Leaves and flowers and it will only my medicinal if it’s a native version of Passiflora incarnata. But to harvest:

Harvest the long vines when they’re begining to flower and haven’t yet set much fruit. Let the vines sit in the shade for an hour to give the insects time to crawl off and inspect the vines for caterpillars. Hang to dry or prepare immediately as medicine

*The Healing Garden Juliet Blankespoor (pg. 346)

Passionflower is a useful herb to have. Taking it as a tea or tincture to help with relaxation and better sleep.

Garden planting time is already over so you can’t plant much this year since it’s July. You can plant some quick growers that are cold tolerant potentially but you missed most of this year. Which isn’t a problem because there’s tons of prep that you can do next year.

I would recommend reading some books about permaculture or organic gardening to get some basics but you are going to be basically growing your soil this year which is the key to sustainable good gardening. If you a spot in mind you can start Sheet Mulching right now. You can mow down whatever is there and cover with cardboard boxes (great use for those moving boxes) and then start covering with more material throughout the year. This a great way to start. You can also start Solarizing a place if you want to seed. If your in North America fall seeding works amazing for natives and it takes a few hot months to kill all the weeds seeds from a site so it’s perfect to get started on it.

As far as engaging community start by contacting master gardener programs which usually have regular meetings. You can also give your extra vegetables (next year) to your neighbors which is a great way to build connections.

Of course. I have done most of my learning via books and trial and error. The first book I got was The Healing Garden which is written by an herbalists who does an online classes which I haven’t done except the free ones. The book is beautiful and totally worth owning and will go over everything from organic herbal hardening, wildcrafting best practices, creating medicines and species highlights. Most books have the same categories as well.

I also recommend anything and everything by Rosemary Gladstar. She is a giant in the field and has lots of small densely packed books. I have her Medicinal Herbs and Herbal Healing for me both of which are great. Her herbal healing for men is the only men specific herbalism book I’ve seen.

If you need to buy herbs see if you have a local shop. They are usually listed as metaphysical stores which contains Tarot decks, crystals etc. some are good for herbs and some are bad. You will have to check them out yourself. Online Mountain Rose Herbs is amazing. Be careful elsewhere because some online shops are sketchy and are not giving you good herbs or worst of all something completely different. The best is growing it yourself or buying high quality culinary herbs. (A lot of culinary herbs have medicinal qualities usually at higher doses but can still be part of a dish).

All the books have more resources and there’s tons of ways to go. All the books are modern Western herbalists which combine multiple historical traditions which is typical. But you can deep dive into specific traditions as well (Chinese medicine, ayurvedic, traditional European herbs, indigenous etc.). Follow the references.

The only watch out I will give you is this. A herbalist should never use only essential oils for treatments. That is a scam and usually a MLM. Full plants are preferred and essential oils are usually just used for smells. Second, they should be a supplement to standard Western medicine and not a replacement. It covers gaps within that system (chronic issues, preventative medicine, quality of life, etc.) and should still be used. Most herbalists think of that as hero medicine for the big things while herbs do the rest.

Have fun!!!

With laundry? Or everything? Let me keep the surprise

Even better

We have on site laundry but I already do so much laundry.

Good idea!! I they grow in colder weather so I will have to wait. I think the log dried out maybe

Our daughter is 10 months so we’re just starting looking for bikes. I was thinking about getting a long tail because that’s what people around us seem to be using.

I know cloth diapers are better for the environment I just can’t.

I know the motors are supposedly super high quality. I wouldn’t know how to fix one but I am sure it’s going to be worth the effort. Especially if you sell it as used afterwards

Who throws out a kitchen aid mixer? That shit is expensive and fancy

I was thinking I haven’t made much progress but writing it down, I have a few going right now.

• Purchased a used eletric car (With a new baby we couldn’t get by without one, but we are considering an e-cargo bike)
• Continue gardening and urban foraging skills
• Planted a large native garden in my front yard (Over 400 sq ft.)
• Continuing my herbalism practice for my own healthy and family (my lotions and salves are working great)
• Continue to purchase the majority of my child clothes used or second hand. Getting lots of things free
• Continue my practice to try to give things away instead of throwing them away
• Volunteer with a native lead oprganization doing prairie restoration. (I went to one of their interesting hands on demo on three sisters gardens and learned tons about drying food).

So I am making some progress but plently to go. I want to try to reduce my food waste but I haven’t gotten in the practice of saving or drying things when getting low.

I bought a mushroom log last year that was sprouting so I harvested it. I haven’t got anything else from it since last spring. I’m bummed because I love mushrooms

Seems pretty solar punk to me.

Sounds like a great activity for the winter when there’s so planting or garden activities.

Beautiful!!! I love a meadow appearance

The native Self-Heal is definitely taller can go up to a few feet I think.

I know they recommend 3 inches because below that height it can be killed by mowing. Especially if it’s done often. If you are gorilla gardening I think there won’t be consistent mowing.

I know the lawn specific seeds can be cheaper since they are sold in larger sizes. But whatever you have should work I think. Just sow when there is enough rainfall to support sprouting.

If you buy a lawn specific Self Heal like from Flawn I think it’s only a cultivar based on plant height. From my local university recommends it for their Bee Lawn and has an exception in their native plant grant. So I wouldn’t worry about the differences

I have been slowly converting my lawn into a clover lawn and I feel like I have had a similar journey as far as timelines that it takes a few years to get it looking good but I did mine in stages. I also have added Self-Heal which is finally flowering in my lawn after 2+ years of laying seed.

I would suggest that you seed at least yearly until it looks perfect. I do early spring (Early April here is zone 5a) and then early winter (November) because I can see the bald spots where annual weeds hide. I would not add nematodes which seems like a waste of money because they should come naturally with good soil management. Especially if you have a healthy garden beds which are more important than the clover lawn.

We have an uneven lumpy lawn and we spread some sand, top soil, seeds and some compost this spring which has helped that and filled in gaps amazing. So we are going to do that section by section along with aerating this fall.

I like my clover lawn because I can use it and abuse it like a lawn. My dogs and baby love to use it rough. My native gardens beds, vegetable gardens and mixed garden beds are much better for the soil health and pollinators than the lawn. But it’s an easy starting point to add in a little pollinator support.

Some people do consider clover as a weed. Although that has more to do marketing than it’s actual weedy nature. I have a clover lawn and it’s ability to spread seems to be overrated. But if the neighbors apply any herbicides clover will be killed instantly. Even regular fertilizer use slows clover growth