Oat is a short-season, cool weather crop.  Once the weather gets hot it does its baby-making thing and goes to seed, which means you missed the milky stage.  Oat is direct-seeded as soon as the ground can be worked, which in my climate is April but for many people is March.  I often plant oats the day I plant peas or soon after; the minimum soil temperature for germination is 45 degrees F, and in the mid 50’s you start to get poor germination and you’re likely to run out of time to get your oats to the milky stage before hot weather hits.
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Where to Plant Oats

​Cover Crop Oats make a great spring cover crop, so consider planting them in a spot that went weedy last year, or in an area new to cultivation.  Oat is in the grass family (Poaceae) and it does reasonably well against all the nasty invasive grasses I’m always fighting to get out of the gardens.  I think of it as an in-and-out crop, like peas or radishes, in that it’s there and gone before my heavy hitter crops like corn and tomatoes are even a twinkle in the season’s eye.

Microclimate Oats are kind of tall so you can use them to create interesting microclimates for early season crops.  I plant short-season Brassicas north of the oats, because it’s sunny when the weather is cool, and by the time the oats are tall enough to cast shade over the Brassicas, the weather is warm enough that without a little shade I’d be fretting about the broccoli bolting before it sets nice florets. Avoid this for the long-season Brassicas like cabbage and brussels sprouts because the oats will be cut down long before those crops are ready.

Succession Planting Oat is a great tool for succession planting, as it lays down a beautiful nitrogen-rich weed-free layer of mulch for your hot season crops.  I always plant my hottest hotties in the oat patch in June–last year it was watermelon, and let me tell you it was BEAUTIFUL not having to weed the watermelon.

How to Plant Oats

I recommend tilling the ground in the fall for a few reasons: 1. you can get your seed in the ground literally as early as possible in the spring, mud be damned; and 2. it buys your crop a head start against last year’s weed seeds, especially grass.

If you didn’t till in the fall, know that you will most likely have to make a decision in March or April to either prep the bed by hand or wait until the ground dries out enough for the tiller–but then you’re gambling on the soil temperature for germination, which is often well into the high 50’s by the time the soil dries out, around here anyway.  To prep the bed by hand, turn the soil with a shovel, weeding as you go; when the soil is as turned as it’s going to get, follow instructions below.

1. Before planting oats, use a scuffle hoe or stirrup hoe to make the soil as level and fine as you can get it, even if the soil was recently tilled.  The more level and fine your soil is, the better your oats will germinate.  If you don’t have the right hoe you can use a hard rake, but then please get yourself a good hoe with your tax refund.

2. Sow your seeds (sow your cultivated oats, I suppose!) by scattering them thickly across the surface of the soil using both hands or a seed spreader.  The birds are going to eat some of your seeds, so really, spread them thick.

3.  Use a hard rake or your hands to spread the oats as evenly as possible.

4. If you’re sowing a large area, walk across it gently to ensure good contact between the oats and the soil.  If it’s a small area, you can pat them down with your hands.  You don’t have to bury the oats, they’ll germinate just fine on the surface as long as they are pressed into the soil.
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Consider a scarecrow, bells, or old CD’s on strings to keep the birds out of the oats, although there’s a certain amount of seed that the seed-eaters will take as their due for their brethren who eat pest bugs, mice, rabbits, etc. and protect our gardens.  Once I scared a fawn out of my oats, where her mother had hidden her for the day.  That was neat, even with the crushed plants.

Roses have been loved and cherished for millennia. They are a favorite subject of art, used for health and beauty, and symbolize romance. Valentine’s Day and roses go hand in hand. The beauty of roses is universally cherished and if there is one plant that everyone is familiar with it is the rose in all her glory.

Roses belong to the genus Rosa and originate from Asia, though smaller numbers come from Northwestern Africa, Europe and North America. The beautiful multi-layered flowers and smooth, erect, woody green stems are accompanied by prickles, the official name of the extended layer of sharp outgrowths. The leaves are alternate and even the stems of the leaves can have slight prickles. Be careful.

