Do you love plants? Do YOU Own Land or have a garden of your own? Do your friends have land you could use?
IF so let's Talk!
I have an idea I would like to Spread (Organically) here on Steemit to the Gardening, Homesteading, Permaculture and Prepping Communities on here.
Main Idea:
GROW MEDICINAL PLANTS. I have been spending a bit of time each week over the last few years familiarizing myself with Various Chinese and Indian Herbs which I think could be grown very easily by most Gardeners who might appreciate their beauty and (if inclined), medicinal powers as well. Some Actually are lovely Flowers in their own right and you might wish to grow them just for their ornamental quality. Check out Rhodiola, Polygala, Rehmannia, Albizzia and Ashwagandha, Gotu Kola, Tulsi or Gingko Bilboa.
This is what Rehmannia looks like as a product.
But this is the Plant you would have to Look at for a few years until you could sell it. See what I mean? Not Horrible, pretty much a FoxGlove no?
Albizzia "The Happiness Herb" tea from the bark or flowers can be drank daily and I heard you can also smoke the flowers. Gorgeous Right?
Oh yeah, Astragalus is also a Nitrogen fixer for all you Permaculture people that might want to include it in your emerging Food Forests! Plus Storm Damaged trees can be converted into Valuable Medicinal and Gourmet Mushrooms.
Next idea:
USE THEM FOR YOURSELF, PROVIDE FOR YOUR COMMUNITY, SELL INTERNATIONALLY THROUGH STEEMIT.
I am happy to provide information regarding why one would want to take these medicines as part of your daily routine (Tonic Herbs are safe and effective and can be used throughout life. Since they are (sometimes) not as palatable or as easy to eat as most foods, certain kinds of preparations are often done first beforehand. I recommend doing your own research and then deciding what Tonic Herbs might best suit your current disposition or health needs).
Stress: Reishi, Gynostemma, Rhodiola
Fatigue: He Shou Wu, Ginseng, Cordyceps
Mental Clarity/Focus: Rhodiola, Brahmi (Gotu Kola), St John's Wort
Ginseng Root, The Older, the More Valuable....
China has a HUGE demand for Chinese Herbs and the Quality is Going Down.
Check out these Article: Demand for Chinese medicinal herbs provides niche market for U.S. farmers
Canadian market needs more herb growers, say herbal product producers
I will save my breath here since this post is really just meant to get the gears turning and to see if there is any interest here in the community to explore this idea further. I have experience in Permaculture Design, Cultivation of Medicinal Mushrooms and a growing knowledge of Adaptogenic/ Tonic Herbs through research and experience. I also have a good Dozen or so Books more specifically on these subjects and I am happy to share that information since I think once people see what I am seeing, we could all agree to make use of our unused spaces and help one another to grow the BEST Plants on Earth that have been Safely used for thousands of years by Cultures around the World that considered them to be the most Valued Substances of their Cultures. Might be worth looking into.
Reishi, Mushroom of Immortality
Please Let me know if you would be willing to turn old stumps or storm damage into Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms.
OR If you would be willing to add some Pretty Flowers in Your Garden that you only have to Keep Alive for a few years but then be open to the idea of selling things like their roots, leaves, flowers, bark or offspring to the Community here on Steemit. Possibly through Peerhub.com?
I don't want to waste your time with too much information at once, but REALLY feel free to ask questions below and help me to formulate this idea further. How could we make an open source community that shares what surplus we can provide from what we grow around the world? What do you think?
Nettle, Already Very Common, sold on the Market... Even Dandelions are worth something!
I have a He Shou wu (polygonum multiflorum) vine that has died so many times I assume it is Immortal. hardiest plant I have ever seen. Goji bushes grow in deserts, mountains and cold environments just the same. If you are worried about being a GreenThumb, you might not have to worry for some of these plants ;)
Last Second BONUS EDIT:
Traditional Chinese medicine and harmony of the planet: Lixin Huang at TEDxWWF
Ayurveda Over Western Medicines | Dr. B.M HEGDE | TEDxMITE
TEDxAntananrivo - Dr U. Indulal : The Ayurveda Way to treat Cancer
Let's Create Something New, Together!
