Don't Throw Away Eggshells

I just can’t throw away eggshells in the garbage even living in a small apartment with no possibility of a compost pile. So I save them. Leave them in the oven when I bake something so they get dried out and

sterilized. Then I smash them up just squeezing them with my hand.

I use them like perlite in my potting soil. So far so good. I also hate throwing out used coffee grains. So I store them in plastic containers and use sparingly in my potting soil. The acid coffee should balance the alkaline in the eggshells. Here is an interesting article on many uses for eggshells including eating them, and I won’t go that far.

Lots of plants to start

Ephedra - Natural adderall?

Another plant growing from old seed (6-10 years old). Aren’t seeds amazing? Ephedra sinica is somewhat notorious, because ephedrine was purified from it and used in excess by people wanting to lose weight. I believe they can make an artificial ephedrine too.  So the FDA prohibited selling supplements that contain ephedrine. Of course, anything used in excess can be dangerous, even water. But it is legal to grow your own plant. 

It’s a stimulant kind of like coffee with caffeine. I have trimmed  several tips, about 1/4 teaspoon and chewed them, but didn’t really notice anything.  I guess you need more.

There are several kinds of Ephedra. Ephedra sinica (also called Ma Huang) is apparently the most potent. It hails from the desert steppes of Northern China. We also have Mormon tea (Ephedra nevadensis or Ephedra viridis) here in the U.S. It looks the same, but apparently doesn’t stimulate, but is used to alleviate asthma and the common cold.

Ephedra grows up to two feet tall, Maybe I should put mine in a bigger pot. There must be a female and a male plant to get fertile  seeds, so with one plant I won’t be able to get seeds. You can buy Ephedra seedlings at Strictly Medicinal Seeds. Their seeds are out of stock at the moment. You can buy seeds on Ebay. 

Plant Name Tags

99% of the time I won’t remember what I planted in such and such a pot. So I always need to identify the seeds that I planted.

I do this by cutting up aluminum cans like soda or juice cans. Then with any kind of sharp point, pen or pick, I write the name of the seed on the bit of aluminum, And the name will always be there, never fades, because it is impressed into the metal.

I was a member of an organic forum and when I suggested this method of identifying seeds, I was excoriated by the members for suggesting using any kind of aluminum in my garden. Once the plant is growing, I'll pick up the tags.

I don’t know, but the aluminum doesn’t “rust” like other metals, so maybe there are a few atoms left in the soil. Would this be so terrible?

Lemongrass. Useful and easy plant to grow.

This is my lemongrass plant.

I grew it from seed. And get this. The seeds were at least six years old. I have a lot of old seeds that I got six to ten years ago. So I thought I might as well try and see if they will grow. This place says you propagate lemongrass by division. There are different kinds of lemongrass, so that might be a factor. I plan to divide this so I have more plants.

You can also root lemongrass from lemongrass stems you get at the grocery store. I had a lemongrass growing last year, but it died. Maybe it didn’t die. Maybe it just was dormant, and I didn’t give it time to come back after the winter.

Unlike citrus plants like lemon and lime, lemongrass is quite easy to grow. As I noted in my last post citrus plants are not that easy to grow if you are a casual gardener. This Australian gardener shows you how to grow lots of it outside if you live in Zone 11 or above.

One good thing about lemongrass, it’s easy to identify. It tastes like lemon, duh. I have been clipping several inches off the ends every few days. Some say to use the bottom of the stems for cooking, but the whole thing tastes like lemon, so I don't see why not use the top part too. I like to add it to anything I cook—soups, stews, casseroles. Especially since I learned about how healthy it is for you as they tell you here, 

You can buy plants or seeds at Richters. And seeds on eBay. It certainly is an easy, visually interesting and useful plant to grow outside or inside your home.

Citrus Plants -Not so Easy

I had a lemon plant and a lime plant that I bought from a nursery. One died after I had it for a couple of years. I had to throw the other one out, because it got infested with bugs, aphids I think. Citrus plants are hard to grow inside. They exude sticky stuff; it got all over the table they were on. They probably need more light than I was able to give them, and maybe they need to be misted every day to keep the humidity up. I produced 1 or 2 limes the second year. So in caee you are thinking of picking up one of those pretty lime trees, be forewarned that they are high maintenance. The blossoms sure do smell good though.

Gota Kola -Ancient Herb Easy to Grow

I’m munching on this herb as I write.  It’s not that tastey, but, Hey, we can use all the help we can get. When you are eating medicinal herbs, be sure to chew them as much as you can to absorb their benefits better. I’ve grown it for several years now.  It requires minimal care once you get it started. Just be sure to keep it moist.  It’s vining and easy to root in another pot to multiply.  If you want to chew on some every day, you’ll need more than one pot. It can be grown outside in Zone 8 or above. 

I bought mine at Strictly Medicinal Seeds (used to be Horizon Seeds), but now I see they

don’t have any in stock.  Richters in Canada also has it.  I advise you to buy the plant and not the seeds which can be difficult to germinate.

Mine is not looking so good.  Maybe I'm not keeping it moist enough or maybe it needs

 more sunshine. I only get about 2 hours of sunlight where I am now, and that's if it's not cloudy.  We've been having a cool summer up here in the Northwest USA.  

It’s good for your brain and circulation among oher things.  You can get info on all it’s supposed to be good for at Herb Wisdom and Secrets of Longevity and Conscious Lifestyle.

Well after reading these descriptions again, I think I need to be eating more of it. Here’s a nice video on growing it and what it is used for.

I'm Back

I’m back.  After a 7-year hiatus I am back to talking about useful houseplants.  Although I did not have much space for growing plants inside and still don't, I have learned a few things which I will be posting about,  I’ve checked the links, and those that are still here are still in business.  So they have at least a 10-year track record. That’s practically a lifetime in internet years.