Useful Houseplants

Moved to Washington

2010-01-27T13:46:00.000-08:00

I've moved to Washington state, and we live on an acre lot, so I have a lot more room to grow stuff outside. I have discovered that it takes more than dropping some seeds into the ground to make a garden. I guess I don't remember all the things my mother did long ago to make her garden grow, but I'm learning. I love listening to Cordi's podcast. She also has a great website.

Fragrant Spring or Chinese Toon Tree

2009-12-21T13:02:00.000-08:00

I didn't know they were one and the same. Thank you Greenblogosphere.
Now I have a 5 foot Fragrant Spring tree that I got from Raintree Nursery and two little Chinese Toons that I've grown from seed I guess I'll have a Fragrant Spring grove in a few years. The great thing about them is that their leaves are edible. I say the more edible perennial plants you have the better.

Can't anyone grow an Avocado from seed any more?

2009-12-17T14:46:00.000-08:00

For the past 4 or 5 years I have been trying to grow an Avocado tree from seeds of avocados that I buy in the grocery store. None have sprouted. I remember in younger years doing this frequently, and I'd say about half of the seeds sprouted. They usually succombed to negligent care later on, but it was not hard to get them started. Now, I cannot get any to sprout. Is this because of they are being irradiated? They are not labeled as being irradiated. I have even bought organic avocados with no sprouting success.

I bought the book The After-Dinner Gardening Book by Richard W. Langer some years ago. (Actually recommended by a reader of this blog.) The book is out of print, but you can buy used copies. It tells about a New York City man's obsession with growing plants from seeds and remnants of foods eaten. It's an engrossing read, but I doubt that Mr. Langer would have as much success these days.

More on Gac fruit (Wooden Turtle)

2008-03-01T10:38:00.000-08:00

I found a source for Gac fruit seeds as in my post last year. They call it Wooden Turtle. I love perusing the Horizon Herbs site. The guy talks familiarly about almost all the plants they offer.

Another source for Lemon Grass

2007-12-11T20:38:00.000-08:00

I found another source for Lemon Grass. They sell the Cymbopogon citratus variety. Tropilab also has seeds for other tropical fruits like Barbados Cherry and Guanabana.

Lemongrass and Added new link

2007-12-02T22:13:00.000-08:00

Sand Mountain Herbs has lots and lots of seeds of useful herbs. Actually many will be recognizable as common weeds. Is someone really going to plant Dandelion? On the other hand, there are plants that supposedly grow in the wild that I don't know how to recognize such as Mallow and Feverfew. I'm going to get some of these seeds, grow them and then maybe I'll be able to recognize the wild plant.

I don't have much of a problem with mosquitoes where I live, but if I did, I would certainly get some lemongrass seeds. These people swear by its use as a mosquito repellent. Lemongrass has also been scientifically tested. Sand Mountain sells Cymbopogon flexuosus but the mosquito repellent articles refer to Cymbopogon citratus. Apparently they are very similar and interchangeable for most uses.

Sweet Prayer, Katemfe--I give up

2007-08-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

The Sweet Prayer, aka Katemfe (or Katempfe) or ego, is a Western African plant that is 1500 times sweeter than sugar. But I give up; after looking high and low on the Internet for months, I can't find a supplier of the seeds or plant anywhere. The scientific name is Thaumatococcus daniellii. Apparently some company has synthesized the sweet ingredient thaumatin, but it does not seem to have been commercialized much. For the conspiracy minded, maybe aspartame interests are paying someone off.

In Australia there is an invasive plant they call sweet prayer, but there is some kind of mistake, because they say it is Thaumastochloa danielii which does not show up anywhere on plant indices. It is the correct family Marantaceae, but it appears that the genus is wrong. So if someone in Australia wants to check this out, I would like to have some seeds from this "weed" if it really is sweet prayer.

Grow your own soap tree

2007-07-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

Newstarget came out with an article about soap nuts. They contain soapy substances called saponins. You can use them to wash your clothes and make a general purpose cleanser. They also can be used as a shampoo and skin cleanser; you have to be careful as the nuts are poisonous to eat. But it seems uneconomical to import soap all the way from India. Top Tropicals has seeds and says the tree can be grown inside in large tubs or outside in warmer climates. There are also seeds on ebay.

