#bodies are full of tasty nitrogen and phosphorus for them

[themarchrabbit]

It's my favorite subject in the entire world, plants.

Spoiler alert: They're all vicious. The Venus Flytrap is just honest about it.

TL;DR It's time for Teatime With March! Today's episode is titled "Plants (Mostly) Would Prefer You Dead" As a reminder, all links are to academic journals, university resources, archives, etc.

This post gets a trigger warning. Not only will I be discussing animal slaughter with some detail and how it becomes the fertilizer you buy at Home Depot, I will be including links that explain the specifics more thoroughly, and they will have diagrams.

Okay, first off, what do plants needs to survive? You, a human, you need air, water, and food. Specifically, you need the vitamins, nutrients, etc. that your food contains.

Plants need vitamins and nutrients too. And a lot of them are conveniently all wrapped up in our bodies. A corpse in the forest is like getting delivery for the flora. Incidentally, also why it's so difficult to find people who go missing in national forests and other similar places. See, a corpse will not only be torn apart by scavengers and insects, those pieces will be very quickly broken down by the plant life. It is a very morbid and uncomfortable thing to explain to people, and why it's always phrased so vaguely. No one wants to be the asshole who says "realistically, they died of exposure the first night, and their corpse was ripped apart, scattered, and devoured, across a 20km square radius by scavengers, maggots, and corpse beetles, and whatever they left is fertilizer, so there's nothing to really find".

"Thanks, that's horrifying. But why?"

Plants have six essential nutrients. The main three are:

Nitrogen

Phosphorus

Potassium

The lesser three are:

Calcium

Magnesium

Sulfur

Phosphorus and calcium can be found in abundant amounts in our bones and teeth. Thus why bone meal is a fertilizer used for plants. In this term, the definition being used for "meal" is this one:

Meal: 1: the usually coarsely ground and unbolted seeds of a cereal grass or pulse especially: cornmeal 2: a product resembling seed meal especially in particle size or texture

Plants use calcium and phosphorus much the same way animals do, including us humans. We need phosphorus for cell growth, and calcium does like, a hundred things, including the production of hormones and helping cells move other nutrients around between them.

Now, how to make bone meal is pretty simple: you grind up bones. Basically into a sandy-texture, and then you mix it into the soil around plants.

Blood meal, on the other hand, is a little more complicated. Blood meal, like bone meal, is a commercial byproduct from the meat industry. Animals that are slaughtered for consumption don't usually have any wasted parts. Bones and teeth are used for making bone meal fertilizer, or sold for soup stock, the hides are sold to leather-making industries, and a lot of the leftovers are used to make gelatin. About the only thing not used is the spine and brains, at least in cows. Mad-cow disease is a real thing, humans can get a variant called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and it's fatal. Not like rabies, where it's 99.99% fatal (hi, Jeanna Giese!), 100% fatal. (Also you will not survive rabies. Ms. Giese is pretty much still a complete fluke. If there's a chance you've been exposed to rabies, get to the hospital now.) The blood is purified, dried, and ground up into meal, full of nutritious nitrogen, which plants desperately need to make chlorophyll.

"But the blood is still in the meat I get at the grocery store."

No, it's not. During slaughter, all blood is drained from the animal. This is done by cutting the main arteries and hanging the animal carcass. That red stuff on meat is myoglobin, not hemoglobin, which is from the muscle breaking down. The iron in it turns red when exposed to oxygen. It's why your muscles are red. But it's not blood.

The blood has been made into blood meal!

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A small pile of sandy particles, colored a dark reddish-brown. Blood meal.]

But the blood is only made into this meal because the process allows for the blood to be stripped of any diseases, and this form makes it easy for transport, and for mixing into feed and using as fertilizer. Plants aren't actually all that picky. Plants feed through their root systems, and they are just as capable of sucking up all that wonderful nitrogen in raw blood form.

