This is the time of year when parts of our house start to resemble a lavender barn in Provence. If that lavender barn was full of catnip, that is.
Jonathan will only gather the 'nip (Nepeta cataria) when it's flowering, because that's when it's got the most essential oil. Then he carefully separates out any weeds (bindweed particularly), and hang-dries it for about six weeks. Later he'll strip off the stalks and I'll sew little pouches for catnip toys. He's the only one who's allowed to stuff them, though; he's the self-proclaimed Catnip King of downtown Toronto.
We sell the toys once a year at the Ward's Island Christmas Boutique at the Algonquin Island Clubhouse, first Saturday of December, and Jonathan also distributes them amongst his friends of the human and feline variety. We've had many people tell us their cat doesn't react to catnip; then they try ours and are amazed. I think it's because Jonathan, who cooked professionally for ten years, treats the catnip with all the respect he'd give a food herb. (It does make a lovely tea, by the way, but we don't claim our 'nip is food-grade for humans.)
Final note: Jonathan has been bemoaning the weather, and comes home every day to report on the grape harvest, the potato crop, and so on (which I expect he hears about on Elevator News). The rain is slowing down catnip development too, and greatly increasing the risk of molds and mildews. If he suspects any mold in a batch, he won't use it.
Jonathan will only gather the 'nip (Nepeta cataria) when it's flowering, because that's when it's got the most essential oil. Then he carefully separates out any weeds (bindweed particularly), and hang-dries it for about six weeks. Later he'll strip off the stalks and I'll sew little pouches for catnip toys. He's the only one who's allowed to stuff them, though; he's the self-proclaimed Catnip King of downtown Toronto.
We sell the toys once a year at the Ward's Island Christmas Boutique at the Algonquin Island Clubhouse, first Saturday of December, and Jonathan also distributes them amongst his friends of the human and feline variety. We've had many people tell us their cat doesn't react to catnip; then they try ours and are amazed. I think it's because Jonathan, who cooked professionally for ten years, treats the catnip with all the respect he'd give a food herb. (It does make a lovely tea, by the way, but we don't claim our 'nip is food-grade for humans.)
Final note: Jonathan has been bemoaning the weather, and comes home every day to report on the grape harvest, the potato crop, and so on (which I expect he hears about on Elevator News). The rain is slowing down catnip development too, and greatly increasing the risk of molds and mildews. If he suspects any mold in a batch, he won't use it.
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