Apparently there are several different varieties, because I've come up with Sapindus mukorossi, Sapindus detergens and Sapindus saponaria, and there is a native soapberry tree in the Southwest USA (New Mexico, Arizona and Texas). There are actually quite a few plants that have these saponins and can be used as soap. Plants for a Future has a good article about them, and here's and interesting article about several soap plants but mostly the soap lilly.

Free Ginkgo Biloba seeds

2007-03-02T13:59:00.000-08:00

My Ginkgo seeds are growing. I've had them in the fridge since last fall when I picked them up from a park that has several ginkgo trees in downtown Portland. I put them in plastic bags (out of the fridge) until they started to sprout roots and then planted them. I have about 6 growing now.

I still have about 50 seeds left, so for about 10 of my wonderful readers that wander by, I'll send you some seeds free if you send me an email (kdavidhizaratgmaildotcom) with your mailing address. Some things just can't be done virtually. No guarantees, about a third of mine have sprouted so far.

Update: I have just sent out the last of my seeds for this year. Not sure if I will do this again or not. Have to get downtown at the right time to pick up the seeds. Hope all those who have received seeds are enjoying their little trees.

Have a Hoodia sprout

2007-01-16T20:50:00.000-08:00

The plastic bag method is just the best for getting seeds started.

I had a few Hoodia seeds left over from the ones I bought last year, so a few weeks ago I planted all but two in small pots. Nothing has happened with them. A few days ago, I put the last two seeds into a plastic bag with a damp paper towel. In just a couple of days I have roots popping out. So from now on that's how I'm going to propagate everything.

I also have two pomegranate seedlings that I started that way coming up. I got the seeds from some pomegranates I bought at the grocery store. Now I'm waiting for my Ginkgo biloba seeds to sprout. I picked up a bagful of them from a park in downtown Portland, where they have a bunch of beautiful old ginkgo trees growing.

Gac Fruit - Another very nutritious fruit

2007-01-13T14:52:00.000-08:00

I bought this little bottle from the health food store. It says it has Gac fruit plus other fruit juices. Now I find that Gac (also called Spiny Gourd or all these names if you are into languages) is another nutrition-laden fruit. If we had all these fruits available fresh, would no one ever get sick? It's scientific name is Momordica Cochinchinensis spreng. Gac is very high in anti-oxidants and lycopene and beta-carotenes. It also has essential oils and Vitamin E like avocado. There are several formulations on the market with canned juices, but I think it would be better for us fresh and/or raw.

It grows as a vine, and I suppose it is a warm climate plant. However, I have been unable to find any seed store that has the seeds. Maybe you can find the fruit at an oriental store that carries fresh fruits and vegetables and get seeds from the fruit. It is also used as a Chinese herb with the name Mu Bie Zi, and you can find whole seeds at Chinese herb stores like here and here and here, although I don't know if any or all would be viable. Disclaimer: I have no relationship to any of these stores.

My plant failures

2006-12-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

My two little stevia plants succumbed to damping off disease, I guess. They were growing about an inch but then withered and died. I had one hoodia plant growing last summer, but it also died. It looked quite cactus-like, so I don't know if it died from damping off disease or what. Maybe I should not have had it out on my windy deck last summer.

That's the end of my stevia seeds. Maybe I'll buy a stevia plant next summer. And I've planted the rest of my Hoodia seeds. They haven't come up yet.

Aloe vera --not just for burns

2006-11-08T22:07:00.000-08:00

I've always had an aloe vera plant that I've used for burns. Takes the pain away immediately. It's also antiseptic and helps scrapes and wounds heal, but I read somewhere a long time ago that it wasn't good to ingest aloe.

