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Messages - junglevulture

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Chupa King - Being that I'm also located in Puna, if you decide you'd sell a small rhizome of your plant(s) let me know. Could pick up locally. I, too, am very interested in these. It seems my love for (and reasons to love) the Zingiberales only grows as time passes, and this is another member whom I'd love to have a presence in my garden.

Do they go dormant in Winter like other deciduous members of their family?

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Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Re: Cacti thread
« on: November 14, 2017, 08:30:40 PM »
Unfortunately I don't have pictures, but there is a wild patch of Opuntia ficus-indica where my mom lives in California. It's massive - probably 20+ foot across in some spots - and must have been planted many, many decades ago. The base of them look like tree trunks now. There are a handful of absolutely gigantic individual plants of this species. I'd keep an eye on the fruit til it ripened, then mom and I would go pick the tunas, since she likes to make drinks out of them, and I would periodically harvest the young pads because I loved to sautee them and have them with egg dishes.

Just yesterday I was trudging through town in the area of this reasonably well-gardened lot on a corner which I go out of my way to walk by. They have a significant hedge of Pitanga which fruit frequently and it looks like every single fruit I don't pick up rots, so I've collected a lot of seeds from there. But there is also a wonderful, rather large Opuntia Cochenillifera which also fruits frequently - and same deal as with the Pitangas. Anyhow, people must just be idiots, because when I walk by I always see a multitude of broken off pads (only on the street side of it, of course), many of them injured badly. I don't do the car thing, so I'm always carrying a backpack or a basket or somesuch, and I had room in it time so I gathered a couple of the best looking broken-off pads. I've been wanting to find an Opuntia that will do well in the very wet, humid tropics where I live and that one has been the healthiest and most productive that I've seen, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it will get on at my place.


PS: Is there something awry with the "Add image to post" function today? I can't seem to get it to work for the life of me.



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Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Re: Pond edible plants
« on: November 14, 2017, 07:01:50 PM »
Sorry to hear the goose plague descends upon your Kangkong / Ipomoea aquatica every time it starts getting going. Its a favorite of mine.

As long as there remains water shallowly below the surface (even if the visible pond dries up during drought) you could grow Cattails. The pollen gathered from the male parts in the Spring is enjoyable, can be put into pancakes and be made into fritters, and the "heart" of it down low where the leaves generate from is edible, as are the rhizomes.

Cannas (of the right sorts) have edible young shoots and the rhizomes are starchy and a bit crisp in texture. Could plant them along the borders. Same deal with the water table - as long as it remains accessible to their roots, they're good.

There are a lot of fern species that also like to grow alongside watery places. I haven't intentionally cultivated any of these myself, but that's something to look into potentially.

Elderberry, also! It likes moist soil, and in the right parts of the world can be found growing along rivers, streams, seasonal creeks, etc. It needs to be a bit back and elevated over the nearby water source.

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Bbudd, I would love to see them.

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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: Please help me identify this plant.
« on: November 11, 2017, 03:26:32 PM »
Looks like a young ornamental Canna coming up.

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Mahalo, Chupa King. This was the first I'd heard of the sweet nectar the Iholena family produces. Sounds great. I'll have to look into that more.

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I'm wanting to compile a list of Banana/Plantain varieties that are notably great for the eating qualities of their FLOWERS. I feel its a damn shame the plant, for all its popularity, does not get more attention for this wonderful aspect of its edibility.

The first time I tried eating the banana flowers was at home, following a Ginataang Puso ng Saging recipe - many tiny flowers with pistils removed, soaked in salt water for around 45 mins to leech out the sap, then cooked with garlic, onion (or shallot), peppers, fresh-ground black peppercorns, a dash of vinegar, and a couple handfuls of leftover roast chicken all together in coconut cream. The scent of the raw flower alone was ensorcelling. I ate it, loved it, and now find myself craving it for years pretty commonly. I was always concerned when sharing the dish with people of typical western palete, not having a clue how they'd respond to its extremely unique, somewhat pungent and very specific taste, but everyone has loved it to date.