RESTEEM THIS TO GET THE WORD OUT
Upvote,
Help me out by COMMENTING with your own ideas, questions or Concerns below!!! THANK YOU!
How might it be organised? Something as simple as a shared google document with people listing what seeds they have available?
Good question @kate-m ! At this point I was hoping to put our heads together and brainstorm a bit once I got a general sense of who and how many were interested. I do not seek to create a formal program or institution that needs to be upheld.... just give away interesting information, relevant links and try to stay in touch. Everyone will be able to contribute something. I have grown different medicinal mushrooms (turkey tail, reishi, Lion's mane etc) and SOME of these plants but I would be curious to see what is possible when an open source collaboration develops organically through shared curiosity and encouragement through our successes and failures online from the offline. This format (write an article, scan comments) doesn't work as well as other types of media, but I see the potential. Do you know how to do the google document list? Are you interested in some casual involvement with this idea/ Do you garden/have interested friends?
Hi, well I've been doing a PhD on the wild food scene in the south of Brazil and so I've come to know lots of people in the agroecology movement who all actively exchange seedlings and seeds and love it. Today I just gave away all the seedlings I had in the house cos I'm moving away in a month back to Europe. So for me it's like a weird moment of transition. But if you got something set up I could try to link in the people in Brazil... and also next year I hope to spend some time back in Ireland and set up a veg garden for my parents. I was thinking to explore the various permaculture and seed saving operations in Ireland, so it's something that next year I could potentially be involved in actively personally.
Google documents are relatively simple, it could be set up that anyone who has the link can edit it. It's just like an Excel document, nothing overly sophisticated, but if it were set up properly it could be a very simple way for people to mark down what they have available and to see what everyone else has, because obviously the blog format of Steemit is like the current of a river, forever washing away out of sight the information.
On another note, it strikes me that some sort of voluntarily accepted guidelines/protocol would be a good idea as regards trying to prevent undesired spread of potential invasives. What might be a wonder plant in one place could be the worst nightmare for another place. For example here in Rio de Janeiro state ora-pro-nobis (Pereskia aculeata) is very popular, it has amazing nutritional value, especially vegetal protein, but in places like South Africa it has turned out to be a very problematic and costly invasive. So asking people to do some preliminary research about the invasive potential of a species before distributing around the world seems like a good idea. Perhaps it could be noted on the spreadsheet too.
Thank you for all the useful information! A word on invasives... as an Anthro major I see it like ethnocentrism... what is local is based on the when and where we want to sustain. People are probably the strangest invasive species to most ecosystems. My permaculture teacher would lament over the poverty of ideas regarding this subject since it is kindof subjective in a modern context. Australia is a great example, So many crops and species are eaten that pretty much ALL originate from elsewhere... Unless people start eating Bunya pine and macadamia nuts exclusively. Because the landscape was perceived to be similar to Europe, somehow... the marshes were drained and rivers eroded and formed the landscape we see today. I recommend checking out Peter Andrews as a devil's advocate study to go alongside the Permaculture studies... he insists on using 'weeds' and invasives for what they are inherently capable of doing... occupying the landscape when others might not want to. I wobble on the fence to be honest. I think as clever primates shuffling our shit around we have a responsibility but one can take comfort in knowing that once an ecosystem reaches it's Climax (didn't meant to make it sound that way, but you know, Old Growth forests vs fields left fallow for a few decades...) invasive species either cannot get established or integrate, like we do.
That species from Brazil loses it's nutrition or is just not culturally adopted? I was trying to grow Inca berries / ground cherries where I live... brought seeds, planted, waited... then it turns out they grow here wild and people don't make much of a big deal of them... meanwhile, if I buy them dried at a store in the West they are over $10 for a small bag.