But now I'm finding that it is very good for you to eat or drink it. It is good for your digestive tract and also helps your blood move through your arteries and carry more oxygen to all the cells of your body as described in this article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Here's an article at Newstarget that talks about how good it is for your cardiovascular system. I just wish it tasted better; you have to add it to something else, and my daughter refused to use it on her sunburns when she was young, because she said it smelled like sweat.

Aloe is pretty easy to grow. For me the biggest danger is over watering it. Since my last move I hadn't had any aloe, so I bought a little container at Walmart for about $5 that had 4 little plants in it. Two plants I left out in the hot windy deck last summer, and they didn't do so well. One actually sent up a little flower (the one in the picture). I guess it thought it was going to die, and it had to procreate before passing on. They say it is better for your system if it is a bigger plant, so it will take a year or two to get mine big enough.

You can get a free aloe ($3 for shipping and handling) and lots of info from Aloe Vera Plant Products. Also Neem Tree Farms (I want to get one of those neem trees one of these days.) has Aloe Barbadensis, which they claim is most often used in herbal remedies. I don't know about that but it's only $7. The aloe in the Pitt lab photo looks to me like an ordinary aloe .

Have a stevia sprout

2006-09-05T21:44:00.000-07:00

I complained a couple of months ago about my stevia seeds not growing. But I made a last ditch effort and put the few seeds remaining in a plastic baggie with a damp paper towel, and now I did get two sprouts. One sprout is growing so far; the other sprout hasn't come up from the soil I planted it in.

This is a good method for impatient people like me who can't keep watering soil where I planted a seed and nothing comes up for weeks. This also worked for lemon seeds. They take so long to sprout, but in the bag you just check them every few days, and you can see when they sprout. Also for seeds that have to have the cold treatment like apple or cherry seeds, you put the bag in the fridge and just check every couple of weeks. Eventually they will start sprouting.

Hey, I'm just learning as I go along.

Goji berry plants growing

2006-08-08T18:01:00.000-07:00

Last year I had bad luck with my Goji seedlings and a couple of weeks ago I checked the seeds I had left and they seemed all soft and moist. I thought they're probably not any good any more, so I planted them quickly. Now they are coming up. Apparently these are seed pods, because there are a whole bunch of seedlings coming up each place where I planted a seed. So there are lots of little seeds inside the seed pods that are in each berry. I didn't notice this last year.

Well anyway I'm going to have over fifty plants if I can keep them growing. I'll keep you posted.

Columnar Apples

2006-07-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a great idea for growing apples in your house or patio. One Green World has three kinds of apples that you can grow in a container and they bear apples along the main trunk. The description doesn't say if they are hybrids. I wonder if you could grow more from seeds, or at least cuttings. Nowadays they say all fruits are hybrids.

One Green World has a lot of interesting plants, like Goji berry (they call it Wolfberry), Guavas, Pomogrante, lots of kinds of Sea Berries, plus many other exotic fuits and berries.

Ask them to send you a catalog. The catalog is more descriptive than the website. For instance, there are three kinds of Columnar apples, Golden Sentinel M-26, Northpole M-7 and Scarlet Sentinel M-7, but on the website they are just thrown in with the apple varieties.

No luck with stevia seeds

2006-07-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

I'm not having as much luck with my stevia seeds. The company I bought them from (Whatcom Seeds Co.) was a little stingy with the seeds. I only go about 6 or 8 seeds in my package. I planted 3 seeds and they haven't sprouted, so I only have a few more to try with. I also got these last year, so that might be the reason they are not sprouting.

Hoodia Gordonii

2006-07-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

I planted two of the Hoodia Gordonii seeds I bought last year, and they both came up. This is really exciting, because I was afraid I waited too long and they wouldn't sprout. And I didn't do anything special except use a cactus soil mix. Now let's see if it will continue to grow or get seedling wilt. I'm trying to keep the top of the soil on the dry side. Here are some detailed instructions about growing Hoodia (scroll down to the bottom of the page) although they don't sell seeds, and another site that talks about growing Hoodia, but I can't see where they sell seeds.

