Old Home Remedies

My Sister Collected Old Home Remedies

I found many books and notes on old home remedies that my sister had collected. Some were from my grandparents, others from books and magazines and the like. My sister was an Ar. Master Gardner and her nickname was “Farm Girl”.  I had a quiet chuckle about that because we never lived on a farm. My Mother was the old farm girl, but my sister use to tell her co master gardeners she was “just an old farm girl”.

The woman next door said that my sister could come up with an old home remedy for almost anything. For example, to keep ticks off her pets she would dry rosemary sprigs, strip off the leaves and grind up the leaves to a powder. The powder then could be rubbed in to the cat’s fur and the dog’s fur and sprinkle the powder play areas. 

When she transplanted a plant from one area to another she would add a small handful of oatmeal to the soil and mix it in when replanting the plant. She would it prevents the plant from going into shock.

She would save her egg shells and recycle them in a few different ways. One way was to crush the shells up and soak them for 24 hours in a bucket of water. Then she would water her tomatoes and peppers with the calcium rich water. The shell pieces then went into the compost pile to finish breaking down. I found a clipping that said you could start seedlings in egg shell ½s by putting a hole in the bottom of the shell, and putting potting soil in the shell and planting the seed in that. After the plant has germinated the plant and shell could be transplanted to where you want it, and the shell could be cracked when you transplant it.  An egg carton could be used as an egg pot holding tray.

I could see my sister telling anyone “you need to try this…for your…”.