Ginkgo Biloba growing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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!

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?

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.

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

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

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

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

Still waiting for my Hoodini Gordoni seeds.

Planted a Ginkgo seed and more tobacco

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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!

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

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.