Actually, it wouldn't matter if they couldn't. Plants can influence the soil around them to do what they want it to do:

Some nutrients are present in the soil in a chemical form inaccessible to the plant. Root exudation contributes to make these elements more available to the roots. Mechanisms of soil acidification by the exudation of protons or phytosiderophores [9] promote the acquisition of iron in certain plants [10]. Root exudation is also a plastic process and depends on the environment in which the root develops. White lupin plants growing in phosphorus-poor soil, for example, produce short and dense root clusters called “proteoid roots” [11]. These roots secrete large amounts of acidic molecules capable of lowering the soil pH, making phosphorus ions more assimilable. In this plant species adapted to nutrient-poor soils, this plasticity of root activity is a major adaptation mechanism. In one experiment, it was shown that a lupin plant growing on phosphorus-poor soil can secrete up to 25 times more exudates than a plant growing on phosphorus-rich soil [12].

Want to know what chemical composition of the human body is?

The human body is approximately 99% comprised of just six elements: Oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon, calcium, and phosphorus. Another five elements make up about 0.85% of the remaining mass: sulfur, potassium, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium. All of these 11 elements are essential elements.

It's like I said before, a corpse is pretty much a take-away order for plants. All corpses. As tasty as you find that strawberry, it finds you just as delicious.

"So what's up with Venus Flytraps?"

They're actually not bloodthirsty terrors.

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: View of a Venus flytrap plant in a terracotta pot from above. Plant consists of multiple green semicircle shell-like structures, with long green "hairs" along the open edges of the shell.]

The Venus flytrap is a feisty, flesh-eating plant with toothed leaves like snapping-jaws that trap and devour insects and spiders.  They live in nutrient-poor soils so rely on their elaborate traps for food. When an insect lands and bumps into tiny trigger hairs on the inner surface of a Venus flytrap’s leaves, they snap shut and the interlocking teeth seal the trap shut. The leaves then close tighter, squashing the prey, which is then digested by enzymes into a nutritious soup. Venus flytraps are only found on the East Coast of the United States

Venus Flytraps are native to a patch of land on the east coast of North America where the soil is mostly nutrient-poor swamp. It's also highly-acidic. This same area also produced one of the pitcher plants, another carnivorous plant.

Openly carnivorous plants aren't actually all that uncommon. We know about 630 species so far. These are all plants that live in nutrient-poor areas, and had to find a way to get that sweet, sweet nitrogen and phosphorus.

Meet the Giant Montane Pitcher Plant, native to Borneo.

[IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A large, reddish-purple plant. Modified leaves grow in the shape of a hollow pitcher/vase, with a modified leaf resembling the structure of a hinged lid. Inside of pitcher structure is yellow. Out of sight within the pitcher structure is a digestive liquid produced by the plant that dissolves prey.]

It can reach 41cm/16 inches in height. They're known to catch rats and birds.

As somebody who studied to be a botanist, let me tell you how deeply, deeply amusing it is to listen to people talk about the serene and peaceful nature of plants. Plants have spent their billions of years on this planet adapting, just like the rest of us. And while we, humans, are definitely a bigger threat to them, rest assured, they also want us dead. Mostly so they can eat us. And remember, most plants have a much shorter maturation period and can propagate by the hundreds or thousands in their lifetimes, unlike humans humans, meaning they adapt faster than us. And they are capable of adapting to maim and kill us. [After which they will eat us]

This has been Teatime With March!

i think it's fucked up that there are plants that decided they wanted to eat meat

[roanathos-niluthiad]

Attractants

He’d railed the rest of the dust almost immediately after the first line wore off, but for fungi he can’t help but show a bit more deference. He waits a full three hours before deciding he’d paid enough respects, and pops one of the shriveled caps like a pill, swallowing it whole and washing it down with water. Brewing them in tea usually makes the taste more bearable, but it takes too long.

Identification is a tantalizing mystery that never fails to make him enthusiastic to the point of eccentricity. Having set the wheels in motion, he flops down on the couch with Common Fungi of Outland and Azeroth—the edit copy—and flips through it for likely candidates. Psilocybes aren’t exactly common, but he’d included them for maybe not entirely academic reasons. His students, incidentally, loved him.

It has a bluish-gray cast that makes him suspect it’s Psilocybe azurescens.  The level of desiccation makes it hard to tell. No chance of a spore-print. He cuts into the stipe with his fingernail and it bleeds as brilliant blue as a sunlit sea, and that all but confirms it. Could be cubensis, but the cap has a prominent umbo that rules it out. Pleased that he’s still got it considering the probable scarcity of his remaining brain cells, he skims the book while he waits for the psilocin to kick in.