Like Type 4s in the Enneagram -- called the Romantic or Depth Seeker -- roses are accompanied by allure and mystery. They tend to be showy but also can have a thorny nature – come close but not too close. I want you but on my terms. Be attracted to me if you dare but a little blood may be drawn if your fingers touch the wrong spot. Type 4s are romantic, deep and multi-layered, searching for profound meaning and symbolism; this type is not satisfied with surface knowledge or experience.

4s search for soul depth and long for intense, in-the-moment feelings; they are masters of longing for the unreached. They feel loss and suffering acutely, unlike many others who try to avoid pain. However, they can also attract joy, intensity and excitement to themselves. They are drawn to the world of art and beauty and adorn themselves with care.

Type 4s feel that they are missing out on what others seem to have. They often envy others who appear to have more love. They are attracted to the highs and lows of experience and tend to wither if things are too mundane. 4s are idealistic and everyday life is often too dull from what they imagine it could be.

Rose -- the symbolic match for type 4 -- is a nervine herb which can lift the mood, help with depression, and also has antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory and sedative qualities. Rose petals are made into teas, tinctures, essences, mists and fragrances and are the cure for just about any bodily ailment... but it’s also a remedy for the heart, particularly for loss and grief. Rose helps emotions to flow – tears of joy and tears of loss, nostalgia and the past.

Herbalist Kiva Rose writes about the deeper uses of rose on the human psyche:

"I consider it to be an emotional modulator, balancing out both intense feelings and intense apathy, and provides a solid foundation from which to sense and connect to the world we are a part of. Rose is very calming and balancing, assisting us in finding a ground level state from which we can access our real emotions rather than just react."

Rose is also a food. Rose hips can be made into a jam, jelly or marmalade and rose hip seed oil is used in skin products and makeup. Rose water is often added to sweets such as baklava, halva, nougat and Turkish delights. Need I mention that rose is also an aphrodisiac!

Like 4s, for a rose to flourish it needs special care. Rose gardens throughout the world are valued and tended to carefully, and endless varieties are prized. I’m from Shreveport, Louisiana, the headquarters of The American Rose Society with its 118 acre botanical garden of mostly roses, the largest rose collection in the United States. Like pampered rose gardens, 4s value uniqueness and refuse to blend into the crowds. Mood, nuance, individuality and subtlety are all important 4 qualities.

The 5-petalled rose flowers develop into the nourishing, vitamin C enriched rose hips, which contain anywhere from 5 to 160 seeds in each fruit. Mostly red, rosehips can also be purple or even black on some varieties! There are many complex botanical parts to a rose, just as there are many complex parts to a 4.

Rose perfumes are made from rose oil (also called attar of roses) obtained by steam distilling the crushed petals of roses. Its oil is precious, similar to 4s who often want to be seen as special in order to compensate for feeling less than. It’s not unusual to feel less than when you are aiming for the sky and feeling like you’re in the underworld.

The open and vulnerable beauty of rose is contrasted by its sharp, fierce thorns. Using the flower essence of the plant can help 4s to feel emotionally strong and support their equilibrium in day-to-day life. Rose helps 4s know when to open their beautiful and vulnerable hearts and when to protect them.

Rose’s gift for Type 4s -- and for all of us -- is to heal the pain of the heart, increase joy and self-acceptance, and circulate love throughout the body.

Type 3 in the Enneagram is The Achiever. 3's target achievement as their primary focus in life and the herb Schisandra has a similar winning combination of qualities which support the driven work of a 3.

