Tapping Birch sap

The beginning of spring is the time to harvest Birch sap, this winter was a long and particularly hard one here in France. I visited the birch wood a couple of times to find that there was no upward moving sap at all. Finally, three weeks later than last year the sap flowed. I had left a bottle ready hanging on one of the birch trees the last time I had visited the forest, so when Romain and I arrived we were greeted by a full bottle of birch sap. What a pleasure to drink this springtime offering from nature amongst the trees themselves.
In order to successfully tap the sap, there are surely many different methods but the one we use is as follows, drill a hole into the tree preferably with a small, hand drill, the hole should be a couple of cm's deep and directed slightly upwards (in order to help the flow of sap). If the sap is flowing, you will quickly notice some moisture forming, followed by drops of clear sap. Put a straw in the hole, tie a bottle around the tree with the straw inside and hey presto.....no in fact not hey presto as it takes some time to fill the bottle, I usually leave them for 24 hours but it can take slightly longer depending on the speed of the sap flow. Do not forget to fill the hole with a stick the right size when you have finished so that the tree doesn't loose all its sap for nothing.
I have read that all birch trees can be tapped and I have also read that certain have a bitter flavour, the birches we have here in our little forest are Betula pendula or silver birch and as I have not tried any others I cannot make the comparison. All I can say is that the Betula pendula produces a fresh, slightly sugary and very tasty sap .
Why tap birch trees in spring you may ask...... well the cleansing and strengthening properties are very useful after a long winter, flushing out built-up toxins and helping in cases of rheumatism, gout, skin diseases and urinary tract problems....not bad eh!
A small glassful the morning for 7 days is a great way to spring clean a clogged up metabolism.
Be careful because birch sap is not a product that keeps for long, keep it in the fridge and consume within 3 or 4 days. It freezes well but freezing will change its molecular structure, so there is the question of whether this change also changes its properties. I personally like to use it fresh from the tree as a once yearly ritual, I connect with nature, from the inside...thanks to these wonderful trees. The symbolism of regeneration linked to the birch is very ancient, the Germanic/Scandinavian rune Berkana or birch represents re-birth, surely linked to this magical substance that flows from the earth through the birch itself and brings new life in the form of the awakening of spring.

Re-planting Tansy

Jeremy helped in the garden today by re-planting the Tansy plants (Tanacetum vulgare), we decided to group them together on the left hand side of the garden, the fact thay they grow to be quite tall will give height in what is at the moment a rather flat part of the garden. Tansy doesn't need a rich soil, just bas long as it is not too humid.
We divided the plants by their roots, trimmed off any dead or bedraggled bits before re-planting.(Jeremy is by the way completely normal, even though he doesn't look it in the photos).

Planting of the top of the garden

Having gardened on saturday with two Elpm students to start the thyme patch and after discussing with them possibilities for the top part of the garden beyond the thyms, I felt inspired. I used the many medicinal plants dotted around the place that badly needed replanting. During the time I spent cutting off the dead wood and preparing the plants and then planting them in their big holes full of home-made compost, I realised how badly I had gardened up to then and how gardening is about learning and realising things little by little over the years as one spends time actually doing it. I had planted many different herbs and medicinal plants but I had planted them more or less anywhere, spending little attention on where, how and with what each plant needed......in consequence, the plants were in a sorry state and defintely needed some tender loving care. Anyway today I had a planting plan, I knew how large the plants would be at maturity and I knew what type of exposition, soil etc they needed.....things are looking up.

Second stage of the Poly-tunnel reperation.

Jean-Luc had been off to collect some long bamboo canes and Romain and Perrin had offered to come and help try to get the tunnel functioning. All went according to plan, it is a very do-it-yourself kind of a tunnel but it is nice and large, very hot when you are inside and should do the job (hoping that it is strong enough to hold up to French southerly winds). Perrin and I installed the many pots of seeds that had been waiting in the garage, watered them and now it is up to nature to do the rest...well at least until they are big enough to be re-planted.

Thyme to garden!

This afternoon, Olivier and Sylvie arrived and after a convivial lunch together we attacked the experimental garden's first real gardening job, a small but symbolic begining. I had scattered here and there a handful of different thymes, some of which were really suffering so we decided to re-group them into a sort of mini thyme garden. Everyone was ok about the placement, along a small south-facing rockery at the top of the garden.
We got rid of a rather invasive Iberis sempivirens or snowflake plant and then got down to weeding and preparing the soil. It was very enjoyable working as a team of three, the job got a long much quicker and we got to know each other by chatting at the same time. The decisions were made step by step and the whole afternoon flowed very smoothly. In all we planted, Thymus vulguris, Thymus serpyllum, Prostanthera cuneata (Australian thyme), Thymus X citriodorus (Lemon thyme), Thymus "Pinewood" plus a Satureja montana (Winter savoury), I know it is not a thyme but we felt it had it's place amongst the thymes all the same.
We sat and drank a herbal tea and looked at the plot above the thymes and decided that taller bushy plants, such as Rosemary, lavender, hyssop etc would go very well behind, maybe starting with the oreganos and marjolaines and then moving up in size. It is amazing how an afternoon's gardening can really get things going....when the others had gone, I began digging and clearing the plot and will carry on tomorrow.