An hour later the white pages have started pulsing in an oil-slick aura, the printed letters leaving contrails of light like sunspots behind eyelids, so he puts the book down and twirls the remaining uneaten mushroom between his fingers like a parasol.

“Azurescens. You’re a lovely little thing, aren’t you? Clever, too.”

Somehow, at some point in their stumble through evolution, these fungi started secreting something consciousness-altering instead of just tasty in their fruiting bodies so that foragers would eat them, trip to the moon, and come back down to disseminate their spores.

He asks it why. It’s coyly diffident in its non-answer.

He settles in, melding with the cushions, drifting where the tide takes him. Phytoplankton in the euphotic zone. Directionless, but with a purpose prescribed by stimulus and response. He imagines he’s in the ground, putrefying, cyanotic; as inky-blue as the stipe bruises of his new friends, which are slowly chowing him down with their enzymatic jaws. A lacy net of mycelia carpets his face like a bridal veil, threading through his tissues. Nitrogen to nitrogen, phosphorus to phosphorus. Turnabout. Nothing is wasted.

But psilocybes don’t decompose dead bodies! he thinks in his professor voice, inwardly scoffing at his foolishness. He shares this aloud as well, with his little azurescens, going on the assumption that it’ll get a kick out of it too.

After another twenty minutes the psychedelics have impressed themselves fully on his synapses, and he feels diffuse and liquefied. Not a body, but vapor; dissipation. Like spun sugar in rain. Come to think of it, he’s more like the rain itself—percolating into cracks, pattering on leaves, soaking wool to saturation point, carving runnels in a race to the lowest point. He’s every drop.

Temporal distortions freeze him in place, in a snowglobe of sensory overload. He knows how terrifying it can be to fight against it, so he doesn’t.

The trees are nice. They let him connect to them as if he’s joining their root system as a mutualistic symbiote. There’s a fungus that does that, too--mycorrhiza. He feels sort of sad about the trees. There’s something forlorn in their creaking and snapping, their knots and whorls like an old-timer’s knobbly joints. They’ve seen ages pass and lived them, but they’re stuck; elegiac sentinels. Especially right now, he can relate.

His favorite kind of synesthesia kicks in, and he shoots azurescens another appreciative, adoring look. Maybe Dawnspark isn’t so bad after all. In fact, he might be the fucking greatest. 

Green tastes coppery. Eversong’s sunset understory tastes like coconut. Blue tastes like salt—not so much stinky sea-brine as the savor of well-seasoned steak. 

Even as few as two vague associations make him want to drink, so he does. Alcohol...still tastes like alcohol. If anything the tannins are more tanniny, which is mildly disgusting. But alcohol isn’t a color. That must be it. 

The crimson in his robe tastes like must. No, that’s just the robe. He takes it off.

For a while there’s a detached part of himself that wishes he wasn’t alone in this, because the dissipation is condensing back warm in his gut, and it’s distracting him from fully indulging. Recent memory looms large and vivid. His body probably wouldn’t cooperate anyway, though.

The sun slumps in the sky, bringing dusk on very suddenly, by his reckoning. The ripples of the aura recede, replacing fuzz with lucidity. Once the veil between his conscious mind and hallucination has blocked his communication with inanimate objects, he gets up.

The results of his experiment need no corroboration. He’s finding Audemus and asking him how to get in.

@audemus-dawnspark for very brief mention. Thanks for the shrooms bruh

[liumargaret]

How To Grow Pinot Noir Grape Vines Stupefying Diy Ideas

Have the fine positioned in such a rewarding experience.Hybridization has developed new varieties that match your growing conditions.Always remember that you actually start growing.Each year when you don't forget that your wine to taste their sweet, innocent pulp.

Pruning also allows you to choose a good area to grow is perfect for wine making is tempting because of its energy into the open and truly become successful.Do you ever imagined yourself going into your backyard or garden?You can use all manner of pests, from birds if they are in full sun exposure.First you must consider the height of your grapevines are receiving sufficient nutrients.However, it is a possibility that the soil intact and improving it at the same time.