Achievers focus on goals and action steps and they don’t mind being in the number 1 spotlight. Their focus is on speed and efficiency. Likewise, the color of Schisandra’s bright red berries connotes action and high energy similar to 3's. Shine, glitz and glitter, give it to me! It’s a fountain-of-youth herb that lowers stress hormones, boosts liver function, prevents adrenaline fatigue, lowers inflammation, benefits digestion, and protects skin from sun, wind and allergic reactions. What doesn’t it do?!
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Schisandra is a seemingly miraculous remedy; as an adaptogen it helps the body adapt to stress and to exert a normalizing effect upon bodily processes. It also improves mental performance, is a sexual tonic, reverses heavy metal toxicity, soothes coughs and helps the heart. The list goes on and on. Many athletes use Schisandra for optimal performance.

The plant is a vigorously growing vine that can reach up to 30 feet in length. Symbolically a vine represents striving for something higher (reaching for the sun!) and likewise, Type 3's are vigorous achievers, striving for the next goal and climbing the ladder.

Schisandra is a unique berry since it has all five flavors (salty, sweet, sour, bitter and pungent). It comes in any form you want – fresh fruit, dried fruit, mixed in health drinks, capsules, pill, powder, tea, tincture and alcoholic drinks.
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Schisandra tastes predominantly sour or pungent to many people so it often needs sweeteners. Similar to 3's who don’t mind hard work, they overcome sour or bitter challenges by the sweet reward that comes with the results. The satisfaction comes with the end goal complete so the hard work is worth it in the end for the Achiever. The process is less important than the results.
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For over 4,700 years Schisandra has been a traditional Chinese herb used by the royalty and Daoist Masters, connotating its association with longevity. It grows in bunches of vibrant bright berries, like hanging grapes but with smaller berries. It’s native to -- and particularly cultivated in -- Northeast China and Russia, although it is now being grown in the United States. It’s cultivated in long rows and harvested in late July and August. The berries are mostly dried in the sun. Some are refrigerated for health drinks, particularly sent to Korea. It’s even grown in the progressive state of Massachusetts!

If you’re feeling down and need a boost, go with Schisandra. It provides your body with an energizing lift to move and be on the go, and helps normalize and support the fluids of the body. 3's may need help going with the flow more evenly as they tend to push and overwork themselves.

​As a flower essence Schisandra berry is said to teach “moderation to those committed to a path of growth who tend to overextend themselves.”
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Try working with the intense energy of these unique berries -- you may be surprised at how well they help you cope with challenging or stressful situations. Like Schisandra, you may be inspired to reach for something higher.

REFERENCES:
https://www.mdidea.com/products/herbextract/schisandra/data03.html
http://www.medicinehunter.com/schisandra
https://draxe.com/schisandra/
https://floraofasia.com/shop/flower-essence/schisandra/
http://www.flowerfolkherbs.com/blog/schisandra-the-berry-that-does-it-all

A note from Herbstalk...
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We are very excited to partner with the inspirational, world-changing Ayni Institute. At this year's Herbstalk event we will host a film screening of their new documentary, 'Voices That Heal', which features the healing practices, cosmovision and native languages of indigenous communities of the Peruvian rainforest. Read on to learn more about their important work and how you can get involved...
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submitted by Fhatima Paulino

The Ayni Institute began as a coaching, training and incubating institute for organizations, movement builders and community organizing leaders. In collaboration with others, we have done trainings such as The Psychology of Organizing, Momentum (the science of popular movements), SWARM (decentralized organization), the Long View (10,000 years of history in six days), and Social Movement Ecology (about the deep conflict that prevents movement collaboration).

​We have also deeply supported Movimiento Cosecha and have been tracking the lessons that this groundbreaking movement is producing; including how to build a decentralized network and how to bring millions of people into a general strike in the 21st century.