Bouncing Bear has seeds for a quite reasonable price. I bought mine on ebay

Clove tree

2006-06-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

Found a place (Jene's Tropicals) to buy a clove tree. Very expensive, but I would love to have one. Lots of information about cloves here. They sell seeds here, but sounds like they are not very easy to start. Some info from India about growing cloves from seeds.

Graviola or Guanabana

2006-05-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

I remember when I lived in Colombia we used to drink this guanabana juice a lot. I never realized that this plant has so many medicinal uses including anti-cancer, anti-parasitic (very important in tropical countries) and reducing blood pressure. There's a lot of information about this plant at Raintree Nutrition. You can buy plants and seeds at Exotic Fruits and plants at Top Tropicals. You can probably find the fruits at some Latin markets. They are filled with seeds. To make the juice you have to whirl the fruit in a blender with water or milk.

Chia - Not just for petting

2006-04-28T19:39:00.000-07:00

I added this to my list. I'm really getting away from houseplants, as this is something that you would sow in your garden annually. But it sounds like it is a very useful plant. Chia seeds are full of protein, vitamins, essential fats, etc. and can help you not eat so much. Read more here. You can buy them at Bountiful Gardens and also Horizon Herbs.

Chia means strength in the Mayan language. There is a town near Bogota, Colombia called Chia. When I lived there, that was a common Sunday outing to go to Chia. I thought maybe there was a connection to Chia seeds, but no, apparently Chia means moon in the native Chibcha language.

Growing Goji Berries

2006-04-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

Several people have commented on their successful growing of Goji Berry plants, but the comments are all over, so let me relist them here.

Seeds from dried Goji berries

Also from dried Goji berries

From seeds

And here is Timpanogos' article on growing them. Apparently you can grow Goji berries outdoors most places as they can withstand temperatures of -15 degrees Fahrenheit up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. And apparently it is easy to grow the seeds from the dried Goji berries you get at a healthfood store. So everyone can have a Goji plant growing in their back yard. Dry or freeze them and enjoy their healthful benefits all year.

Yacon - Low calorie sweet like a potato

2006-04-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

Another addition to my list, although this normally wouldn't be a houseplant. Yacon can be easily grown outdoors. A great natural low calorie snack food that is actually good for you.

How Sweet It Is…and Healthy too!
Fresh Yacon tubers are crisp and juicy with a delicate flavor reminiscent of apple or melon and a surprising sweetness that increases in storage. They can be eaten raw, (fresh or dried) steamed, baked, roasted, or juiced. The somewhat bitter skin can be scrubbed off with a stiff brush, peeled with a vegetable peeler, or removed after baking. One of our favorite recipes is to simply chop the peeled tubers into bite-size pieces and sauté them in a little butter until the sugar begins to caramelize. Serve with mashed potatoes topped with fresh parsley.

While satisfyingly sweet and flavorful, Yacon remains low in calories. This is due to the fact that the sugar contains high levels of oligofructose (inulin), a form of sugar that is not metabolized readily by the human body. For this reason, Yacon shows much promise as a food for diabetics and as a base for a low calorie sweetener. Even a tea made from dried Yacon leaves is purported to have the ability to level out blood sugar levels. Research on the benefits of Yacon for diabetics is being carried out in Argentina and Japan. Oligofructose is known to aid digestion and promote beneficial bacteria in the colon, so it may also help prevent colon cancer. High in fiber, low in fat, and rich in oligofructose, Yacon is considered by many to be a superfood of the future.

Some other suppliers are Green Harvest (Australian), Organic Centre, and also in Australia- Daleys Fruit.

Another interesting article about Yacon is at Newstarget.

Goji Berries

2006-04-04T12:13:00.000-07:00

Many people are asking about where to get Goji Berry seeds or plants. I bought mine on eBay. Here are some other places that sell seeds and/or plants.

Timpanogos Nursery

Sand Mountain Herbs

Local Harvest

Richters

Gojiberries.usLycium Eleagnus Barbarum

Healing Herbs

B & T World Seeds a company in France

Herbalistics a company in Australia

For the record, I don't have any relationship to any of these stores. Some places call this the Chinese Wolfberry. There is some discussion about what is the best or authentic plant, as there are about 40 varieties. Most use the scientific name of Lycium Barbarum, but one place says this is the real Goji berry, Lycium Eleagnus Barbarum. I imagine they are all healthful.

