The Root Cellar: ecoStore & Apothecary
23 Oxbow St. T4N 5K9 Red Deer, AB, Canada

What the heck are worm castings and why do I need them??? Potting soil is a sterile mix, says Anderson. You don’t get the critters that benefit plants grown directly in the ground. The beauty of adding worm castings, she says, is that you get all those beneficial guys to kickstart the system.

Premium Worm Castings are now available! Buy a bag ($15) or a 5 gal (20L) bucket ($65) for your garden and / or potted plants! Orders through Brittany via The Root Cellar: ecoStore & Apothecary or email rootcellar (at) rethinkreddeer.ca... All proceeds to projects and programs of ReThink Red Deer!

Premium Worm Castings are arriving tomorrow from Dan at Earthly Matters Vermiculture! Please help us minimize the storage needs and buy a bag ($15) or a 5 gal (20L) bucket ($65) for your garden and / or potted plants! Orders through Brittany via The Root Cellar: ecoStore & Apothecary or email rootcellar (at) rethinkreddeer.ca All proceeds to projects and programs of ReThink Red Deer!

Fermented/oxidized fireweed tea is easy, though time-consuming, to make. People commonly say this method of preparation ferments the leaves but I believe they ...are actually oxidized...in any case, I’m going to call it fermented in this post. It’s a traditional tea and was commonly drank before Chinese black tea became the standard (probably imported into Victoria first) here on Vancouver Island. Various cultures across the globe also drank fermented fireweed tea (called Ivan Chai in Russia). It is slightly astringent and tannic and helps get my digestion back on track if I feel a bit off. I dry an abundance of green fireweed leaf for tea throughout the year and as much fermented fireweed leaf as I have time for. I prefer drinking the green leaf as an infusion and the fermented leaf as a shorter steep. . . To ferment I layer a few wilted leaves on my palm and roll them up, gently squishing so they get a bit damp with their own juices. Then I leave them in an open bowl (not a basket) for a few days, tossing around every time I walk past (make sure to check that nothing gets monkey). When they are dark in colour, almost blackish, I dry them thoroughly and crumble into tea texture and store in a jar. . . #fireweedtea #chamerionangustifolium #fermentedfireweedtea #nativeplants #wildcrafting #wildfood #wildfoodlove #foragedfood #forage #kitchenherbalism #plantmedicine #earthmedicine #forestdweller #plantwitch #greenwitch #naturetherapy See more