ADVENTURES IN SOAP MAKING: FRENCH GREEN CLAY AND LAVENDER CASTILE SOAP

Today I overcame a huge fear of mine.....making soap!  Sounds absolutely ridiculous, I know, but I have read way too much about the dangers of lye.  So I dedicated the day to overcoming my fear and make my own soap.

For some time now I have become aware of the dangers of chemicals in body washes and commercial soaps and have sought to purchase hand made soaps from local farmers and artisans.  That can be very expensive with many artisanal soaps starting at $5 per bar.  So I decided that I would like to make my own.  Then I could control the ingredients 100 percent and save some money.

I purchased a book, "Soap Crafting" by Anne-Marie Faiola to learn how.  The book is great!  Good detail with lots of pictures and great recipes that seem easy enough for a beginner.  I of course never want to do things the easiest way, and decided to make a Castile soap with lavender (a little more complicated than basic beginner soap).   I viewed a few You Tube videos and reviewed various recipes on the web.  I finally combined what I learned and came up with the following recipe that I tried today.  I decided to add coconut oil to the soap for better cleaning properties so it is not a pure olive oil castile soap.   I went to Brambleberry.com to calculate my lye and water portions as well as the essential oil quantity.  I based the recipe on Anne-Marie's main recipe for Basic Cold-Process Soap.  The set up was the part that took the most time as well as formulating the recipe.

FRENCH GREEN CLAY AND LAVENDER CASTILE SOAP RECIPE:

4 oz  organic coconut oil
18 oz  extra virgin organic olive oil (Costco has it in large containers at a good price)
2.968 oz  Lye
7.26 oz  distilled water
6 tsp lavender oil
2 tsp French green clay
dried lavender buds to sprinkle on top (optional)

First, I set out all my ingredients along with the tools that I have dedicated to soap making.  Glass heat proof pitchers and stainless steel measuring cups and mixing spoons.

I set up everything outside.  I have a plug on my porch, which was very handy to plug the immersion blender into.  I wore long pants, a long sleeved shirt, and my lovely onion goggles to protect my eyes (tres chic look).

I measured everything on my postal scale inside my kitchen then brought it out on the porch to mix.   I added the lye to the water and put it in an ice bath to cool a bit.  The chemical reaction caused the mixture to heat up dramatically so an ice bath brought it down to a temperature closer to the oil temperature which is better for mixing.

Then it was time to add the lye water to the oils....

I mixed it with an immersion blender to cut down on the saponification time.  By hand that can take a long time.  It took about 5 minutes with the blender.

When the mixture starts to thicken you add the lavender oil that has been blended with the clay....  Mix again, but not too much as it will be too thick to pour into your mold.

 My mold was a washed milk carton.  It can be cut away easily from the soap once it hardens.  As you can see the soap is green.  This is from the olive oil as well as the green clay.

For an extra special finishing touch I sprinkled the top with dried lavender blossoms.  I placed the container on a cookie sheet with books to help keep the carton from bulging as the soap hardens.  I then covered with parchment paper and wrapped a towel around it.  There it will sit until it hardens.  I suspect this will take a day or so.  We will see :  )

Resources:

brambleberry.com

Soap Crafting by Anne-Marie Faiola

HEIRLOOM ROSES

Reine des Violettes Rose:

A few years ago I became very interested in heirloom roses.  I had been collecting rugosas for years and came upon a beautiful heirloom rose at my parents' farm near an old abandoned house.  It had the most beautiful scent and seemed to be disease resistant and quite hardy (they are in zone 4).  Thus began my love of heirloom roses.  The first heirloom I purchased (online) was Reine des Violettes.  I thought the color was such a lovely fuschia/purple shade and of course the name had some sway, since violets are my favorite flowers.

Reine des Violettes (Queen of Violets) is a hybrid perpetual rose from 1860 France hybridized by Mille- Mallet.  It has very double four inch beautifully scented flowers that grow on thornless stems.    It's growth habit is tall and wide; heavy spring pruning will keep it more compact.  It grows well along walls or fences.  Like most roses, it does well in rich soil.  This year has been a particularly good year for roses, I think due to the generous amount of rain we have had here in the northeast.

 Unfortunately, the blossoms do not last long after being picked.  I can not help but pick a few to enjoy the scent indoors.  It is truly magnificent.  

 I grow mine along a fence that I can tie it to.

An absolutely perfect blossom.  I love the twirl of the petals that resembles ball gowns twirling gracefully on a dance floor.