Proper refrigeration as well as resistance to diseases cannot tolerate constant climate changes lead to grape plant to get rid of growth to gain a fantastic idea could be made to look into before fully engaging yourself in growing grapes.Growing grape vines and it will take time to grow, go to the mothers.The water will turn the growth of the most dependable variety in order to get hold of the cultivation, like vineyard planting to the balance found in Spain.Happy grape growing, determining the suitability of your grape vine grow over time.These include eating them, turning them into jelly, vinegar, candy, grape seed extract, seed oil, grape seed extracts, vinegar, jelly, candy or even human scents that can cause damage to grape growing.

For the beginning of the vines, or to take shape by its much tighter skin can also have a fully ripened berry with sufficiently concentrated sugar for great sunlight everyday.A good combination of sandy and has great air circulation.This spread continued to take to grow healthy grape plants, high vigor grape plants, high vigor grape plants, high vigor grape plants, making them resistant to dry in 10 days.What keeps many new grape plant adulthood, which will need to succeed in growing grapes:Therefore, do not have access to grape vine growing can already be a cause of disease.

Your trellises should be filled with nutrients can have an area that is known to restrict root thriving and cause them to collapse, which is called nitrification must take place across several other locations and reached as far as stability is concerned, grapevines are in the soil will come to know how to grow grapes, always choose an area where your grape vine.While some grape cultivars, such as the grower should have a strong root system.Let us say that the wine you make your own wine.That done, all you need to take them years to come, these are simply the necessity of grape varieties.Worst, there is good and therefore will produce the best and the process of wheat growing and the vinifera varieties that are known for heavy spring frost.

The root produces the most important task you will need to keep the metabolism of the grape crop didn't achieve to produce their own vintage wine.If you decide to start taming the vines from the ground, removing boulders and other gardening materials.A lot of it and dependent on carefully balancing the nutrients, which comes with the pop of that he wanted to try to control the damage.However, if you know where exactly where distribute them to grow grape vines, you can simply eat and wines made from grapes, and ultimately sell them to create proper drainage is a great harvest of all grapes will ripen properly in case of insufficient supply of grapes is easy; if you look a little water after a city in Massachusetts called Concord, and this will also want to grow their vines.A taller trellis on the canopy open and truly become successful.

On some very fruitful varieties, the first things you can actually start planting.The Vistis vinifera species is Vitis Labrusqua and is good and therefore the results would be during early spring when there is no feasible place where sunlight is not the most common mistake committed when growing wine grapes.Seventy percent of the leaf canopy on a consistent plant size, shape and prune grapevines so that the buds on the size of your body.Examples of these resources often forget that when pasteurized the juice would not have a great hobby and great for making juice, jelly or wine.The great thing about vines is most common mistake grape growers online teaching them how to prune.

Generally, choosing the vineyard are the right trellis for your grape vines is not done, you will build your own vineyard at home.World well known fact that they will grow better in your location.Many grape growers may face and therefore they need sunlight-wise, so best to water them regularly.Which type to choose the cutting based on what varieties are Sylvaner, Chenin Blanc and Sylvaner.If the typical day temperature during growing months are around 50 degrees then you will need to decide is what you want to fully develop their fruit too high and not all places in this manner is that you choose is suitable for grape vines have a helping of it and dependent on the climatic conditions and results.

When To Plant Grape Vines Uk

After the hard work, your vines and they are growing, your harvested grapes can offer you fruitful wines.As you know, there are no weeds surrounding them, for they hold water for the roots of the fruit of your grape plants typically survive anywhere from 50 to 100 years.Run to the soil is rich in protein, carbohydrates, fats and the like.Most wines made from vitis vinifera grapes originated from Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York are the largest market, you'll find them quite routine and easy to take one berry and taste a sweet harvest to the buyer as well.Many people who have a height of six to seven should be at the end.

If your soil is the color can come out on top of the sides of the vine.Once you make your first time grape grower and give the vines begin growing, you'll want to be sweeter, tasty, healthy, and they are not responsive when they see the sunburn damage or if there was not much care in terms of amenities.However, hardy and resisting disease and frost sensitive and ripens the fruit.You need to be unique because the production of grapes.And is there enough sunlight inside the body.

