - Can be picked at any time, but have the best flavor and texture when they are small. Larger squash can be stuffed with a variety of rice, meat or bread stuffings. Pick zucchini as regularly as possible. When they have produced mature seeds, they will stop making squash. If this happens, cut the oversized squash from the plant and it will start flowering again in a week or so. Oversized zucchini make great chicken treats. They will drill a hole in the side and devour them seeds and all.
Do you know why Vermonters always lock their cars when they go to church on Sunday? Otherwise, they will come back after services and find their back seat full of zucchini.
Parsnips gain their sweet flavor from resting over winter in the frozen ground. Boil them until just tender then fry them in butter until browned for a delicious late winter fresh meal of vegetables.
Cabbage need to be picked before they split open. If you see one begin to split, pick it now. They are ready to pick when they feel tight and firm.
Asparagus begins to grow in the spring and can be harvested until mid July. At that time, allow them to grow into their beautiful fern shape. This replenishes their root system for next year. Always cut below ground level to limit insect and disease damage and to promote new shoot growth. Pick the red berries that grow in fall and let them dry out on a paper towel. Plant them in late winter for spring transplanting. It will take years for them to amount to much, but it is fun to propagate them. After they have made berries, you can cut the stalks down. I like to leave them so the birds can have the berries. And it helps me locate the bed precisely before the plants begin to emerge.
Rhubarb - pick rhubarb all spring until mid july when the plants need to be left to recover and grow. Cut off flower stalks if they emerge as they take a lot of energy from the plant. To harvest rhubarb, hold the stalk low to the ground and pull it up and out to harvest it. This removes the stalk completely without leaving an opening for insects and disease. Cut the leaf off and use it to mulch the plant. Never eat the leaves or feed them to your animals. The green portions of rhubarb are poisonous.
Basil thrives on being harvested. The more you clip, the more it grows. Keep it thinned out to help prevent disease to which it can be prone. Chop basil in the food processor with a little oil if needed. Freeze in trays or small jars and make pesto later or use as fresh.
Tomatoes pick them as they ripen right up until frost is threatened. Then cover the plants to lengthen the harvest or pick them unripe and ripen indoors. If it weren’t for the cold, the tomatoes would keep on fruiting until the end of time.
Because the flavor is so much better when they are ripened on the vine, I cover them each night until the temperature begins to threaten to drop to or below 30 degrees. Or let’s face it, until I get sick of the chore. Then I pick any that are starting to ripen and let them ripen indoors. The green ones will ripen eventually. I have noticed that green tomatoes that have not reached a mature size, however, will wilt before they ripen and be substandard in every way. Any tomatoes that are damaged will rot before they will ripen. And you’ll have a houseful of fruit flies for your trouble.
Winter Squash - Waiting until after the first frost will help your squashes to harden their skins. Cut the stem off close to the vine. Don’t let them freeze, however, as the frozen spots can spoil. Cut the stems close to or at the vine. With some varieties, you can twist them off. A set of pruners can be helpful. Do not carry squashed by the stem. If it breaks off, the squash will rot there. Let the squashes dry in a cool dark room without a lot of light. Make sure they are on an absorbent surface, such as newspaper or a drop cloth. Leave a few inches between them for good air circulation. When the stems are all dried up, store them in a cool room out of sunlight. By mid winter, they may begin to have soft spots. Cut them away generously. Roast and scoop the flesh. Or cut into wedges, peel the squash and pack it into freezer boxes.
Carrots Harvest your carrots all summer long and into the fall and even winter. As a biennial, carrots will grow a second year, flower and make seeds. If you are going to eat them, dig the remaining ones before they get leaves. The taste and texture will deteriorate rapidly. Harvest time with carrots is also time to diagnose their growth. Carrots don’t like crowding, either from other carrots or from weeds.
Once the harvest is done, there are quite a few fall chores remaining. Here in Vermont, many plants around the homestead are more successful with a little protection.
Joyce Talks with WCAX about fall care of fruit trees
If areas of your garden have become overrun with weeds, it is best to either:
Pull and compost them - this gets any seeds out of the garden
OR
Mow them down if you just don’t have the time or energy to pull them. The snow and moist soil will decompose the weeds by the time you are ready to prepare your beds in spring.
Weeds left standing will remain intact over winter and be in the way when it is time to prepare beds
Some plant material hosts disease over winter. Remove tomato, pepper, potato plants from the garden and place in the compost.
Some garden plants return in the spring. Learn how to care for rhubarb here.
Mulch the soil to prevent erosion and to feed and protect the biological activity in the soil.
I like to take unneeded fences down as the wire seems to last longer this way. I do keep electric fence around my buildings and my bee hive to protect from the neighborhood black bear.
