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the witch hazel tonic through a funnel
containing a cheesecloth filter and into clean plastic
squeeze bottles or other suitable, tightly capped
containers.
    •
Use the tonic within a week unless it is kept
refrigerated. You can preserve your tonic for long-term
room temperature storage by adding nine ounces of vodka
or grain alcohol to 23 ounces of tonic. Yield: one gallon.
Warning: Do NOT use internally! Keep out of the
reach of children.
    I don't know about you, but witch hazel is one of
those common household things I've always kept around.
According to Reader’s Digest, harvesting the witch hazel
yourself beats buying it at the store because commercial
processing tends to reduce the effectiveness of the witch
hazel.
Witch-hazel Extract
1 lb witch hazel branch tips
Distilled or bottled spring water (not city water)
Cheese cloth or cotton cloth and a strainer
Container like Mason jars
    Get out your largest stockpot. Cut branch tips from
the shrub. Remove any flowers and leaves. You just want
the wood. Cut the pieces into mulch with shears and place
in the pot. Add just enough water to cover the mulch. Bring
the pot to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Let the
mixture simmer for about 8 hours.
    Add water occasionally during simmering to barely
keep the mulch covered. Remove the pot from the heat
and let the contents cool to room temperature.
Strain the solids out of the liquid. Pour extract into
bottles or jars of choice. Seal tightly.
     
To extend the shelf life add 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol
to every 3 cups of extract.
    Pine Toner
2 cups fresh pine needles
1 cup distilled water
½ cup witch hazel
    For pine toner, place pine needles in small
saucepan with distilled water. Bring water to boil. Allow
water to cool completely then remove pine needles. Pine
needles can be thrown away. Add witch hazel and stir well.
Pour into a clean bottle or other container. Apply to skin
with a cotton ball. Store in a cool dark place
    Don had chosen two hazelnut cultivars to plant in
his so called “forest garden” in front of his house. He had a
circular driveway and the center section was thinly wooded
and ideal for adding extra trees and bushes in. The
cultivars he chose were more productive, smaller and
earlier to bear nuts to harvest than the wild ones he had
placed in the woods. To this little island of food producing
woods he added some Allegheny Chinquapin nuts which
appear much like a chestnut seed but are much smaller.
The Paw Paw is a true native American fruit tree
indigenous to the entire eastern half of America, from
Texas to the Great Lakes and down the east coast to
Florida. The Paw Paw is rarely seen and hardly known by
recent generations, but was a household name for the prebaby boomer generations.
    Many old and now forgotten folk songs were sung
praising the Paw Paw. Being the largest edible fruit native
to America, the Paw Paw is worth singing about and has
found some resurgent interest in the past 20 years or so.
    The fruit starts out green and in the oblong shape
of a mango. It grows 3-6 inches long and ripens into a
golden-brown with black splotches. It ripens from midAugust to October and should be soft enough to come off
the tree with a gentle squeeze. The ripe Paw Paw will
have a pronounced perfumed fragrance. The highly
nutritious flesh will have a consistency of custard and a
unique flavor, resembling a vanilla banana blend. The Paw
Paw tree requires two for good pollination and heavy fruit
set. The Paw Paw tree is a small and handsome addition
to an edible landscape. The Paw Paw tree is an
understory tree in the forest and prefers to be planted in
partial sun. Don laughed at himself singing songs about
"pickin' up paw paws puttin 'em in a basket." as he planted
his patch.
    Blueberry bushes run down one side of his
driveway and he had mixed in a few thornless blackberries
on the other side. Hawthorne trees were strategically
placed here and there along his front fence row for hard
times food as well as