HedgeWitch (27 page)

Fertilizer requirements:
light application of your choice (I used organic fish fertilizer)

Space between plants:
depends on variety you choose

Incompatible planting with:
cucumbers and onions

Compatible with:
rosemary, carrots, marjoram, strawberries, tomatoes, and lavender, as they require the same type of soil

Magickal sage:
Used in workings for wisdom, wishes, knowledge, strength, long life, and immortality through your actions or talents.

Culinary sage:
Poultry, beef, stuffing, stews, poultry, tea, apples, beans, onions, sauces, herbal breads, and butters. Strong flavor, use sparingly.

Goes well with:
bay, celery, marjoram, parsley, savory, thyme

Parts used for food:
fresh or dried leaves, flowers for garnish

Savory

Growth and care:
There are two types of savory: winter, which is a perennial, and summer savory, which is an annual. Winter savory has more aromatic leaves, where the summer variety is much lighter and a bit peppery. Savory doesn't dry well, but it can be frozen. Savory is called the poor man's sauce and is a must-have to empower and cook beans!

Fertilizer requirements:
light application of your choice (I used organic fish fertilizer)

Space between plants:
18 inches

Incompatible planting with:
none

Compatible with:
beans, onions, and sweet potatoes

Magickal savory:
Used in spells to obtain secrets, answers to questions, general knowledge, and mental acuity. Also used in love spells and potions.

Culinary savory:
Beans, beets, cabbage, peas and other veggies, sausages, lamb, pork, game, oil-rich fish, bean and potato salads, and stuffings. Strong flavor.

Goes well with:
basil, bay, garlic, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme

Parts used for food:
dried and fresh leaves, fresh sprigs, flowers for garnishes and salads

Tarragon

Growth and care:
Choose only French tarragon if your plant will be used for culinary purposes. This was the touchiest of the plants on my list. It doesn't like high-acid soil and is fussy about needing water, even though they say it needs little. It was worth the fuss, though it was my least-yielding plant. Tarragon likes full sun to partial shade and doesn't take well to being moved. Tarragon can reach a height of 36 inches—mine didn't, topping out at 10.

Fertilizer requirements:
light application of your choice (I used organic fish fertilizer)

Space between plants:
18 inches

Incompatible planting with:
none

Compatible with:
vegetables

Magickal tarragon:
Use for harmony in the home, protection, and cleansings.

Culinary tarragon:
Excellent in vinegars, chicken, egg dishes, and salad dressings. Also good in soups, salads, stuffings, sauces, fish, cheese, mushroom, seafood, potatoes, and zucchini. Strong flavor.

Goes well with:
basil, bay, chives, dill, and parsley

Parts used for food:
fresh leaves and sprigs

Thyme

Growth and care:
Like basil, oregano, and marjoram, there are several types of thymes that you can choose to grow. Some grow into upright shrubs, where others creep along the ground. Thymes are cut as needed before the plant blossoms around midsummer. Thyme can be dried, but it doesn't freeze particularly well. Requiring full sun to partial shade, thyme requires average watering, although I found in a dry summer, thyme will suffer more than the other herbs, so keep it well watered if the rainman forgets your neck of the woods.

Fertilizer requirements:
light application of your choice (I used organic fish fertilizer)

Space between plants:
depends on the variety you choose

Incompatible planting with:
cucumbers

Compatible with:
cabbage, lettuce, eggplant, potatoes, strawberries, and tomatoes

Magickal thyme:
Used in workings for courage, long life, health and healing issues, cleansings, love potions, dream magick, restful sleep, and gaining knowledge.

Culinary thyme:
Casseroles, soups, root vegetables, stuffings, lamb, onions, potato, rabbit, mushrooms, sausage, fish, vinegars, herbal breads and butters, chicken, and stews.

Goes well with:
allspice, basil, bay, hot peppers, clove, garlic, marjoram, nutmeg, oregano, parsley, rosemary, savory

Parts used for food:
dried leaves, fresh sprigs, flowers for garnish

Herbs That Do Well in Pots and Containers

Can't go to the expense or don't have the room for an outdoor garden? Here is a list of herbs that do well in pots. If you are using plants rather than seeds, an hour before planting, soak the root ball in a tub of water.

Basil

Fennel

Horseradish

Hyssop

Lemon balm

Lemon verbena

Marjoram

Mints

Myrtle

Nasturtium

Parsley

Pot marigolds

Sage

Tarragon

Thyme

Plants That Might Require Tubs Rather Than Pots, As They Tend to Grow into Small Bushes

Bay

English lavender

Rosemary

Try grouping your herbs in large pots for color and aromatic effect. Planting distances shown on the back of seed packets or labels from the nursery aren't indicative for pot planting. You can begin with small plants or seeds and move the plants out when they grow too large, just as you would with any potted plant. To keep your potted arrangements looking beautiful and healthy, replace larger plants with small specimens of the same herbs. Many of the herbs listed here can grow extremely large and will become pot-bound, choking out other herbs in decorative arrangements. You can either re-pot them in a larger pot when they get too big, give them to friends, or transfer them to the garden in the spring after danger of frost is over.

