The Farm Guide

By now, we have all more than likely seen at least one snowfall. Winter is knocking on our door, bringing us cold days and even colder nights. On a night like tonight, I am thankful for my woodstove; diligently pouring heat into the house while my dogs lounge lazily so close to it that they have to turn around periodically to avoid being burned. Ahh, the deliciously smoky scent of a wood fire. Alas, I digress.

It was the first snowfall that made me remember a program that I enjoyed at Academy School in Brattleboro: Environmental Learning for the Future...affectionately referred to as ELF. It was an educational program sponsored by the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) and run by volunteers who taught us about the environment, animals and plants, weather patterns, and conservation. I, in turn, had begun assistant-teaching the program by sixth grade. Unfortunately, local funding for ELF had been cut by the time I reached high school, but fond memories still remain.

All life starts with the germination of a seed. In this moment of germination, all the vital nutrients and elements to promote good health are present. The body and the soil are susceptible to absorbing the health giving properties that sprouts provide. All the essential nutrients required for healthy balance growth are to be found in sprouts.

Here is a selection of sprouting material to add to your shopping list: Lucerne (alfalfa), linseed (or flax), sunflower, mung beans, fenugreek, wheat grass, pea, chickpea, barley and mustard to mention but a few. The variety of sprouts is phenomenal and health giving every single time.

To start off you need a vessel to soak the seeds in. These can be bought or made of a makeshift container from within your kitchen. An old bottle with a lid that can screw on is ideal. Punch holes in the lid to act as a sieve.

Botanical Name of Fennel: Foeniculum vulgare. Zulu speakers call it Imboziso and in Afrikaans it is called Vinkel.

 

Growing Fennel
Fennel likes to grow in the full sun and is grown from seed in situ, where you want it to grow. It doesn’t like to be transplanted. Each fennel plant can grow up to a metre and a half high. It has little yellow flowers, which form the fruits or seeds. It is quite hardy and doesn’t required excessive water in order to flourish. Constant and vigorous picking of the leaves stimulates the bulb to form.

Antagonists of Fennel Plants like bean, caraway, coriander, dill, kohlrabi, pea, tomato, and wormwood find it difficult to flourish in the vicinity of Fennel. Usually the Fennel lands up in a corner somewhere producing its delicious bulbs.