“What are the best apples for cider?” Plus 2 other good things to know!

Ask Arlene©

By Arlene Wright-Correll

Recently an email asked, “What are the best apples for cider?”

There are several varieties, but I prefer Winesap.  Winesap was first described as one of the best apples for cider in 1804, and now dozens of strains exist. This long-keeping apple is sweet, crisp and aromatic. The versatile fruit is also a fine dessert apple and is delicious in brandy, applesauce and apple butter. Standard rootstock trees will grow vigorously, reaching as high as 30 feet tall and producing heavy crops with some as many as 100 bushels in a single season. Winesap trees are geographically adaptable, moderately resistant to all the major apple diseases, and escape late frosts because they bloom a few days later than mainstream varieties.

Another email asks, “Do you know any household uses for mint? I have a lot of it.”

A true botanical wonder, mint is a breeze to care for, and its pleasing aroma makes it a welcome addition to the garden. The best part about this easy-to-grow herb is its usefulness. Mint makes a delicious addition to meals, a healthful tea, a fragrant potpourri and an insect-deterring spray. This sweet-smelling plant also has soothing and anesthetic properties that make it a great fit for homemade body-care products. To grow mint, get a cutting from a friend or purchase a starter plant at a nursery. (Mint doesn’t reproduce true from seed.) Mint can actually be too easy to grow and it sometimes takes over the garden so give this attractive ground cover plenty of room to spread, or plant it in a container.

It is a beverage and food booster.  It keeps ticks and fleas off pets.  It is a room refresher.

It is a breath refresher, tummy tamer and helps with the hiccups.  You can steam clean the sinuses and it will help with most headaches.  A few pieces in a handkerchief will help to cure nausea and soaking your feet in water with some mint will help that also.

Make a strong peppermint tea and dab it on good sunburn.

Another email asks, “How do I make a non-toxic weed killer?”

Homemade Weed Killer

1 gallon white vinegar
2 cups Epsom Salts
1/4 cup Dawn dish soap

Put all ingredients into a sprayer and thoroughly soak plants on a warm, sunny day. Be careful to use this on a day when you don’t expect rain for at least 24 hours.

 

May the Creative Force be with you as you tread the earth lightly!

Home Farm Herbery LLC