What Do You Call A Dead Stink Bug?… EX Stink
Well Trump is still offering us statehood in the good old USA. The 51st state and we all know where he can shove that Idea along with the silver dollar with his face on it. I wouldn’t give 2 cents for it and many people in the USA wouldn’t either as they steadily turn their support away from him. Every time he pulls one of his stunts the Americans lose and they are just starting to feel the pinch and it will get worse!
We finally had a good frost this Sunday morning and many of our least favourite bugs are starting in earnest to get into our homes and other places we just don’t want them. One should start by caulking or putting steel wool in any gaps around, if you have a wood stove or fire place place screening over the top of the pipe to block their entrance. Make sure to caulk around windows and door or you can make a spray by mixing 2 cups of hot water 1cup of vinegar and 1cup of dish soap and spray it around door and window frames externally.
The major destructive member of this species is from Korea, Japan, China and other Asian countries this particular Stink Bug eats fruits and leaves including those on Cedar Hedging and is responsible for over 50 million dollars in damage and lost crops. They can also spread disease with their damage. They lay their eggs on the under side of leaves and over the season this can amount to 400 eggs being laid and there are very few predators to keep them in check. Although they do not bite humans or animals they will often wake up to buzz around the house, very annoying and if you swat them they will excrete their nasty smell that gave them their name. We use tissue paper to grab hold of them then flush the works down the toilet, you can Also suck them up with a vacuum cleaner.
Herbs are a huge industry and have extensive uses in soups, salads, stews, cooking fish, flavouring in oils, wreaths to sent your home to mention a few uses. Medical use of Herbs is also a big use for Herbs but should be done prudently and under a Doctors authorization.
There are many references of the use of herbs in the Bible and was highly recommended by Hippocrates back 460 BC and it was formerly the duty of every man studying medicine to know the plants, understand its virtues as well as it’s Zodiacal sign, Planetary ruler and that it is gathered under favourable planetary conditions. A career in itself. I will stick with culinary herbs and the most basic of those as well.
Basil is an annual herb that is fragrant and delicious in any dish cooked with tomatoes, cheese sauces, scrambled eggs. Egg salad, or potato salad. Add it to beef stew or rub it on beef steaks or roasts and chicken. Bay Leaf is used in most soups and stews, place them in the water when boiling potatoes for potato salad, in stewed tomatoes and in peas and beans. Cayenne can be used sparingly in place of black pepper, add a dash when making cheese biscuits and add it to shake and bake for chicken and especially wings. Chives are generally added at the end of the cooking process as well in many of our salads green, potato, bean or pasta. It is also nice as a garnish for soups, salads fish or chicken dishes as well. Dill is good in soups especially potato, and chicken. Sprinkle on fish or use in stuffing for fish. Use as well in vegetable, potato and coleslaw. Add a bit to your cheese sauce for broccoli or cauliflower.
Garlic is used in any soup, stew or meat dish and is a delicious rub for steaks, roast or chicken just to mention a few of the delicious application of this particular herb. Marjoram is similar to Oregano and are often use as a Herbs for tomato sauces, hearty soups, eggs dishes, you can also add it to the cooking water of beans, peas and potatoes. Parsley is high in nutrients and is used in most savoury dishes, green salads and coleslaw , eggs salads, mashed potatoes and potato salad. Rosemary is another staple and its uses are only curbed by the imagination. Tarragon is excellent with fish or chicken devilled or scrambled eggs even fruit salads.
Herbs should be picked in the morning after the dew has dried, rinsed lightly shake excess water off and hung to dry in a warm dark area or you can chop and mix with water in an ice cube tray. Remember that dried Herbs are stronger that fresh.
Happy Gardening!
Samantha Nason
BS Ranch & Greenhouses
250 547 6567
sam1nason@gmail.com
