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8/12/12 9:44 P

lol

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8/12/12 6:22 P

Elisadenk, It sound like the green taste of parsley tea would not be a rival for Green tea.


(You have to imagine the tongue is green)

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8/12/12 6:18 P

SharJoPaul,
Thanks for finding the links. I had not found anything yet that even approached being authoritative on the Maypop.

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8/5/12 10:41 P

Interesting topic.

I've grown and harvested parsley, brewed it into tea. Supposedly has lots of potassium. Taste? green

I also tried making dandelion tea from the roots. Roasting them first, etc. Too bitter for me.

Best wishes for your teas. Keep us posted.....

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8/2/12 5:38 P

I just did a little research on Maypops. Here are links to a couple of article you may want to read.

rickcombe.hubpages.com/hub/Maypop-uses-and
-identification

www.eattheweeds.com/maypops-food-fun-medic
ine-2/

Since much of the plant has medicinal uses, you may want to do a little more research before you use it in teas. Many herbs do have medicinal uses so be sure you check out anything you don't already know about to be sure it is safe to use as an herbal tea on a regular basis.. Herbal medicines are still medicines and can cause problems when taken in larger doses than recommended or for long periods of time.

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8/2/12 11:44 A

For those of you who might live where passion vines don't grow, I have posted the passion vine pictures on my blog:

www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_
individual.asp?blog_id=4997859

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8/2/12 11:41 A

Gabby, I do have mint in a container. But I recently put 2 plants in a curbed garden which I inherited.

Previous owners had put down landscape cloth and a 4 inch layer of rock mulch TWICE. We dug up a two foot border inside the front end of the bed and removed rocks down the distance of a 2-gallon pot. Underneath that, we hit a layer of limerock like they use for the base of roads here. I don't know what problem they were trying to fix with all the rock. Maybe a huge stump had been removed. This whole community had been used as a firing range during WWII. Maybe that spot was used as the target.

Whatever the previous owners were trying to do, I don't like rock mulch. Doesn't seem to hold much moisture in the sand here in Florida. And it is next to impossible to dig a hole suitable for planting.

The energy and heart just aren't there to keep going removing rock in the back of that bed, which is noticeable from the house. So that's where I put the 2 mints. It can run rampant there if it can find enough sustenance. And if it does, I plan to harvest and dehydrate those stems often. They are still alive after a month. No top growth. Probably just putting down those under-rock runners.

I believe lemon balm and catnip are both mints. And those seeds have arrived. They will also be banished to different curb gardens (also filled with rocks.) I think the lemon balm will go under the magnolia tree.

If I plant the catnip on each front corner (also decorated with a curbed garden filled with rocks), will it deter the dogs who visit?

I might be the only person in the country who welcomes mint to have its way with her garden!! I DO enjoy mint in my tea!!

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8/2/12 10:00 A

I hope that you planted the mint in containers because it will spread all over your garden. I have my mint in containers, but I planted lemon balm in a raised bed a few years ago and it took over. I have it everywhere and it's hard to pull out. The plus side is that it's supposed to be a good companion plant for everything and it smells good. I also had chamomile but haven't had any luck with it coming up from seed in the last few years. I have lemon thyme but haven't tried it in tea yet and of course dandelions LOL!

Since I live in NY I have no knowledge of Passion vines.

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8/1/12 2:40 P

I have been allowing maypop (native passion vine) to grow where it will as a butterfly host plant for gulf fritillaries and the zebra longwing, Florida's state butterfly. This year, when the vines appeared to be taking over, I started researching to see if there was a healthy option to start feeding me from some aspect of the plant.

I found a helpful site that explained how to get juice from the seeds. Evidently it is used in a "Hurricane," an alcoholic beverage. The juice wasn't too bad with agave nectar added. Kind of between lime and lemon juice.

After that, I found that all parts of the plant can be dried, and powdered, to make tea which is supposed to be an aide to a good night's sleep.

While the juice didn't make me sleepy, I'd like to know if anyone knows the safety issues which might be involved in using the seeds, pulpy pods, leaves, etc. of this plant?

I'm going to add pictures of the parts of the passion vine on my blog tomorrow if all goes well. (Thursday, 8/2/12)

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8/1/12 2:29 P

I have decided to raise more herbs with the desire to dehydrate them for my own herbal teas.

I'm currently raising parsley, sage, 3 mints and stevia, and plan to add more herbs in my fall garden.

Does anyone else do this? I'd love to hear what you grow, and your favorite recipes for combining different flavors.

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