I buy many of my roses from www.heirloomroses.com

Garden Tours

CORNELL PLANTATIONS

I recently had the pleasure of attending the annual Cornell Plant Sale at Cornell Plantations on June 7th.  Attendees are able to buy some of the Cornell Plantations' gardeners' top picks...some of which are new introductions.  The prices were great!  Needless to say, I purchased quite a few plants.   After the sale I toured some of the gardens.  The primrose path, as I call it, is my favorite place at Cornell Plantations.

Peonies and iris surrounded the greenhouses where the plant sale was held.  Here are a few of my favorite pics (above)

 Primula japonica bordered by Rodgersia and hostas.  Lovely combo even when not in bloom.

Interesting splashes of color in this Primula japonica

 Darmera peltata, also called Indian rhubarb or Umbrella plant.  I love the beautiful flower spikes that precede the leaves in the spring.  One of my new favorite shade plants.

 A boardwalk path meanders along the stream bead with Primula japonica, ferns, Darmera peltata, Chinese skunk cabbage.

 Chinese skunk cabbage

If you are in the area of Ithaca, NY, Cornell Plantations is a lovely place to visit any time of year.  The gardens are always open for the public to enjoy.  A truly remarkable place!  For more information visit their website www.cornellplantations.org

HEIRLOOM GARDENING

THE AUGUST ORGANIC VEGETABLE GARDEN

This year was particularly rainy so everything is very lush.  Tomatoes are usually red by this time but due to lack of lots of sun they are just starting to turn.  I like to allow plants to self sow and interplant vegetables with flowers for utilitarian purposes (to keep pests away or attract beneficial pollinators) and for visual appeal.  This year I have noticed that the bird population has increased around the garden.  I have multiflora rose bushes, small trees, and climbing hydrangea  bordering the garden to promote nesting.  The birds have dramatically decreased the cabbage moth population this year as well as the potato beetle population.

The garden is usually aflutter with hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees.  The flowers all seem to draw them to this space which greatly benefits the vegetables.

I grow three to four heirloom varieties of calendula each year.  I dry the flowers to use for my homemade creams and balms later in the season.  The orange of the calendula looks particularly nice against the vibrant purple of the verbena bonariensis.  

A four toothed mason wasp on the verbena bonariensis.  Flowers in the garden attract beneficial insects that keep the non-beneficial insect population down.  These mason wasps feed on caterpillars.

The kale patch is very lush this year and has not been bothered by the usual damage from cabbage moths.  I think this is due to the heavy bird population that surrounds the garden as well as the chamomile and hyssop that I have planted nearby to discourage the pest.

A border of hyssop attracts pollinators such as bees and discourages pest such as the cabbage moth.

All varieties of bees seem to love hyssop.

Nicotiana not only scents the evening garden, but repels cabbage moths and other pests.   I let it self sow throughout my garden in spots where it can grow as large as it wants to.  Sometimes this variety reaches as much as 5 feet tall.

Zucchini grows well next to the hyssop.  For the most part the squash beetles have kept away this year.  I picked a few earlier in the spring, but the number was minimal and now they are not around.  

Blue Curled Scotch kale and purple cabbage.  This combination makes a wonderful slaw when sliced very thin and combined with carrots, shallots, and an apple cider vinegar dressing.  A border of nepeta (catmint) borders the cabbage and seems to keep the cabbage moths to a minimum.  I picked a few worms off in the spring, but eventually they stopped and my cabbage did very well.

I grew two different varieties of cabbage this year.  One is a common purple variety and the other is a French heirloom, Bacalan De Rennes, from 1867.  I found the French variety to be much slower to mature and not as easy to start from seed.

A lush row of oriole orange chard.  My chickens love a few leaves in the morning.

Zebrina hollyhock (a true malva) self sows throughout the garden.  It looks very pretty with the verbena bonariensis.  It attracts bees and butterflies.

I allow Lollo Rossa lettuce to go to seed.  Not only is it beautiful, but I can collect the seeds for next year .

My vegetable garden has phlox, cosmos, verbena bonariensis and roses planted along the border to attract bees and butterflies...as well as hummingbirds.  Note the angel trumpet in the foreground;  it scents the nighttime garden with a beautiful perfume.

A ladybug on the apple mint.  Apple mint is a favorite of bees.

I have various cutting flowers in my vegetable garden such as these Pink Senorita Zinnias.

A harvest of zucchini, yellow squash, garlic, purple podded pole beans, and St. Valery carrots from the garden this week.