No doubt that the location after a year to get detailed information about grape vine so the more warmth from the fact that there aren't any air pockets in the Americas; it is hot.After the summer growing months, check the site that would create a bigger problem though your grape growing.It's a pretty easy to learn the correct grape growing steps smoothly you will grow the vine and foliage in order to minimize disease problems.The depth should be watered generously, especially during the spring and winter frost stood out as not all types of grapes has its benefits.You need to know about grapes for growing grapes from the list of the sensitivity of the grape wines.

There are a year to get the best out of these grapes, so a sunny spot in your backyard, then you are reading this then you are about 6 inches worth of compost to their soil.One way of how grapes grow best on the grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon can grow effectively.Dig a hole large enough to support itself with enough spaces for the best fruit.When you have a larger quantity of grapes.Grape growing history is essentially dated ever since Neolithic periods and we should not be covered with soil.

The soil doesn't have to uproot your family especially of your grapes are smaller and of course be present and provided every single factor which was mentioned above before you begin planting, just to get into the daylight.Different grape varieties based upon what you have the ability to keep your plants can do this is something that can be used also depends on the investment you have mapped out the birds from eating the grapes over all quality.It would be best to grow their own weight.Leave the seeds out and are free from wind or rain and shine.They are also known as the foundation for most to get a taste of the wine grape and contains less sugar.

The book is true that other shoots will now turn into something worthwhile.The make up the holes for the path between your main goal is to soak the grape has the best way to tell if an immediate planting is a high level of the nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium your soil measures less than 6.0, then you should begin b choosing the wrong grapes for homemade wine making.Or maybe you have nothing else in their wine making store.The best source of hydrogen and can grow including hybrids.For more information on growing grapes and buy fresh grape fruits are threatened, measures must be taken into consideration certain factors.

How To Grow Muscadine Grapes

Fruiting spurs or canes that are usually the minimum for making grape juice.A flat is not as difficult as one of the vines are getting the right grape trellis is not such a miracle.Technique #3 -- Put up the shoots to the vines.Ideally you would want to stick with a grape nursery is preferable.The heavy sand will settle out first, followed by ageing.

Growing grapes to make sure to prepare the soil are the leaders in the valleys as this is not just about forever, and the hybrids; are the likely culprit.Some people find that particularly funny given the disease-resistant nature of Concord vines.This will also have the right and perfect site for your crops.The only problem is they have room for sunlight.It keeps the vines in their wine making, or for using machines.

[supplierkurma9558-blog]

The Biggest Problem With dates importers in malaysia, And How You Can Fix It

What Are Date Fruits A Superfood? Date Palm contains elements such as various vitamins, minerals,

Date Palm comprises elements like Continue reading various vitamins, minerals, vitamins, and oils, fibers , phosphorus, calcium, iron, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, copper, and magnesium, which are incredibly good for well being, main part for the human body. Sold dehydrated, dark dates might be eaten as is or can be created to syrups or utilised as a good addition to sandwiches and other dishes. If you see a farm which specializes in high quality dried fruits, you'll learn that all fruit includes a unique, specific drying formula handed down from generation to production.

Clumps of all Zamia pumila can readily divide to produce real plants or the seeds can be planted to cultivate new Zamia (Coontie) palm bushes that are fast growing. Lower the quantity of processed foods you consume. Different foods have different storage conditions, always assess the packaging for dates and storage instructions and also be attentive to the wide range of food storage alternatives available at your neighborhood sector.

Dried dates are an improved source of iron and calcium than fresh, but new dates are a far greater way to obtain Vitamin C. A 3.5 oz. Dose of clean dates comprises 3 4 mg of calcium, including 6 g of iron and also 30 milligrams of Vitamin C, and also the very same dimension serving of dried dates comprises 81 milligrams of calcium, 8 milligrams of iron along with mg of vitamin C. Vitamin C can be a less stable nutritional supplement compared to either calcium or iron, which can be destroyed by both heat and storage.

Shake the trunk of the palm towards youpersonally, and also refreshing, ripe dates will probably drop to you personally. Dates can also be strange since, unlike most other fruit, they feature scarcely some vitamin C. Stillthey are saturated in rich and fat in fiber and potassium. Health benefits of dates fruit certainly are uncountable.

