Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[Debbie McDonald <lbirke1@yahoo.com>]

I LoVE to smell the earth, when it is alive, it is intoxicating. I used to take handfulls and  make people smell it and it did not seem to go over well so must be specific to some.

Pete, I am sorry too, I had a friend take her life about two plus years ago. Her daughter was my daughters very good friend doing ponies together at age ten? and we were horse show moms enjoying the kids and each other. Time and no horses in there life had us seeing each other much less but we always lit up when we did see each other again. Her daughter was diagnosed with  Crohn's disease about age 12 and died from this about age 25. Her mom was diagnosed Bi-polar a few years prior. She did not make it a year without her child that was her heart. It's painful still. It's thought provoking to how two such special people deserved so much to deal with in their short lives here.  

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From: Pete Vukovich <pvukovic1@yahoo.com>
To: Healthy soil and sustainable growing <livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Mon, March 1, 2010 11:32:57 AM
Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] When the Body Says No: Understanding the Stress-Disease Connection

Speaking of essential oil therapy - I don't pretend to know anything about it. It seems to me that from a living on the land perspective its something folks here would want to make for themselves. Maybe somebody on the list has tried this, or has a technique for extracting oils that works well for them they'd care to post about.

 I want to nominate one native plant I ran into while doing some milkthistle (another fine plant - just too much of it) removal the other day - coyote mint. Absolutely incredible smell (a strong mint citrus cross for those of you who don't have it where you live). I'm thinking of making it into a tea however I don't know if its potentially toxic yet, all I know is it seems to thrive and deer don't seem to get into it.  The topic at hand makes me think it might do well as an aromatherapy oil. Being a native I'm sure it would play well with the 'eat local'/'grow native' demographic.

Come to think of it I'm surprised someone hasn't devised a way to make a tincture from the humic acid in soil, I'm sure its an acquired taste , but nothing says aromatherapy to me like good rich dirt laden with fumic/humic acid. Maybe it could be a training aroma for growers who've lost their way (and their soil) via intensive chemical addiction.

I appreciate the condolences and apologize for not saying so earlier.