Go figure! Will look into the group page :)
It's all very interesting and chin-rubbing to get philosophical about invasive species and to start drawing metaphors with humans etc but at the end of the day invasive species are high up on the list of greatest threats to global biodiversity (Compared to other threats to biodiversity, invasive introduced species rank second only to habitat destruction, such as forest clearing) and deserve to be taken seriously, especially if you are proposing a network of people across the planet to send seeds and cuttings to each other. In the example of the ora-pro-nobis that I gave, the problem is that the plant has no native predators to keep it in check in South Africa, and as a scrambling climber type species it grows rampantly and smothers and chokes out the native vegetation. Invasive species often have fast growth, rapid reproduction, and high dispersal ability. For example, just one leaf or a twig from ora-pro-nobis and it can start growing. As a possible protocol off the top of my head, if someone wanted to swap a seed of a species that exhibited these features then that could raise a flag and as a next step one could then maybe check existing databases of invasive species, for example:
https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/resources/databases.shtml
https://easin.jrc.ec.europa.eu/Catalogue?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1
Migrating and moving plant about is what humans do. And the majority of plants will not become invasive, off the top of my mind I think 1% of introduced plants will naturalise, and 1% of those will be invasive. But as people and the species that hitch with them have started to travel much much more with the phenomenon of globalisation that 1% of the 1% has created havoc. Establishing some simple protocol to screen for possible invasives would seem like a responsible action by a global seed exchange group. If enough seeds are swapped, the one percent of the one percent of species that will cause a problem could be devastating for some places, and it's not something that you would want on your conscience.
I'm 100% for using weeds, "weeds" are awesome, nutritional powerhouses adapted to the local clime. But the word weed is in itself a subjective term, it can change with the perspective of each person. :) An ora-pro-nobis for one is the poor man's meat, a Godsend, for another, let's say a land-owner in South Africa, it's a bloody nuisance that may have devastated the biodiversity on their land and set them back big money trying to eliminate it.
Talking about climax habitats isn't even relevant. Are climax habitats the only places that have biodiversity and ecosystem service value??? Absolutely not.
Sorry if coming across a bit strong but I think it's an important consideration for your proposal and not one to be glib about.
Indeed and not something i take lightly, which is also why the last decade has provided many good conversations about the topic that have challenged my presumptions. This article is meant to focus on a particular class of Tonic herbs and medicinals which while many are perennial but have not been considered invasive from what I have heard. It will be up to the individuals doing the exchanges. I am not able to enforce anything, only to provide guidelines and worthwhile debate here for people to consider the risks and possibilities. If Ginseng turns out to be invasive in one place but a endangered in another, what is the right course of action?
How do I retort to your points when I get the impression you contradict yourself. My point was to say that whether we call something a weed or an invasive is relative to time and our perspective. Dandeliion was brought from Europe as a medicinal and salad green and because there is little demand for it anymore, it takes over our lawns and competes with Natives.
"I'm 100% for using weeds, "weeds" are awesome"
VS
"at the end of the day invasive species are high up on the list of greatest threats to global biodiversity"
I use terms like weeds and invasives interchangeably since they are just plants and if we like it, it stays, if we don't or we brought it, it goes. Which is it? 100% or worst idea ever?
I think the easiest idea would be to request that everyone comply with their countries rules and laws regarding seeds and plant material. I'm in Asia. Surrounded by ecosystems that have been replaced with Eucalyptus plantations, Lantana, morning glory and a few others I'm sure are not from here. The Eucalyptus is not going anywhere and spreads, but it serves a purpose and can be managed. The lantana fixes phosphorous after fires and provided nectar for bees, the morning glory is just pretty but it's vines are also useful. Willows in Australia were extremely effective for helping rivers recharge and for erosion control. but since people don't like the idea of non natives, they remove them and the rivers get worse.
Much of this is common sense. The ideas I am presenting are just to encourage the uncommon practice of questioning our beliefs about the why and what.
Things change with or without us. We do what we can to maintain the balance, but we need to be prepared for changes when the come and see the opportunity. Plastic products are everywhere, but thankfully cannot reproduce. GMOs are everywhere.... frankly, with the world headed the way it is... I'd be pleased to find Eucalyptus (going to collect some for great firewood) Blackberries to eat.