Some plants bear seed heads which are wonderful food sources for birds over winter. Leave flower gardens and other seeded plants over winter. Cut them down in early spring to allow fresh growth to emerge easily. Bee balm is one of the plants I leave for the birds.
In areas where they are not problematic, leave the leaves on the ground. They provide overwintering places for beneficial insects. Where they are problematic, rake them up or mow them with a bagging mower and put them on the garden. They make great mulch.
Wait, I thought you just said “Don’t mow.”
Well, I did. But do mow around buildings and your garden and all areas that are overgrown around your garden. Good garden hygiene helps to keep voles and woodchucks from feeling secure in prowling your garden in fall and early spring.
Johnny's Seeds is my personal favorite, as is their online newsletter.
https://www.vermontwildflowerfarm.com/ Don’t offer a print catalog, but their online catalog is great!
https://www.rareseeds.com/requestcat/catalog
Do you have a favorite seed catalog? We would love to know.
If you want to move away from health and beauty products with labels that look more like cleaning supplies than something you should be consuming or putting on your skin, read on.
I am cautious with using plants. Some of them contain very powerful components and it is important to know what you are doing. There are many books on using herbs for medicine and skin care. Do your research.
A great example is comfrey. It is soothing to the skin and promotes rapid healing. However, if you have a puncture wound, comfrey is not a good choice. It can lead to the skin healing over before the body is able to clear and drain properly an infection within. This can lead to an abscess. By leaving comfrey out of my healing salve, I make sure that no one who uses the salve can have that problem. I still use comfrey, but not in a general salve.
St John’s Wort Tincture:
St John’s Wort has long been used to lift feelings of depression.
I find it very useful for the draggy feeling of light deprivation which is a given here in Vermont. This plant appears in fields that are mowed once a year or so. It is a simple flower with tiny leaves. Both the flowers and leaves are used to make this tincture. It is harvested in mid summer.
Some sources say that St John’s Wort can cause photosensitivity (ie. you could sunburn more easily), but I have not noticed it. Perhaps that is because I typically take it in winter. It can also be used by people experiencing depression at all times of the year. So be cautious of sun exposure until you are accustomed to its effects.
NOTE: With all plants, do your research. And ask your doctor or naturopath. Some beneficial plants have poisonous look alikes. Some medicinal plants react badly with prescribed medicines.
Making a tincture:
NOTE: Make sure that you are gathering plant material from an area free of chemical treatments or contamination.
Gather the aerial parts (leaves, stems, flowers), wash and air dry as needed and place in a quart sized jar ( think spaghetti sauce sized ) about ⅔ full - roughly an ounce of plant material.
Put the plant material in a quart sized glass jar with a tight fitting lid. A canning jar works great for this.
Cover the plant material by filling the jar with unflavored, high quality vodka - minimum 80 proof, better yet 100 proof. Cheap vodka can leave an unpleasant taste in your tincture. A mid-priced vodka will do just fine.
Cover tightly with the lid and give it a shake. Store in a closed cupboard where you will see it daily and give it a shake. 3-4 weeks later, strain through a fine mesh sieve or an organic cotton cloth if the strainer allows bits to remain. Store in a dark cupboard in an airtight jar or individual dropper bottles.
2 - 3 droppers full once or twice a day as needed to lift the spirits.
Make sure you label your tincture with the ingredients and the date started.
Toothpaste:
Ingredients:
½ cup coconut oil
2-3 Tablespoons of baking soda
2 small packets of stevia powder or equivalent liquid
15-20 drops of peppermint or cinnamon essential oil
Instructions
Melt or soften coconut oil.
Mix in other ingredients and stir well. If you are using melted coconut oil, you may need to stir several times as the mixture cools to keep the baking soda incorporated.
Put mixture into small glass jar (I make separate ones for each family member)
Let cool completely.
To use: dip toothbrush in and get a small amount onto bristles. You can also use a small spoon to put on toothbrush.
Note: In really warm weather, the coconut oil can become quite liquid again. In winter, it can become quite stiff if your bathroom is very cold. Adjusting the amounts of baking soda / oil can help to create the perfect mix for the season you are in.
Vinegar for your skin
Put raw apple cider vinegar in a squirt bottle and use it on your skin at the end of your shower. Rinse it off. Your skin will feel the benefits. It helps to clear the skin of excess oils and soften the skin. Try it on your hair as a non-oily conditioner.
Oils for your skin
Olive oil is very healing as is coconut and both are said to have antibacterial effects. Both take a moment to soak in. Coconut takes the prize for its lovely fragrance and I love how soft it makes my face. I use it often in place of body lotion.
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