After the first Long View training in 2015, we began the Memory Fund & Program to support artists and communities that are working towards keeping alive the history and wisdom of indigenous traditions. Our first project is The Mysteries of the Andes, a 9-documentary series by Director Jose Huaman Turpo and Producer Alejandrina Calancha. Their vision is to preserve the ancestral traditions of indigenous groups in the Andes and Amazons of Peru from a holistic perspective, which means that those communities share their stories, their culture, and their wisdom through their own voices.
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This year, for the first time, we’re bringing together our teachers and elders from the Andes and Amazon of Peru for our Yachay (Wisdom) Seminar on April 19th-21st at Boston University. We’re hosting an intercultural dialogue between the indigenous world in the South and us in the West. For three days, our guests will be sharing their lifelong wisdom on the Amazon Rainforest and the Andes.

​Together, we will cover topics related to storytelling, art, healing practices, and so much more. It will be a one-of-a-kind opportunity to be guided by and learn from indigenous voices of Peru.

We will also be premiering the next film of The Mysteries of the Andes documentary series: Voices That Heal on Saturday, April 21st at 5:30pm. This documentary is about the healing practices, the cosmovision, and the four native languages that are on the verge of extinction in the rainforests of Peru. One of our guests, Alberto Manqueriapa, is featured in the documentary and will be sharing about healing practices and medicinal plants of the Amazon during our Seminar.

You can purchase your ticket, which will guarantee you entrance to all three days of the Yachay Seminar and the premiere of Voices That Heal, by clicking here. We are selling our tickets based on scale, so you can give according to your financial capabilities.

We feel honored to be able to be a bridge between two cultures and to bring the lessons we’ve been learning to a bigger community in Boston. You can visit our website to find out more about our guests and the seminar: ayni.institute/seminar

Fhatima Paulino is the daughter of immigrants from the Philippines and Mexico. Since 2017 she has been Co-Coordinator of the Memory Program at the Ayni Institute. Before joining Ayni, Fhatima was a community organizer in the PICO National Network and then a full-time volunteer with the Cosecha Movement. She's a lovable organizing handy woman with a focus on training, coaching, conflict resolution, and healing. These past years have blessed her with a life of voluntary simplicity while traveling across the country to germinate and grow Cosecha and Ayni's Memory Program. Fhatima is currently finding her way back to her creativity through writing, food, meditation, movement, and loved ones. Hear more on the Healing Justice Podcast at www.healingjustice.org

Violet for Type 2, The Helper
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The common Violet (Viola sororia) is delicate but strong, abundant, casting a deep purple carpet upon springtime lawns and gardens. With its heart-shaped leaves this is the plant that represents Type 2 in the Enneagram — the Helper/Giver who needs to give to thrive, but also needs appreciation to flower themselves. They tend to hide their inner selves while giving their maternal wealth to others.

The violet is unique as it has two flowering stages, the more obvious showy flowers of early spring and the small hidden flowers of fall (these latter flowers are the ones that actually produce the seed of the plant.) This two-stage process is botanically unique and few flowers claim this special distinction. Violets also have runners that spread easily, as our lawns attest to. It’s hard not to notice them!

​Likewise, Type 2’s can be quite assertive when it comes to giving and spreading their abundance. They are excellent hosts & hostesses and their honey personalities sweeten whatever they touch.

2’s, however, cloak their own needs and do everything possible to not show their “neediness,” not realizing that everyone is needy. We are all interdependent upon others and the earth, water and air that nurtures us. 2’s protect themselves by over-giving to others, sometimes without welcome.

Being the giver can be a controlling position, while the receiver might be more connected to their vulnerability, risking being hurt or mis-given to while in a “need” position. 2’s would rather be givers who manage the situation, but they equally need to learn to be on the receiving end and be more defenseless. They need help and support, too, like all of us.
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Type 2’s certainly are beautiful, adorning themselves with color and attractive scents. They can be like seductive goddesses and gods, wanting their allure to magnetize others to their offerings and gifts. 2’s can tune into what you need and offer your wildest desires to be met. However, if you reject or don’t receive their gifts, they can get angry! Sometimes your independence can be squelched with a 2.

Shakespeare gives us many references to Violet. Here are the opening lines of Sonnet 99:

The forward violet thus did I chide:
Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells,
​If not from my love’s breath?