Update: Rich has informed us about his site Gojitrees
He also says his is the authentic Lycium Eleagnus Barbarum.

Found another plant very high in Vitamin C - Amla

2006-03-02T20:41:00.000-08:00

I have been reading lately about the many facets of Vitamin C. Ascorbic acid is only part of the Vitamin C complex. Although it seems that Ascorbic acid works for me, most likely the whole complex would work better. In any case it would probably be best to get your Vitamin C from one of the plants that have a high amount of the Vitamin C complex. Acerola Cherry is one and this plant Amla is also very high. It is from the Himalayan mountains so it might grow outside up here in the Northwest. I've found two places that have seeds, Horizon Herbs and this site that just incidentally sells some seeds.

Probably in the north rose hips is the most easily obtained Vitamin C plant. Rosa Rugosa has excellent rose hips. Strange that the nursery catalogs make no mention of the rose hips when selling Rosa rugosa.

Exotic plants now commonplace in catalogs

2006-02-24T11:45:00.000-08:00

Looking through the seed catalogs like Burpee, Guerney's, Thompson & Morgan, Park Seed, I'm finding that they all are stocking some uncommon plants, like stevia, ginkgo biloba, dwarf banana. I especially like Territorial Seeds. In addition to Stevia they have the Green Tea plant and Sea Berry (Asian berry extra high in nutritive value) and Purslane--they don't do trees.

Ginkgo Biloba growing

2005-10-30T22:14:00.000-08:00

I had about given up on the Ginkgo Biloba seed I'd planted in June and here last week a shoot came up with the distinctive little fan leaves. Here in northern Oregon the climate is strange to me. It doesn't rain all summer, maybe we had 2 or 3 showers from June till August. Then in September it starts raining almost every day, but it's usually more of a drizzle. There are no thunder storms. The leaves are turning and then falling off the trees, but the grass and small plants are popping up everywhere and that's when the Ginkgo started growing although I was watering the pot off and on all summer.

Now the more I investigate about Ginkgo, it seems that it needs to be processed to concentrate the beneficial parts of the leaf. Although here is a description of drying the leaves and putting them into capsules, and another place tells you to pick the leaves in the fall when they are turning yellow. But here we have this warning: Don't use unprocessed ginkgo leaves in any form, including teas; they contain potent chemicals (allergens) that can trigger allergic reactions. Stick with standardized extracts (GBE); the allergens are removed during processing.

Well, I'm allergic to only a few things, so I won't worry too much about it. Maybe it's the influence of the supplement making companies so you buy their product. In any case it will be a long time until I can actually use anything from this tree. I wonder if it is a male or female. Since we are renting here, I won't be planting it outdoors.

The Ginkgo pages has lots of interesting stuff about the tree. It's like a living fossil, really interesting. In one of those synergistic ways, as I was just learning all about the Ginkgo, a new shopping mall opened up near here, the Bridgeport Village in Tualatin, and the logo they use is a Ginkgo Biloba leaf. I said to my daughter they must have planted some Ginkgo trees and sure enough we found them near the entrance.

Lo Han Kuo

2005-10-20T11:52:00.000-07:00

Lo Han Kuo (also spelled luo han guo) is used as a sweetener and also has medicinal and anti-aging qualities. I was going to add this to my list, but reading up on it, I discovered the actual fruit is not very good eating, and they have to process the fruit to make it into a sweetener.

Also I could find no source for buying seeds. They say it is a difficult plant to grow, as it has very special growing requirements having been cultivated on steep mountain slopes with high humidity, little sun, but not freezing temperatures.

At the Shamanshop you can buy a Lo Han Sweetener. It contains Lo han and other sweeteners.

This company, Dragon River, sells Luo Han Guo (they spell it differently) wholesale, and they have a beautiful website.

Update: Found this place, Horizon Herbs, that sells the seeds for this plant. They call it Arhat Fruit.

