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Tag: Lactuca virosa

Wild Lettuce, Spontaneous Generation in the Garden of Diversity

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| Categories: Growing Hints, Richo's Blog
Wild Lettuce

We like to leave our best plants to produce seeds, seeds that may be harvested and set aside to plant at a later time, or seeds that fall spontaneously to the ground, germinate and grow in season.  We follow  the “Mother  Plant” concept where, given that one is working with open-pollinated plants, a single plant can produce enough seedlings…

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hinduvoices.com Interview 10/15/19

https://blog.strictlymedicinalseeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/richochecinterview10_15_19.mp3

KZYX.org Interview 3/5/19

https://blog.strictlymedicinalseeds.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/kzyx.org_.interview.m4a

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strictlymedicinalseeds

Organic growers of medicinal herb seeds, medicinal herb plants, organic vegetable seeds and organic garden seeds.

Strictly Medicinal Seeds
End of February, 2021 and one of the mandrake beds End of February, 2021 and one of the mandrake beds is awakening, stretching arms and yawning, beginning the odd yearly journey, strange bedfellows, secret dreams.
Plants volunteer in their perfect ecological niche Plants volunteer in their perfect ecological niche. My best Squirting Cucumber self-seeded and grew on a wall in my greenhouse. Strangely attractive, all those odd cucurbits.
Many available online at strictly medicinal seeds. (Link in profile)Read more below:Squirting cucumber (Ecballium elatarium)Family: Cucurbit (Cucurbitaceae)Hardy to Zones 8 to 12, otherwise grown as a summer annual, 90 days to fruits.(Squirting Cucumber) Perennial vine growing from a perennial root. Rare and unusual. Native to the Mediterranean. The plant produces oversized blossoms of yellow that give way to the elongated, horned fruits. As the fruit ripens, it becomes loose at the point of attachment, and when jiggled (or if left long enough, spontaneously) the fruit dislodges from the stipe and forcefully disgorges its seed in a strong spurt. This is an unique dissemination strategy and is very fun to play with. In times gone by, the fruits were picked in season and disgorged onto linen, which was allowed to dry in the sun. The bitter flakes of this dried juice, known as "Elatarin" were dispensed in pharmacies as a strong laxative. Low-dose botanical. Plant prefers deep gravel over soil, full sun to part shade, and moderate watering. Start in spring in pots or in hills. Easy.
White Sage itself has become somewhat of a poster White Sage itself has become somewhat of a poster child for western US plant protection, and my message to you is, yes, you can do it, you can grow your own medicine for body and spirit--more potent, less costly to your pocketbook and our mother nature.
Take advantage of our Free White Sage seed packet offer on seed orders $25 or more that will end soon. Be sure to use coupon code: FREEWHITESAGE. Offer ends 2/28/21.
(Link in profile)
Standard heads-up! Now is a good time to plant Sch Standard heads-up! Now is a good time to plant Schisandra seeds. New crop seeds in stock at strictly medicinal seeds.
(Link in profile)
Schisandra, Official (Schisandra chinensis)Family: Magnolia (Magnoliaceae)Hardy to Zones 4 to 8(Wu-wei-zi) Perennial woody vine. Native to Manchuria, northeastern China and Japan. The odoriferous pink or white flowers give way to bright red fruit which droops down in clusters from the vine. This is known as the many-flavored berry. The taste is sour. Traditional usage (TCM): appetite stimulant, immune-enhancement. Vine prefers moist soils and dappled shade, and really prefers to sprangle on the ground instead of climbing a trellis. Some people scarify the seeds before planting but I find this to be unnecessary. Soak seeds in water overnight before planting. Give 30 days warm (70 to 80 degrees F), then 30 days cold (40 degrees F), then plant in cool shade–requires oscillating temperatures for germination. Light is fine. Protect flats from birds, which like to eat the germinating seeds. Protect the seedlings from mice, which like to chew the bark. Work seedlings up in pots and transplant once sufficiently well-established to survive the rigors of the landscape. Space 3 feet apart.
Pet plant day at strictly medicinal seeds. I'm swo Pet plant day at strictly medicinal seeds. I'm swooning over this Kangaroo Paws (Anigozanthos manglesii) that just started going into flower. I don't have a seed or plant offering for kangaroo paws at the moment, but hope to in the future.
Free White Sage seed packet on seed orders $25 or Free White Sage seed packet on seed orders $25 or more. Be sure to use coupon code: FREEWHITESAGE. Offer ends 2/28/21.Learn more about this offer in our latest email newsletter. Sign up if you don't want to miss more offers like this. (link in profile)
In the "food is medicine" vein, lettuce is a smart In the "food is medicine" vein, lettuce is a smart choice. My teacher always told me "enjoy the poisons and combine them with the antidotes." I suppose that could boil down to eating fried foods combined with a salad. Lettuce increases cognition. Homegrown salad is best--the fresher the better--at my table the greens are still growing as we eat them! As a means of supporting more folks in growing good lettuce (and getting a good hit of Vit K and a good night's sleep) we've put our "melodious mix" of cold-hardy lettuces on sale right now. We're selling a big 5 g packet and it'll be a coupla bucks off for a short while. If you get 2 of them, it'll meet the criteria for free shipping within the USA.
You can check it at www.strictlymedicinalseeds.com
(Link in profile)
Meanwhile, here are some photos taken this morning of what a good winter planting of melodious mix looks like. If this inspires, then so be it!
Very excited to notice germination on both tree pe Very excited to notice germination on both tree peony and Chinese peony seeds. Good record keeping informed me that the seeds of both species had been planted on 10/30/2019, which means they took 464 days to germinate (aerially). Here's some info on the:
Chinese Peony (Paeonia lactiflora)
Family: Peony (Paeoniaceae)Hardy to Zones 4 to 10(Chinese Peony, White Peony, Herbaceous Peony, Common Garden Peony, Bai-shao, Bai shao) Herbaceous perennial. Native to China, Tibet and Japan. Plant tolerates sun to part shade but give shade if your summers are very hot and dry. Growing to about 28 inches, the plant makes a bouquet of large, round, fragrant, cup-shaped blossoms that occur in the late spring. Despite its common name of "white peony," the colors will range from red to pink to white. Traditional usage (TCM): menstrual irregularities, fibroid cysts, inflamed liver. There is good demand among practitioners of TCM for domestically produced organic bai-shou to replace the Chinese herb. This plant likes full sun to part shade and well-drained garden soil. Sow seeds anytime in gallon pots, about an inch deep (the seeds are large). Sow about 10 seeds per pot. Germination is usually in the first spring after overwintering, but will sometimes take 2 years.* Patience. Grow out in the gallon pot for a year before individuating and transplanting up to larger containers, then eventually out to the garden. Space plants 2 feet apart.
(Link in profile)
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About

Richo is an internationally recognized expert on the cultivation, processing and usage of medicinal plants. He is the author of the popular herbal, Making Plant Medicine. His life-long interest in seed saving lead to extensive travel and plant exploration, largely in the USA and Africa but also in South America, China and Europe. This collection of seeds, including numerous unique introductions and rare plants as well as many common medicinal plants and permacultural trees, is currently conserved and multiplied in his greenhouses and gardens.

Strictly Medicinal, LLC is the name of this organic seed company and nursery based in Williams, Oregon. The mission is to sow seeds worldwide for the benefit of people, plants and the planet.

Latest Posts
  • Wild Lettuce, Spontaneous Generation in the Garden of Diversity

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  • How to Make Elderberry Syrup

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