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.

Moved to Washington

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

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?

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.