Its a massive pain in the ass to track down anyone with the flowers available for sale, as most of the smarter folk around here who are aware of such things keep them for their own home usage. The reason I haven't gone out asking more questions to our local Filipino population is a simple but damning language barrier. I've started working to remedy. But in the meantime, fellow English-speakers, got any suggestions?

I've heard it claimed that Lakatan produces nice flowers with less intensely bitter sap, thus making it a good candidate for dishes employing puso ng saging. But being that I have not personally grown it, harvested it and eaten it to weigh and judge this myself, I haven't a clue.

Does anyone with thorough, from planting-to-eating experience have any info here? Or have any relevant articles somewhere off hiding in nooks and crannies of the internet to share? I've tried asking this on Bananas.org in the past, and there was barely any response. It appears most are so blinded and obsessed by the sugary stuff they forget this wonderful plant's many other virtues!

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I've been looking for 4 or so years now for a legit source of the "Clove Bean" seeds for home cultivation as an edible. I'm particularly interested in cultivars that have been bred NOT for ornamental use, but for the size and plumpness of the flowering buds that are eaten. As I understand this is a pretty common find in Kerala.

I am not interested in anything originally acquired under the name "Lavender Moonvine" as this is treated as an ornamental.

Finding a source straight out of India or neighboring countries where it is grown locally would be ideal. If you have some, please contact me with details - how you acquired it, how long have you grown it, how well has your strain produced and the qualities of the flower buds for eating. Mahalo.





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I have no idea with the seed, but after having grown it I can tell you the seeds would be very small, because the flowering parts are pretty tiny on these plants. I never had need of trying to collect seed because this can be grown so incredibly easily via stem cuttings. No clue on cold hardiness either, thank god, because I live in a place that typically doesn't get below 65ish F.

I might, however, be able to offer cuttings packed in baggies with soft moss to keep them moist. I send freshly harvested turmeric to my mom like that. I have to go back up to my place and check on the stand to see what would be available, so its not a for-sure thing as of yet. Let me know if that's of interest to you.

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I'm interested as well.

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Still, despite my success in finding some, I remain interested in acquiring more. If anyone has some Krachai available please let me know.

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After years of checking, asking and poking my nose in everywhere I thought might possibly have it, I finally managed to get my hands on some. The fact that each and every one of the eBay posts I've ever see contain some mish-mash of the exact same photographs sketched me out enough to keep searching elsewhere, and thankfully it's finally paid off. =) Thanks, Craigslist, of all things! There are four out of twenty-four who have sprouted so far.

(Pardon the gawdawful cellphone image quality - or rather the lack thereof.)



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Tropical Fruit Discussion / Re: What is the best lychee?
« on: June 22, 2017, 11:03:46 PM »
Kaimana has remained my favorite.

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If its in a pot still, is the source of water you are giving it chlorinated?

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This looks an awful lot like a chemical burn, possibly from Chlorine.

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Are you able to upload a photo of the afflicted leaves? There are many types of nutrient deficiencies that can present as yellowing of the leaves (in different patterns) but what you probably have is a Nitrogen deficiency.

If you eat meat: one of my usual ways to feed for this is using blood washed from things I butcher / from a plate that has blood on it as a liquid means of feed. Blood is superior to chemicals because it contains a vast array of other nutrients that are also needed for health.

Thoroughly composted horse, cow, sheep, goat, rabbit manures also work well. I would avoid chicken manure in this case because it may contain TOO much nitrogen for this particular plant. Mine was always a little slower growing even when healthy, so I avoided the chicken manure so as to not risk burning the plant.

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I tried the fruit a few years back and loved it. Typically when people claim a thing tastes like "X" I couldn't disagree more, but the fruits I had did indeed taste like Peanut Butter. I felt it was aptly given this nickname. Both the texture and flavor were great to me. As you may know, it is a small fruit and the ratio of seed to flesh is not going to yield you tons of flesh for eating, but that is not enough to keep me from it. I do not eat Peanuts or Peanut Butter at this point, so a potential substitute is of great interest to me.