Cinnamon

2005-09-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

A report recently came out that cinnamon lowers blood sugar. This is on my list, but it is a little expensive. On the other hand, for diabetics this would be an important plant to have growing in their house.

Cinnamon is the dried inner bark of a tropical evergreen tree, of which there are about 100 different species, all with similar aromatic properties. The two most commonly available varieties are Ceylonese cinnamon and Chinese cinnamon. Chinese cinnamon, which is actually from the bark of the cassia tree, is not considered a true cinnamon (species Cinnamomum verum). Grown in Southern China, and other parts of Eastern Asia, cassia is a dark reddish color and stronger in flavor than its Ceylonese cousin (Cinnamomum zeylancium). Cassia is less expensive to process than true cinnamons and is the type of "cinnamon" most commonly sold in supermarkets--though it is sometimes blended with Ceylonese cinnamon.

I wonder, since there are 100 different varieties, if they all work to lower blood sugar or if only the true cinnamon works, as the article doesn't say exactly which variety was used. Probably any variety, as the cinnamon sticks in the anecdote were most probably the cassia variety.

You can buy cinnamon plants here and here if you live in Florida. It's much cheaper to buy seeds here.

I'll have to start all over again with the Goji seeds

2005-08-28T12:18:00.000-07:00

I had put my Goji seedlings outside after putting the fishmeal on top, and now there are some kind of worms all over it and eating the seedlings. Luckily, I have more seeds, so I am going to start again with more fertile potting soil. This is harder than I thought it would be.

Got Fish Meal

2005-08-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

Actually, Dr. Earth has a product that is pure Fish Meal plus microbacteria. A 2-pound box cost $7.99 at the garden store. This is perfect. I'm putting some of this directly on my Goji plants (in a water solution), because they need something right away. I put some organic fertilizer in the potting soil when I transplanted them to a bigger pot, but they are not doing much of anything.

And then I am also going to make the bug juice. Now I know I'll have something better when I start planting my other seeds. It's good I didn't plant my stevia, coffee and hoodia seeds yet.

Fish meal

2005-08-08T00:59:00.000-07:00

Found a product that contains fish meal plus has the probiotic bacteria, so I'm going to try this. Plus I also have some organic fertilizer, which I didn't realize I should be using in the seed starting potting soil. (See my last post.)

Dr. Earth does not sell on the Internet, but they tell you what stores sell their stuff, and there are several nearby me here in Portland. I believe they only supply the Western U.S. area.

Worthless potting soil

2005-08-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

I was discouraged over the progress of my plants. My tobacco shoots came up the two times I planted but just stopped and did not continue growing until they finally just wilted away. Three of my Goji berry plants are growing but not very well.

But I discovered my problem. Isn't the Internet great? I was surfing and came upon this article that says most potting soil that you buy is worthless. Here I was thinking potting soil (soil you buy to put in a pot to grow things) would have the ingredients to grow plants, but apparently not.

Especially since I am growing from seed my plants have no beneficial bacteria to help them get the few nutrients there are from the soil. I believe I read somewhere that tobacco in particular needs nutrient rich soil.

because everyone forgets that they mixed the soil from a potted plant with the potting mix when they transplanted. Since the plant's soil contains microorganisms, gardeners are "innoculating" the potting mix with beneficial microorganisms.

I don't want to have a sterile, chemical fertilizer induced growth, as the resultant fruit probably would not be as nutritious as possible. I want to try the recipe for bug juice, but I have to find a source of fish meal.

Can't imagine CODEX happening here in the U.S.

2005-07-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

You thought health insurance was expensive. Wait till you have to get a prescription for vitamins. You thought too many people were in jail. Wait till it's criminal to buy vitamins.

My useful houseplants will keep me from turning to a life a crime under CODEX. Won't need any if I have all the plants I want to get.

This issue will certainly show whether or not we have become a nation of sheep.

Another exotic plant--the dandelion

2005-07-07T22:25:00.000-07:00

Well, just goes to show you don't have to go to the ends of the earth to find useful plants. Didn't know this about the dandelion. I must start to include it someway in my food.