List of plants already existing in the botanical garden

Below is a list of the plants that are already growing in the garden. Alot of them are badly planted and need moving, tending etc The list includes, French name, Latin name and in brackets common English name.

A …for action in the garden !

Absinthe, Artemisia absinthium Astéracée (Wormwood)

Achillée millefeuille Achillea millefollium Astéracée (Yarrow)

Alchemille Alchemilla vulgaris Rosacée (Lady's mantle)

Althéa Hibiscus syriacus Malvacée (Althea shrub)

Ancolie Aquilegia vulgaris Renonculacée (Columbine)

Armoise Artemisia vulgaris Astéracée (Mugwort)

Armoise herbe blanche Artemisia herba alba Astéracée(Pyrenean wormwood)

Arnica Arnica montana Astéracée (Arnica)

Aurone/Armoise citronnelle/Arquebuse Artemisia abrotanum Astéracée (Southern wood)

B… For Beaujolais, which is where the gardens are !

Bourrache Borrago officinalis Borraginacée (Borage)

Bourse à pasteur Capsella bursapastoris Brassicacée (Shepherds purse)

Buis Buxus sempervirens Buxacée (Box)

C…for co-operation and comunication, essential for a group project, oh and of course compost!

Calament Calamintha officinalis ou Satureja calamintha Lamiacée (Calamint)

Camomille romaine à fleurs simples Chamaemelum nobile Astéracée (Roman chamomille)

à fleurs doubles Chamaemelum nobile « flore peno » Astéracée

Centhrante rouge Centhrantus ruber Valérianacée (Red valerian)

Chelidoine Chelidonium majus Papavéracée (Greayer celandine)

Ciboulette Allium schoenoprasum Liliacée (Chives)

Consoude Symphytum officinale Borraginacée (Bone knit)

E…For ELPM "Ecole Lyonnais de plantes Médicinales"

Estragon Artemisia dracunculus Astéracée (Tarragon)

F…for fun and fair weather......we hope for both!

Figuier Ficus carica Moracée (Fig)

G…for group work.

Génépi des glaciers Artemisia glacialis Astéracée (Glacier wormwood)

Génépi mystery one (Genepy)

H…for herbs, health and healing!

Hysope Hyssopus officinalis Lamiacée (Hyss op)

L …for love, laughter and light....necessary ingredients to any group project, n'est pas?

Lavandes (Lavander)

Lemon grass Cymbopogon citratus Poacée (Lemon grass)

Lys blanc Lilium candidum Liliacée (White lilly)

M …for mulching (getting back down to earth!)

Marjolaine Origanum marjorana Lamiacée (Marjoram)

Mauve à feuilles rondes Malva neglegta Malvacée (Dwarf mallow)

Menthe verte Mentha spicata/ viridis Lamiacée (Morrocan mint)

Menthe bergamote Mentha x citrata Lamiacée (Bergamotte mint)

Menthe coq Balsamita major (Costmary)

Ou Tanacetum balsamita Astéracée

Menthe banane Mentha arvensis « banana » Lamiacée (banana mint)

Menthe poivrée Mentha piperata Lamiacée (pepper mint)

Millepertuis perforé Hypericum perforatum Hypericacée (St John's Wort)

Millepertuis arbustif Hypericum hidcote/frondosum/calycinum… ?

Myrtillier du Canada Vaccinium corymbosum Ericacée (Blueberry)

O..for organic gardening.....goes without saying!

Onagre Oenothera biennis Onagracée(Evening primrose)

Origan Origanum compactum Lamiacée (Oregano)

Origan doré Origanum vulgare aureum Lamiacée (Golden oregano)

Ortie Urtica dioïca Urticacée (Nettle)

P…for patience

Passiflore Passiflora incarnata Passifloracée (Passion flower)

Petite Sanguisorbe Sanguisorba minor Rosacée (Salad burnet)

Pissenlit Taraxacum officinalis Astéracée (dandelion)

Plantain lancéolé Plantago lanceolata Plantaginacée (Ribwort plantain)

Plante à taupe !! Euphorbe épurge Euphorbia lathyris Euphorbiacée (Caper spurge)

R…for recipes, culinary and herbal, that we will make with our produce.

