Prepped Living Blog

Have you ever picked elderflower? Elderflower is not well-known as a flavor in the US, but it is a nice, light floral flavor that is sometimes used in ice cream, sparkling waters, and even in cakes. We frequently make elder berry syrup and have heard that you can use the flowers as well, but have never experimented with the flowers - that is, until now. This year, we finally picked some of the flowers to try. First, I couldn't believe how lovely they smell! These tiny, delicate flowers have the most beautiful, sweet fragrance. No wonder elderflower is a popular flavor in Europe! The flavor is as lovely and light as the fragrance. We only have one bush close to the house so we didn't have a lot of flowers with which to experiment. After deliberating, we opted to make elderflower syrup. We searched online for syrup recipes. Most called for citric acid (as a preservative), several called for lemon (which we didn't have), and nearly all of them called for more flowers than we ...

In the spirit of making the most of what you have, here are some ideas for getting more use out of your used coffee grounds. Garden Used coffee grounds are particularly good for plants that love acidic soil. They can improve soil texture and drainage and contain nitrogen as well as trace amounts of various other elements. Used coffee grounds are better than unused coffee grounds for your garden as unused grounds are more acidic and contain much of the caffeine. ·         Soil Booster – Mix used coffee grounds in with your top soil or sprinkle directly on top of the soil around the plants. This is especially good for acid-loving plants, such as blueberries and hydrangeas. Be cautious with plants that do not love acidic soil. ·         Compost Pile – Coffee grounds can be added to your compost pile. ·         Pest Deterrent – Coffee grounds are said to help deter certain pest...

Did you know you can use household waste items to enhance your garden? “Wait,” you may be thinking, “I don’t have a compost pile.” No worries! Even without a compost pile, here are 3 household items you can easily use in your garden. Please note that there is a lot of disagreement on the internet as to best practices for gardening. Some sources say these ideas are great and others say these don’t work at all. We personally have had good results with them, and thus, we are sharing them here with you. Nevertheless, be sure to do your own research and do what you think is best for your own garden. Coffee grounds Coffee grounds can be used as a soil enhancer. They are particularly good for plants that thrive on acidic soil. We mix them in with the top soil or simply sprinkle them on top of the soil in between waterings. Banana peels Bananas are high in potassium and as such, their peels can be used to make a plant fertilizer. Simply cut up a banana peel, soak in water for five to...

We had the opportunity to forage some local plants recently. While many things are not quite ready to pick, below are some of the items we harvested on our latest walk: Wild Rose Petals -  Wild rose petals are delightful in herbal tea blends. If you are careful to just pick the petals, it will still produce rose hips for fall foraging. There are several varieties of wild rose out there, many of which have very fragrant petals you can harvest in the spring and produce rose hips you can harvest in the fall. Plantain -  We have both narrow and broad leaf plantain in our area. I was able to find some very large narrow leaf on the hill where there is no foot or car traffic, so I opted to pick there. Plantain is a great plant for wound healing and a simple poultice can be made by chewing the leaves (saliva breaks down the cell walls to release the healing constituents) (1). You can also make a poultice from the dried leaves by adding warm water and creating a paste. We like to add ...