The trace minerals are just part of a package of some 64 nutrients and health-promoting substances which have been found in dandelions by plant chemists around the world. Defenders of Dandelions

Goji berry shoots!

2005-07-07T14:41:00.000-07:00

Five of the 9 seeds I planted are coming up. How exciting! I was getting a little worried. It took them about two weeks. I was about to set them outside on the patio for more light, but then one of the little rabbits I've seen lately hopped into view. Better not.

I'm about to plant morning glory seedlings for the 3rd time. Between the rabbits and the slugs the other two plantings were just gone. This time I'm determined to keep them. I'll cover them at night for the slugs and put hot pepper on them for the rabbits.

Allergy sufferers?

2005-07-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

I don't have allergies, but this is an interesting book.

It's about how so many people are bothered by pollen, because landscapers only plant males to avoid the mess of fruit. I suppose it is unnatural to have only male plants in so many places. I know the Gingko Balboa tree is male and female, and they only want to plant males in the city, because the females make a mess with the fruit. I hope I have males and females in my seeds so I can have baby Gingkos.

No Goji shoots yet.

2005-07-02T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hope everything is going okay with my Goji seeds. Nothing is happening yet.

Here is a description from a Goji producer

The Goji Berry plant is a bush/vine that grows about 8 feet tall with vines that can get 12 feet long. The Goji Berry plant has 1" long thorns and narrow shaped, medium green leaves. In the spring, this bush is covered with small trumpet shaped flowers, some purple and some white. These are followed by green Goji berries that turn a beautiful glossy red when they are ripe. Fresh Goji Berries are very juicy and very sweet. Absolutely Delicious!!

Added 3 more plants to my list

2005-06-28T15:25:00.000-07:00

Added to my list:

yerba mate - Ilex paraguariensis

pomegranate

moringa -Moringa oleifera

If a person had all these plants, I wonder if you could get them to bloom at different times of the year. Probably with grow lights. Then you could always have fresh highly nutritious fruits almost free all year.

Tobacco seeds are coming up

2005-06-26T11:06:00.000-07:00

I have about 5 shoots again. They are so tiny. They came up a little faster this time, because it is warmer I believe, although the nights are still cool here in northern Oregon.

Got my Goji seeds today

2005-06-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

They are kind of red, maybe stained from the berry. I planted 9 seeds. The amount of nutrients they have is incredible. It will be so great to just pick some fresh off of my tree. Until a couple of years from now, have to be satisfied with dried Goji berry.

Luckily you can buy some here.

Hoodini Gordoni

2005-06-24T15:24:00.000-07:00

Still waiting for my Hoodini Gordoni seeds.

Planted a Ginkgo seed and more tobacco

2005-06-19T10:31:00.000-07:00

Finally, back to planting. I'm really not set up for this. Have no place to work except out on a little deck or down in the garage. And no place good to keep the planted seeds. My room in the basement hardly gets any sun. I suppose I will have to get some grow lights.

I think if I can grown these plants. Anyone will be able to. Planted Ginkgo Biloba with some sand in the potting soil and planted more tobacco seeds. No way of telling how many tobacco seeds; they are like dust.

Free online books about growing plants and other things

2005-06-16T18:13:00.000-07:00

Here are a lot of free online books about growing plants and back to the farm agriculture. Even though some are quite old, they are still useful.

This site sells lots of tropical plants

2005-06-14T09:42:00.000-07:00

This is a nice site. They have some of the plant seeds I want. If I can't find them on eBay, I will buy some here. Surprisingly lots of what we consider tropical plants are somewhat cold tolerant, because they are from the mountains. From personal experience, I know how cold the mountains can be in tropical countries. If I had property in any southern state, I would buy some and plant outside.