Réglisse Glycyrrhiza glabra Fabacée (liquorice)

Romarin Rosmarinus officinalis Lamiacée (Rosemary)

Rose trémière Alcea rosea Malvacée (Wall flower)

Rue Ruta graveolens Rutacée (Rue)

S…for sunlight, without which there would be no photosynthesis and S for soil, without which there would be very little of anything at all!

Santoline à feuilles argentées ou petit cyprés Santolina chamaecyparissus Astéracée Cotton lavander)

Santoline à feuilles foncées Santolina rosmarinifolia ?(Cotton lavander ssp rosmarinfolis)

Sauge officinale Salvia officinalis Lamiacée (sage)

Sauges bicolores X3

Sauge sclarée Salvia sclarea Lamiacée (Clary sage)

Sauge ananas Salvia rutilans Lamiacée (Pineapple sage)

Sauge tricolore Salvia officinalis tricolor Lamiacée (Variegated sage)

Sauge pourpre Salvia officinalis purpurescens Lamiacée (Purple sage)

Sarriette vivace Satureia montana Lamiacée (Winter savoury)

Sarriette annuelle Satureia hortensis Lamiacée (Summer savoury)

Serpolet Thymus serpyllum Lamiacée(Wild thym)

Souci Calendula officinalis Astéracée (Marigold)

Stevia Stevia rebaudiana Astéracée (Stevia sweet leaf)

Sureau noir Sambucus nigra Caprifoliacée (Elderflower)

T…for toiling and tilling together!

Tanaisie Tanacetum vulgare Astéracée (Tansy)

Thym mystère..spécial…plusieurs sortes non identifiées !

Thym odeur de pin ? Thymus pine wood ? (Pine wood thyme)

Thym d’Australie Prostanthera Cuneata Lamiacée (Australian mint bush)

Thym citron Thymus x citriodorus Lamiacée (Lemmon thyme)

Thym vulgaire Thymus vulgaris Lamiacée (Thyme)

For those of you reading this blog, who may have planting and tending knowledge about any of these plants, please leave us messages. Sharing ideas and experiences is what we are looking for, in the gardens but also on the net.

Sorting out the poly-tunnel

The poly-tunnel needs a new plastic so as Romain, Denis and Jean-Luc set about putting on the new plastic, I made a fire and Sandra fed it with the dead brambles that the kids had cut, getting the ground ready for the new chicken hutch.

The poly tunnel finished being a lot bigger than its original size but the job is not yet finished as more bamboo is needed for the structure. I hope that we will be able to get on with it on Saturday.

First week in the garden March 2010

Potted seeds awaiting the poly-tunnel, sorting basilic seeds and Sandra in a wintry looking garden.

Spring is in the air..... well not really , temperatures are very low, -6 in the mornings and there is a bitter northly wind, however the first week of group work in the garden has begun and it is bravo to Sandra, a Elpm student, the first to volunteer this year.

Despite the cold and freezing fingers, we cleared out the poly-tunnel ready for it to be mended for the new season. We sorted and planted seeds....lots of them, including tomatoes (many varieties), chile peppers, basilic, rue, winter savoury, marjolaine....

The two gardens

In the photo above we can see different experiments in weed control, the first is straw mulching, the second a plastic cover, the third parce has been ploughed and a false sowing will be done in spring.

These two photos are of the future botanical garden.

The two future gardens are very different, which will give the students involved a good chance to experiment with different planting methods and choices of plants, taking into consideration the needs of the plant, differences in soil, exposition etc.

The future botanical garden faces south-east, has a dry, poor, sandy, well-draining, acid (PH of around 5.5) soil. It already has the form of a garden, as it has been Cathy's vegetable and herb garden since 2004 and contains neary 70 different herbs, a good begining for a botanic, herbal garden. The aim will be to re-structure, re-plant and add to the exisiting garden.

For the second garden we will be starting from scratch, at the moment it is a lovely field surrounded by wild hedge-grow on one side and a stream on the other, the soil is rich and humid. The aim to begin with for this garden is to use a small piece of the available land for planting and concentrate on vegetable growing and experimenting with different plants.

In the beginning...

Photos taken in the future botanical garden the day the project was finalised. present from left to right, Aurore, who runs the student association, Herbozamis, Cathy, who will be guiding the students with the gardening etc, Francoise, the directrice of ELPM, patrice, the director and Romain, who will also be guiding the pratical work.

The experimental gardens that we will be following with this blog came about due to a collaberation between, Elpm, which is Lyon's school of medicinal plants in France, Cathy Gauthier herbalist and Romain des Grottes, organic wine maker.

Cathy has given over, for this project a small garden that was a mix of vegetables and herbs and Romain a field measuring about a hectare.

The aim being that Elpm students, new and old can come and work in the gardens, experiment with different plants, techniques, natural treatments etc, a change from the theoretical classes that they attend in Lyon.