Shakespeare named the leading lady of Twelfth Night after this herb, and like the flower, Viola hides her beauty in plain sight, posing as a boy and falling in love with the Duke she serves.
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Violet is a bridge between the world of the 2’s outer sweetness and their inner shyness, risking whether to reveal their needs or not. The Giver is strong in generosity to others but not always to themselves. Violet shows 2’s how to balance their inner and outer worlds and gives strength to support time alone to nurture one’s self and discover their own self-love.

Herbalist Asia Suler writes of the flower essence:

“Violet essence opens a space of deep self-acceptance, contentment, and individual wellbeing. Calming, steadying, and maternal, this unassuming, yet sweetly robust flower helps you to feel comfortable and supportive of yourself as an individual. Letting go of negative attachments and patterns of relating (especially to oneself) Violet helps you to foster good connections that come from a deep recognition of self-importance.”

Violet is associated with the skin, breasts and glands, all elements of nurturing and giving. Drinking or taking Violet in its many forms, balances over-giving to others. Eating its beautifully contrasting dark green, heart-shaped leaves and its richly delicate saturated flowers, is also a remedy. The plant is traditionally used for soothing coughs and sore throats — with this affinity for the throat & voice it can help 2’s speak up about their own true needs.
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Violet symbolizes both the giver and the receiver, showing us that at its core giving and receiving are exactly the same -- for we are all in relationship with -- and interdependent upon -- one another.

References:
https://feedingthemuse.net/botanical-lore/violet/
https://onewillowapothecaries.com/product/violet/

Blue Vervain For Type 1, The Perfectionist
Blue vervain (Verbena hastata) is such a “perfect” plant for Type 1, The Perfectionist. Perfectionists, sometimes called Reformers, tend to see the world from how it should be. They want to improve, reform, correct and fix things to the ideal of how it “ought” to be. They can be rigid, overzealous and black and white in their thinking, and can have a hard time with gray tones, mistakes, and the imperfection of things and people, including themselves. They tend to notice what’s missing instead of the perfection of what’s here with its limitations, flaws and quirks as part of the package.
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They can push people to a point of view that doesn’t offer the flexibility of personal choice and nuance. 1s can’t handle crooked pictures or dead leaves on plants without fixing them. They may clean up the forest when the dead, fallen down trees are exactly what the insects, birds and soil need for nourishment.

Blue vervain is tall with an erect stem, like 1s who tend to hold an erect posture. 1s are the headmasters at right posture and proper etiquette schools. It’s about propriety, good manners, polish, and doing what’s right, following the customs and traditions of what’s worked before. They are responsible, reliable and steady. Blue vervain flowers bloom from the bottom of each flower stem to the top in a steady sequence, as 1s tend to be steady, reliable, consistent and loyal.

Blue vervain is a strong plant and a favorite among garden lovers. The bluish flower heads are beautiful and bright yet small in comparison to the stems. No drooping flowers here! The unique square stems fit the Type 1 personality, sharp angled with exact edges. The root, being a perennial, is deep and strong.

Enneagram 1s make lists and tend to work hard to accomplish their tasks. Things need to be defined and acted on. No idle hands here! My grandmother was a 1 and I didn’t always look forward to visiting her as she “encouraged” me to work in her garden pulling weeds when I was a child. For 1s work and accomplishment tends to be more important than play.

Blue vervain is a bitter herb which helps to support the liver (and release pent-up anger) and it also acts as a supreme anti-spasmodic, releasing tension in the muscles, especially the neck. As herbalist Lisa Fazio says:

“I choose Blue Vervain to be second to none when it comes to muscle constriction caused by nervous tension especially in people who are intense by nature and overdriven. It's cool blue medicine eases and relaxes not just the musculature, but the soul… Blue Vervain is considered an antispasmodic and relieves spasm caused by overwork that is not so much physical in nature, but that is intellectual or mental activity with a perfectionist tendency. This high intensity is more than the individual’s body can maintain and so it produces a tension throughout the viscera causing the muscles to tense and knot. I see this plant as being appropriate for those of us who don't have the physical container or constitution to hold the nervous and mental energy we are inclined to create.”
Lisa Fazio, Earth, Root & Flower: An Herbal Blog