I guess with the US having a rekindled debate about who is native and who doesn't belong... it occurred to me that the issue might be in our heads. Not nature. Philosophical again I know... but the diametric self opposition just didn't make sense to me. Which point should I take away the black or the white? Or you wanna join me in complexity and nuance?
As an ecosystem progesses towards climax it becomes more stable and diverse and most of the pioneer species are replaced and succeeded by new species that otherwise could not get established without their initial work.
Are you familiar with Gaviotas? They returned the Rainforest to what had become a desert through the use of a monoculture of Pine... in Columbia. Don't know if those were strict natives, but they served the purpose of creating an initial habitat that could be improved by the influx of birds animals and plants that reintroduced the rainforest species back to where they otherwise would take much longer to return naturally.
In Permaculture you design food forests and mimic the stages of progression to help speed up establishment. Chop and drop, support species. etc etc
in 5-7 years you have a stable established food forest that you can easily manage.
But for the record. Do not bring species that may cause problems in your community, ecosystem, country or conscience. Do your research, follow the rules and laws and just do your best. I could provide a list of species I am thinking about and historical examples of how they are now a part of the ecosystem for better or worse (Chinese railway workers bring goji berries to the SW desert of USA, now people go on pilgrimage to find them) But I thank you for the countering (nice after getting the 'nice post, follow for follow! hahaha) So please, have at it. This idea should get bashed about for a while and the more heads put together the better, so no need to apologize. Without my grin or tone, it is hard to see how much I truly appreciate your insights. I am just one person online.
As an add-on, I am based in a somewhat unusual department in that hard science biologists are thrown in with anthropologists as a joint anthropology and conservation school (School of Anthropology and Conservation at the University of Kent, UK), so I am well used to the different perspectives of anthropologists and more traditional conservationists on such subjects. Debates in the school often involve lots of poorly hidden exasperated eye-rolling from both sides! I personally have strong links to both extremes and wander a sinuous line between them :)
i thought I could sense more to the story! It must be a fascinating and stimulating time in and out of the class. Good to have such heated debates indoors or online before we actually start sending seeds and silliness abroad!
Yes I love a good heated debate. I'm sure I'l get into trouble here on steemit one of these days as I don't shy away from giving my opinion. Sometimes Steemit feels a bit like that episode of Black Mirror where everyone is obsessed about being nice so they can be favourably scored on social media (not sure if you've seen that programme, highly recommend if not). I personally think that 'nice' is over-rated! (saying that I'm not generally a disagreeable person to be around!)
Also, on the West Coast, Blackberries from the himalayas cover the roadside. I LOVE the berries. But they are invasive, so what to do? Kill the useless things and keep the tasty ones? I am secretly grateful to whoever brought them... but Scotch Broom? I don't care for it, but it fixes nitrogen into soil that must need it... otherwise it might be too rich / support other species that could succeed it. Just depends where you are coming from. Turkey tail grow EVERYWHERE, but I wonder if that was always the case.
I have been doing alot of research lately about wild edibles and for medicinal use, and have concentrated on Pain relievers or pain killers. Wild lettuce is where I am at. I love plantain for making a poltuce for my kids mosquito bites and scraps. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for Commenting! Do you ever collect wild mushrooms? You are in Ontario no? Do you have a favorite Seed supplier or Nursery? I like Richters personally. :)
I am in Ontario. Sadly it is a smaller community so the only real source of seed purchasing is TSC. But they are not too bad for their quality of seed. I usually harvest my own or buy online from Vessey. No I have not collected Mushroom's yet. I am currently studying which are safe and which are not in my area. I am up in the Algonquin Park area so lots to pick from. I also am researching and experimenting with growing my own mushrooms.
Polypores on trees are the best place to start. ganoderma applanatum (artist conk) is easy to identify (good for staph and e coli specifically, but an overall good immune booster) Turkey tail grows everywhere. Chaga you might find, but personally the over harvesting saddens me. Cultivation of fungi I recommend you get your confidence up with Garden Giant (AWESOME FOR VEGGIES plus you get twice the harvest from the same area!) and Oyster can be grown on coffee grounds. Turkey tail is also extremely easy to grow and if you get your confidence up... Lion's Mane and Reishi are divine. TSC is surprisingly good (compared to the Agrochemeyseeds I get here) but I know what you mean... thank god for mail order!
