solmatt

[solmatt]

#naturecore #cottagecore #goblin core

[solmatt]

A walk through the forest

#cottagecore #goblin core #natute

[solmatt]

Here’s a collection of mushrooms from my forest walk

#cottagecore #naturecore #goblin core #mushrooms

[solmatt]

A wonderful rainy day. Debating on whether or not I should pluck the early fruit on my strawberry so it can focus more on making runners for this new season. One of my blueberry bushes has started to put out fruit for the first time. Im very excited but am also unsure on how I should go about it. Should I pluck em so the plant can focus on growing more or just leave em?

#cottagecore #gardening #goblin core

[solmatt]

As the flowers have returned, so have I with more knowledge and slightly better mental health. Looking forward to sharing a whole bunch new things with y’all.

#cottagecore #foraging #environmentalism #goblin core

[solmatt]

The first flower on my zucchini plant. My gardens coming along nicely, although it ain’t looking the best right now since there was a huge thunderstorm a couple of days ago. But everything is growing well from what I can tell. Well, except for some peas I had to get rid of due to fungus.

#cottagecore #gardening

[solmatt]

This video was not worth the trouble but I’ll be dammed if i waste it. Here’s a cicada nymph coming out of its shell.

#bugcore #entomology #waste of time

[solmatt]

The goal

[solmatt]

Plant of the week: mock strawberries

This weeks plant (or rather end if week plant) is the mock strawberry. Not to be confused with the wild strawberry or a true strawberry, the mock strawberry has small yellow flowers that turn in to red fruit that look like strawberries but they point up instead of down, giving them away. These plants are invasive but they are also edible. The berries themselves taste bland and lack the juiciness of actual strawberries, although some say they taste like watermelon. They can be used to make a poultice for eczema or dried and made into a tea. You can also make them into juice. I know for a fact that they’re starting to show up in the southern east coast so if you live in region, get to picking. Y’all know the drill, do your research, have fun, and be safe.

#cottagecore #foraging #environmentalism

[solmatt]

Mint tea brewed in the sun and made from the mint in the garden.

#cottagecore

[solmatt]

Sorry for the shitty found footage photo. But i was wondering if anyone could identify this insect for me.

#bugcore #entomology #what is this

[solmatt]

Plant of the week: Dock

So fist off: sorry for the late post. My minds been preoccupied.

This weeks plant is not just one singular plant, but three. Today were talking about docks. Specifically bitter dock (to the left), common burdock (to the right) and curly dock(in the middle). These plants that appear in the early spring and persist throughout the summer. Each plant is edible and had a plethora of medicinal uses. Bitter dock or broadleaf dock, is characterized by its broad, verdant leaves that have a noticeable red line starting from the stem and going almost half way through the middle of the leaf. Its young leaves can be eaten as greens. The leaves can also be used to soothe burns, blisters, and nettle stings. Be wary however, as the leaves may also a laxative effect. These plant grow low to the ground practically everywhere from full sun to full shade. From forest floor to the sides of roads ( remember don’t eat the ones that grow on the side of the road). Common burdock or lesser burdock, is a large broad leafed plant that grows 3 to 6ft tall in its second year. The plant is well known for its medicinal uses. As its roots , leaves, and seeds are used to increase urine flow, kill germs, reduce fevers, treat cancer, anorexia, gastrointestinal complaints and much more. However, the leaf stems, flower stalks and roots are all edible and highly nutritional. Curly dock or yellow dock is characterized by its curly leaves is used for pain and swelling of nasal passages and the respiratory tract as well as a laxative and tonic. Its also used to treat infections and sexually transmitted diseases. The younger leaves can be eaten boiled or raw. So, now about these wonderful plants I think it’s important to note that only two of them are apart of the same family even though all of their names contain dock. Those two plants are bitter and curly dock. Belonging to the family Rumex which contains docks and sorrels, these two plants are closely related to plants like buckwheat and knotweed. While common burdock is part of the burdock or Articum family, which is related more closely to sunflowers and asters. Just goes to show that it is important to know the families and latin names of plant species because sometimes common names can be misleading. Remember to have fun, be safe, and do you research before picking or ingested a wild plant.

Personal observations: so i actually found all three of these plants only a couple feet away from each other. One bitter dock plant was actually growing under a young common burdock which pretty much dwarfed it in size. All of these plants are considered weeds however, common burdock seems a bit more selective on where it grows since i only noticed two plants in the area. When in contrast, the bitter dock littered the forest floor. Curly dock however lies somewhere in the middle in its abundance as it seems to like wetter soil, and will grow where water tends to pool. This has just been my observation of my area however so im not completely sure about the growing habits of these plants but i thought it would be interesting to note regardless.

#naturecore #foraging #herbalism

[solmatt]

The bees are loving the azaleas in my backyard. Always nice to have flowers even its just a few.

#cottagecore #bugcore

[solmatt]

Its earth day today. If im being honest I thought earth day was in march and had already passed. I have no clue why i thought so but i was obviously very wrong. So happy earth day! I encourage you all to go on a walk today through the woods or maybe the beach, perhaps even your city park. And enjoy our planet. If the weather permits and you have the means to do so, go out and plant a patch of flowers or a tree. If you do decide to go out on a walk and see some trash, please pick it up. I think i may go to the park today myself, however it honestly pretty cold today which is a bit disappointing. But that president won’t stop me from going out. Anyways, have a great day and remember you don’t have to confine yourself to one day to take care of our planet.🌿

#earthday #environmentalism

[solmatt]

#cottagecore #Instagram

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#cottagecore #bugcore

[solmatt]

Plant of the week: English Ivy

This weeks plant of the week is a bit different from the previous ones since it is not edible. However, it is still rather useful. This weeks plant is english ivy. English ivy was initial brought over from Europe as an ornamental plant, providing ground cover for gardens. It also tends to climb up houses and fences giving homes that “cottagecore” look. However, English ivy spreads very rampantly and so it has become naturalized in most of the United states. English ivy produces purple blacks to orange colored berries in the winter, providing impromptu food for birds. Flowers bloom from late summer to late autumn. Although ivy doesn’t seem to bother larger trees, it will choke out younger and smaller trees. Unlike poison ivy, English ivy dose not irritate the skin. So, other than making your home look like an abandoned cottage and occasionally becoming an annoyance for home owners who like boring homes (gottem), what is English ivy good for? Well I’ll tell you. English ivy can be turned into liquid soap. Yes that’s right, by boiling some English ivy leaves you can makes liquid soap that you can use for your dishes and clothes. And environmentally friendly alternative to your standard store bought chemicals. This is because English ivy contains 5% to 8% of saponin which is a natural cleaning agent, great at removing grease and grime. Especially from clothing. All you need to make is English ivy leaves and water. Just boil you leaves and strain the liquid into a bottle (maybe you can reuse some of you old detergent bottles or a mason jar). Now, English ivy dose look a bit like poison ivy so be careful when picking it. Id say a good indicator would be the leaves. English ivy leaves look like there separate leaves, however it is only one leaf. It also has white streaks on its leaves. They are also darker than poison ivy leaves. As always, remember to extensively research the plants you plan to forage, don’t over exhaust a patch, and most importantly to have fun and stay safe. Please do not climb a tree to get these leaves, the grow just as abundantly on the ground.

After notes: howdy, sorry if todays post reads a bit clunky my mind was feeling a bit foggy. Thinking about a lot of stuff. The rest of my seeds came this weekend so I’ll be sure to talk about those soon. Also y’all really like that tosd, huh? Well im happy you did, i was pretty excited myself when i found him (probably a her tho).

#cottagecore #foraging #naturecore #environmentalism