1s tend to face reality head-on with responsibility and hard work, handling the toughness of life so taking bitter medicine is in alignment with their personality. Blue vervain can filter out some of the anger that 1s have with the imperfection and irritation of others not doing what’s right.
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Taken as a flower essence, Blue Vervain can help Type 1s learn “tolerance, patience and broadmindedness…and that the big things of life are done gently and quietly without strain or stress.”
Blue Vervain balances the Perfectionist who tends to over-work, over-effort and over-think the right thing to say or do. Blue Vervain adds flexibility, being in the moment, ease, acceptance of imperfection, allowing for the world and individuals to be as they are without forcing anything to live up to a pressured idealism.

REFERENCES:
https://www.hawthornehillherbs.com/node/158
http://www.flowersociety.org/vervain.html
https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/​

by Patrice Green

So often I find myself faced with a crisis of sorts only to realize after it’s over that it was really a test and an opportunity to learn something new, firsthand, so I could share it with others. 

A few weeks ago while clearing brush I came in contact with Poison Ivy. At first, I wasn’t even sure what had caused the immediate rash on my forearm.  I was near some jewel weed, Impatiens capensis, so I quickly picked some, made a spit poultice (hey, you do what you must when in the field, kids) and got some immediate short-term relief. 

What really surprised me, once I realized I was dealing with poison ivy, is that jewel weed didn’t stop it in its tracks. Oh, no.  I was treated to an agonizing 10 days of utter misery as the rash spread over much of my arm, both forearms, torso and hip. 

I tried many of nature’s antihistamines – yarrow, reishi, lavender and chamomile essential oils. I tried comfrey, oatmeal baths, baking soda and witch hazel compresses.  Nothing seemed to help in any significant way.  My body was thoroughly pissed off and that was that. 

Then two things happened, almost simultaneously.  The first was a message from a Canadian friend who shared that a swim in the ocean cured his bout with poison ivy.  When talking to my friend and neighbor about this, she mentioned her parents’ penchant for going to the beach each weekend in all weather and bringing home gallons of ocean water to have on hand for cuts, skin ailments, etc. 

So, I did what any desperate, suffering person would do: I bought gallons of spring water and drove to my favorite beach.  I offered the spring water to the plants growing along the shore.  I’ve harvested those roses and the mugwort there for years. It was my special thank you for their bounty.  Then, armed with an empty gallon jug, I waded into the ocean to bottle it for home use. ​

“The Queen has hairy legs” said my teacher Tommy Priester and he’s right. One clear identifying trait of Queen Anne’s Lace is the fine “hair” on the stem of the plant. ​

Wild Yarrow is always white, and its flower is quite similar to both Queen Anne’s Lace and Water Hemlock.  Upon closer inspection, Yarrow’s flower is typically more “dense” than Queen Anne’s Lace, and does not have a center spot so common to the Queen. ​

To identify Yarrow properly, however, it’s always best to look at the stem and leaves.  Yarrow stems are smooth, and its leaves are quite different, as one can see upon closer examination. ​
​Yarrow leaf:

Queen Anne’s Lace leaf: ​

For more information about water hemlock, we encourage you to visit these sites: 
https://www.ars.usda.gov/pacific-west-area/logan-ut/poisonous-plant-research/docs/water-hemlock-cicuta-douglasii/

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/cicuta_maculata.shtml

a cautionary tale: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00026056.htm

Ultimately, the safest rule of thumb is that if you don’t know what it is, don’t touch it. If you are unsure of the soil conditions in the area, don’t harvest it. Take a photo and ask your herbal community to help you ID the plant. ​

Enjoy the rest of your summer!