Oh and you might even be able to get someone to show you what 'Shrimp of the woods' looks like some day, you can batter them and they taste just like popcorn shrimp!
I'm a keen grower of herbs. Always looking to expand my collection. Main difficulty is getting hold of the seeds, or plants, of the more unusual ones.
Hopefully as this thread evolves, people from around the World might be able to help one another to connect with the seeds from each region. Some, like Goji Berriesm can be sourced from the berries themselves... very common in China town. What BioRegion is your Garden in @pennsif?
I would be ALL in on this. I have a flourishing garden already and this year have turned my sights on herbs and medicinal herbs.
I am a sponge and read everything I can get my hands on.
I've already started planning next year's herb garden set up and what I want to grow to expand it.
@goldendawne ! you are my Bingo!
What plants would you like to grow? What health concerns do you or your community have that we could try to address with plant medicine? What is your climate/bioregion (what you COULD grow) I have so many questions! I am absolutely delighted to meet you and would be very happy to connect you with whatever information I am currently sifting through. The cultivation aspect can be effortless or super specialized depending.... but so many are easy to grow and BEAUTIFUL.
Humbly at your service,
@ecoknowme
I started growing herbs for culinary reasons but since have turned my idea more into medicinal herbs. ones for anxiety and relaxation.
I currently grow basil, oregano, marjoram, dill, etc but started growing chamomile, catnip, lemon balm, lavender and next year want to add comfrey, summer savory, motherwort, etc.
Rhodiola, He Shou Wu, Ashwagandha and St John's wort might also be of interest. There is a tree I would also like to see/try called Chinese Jujube Date. Fruit is apparently quite nice and the seeds are a mild sedative. Once the tree is established, you have fruit and medicine for decades. Then maybe we could have some seeds too? Maybe I start....
https://www.richters.com/Web_store/web_store.cgi?product=X3518&show=&prodclass=Herb_and_Vegetable_Seeds&source=799158.29456
I love what you are doing here. This could really take off!! Amazing ingenuity ecoknowme!
Thanks @eco-alex! I think we could really help a lot of people. The main motivation is to introduce these amazing plants and medicines into the consciousness of The Steemit Community. Then maybe people can/will start taking them (create a demand). At which point the people who already grow plants and take pictures of them can share their stories and bounties with the Community on AND OFFline :) Thank you for the Support! Will try to hook you up with some ImmortaliTEA :)
Very helpful information. You're now the second person on here recommending rhodolia for mental health. @thymewisper also has tons of knowledge on this subject. Rstd for increased visibility and as a reference for myself :)
Thank you kindly @chelsea88 ! I will check out @thymewisper for more plant info! Great stuff, Rhodiola... I am a bit sad since my own stash is going to be expiring soon depending on when / how much I choose to use it. Great for Focus, mood, energy.... Will use it instead of Redbull for my next Roadtrip. #nightdrivingsucks #arrivealiveandannoyinglyperky
You like redbull? Me no likey. Give me good old fashioned coffee. :)
Nah, me no likey either.. but for Roadtrips sharing the driving, I would lower myself to Redbull since coffee at night isn't my thing. But 1-2 Rhodiola capsules beforehand would have anyone singing through the night.
Is it really that strong? That's pretty cool. My biggest issue with previous herbal supplementation is i would have to take more than "recommended amount " to get results if i even got any
It is firm but gentle. I find it best to take first thing in the morning... but at the latest a bit before noon. It doesn't have any stimulating properties, but just makes your consciousness feel like it is the middle of the day. Bright sunny, clear. Highly recommend trying it out on days where you have to have a bit of energy or focus. I've never taken more than 2 capsules at once... would need to be on a PhD program to justify such adventures. I had been taking chinese herbs for some time and the same sources I heard about those, mentioned Rhodiola, so I knew if they others were so amazing, Rhodiola would be worth a shot. Also not habit forming. At all. I will try to see if someone would be willing to grow some for us here :) 3-6 year old plants create valuable roots that can be sliced and dried for tea, or powdered for capsules. Anyone have any they can connect @chelsea88 and I, @wuji with?