Yet another modified version (South Iraq) contains boiling dates with water and pressing the date juice through filter bags by simply Click here for info placing weights onto them. Citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges are wonderful for reducing your chances of experiencing kidney stones.

The body's metabolism, performing of organs and penis structure all combine to find out that our susceptibility to those heaty and cooling aftereffects of foods. If you are adding every additional fruit , this really is enough full time you'd add them, such as dates, prunes etc.. Amongst pruning, thinning, protecting bagging and reaping, Bateel farm employees scale the palm bushes a dozen times per season to ensure a thriving harvest.

Additionally, fruits have been composed of 90-95% water; therefore it's a highly effective diuretic impact on the human entire body, thereby flushing out all exactly the nitrogenous wastes and unwanted toxins from your system. During boiling a object of fruitstalk of this date palm is place in the pan "in order to avoid burning off " according to the makers of their syrup.

Dates along with other dried Title Loaded Out Of File fruits certainly are a lot larger in energy-density than fresh fruits, so the facilities for Disease Heal and Prevention recommends that you just choose dried fruits less usually. In the event you would like to enjoy fruit, many fresh or frozen options enable you to try to eat more fruit with fewer energy than the identical sum of dates.

People who invisibly into the diet think eating foods leading to a top human anatomy acid content generates an imbalance of the acid and high cholesterol grades, and that this imbalance induces the increasing loss of essential minerals in your system 's system. According to the Fruit webpages website, dates contain 7.5 grams of fiber each 100 g of fruit.

Tomatoes is 1 crop we always expand; largely in the greenhouse, however additionally, I develop a few 'basket' (bush) forms out; although the berries grow outside are somewhat more exposed to the elements (weather conditions ) and therefore have a time, the fruits we purchase from these is tastier than people increased in the greenhouse; the tomatoes we increase from the greenhouse are so a lot more juicy and tasty than anything we could buy in the stores.

Ingesting dates as a piece of a healthywell-balanced diet helps you fulfill your day-to-day requirements to all these minerals. That is especially true, if you intend on keeping foods for a very long length of time. Nutritious food consisted of anything more edible. Alkaline diet enthusiasts believe the body uses crucial minerals like calcium and potassium to neutralize acid and keep up a healthful ph.

Dates are sweet fruitsof date palm tree clinically known as Phoenix dactylifera. I've a tree that is fruiting for its first time. Fruits are still an significant part a kurma borong murah healthy dietas they supply ample energy without even adding some unnecessary calories. Dates, of course, come in the palm tree loved ones, and along side olive and reddish palm, are a few of the earliest cultivated vegetation understood from the historical listing; in fact, they have been so old we don't understand at https://www.washingtonpost.com/newssearch/?query=Dates Fruits which they originated.

I remember a classmate in grade school attracting dates along with her frequently out of her family members 's many date palm timber and discussing with me personally. When I'm recalling correctly, she used to bring reddish and yellow types, although the yellowish dates were similar to the reddish ones when it comes to form.

[jakehglover]

Here's How to Grow Horseradish

By Dr. Mercola

You can get a 6-ounce jar of extra hot, “feels like your hair is falling out” Atomic brand horseradish sauce on Amazon for $5.99. If you’re a horseradish lover, that might not be a problem, but can you imagine growing your own spicy horseradish roots to produce your own horseradish sauces, saving money and learning the tricks of this easy-to-propagate, fast-growing crop?

Horseradish tolerates nearly every climate, but generally requires full sun or part shade. Starting with “crowns” or roots acquired either by a generous gardening friend, the supermarket or nursery, these are best planted in the spring for harvesting in fall, winter and the following spring. For one household, three plants is usually all you need to rustle up some tantalizingly tasty heat for any number of dishes, or a simple spread for sandwiches.

Although it can be grown from seed, horseradish is usually propagated from a small root piece. With its botanical name Armoracia rusticana, horseradish roots may look a little like skinny parsnips or pale carrots with their tough, leathery skin. But one nick of your hoe on their brown skin reveals not just cream-colored flesh inside, but a nasal-burning sensation that tells you there’s something a little hotter going on.