Sadly the seeds I had did not germinate even though they were fresh. I have heard that the germination rate isn't terrific, but just as easily it could have been that I had zero information on the best soil, light, etc for germinating them successfully at the time.

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Its definitely not trash. They make excellent mulch, water retention, worm fodder and host a ton of beneficial microorganisms.

All these little cells act as safe havens for microorganisms and they flourish in them.



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Thank you for chronicling this story, Mike. It's both interesting and inspiring to think of all the great work so many must have put into sourcing cultivars, tending, documenting, etc, and then heartbreaking that some disinterested group swept it all aside like it was irrelevant. I wonder how many times in recent history this same sort of scenario has played out around the world.

Both the potential and the problems spawned by such occurrences have been large factors in my personal story. Finding tidbits of "there was a research station here that once upon a time ago cultivated what you're after", then spending years trying to follow the poorly-documented (or at least poorly publicly chronicled) information to contact people who *might* know what happened and who next to talk to has been often frustrating but sometimes rewarding.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share this story with us.

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I have used the approach for years of utilizing the following when I see a potential problem (aphids, thrip nymphs, etc):

~jug of White Vinegar
~handful of Garlic Cloves, smashed
~handful of coarsely chopped HOT Peppers

I place these together in a glass jar in the sun and let it sit for a few weeks. When I deem its strong enough and ready I put it in a spray bottle.

I've yet to encounter any pests that stand up to it. Keep in mind if its raining you will have to reapply the spray. There is peace of mind knowing none of the ingredients are damaging to humans or pets, and they are all easy to come by.


*One thing to note is that there are some plants that intensely dislike those plants of the Allium family to which Garlic belongs. I have never tried this natural pesticide on any of those plants so I cannot tell you how they would react. Any Legumes (beans, peas, lima beans, etc) and Asparagus dislike Alliums in their vicinity a great deal. I can only surmise that spraying the juices directly on them might have awful effect on their growth.

You could, of course, replace the Garlic with any other intensely aromatic herbs that repel insects and try that.

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Tropical Vegetables and Other Edibles / Re: Galangal
« on: June 14, 2017, 11:08:11 PM »
I too find myself using the leaves of my Galangal (Alpinia galanga) to flavor soups, etc because I'm impatiently waiting for my first harvest. The flavor imparted by the leaves is so much more subdued though, and I love the intensity that the rhizome offers. Its surprising how difficult it was to acquire where I am, so I've (quite impatiently) dedicated all I have found during the past year to cultivation.

My favorite thing to use the root as a spice for is Chicken Foot Stock. It has the perfect earthy depth to add to the savory-ness of the gelatin. Only other thing I put is sea salt, and its so good just like that.

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Its a delicious flavoring to add to rice. My favorite use, however, is wrapping meat in it.

The first time I ever cooked with it I was roasting beef and vegetables. Starting from the bottom: I took banana leaves and lined the entire bottom and sides of the pan, then placed onions on the bottom. On top of this I placed the ground beef with whole Pandan leaf wrapped around on top and bottom of it, so that the flavor permeates the meat well. Then I place the rest of my vegetables around and over that - garlic, curry leaf, turmeric, ginger, lemongrass, keffir lime leaf, with kabocha squash, chayote, and chunks of daikon radish. Bake til it smells done and boy, does it smell heavenly when it is.

I have also used the Pandan leaf in stews right at the end. Its only ever been explored using wet or moist cooking methods for me, so that's all I can recommend it for personally. I would like to try grilling some fish wrapped in that and banana leaf though.

It took me a while to get ahold of the plants that I have, but I've acquired 7 or so and they have been doing very well as low-light understory plants beneath the shade of my guava trees.

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I am searching for live rhizome of Krachai, with the Latin name of "Boesenbergia pandurata" (or  "B. rotunda"). Please discuss amounts available in your initial response.
 
Needs shipping to either Hawai'i or California.

Please respond to  seekingseeds at g mail dot com



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