Organic Garden Bug Killers

In HedgeWitchery, we try to be as safely organic as possible! This is good for you as well as the environment. To minimize predators in your magickal garden (and therefore extending into your life), try the following tips:

Build a toad habitat:
This is extremely easy to do. I took an old bird bath without the stand and placed it in the corner of the garden that had the most shade. Then break up several large clay pots and arrange the pieces in and around the bird bath. Fill the bird bath with water. That's it. You have your very own toad habitat. Keep the bird bath filled with water to encourage your toads to stay. I also decorated my toad habitat with toad statues and magickal gems, then planted chamomile nearby. Toads bring prosperity to any garden and eat a lot of nasty bugs! The average toad consumes about 15,000 bugs in a single year, and they love slugs!

Erect a bat house:
You can find these at garden supply stores. Each night, a bat can eat approximately 600 pests per hour, with prime targets being mosquitoes, cutworms, cabbageworms, and beetles. Hang your bat house in a tree or on a pole at least 15 feet above ground. You can even decorate the outside of the house with magickal symbols.

Hang a hummingbird feeder:
Hummingbirds love red tubular flowers (trumpet vines draw them big time!). If you can't use a natural floral feeder, you can purchase one from your garden supply store along with the nectar mix. Hummingbirds eat tons of nasty insects. Some of their favorite flowers are lilies, snapdragons, and fuchsias.

Plant hot peppers, radishes, and marigolds in your garden:
Even if you don't eat hot peppers, the plants are natural deterrents to insects and garden predators. You can also use the juice from the hot peppers in a safe plant wash (given on opposite page).

Plants that attract good bugs:
Asters, black-eyed susans, dill, lavender, mints, morning glories, sunflowers, and yarrow. Good bugs eat bad bugs and help to keep your garden healthy.You can pick up a list of good bugs for your planting zone at most reputable home and garden stores.

Last year, I incorporated all five of these natural ideas into my garden and backyard plans. As a result, I had little difficulty with bugs, even though it was a bad year for Japanese beetles and whiteflies. To remove the Japanese beetles, I erected a large bamboo broom twenty feet away from my garden and hung a Japanese beetle trap there, along with magickal runes for banishment. To remove the whiteflies/aphids, I used the following natural formula:

Formula One (for Aphids)

I used this for my marigolds. Water plant before application. First, make garlic oil: mince one whole garlic bulb in a cup of vegetable oil. Put in jar and cap tightly. Set in refrigerator for two to three days. Then, mix together in a spray bottle:

1 tablespoon garlic oil

3 drops liquid dish soap

1 quart water

½
teaspoon lavender essential oil

Test formula on one plant. Wait 24 hours. If no damage, spray plants liberally.

Formula Two (for Japanese Beetles)

I used this for my garden. Water plant before application.

½
cup dried cayenne peppers

½
cup dried jalape
ñ
o peppers

1 gallon water

Optional: substitute 1 cup of dried habana peppers
for jalape
ñ
o and cayenne

Boil water, add peppers, and simmer for thirty minutes. Keep the pot covered while simmering, as the steam is highly potent! Cool. Strain. Pour into spray bottle. Test formula on one plant. Wait 24 hours. If no damage, spray plants after every rain or once a week during the height of Japanese beetle season in your area.

Formula Three

This is a general bug killer—I used this on my hostas. Water plant before application.

3 hot peppers

3 cloves garlic

1 small onion

1 tablespoon liquid dish soap

2 tablespoons peppermint essential oil

3 cups water

Purée peppers, garlic, and onion in blender. Add dish soap and water. Let stand for 24 hours. Strain. Pour in mister bottle. Test formula on one plant. Wait 24 hours. If no damage, spray plants.

Organic Sprays
(To Keep Plants Happy!)

Essential oils can keep your plants happy and healthy—just add formula to one gallon of water. Water plant well before applying solution. Shake bottle vigorously and spray your floral friends. Spray plants lightly every thirty days. If you don't wish to make your own sprays, buy organic soap sprays at your local nursery.

Bee Sweet Formula

10 drops peppermint essential oil

5 drops cinnamon essential oil

1 gallon water

Moon Wish Formula

5 drops lavender essential oil

5 drops sweet bay essential oil

5 drops clove essential oil

1 gallon water

Herbal Garden Gifts

Gifts from your magickal garden can bring great joy and healing into the lives of others. Here are a few ideas that share the fruits of your enchanted labor!

Magickal Vinegar

If you've raised plenty of herbs and have lots left over, why not make your own herbal vinegar? Not only will your vinegar make amazing hostess gifts during the fall and winter seasons for salads and cooking, you can use the vinegars in a variety of banishing spells! The use of vinegar in magick, cooking, healing, and even housework dates back over 10,000 years.

All you need is:

8 to 10 fresh herb sprigs

1 quart good-quality white vinegar

1 quart-sized glass canning jar with lid

Plastic wrap

Gift jars or small bottles

Ribbon

Wash and dry your herbs and place in quart canning jar. Add warm vinegar. Place plastic wrap over glass lip (metal lids will react with vinegar). Screw on lid. Put in warm, dark place for two to four weeks. Strain. Place vinegar in designer jars or bottles with plastic lids or cork tops. Add a sprig of the fresh herb inside the bottle. Decorate with fancy ribbon around neck of bottle or lid of jar. Feel free to mix and match your garden herbs for truly designer vinegars!

Here is a list of herbs that combine well in vinegar:

Basil

Bay leaf

Borage flowers

Chile peppers

Chive flowers

Dill seeds and leaves

Fennel