Catnip Cigars

I had a bumper crop of catnip this year. The plants were watered more than in previous years, because I had moved them up onto a new raised bed we had put into the back yard. Take a look at those big, lush leaves!

These are the cuttings from two plants one week. After another three weeks, I would get another harvest like that.


I have to grow the catnip in a cage to protect the plants from neighborhood cats who are drawn to its delights. The first year I tried growing it in pots set out on the ground, I'd come out to find them mauled out of all recognition.

I grow catnip so that I can make catnip cigars from my sister Ann's 3 cats for Christmas.  Ann makes homemade dog biscuits for our little doggie, so all the family animals are well gifted on Christmas morning.

This year's stogies are jam-packed with "product." As I was sitting down with a big pile of the dried leafy stuff in front of me, portioning it into three smaller piles, I couldn't help but think back a few decades to another time... I swear: you just never know which skills will turn out to be transferable!