Plants I want in my collection of useful houseplants

2005-06-13T13:35:00.000-07:00

This is a list of all the plants I want in my useful houeplant collection eventually.

acai fruit - Euterpe oleracea or -Euterpe precatoria-
acerola Malpighia glabra
Aloe vera
ayahuasca
baobab - looks strange
cacao - Theobroma cacao
camu-camu - Myrciaria dubia
Chac - Momordica cochinchinensis
Chia -Salvia hispanica
cinnamon
cloves - Syzygium aromaticum
coconut - Cocos nucifera - indoor palm dwarf
coffee
date palm
Dong Quai
galangal -
ginger
ginkgo biloba
ginseng
goji berry Lycium barbarum
Graviola (guanabana) - Annona muricata
guarana - angelica sinensis ? Paullinia cupana
hippophae and elaeagnus
hoodia gordonii
kava kava - Piper methysticum
luffa gourd
maca - Lepidium meyenii
mangosteen - Garcinia mangostana L
moringa -Moringa oleifera
neem -azadirchin indica
noni
pomegranate
rosehips - Rosa canina -Rosa rugosa
stevia
tobacco
voacanga seed
Yacon (Polymnia sanchifolia)
yerba mate - Ilex paraguariensis
yohimbe

Got sand?

2005-06-10T21:50:00.000-07:00

The instructions for the Gingko Biloba seeds said to plant them in sandy loam soil. I bought some sand to add to my potting soil. Hope that is okay. I think it is finally starting to warm up a little, so I must get going with all my seeds and planting my tobacco again.

Also needed sand, because I want to experiment with Bonsai a little. They say you need some sand to make the soil a little heavier for a Bonsai tree. There are lots of little maple trees growing around here. Thought I would start them in little dishes and see what happens.

Found the sand at a Fred Meyer store. They seem to have everything a person needs. Looked first at K-mart. They are the pits. The garden part of the store was locked up. I don't blame them actually, as the store was practically empty on a Tuesday night.

Bought Hoodia Gordonii and Goji Berry seeds

2005-06-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

I bought Hoodia Gordonii and Goji Berry seeds on eBay. Both are rather scarce. So I wanted to get them as soon as possible. The Hoodia Gordonii is an African cactus that is supposed to be an appetite suppressant. It takes years to mature, the better to get started now.

Goji Berry seeds are supposed to be very high in vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants strengthening the immune system. This berry can actually be grown outside in temperate zones, because it is from the Himalayas. I can't wait to get started with this one.

Plant again

2005-06-08T14:13:00.000-07:00

I need to plant my tobacco plants again. My little granddaughter tore out the plants from the pot. They were not doing much of anything, were still really tiny. Probably because it's been so cold here. Heard on the news that this year has been the coldest spring in the Northwest since 1982.

But in any case my granddaughter obliterated them. Now I know I will have to keep them always out of her reach. I was trying to give them a little more light on the table, but growing probably has more to do with temperature than light. We only had about three days when the temperature went above 70.

I've got three tiny tobacco plants!

2005-05-29T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is really exciting. Three tiny shoots. I'm keeping them moist with a spray of water several times a day. As I said the seeds are really tiny. I read that there are 300,000 seeds in one ounce. One plant can make up to million seeds.

Actually tobacco can be grown in all climates. It's a wonder there isn't tobacco growing everywhere like a weed.

All kinds of useful houseplants

2005-05-26T13:27:00.000-07:00

Only recently, I became aware of the availability of useful plants that can be grown in your house from seed (or if you want to invest more from small plants) . Plants such as stevia that sweetens without calories and acerola which has 65 times the Vitamin C of an orange or noni which supposedly has all kinds of health benefits and then there are dwarf banana, lemon and mango trees. Also maybe not so healthy, but still interesting are coffee plants, kava and tobacco plants.

In this log I will chronicle my efforts to grow all the plants I can find. So far I have bought coffee seeds (2 kinds), stevia seeds, tobacco seeds and ginkgo biloba (can actually be grown outside in all climates).

I started with the tobacco seeds, because I received them first. Have not had luck yet. The seeds are tiny, tiny. Maybe it was too cold in my basement room. Nothing's happened in over a week since I planted them. But that's okay; I'll just try again. I got 1000 seeds for $6.00 on ebay.