Busy days and Relaxing Evenings

I had a pretty busy weekend, the garden is taking up more time, with seedlings popping up and starting new trays of seeds for some early spring planting, and I have been working on some homemade beauty and household cleaning products. Yesterday my brother and I made laundry detergent pods out of soap berries, the fruit of the Sapindus Mukorossi tree, that can be used in multiple ways. You can make your own shampoo, soaps, detergents, shaving cream or glass cleaners to name a few. These berries release saponin, a soap like compound, that can be used as a cleaner. Just a note about this berry, please do not eat these berries or any products made with it, this is for external use only.

To make the laundry detergent we boiled 2.5 oz. of soap berries for 1 hour in 6 cups of water, then we added another cup for the last ten minutes of boiling. We strained the liquid and saved the berries for another boil, I think they should release enough saponin for one more batch. Once the liquid had cooled we added 15 drops each of bergamot and sweet orange essential oils, mixed and poured into silicone ice cube trays. Once frozen we popped them into a storage bag and will store in the freezer until ready to use. You can skip the freezing step, but your liquid does not have any preservatives and would last in the fridge for maybe about two weeks. I would use 1 – 2 cubes per load. Next time I may switch up the essential oils and try a lavender/lemon or lavender /peppermint combo.

Once we completed that project we moved onto making a vinegar infusion for an all purpose cleaner. I grabbed a clean mason jar and added ⅛ cup lavender, ⅛ c lemon peels, ⅛ c. parsley leaves, and ⅛ c blackberry leaves (all dried) mixed with 1 ½ cup of white vinegar. I will let that infuse for 4-6 weeks and strain when ready. I will make up my Lavender and Lemon All Purpose Cleaner from there. Stay tuned for the full post once I put it all together.

Of course I have been busy in the greenhouse, running my baby tomatoes and peppers outside in the morning and bringing them back in the house at night. Definitely getting my steps in this week! I just started another tray of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and zucchini and will be starting a tray full of herbs, flowers and lettuce later this week. It’s early in the season, but I love this time of year, knowing that the warmer days are coming and that these little tiny seeds I am planting will turn into these huge plants that will feed us through the summer and into the winter months! Nature is amazing.

One last thing I wanted to share from this weekend is my Lavender Peppermint Salve. I love using this before bed to help me relax and wind down at the end of the day. It is the same process as my Calendula and Rose Hips recipe, just with different herbs and essential oils. I let the almond oil infuse with the herbs for 6 weeks before using.

Relaxing Lavender & Peppermint Salve  1 cup infused almond oil (¼ cup Lavender & ¼ cup Peppermint leaves), drained2 oz. beeswax3 Tbsp. shea butter3-4 drops of sweet orange essential oil  Drain the infused oil. Add all ingredients into a double boiler and heat until melted. Test the consistency of the salve by dipping a spoon into the mixture and placing in the freezer for a few minutes. Adjust accordingly with more oil (for a softer salve) or more beeswax (for a more solid salve). Once you are ready, using potholders, because the oil will be hot, pour the oil mixture in the glass measuring cup and add quickly to the containers/tins. Let cool completely before putting lids on.