Yeah i think getting the freshest avalable would be beneficial. Thanks for your insight on this. Very helpful!!
thanks. well done. who wants to engage in the EU? Check out, get in contact with vidasintropica or the Sweet Revolution- Dulca Revolucio or directly with Josep Pamies
https://dolcarevolucio.cat/language/es/portada/
Very cool! Will check out the site and update in future posts. Thank you @vidasintropica !
Last February there happened the first Syntropic Farming Course in the Mediterranean Context, at La Loma Viva Permaculture Project (South of Granada, Spain). Ernst Goetsch was teaching and I felt very blessed to be his interpreter. Check out his work in Bahia, Brazil: http://agendagotsch.com/ Ernst is a great teacher and researcher, who lives what he teaches others. Could his research be combined with Masanobu Fukuoka Natural Farming and Mollisons Permaculture? How would you apply the principles when the goal is to heal landscapes (in the process healing ourselves) and focusing on wild medicinal plants and mushrooms with holistic lifestock management? How to make it economically viable, in all kind of different situations? By the way: the domain vidasintropica.org just got contracted in order to facilitate toolkits (open-sourced), designs and communication. Feel invited to share your ideas. Autumn (in Europe) there might happen a first sticking minds, hearts and stomachs together to start the process and develop some general pattern designs. be free to comment & share more links, thank you, robert
Listen to your inner-voice: Surround yourself with loving, nurturing people. Fall in love with your art and find yourself. Music is the great communicator.
Thank you @chichimarie. Let the Music of your Art Dance you ever closer to Love.
hi very nice...you are doing very well, India has wide range of herbal plants
Yes and sadly they too are disappearing. Hopefully, preservation can come through cultivation.
Do your country's claimate change to the indian herbs?
yes
keep in touch!
will do! Steem on!
okey...nice
Count me so in on this @ecoknowme. Growing herbs is certainly a passion of mine. I have new seedlings popping up in my greenhouse as we speak. I'm in zone 5b, the foothills of the Rocky Mountains and already have a few year old medicinal herb garden in the works. And am interested in growing anything and everything i can. Strictly Medicinal Seeds is the best place I've found to source odd varieties of high quality seed/root/and live plants.
Excellent tip @jayjayjeffery ! Will check them out. What have you got growing so far and what things would like to grow/ what things would you like to be able to do/ deal with botanically?
I'm looking to start growing shrubs in the coming year, elderberry, witchhazel, goji, goumi...
But right now my list is too extensive to write all of it down! I've got calendula and comfrey to feverfew, angelica, nettle, and colombine. Truely too many to name. I'm obsessed with growing anything and everything I can get my hands on. I have a greenhouse to grow stuff too. But when it comes down to it and don't use even a fraction of what i grow. I just like to grow it, somehow that's medicine enough for me.
will have to look up goumi! You might also be able to grow Seabuckthorn, INca berry (super easy and like a cross between cherry tomatoes, grapes, oranges and goji... but grows like tomato with cool wrappers for each berry (like chinese lanterns). You might like these guys:
Ha! You got me taking notes. I'd certainly heard of Eric Toensmeier before but never saw one of his videos. Awesome thanks for the share! I'm thinking about getting that book now... Just got
this book today. Can't wait to use it tomorrow!
Get one book and already want to add another the the collection! HA!
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Thank you kindly for the Resteem @thauerbyi ! Anyone can participate! Feel free to learn more about these plants and medicines as the idea unfolds. By experiencing the benefits, you become an ambassador for the truth and power of these Tonics and can help spread the word through your knowledge and through the Radiant Health you likely will experience by incorporating them into your diet. You might find that many powerful plants are growing in your Region, Disguised as Weeds! Nettle, Dandelion, willow, Roses, blueberries and more! What goes unnoticed there, could be a hot item on the other side of the world. In Bali, Apples are considered one of the Fanciest Fruits, since it doesn't grow there! Go Figure :)