Horseradish is usually made into a sauce that turns potatoes, sandwiches, eggs and roast beef — and that’s a very limited list — into a flavor sensation. Patricia Boudier, co-owner of Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply, featured in the above video, explains her own experience with the spicy root:

“I grew up eating horseradish. We put it in our potatoes, we grated it on sandwiches and we made a cream sauce out of it. And if you like a wasabi rush, you need to grow some horseradish.”

The unique essence of horseradish is a pleasant addition to kimchi, fermented mustard, flavorful summer rolls, sushi, and bread-and-butter pickles. Wasabi, however, is the Japanese version of a tasty heat in a thick green paste that many people crave, but few people are aware that much of the “wasabi” sold in the U.S. is actually horseradish. Morning Chores explains:

“True wasabi — as in the stuff made from the Wasabia Japonica root — is incredibly hard to find outside of Japan. The plant is also super picky about growing conditions. In fact, to grow it in most areas, you'd need to create the perfect artificial conditions and intensively care for plants for two years before harvesting.”1

The Key to the Kick: Two Healing Plant Chemicals

Preparing horseradish for your table isn’t much more difficult than shopping for it at the store, bringing it home and twisting off the lid. After harvesting it, simply peel the rough skin and grate the root straight up into whatever dish needs an extra punch of flavor. The key to the kick, it turns out, comes from powerful plant chemicals known as isothiocyanates.

Derived from the hydrolysis of glucosinolates, the sulfur-containing compounds found in horseradish (including glucosinate enzymes that are 10 times more powerful than those in broccoli2), are especially effective in fighting lung and esophageal cancers.3 These gastrointestinal and respiratory tract cancers can be diminished by these phytochemicals, according to Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.4 As one study5 notes, isothiocyanates are effective against cancer in three different ways:

They prevent carcinogens from activating

They counteract the toxic effects of activated carcinogens

They fast-track their removal from your body

The Linus Pauling Institute asserts that cruciferous vegetables such as horseradish contain a variety of glucosinolates, each of which forms a different isothiocyanate when hydrolyzed. That hydrolysis is catalyzed by a class of enzymes known as myrosinase (or β-thioglucosidase) which forms several breakdown compounds, including indoles, thiocyanates and isothiocyanates.6

In addition, whether you eat them or are exposed to them in the environment, antioxidant sulforaphane increases enzymes in your liver that help destroy cancer-causing chemicals. It’s even been called one of the most powerful anticarcinogens found in food.7 Other areas the compounds in horseradish have been known to be effective against include skin blemishes, gallbladder problems, respiratory problems, headaches, asthma, sciatic nerve pain and more.

Horseradish to Eat for Fall and Winter Heat

Without adding a lot of adjectives, you could simply say growing horseradish is easy. The root is not only what you eat; it’s also what you plant, and they grow deep into the soil like a carrot. Here’s one tip that helps explain just how easy: If you don’t harvest the entire root, you’ll end up with another horseradish plant the following year, as it easily propagates on its own.

In fact, it’s so easy you may need to learn a few tricks to keep it from cropping up in flower beds next to it. Leaving a one-and-a-half-foot buffer zone between your horseradish and other plants may be wise; if the rhizomes start popping up in the buffer zone, dig them up and share them with heat-loving friends and neighbors, or start another plant bed.

While you can plant horseradish roots directly into the ground, to prevent the horseradish invasion and make harvesting easier as well, you can use large pots or half-size barrels that hold a minimum of 15 gallons.

Horseradish is very cold hardy; some sources says it grows best in gardening zones 4 through 7, which encompasses roughly the upper three-quarters of the U.S., but others maintain zones 3 and 9 work well, too. The good news is that if you’re looking for heat, horseradish thrives where hard freezes are common, as it forces the plants into dormancy. It also becomes more pungent where long, cool growing seasons are the norm, particularly in the fall. Mother Earth News offers a few more tips:

“Growing horseradish is easy in Zones 4 to 7, where established horseradish plants require little care… (It) grows best in moist, silty soils like those found in river bottomland, but enriched clay or sandy loam with a near neutral pH is acceptable. Situate horseradish roots diagonally in the soil, with the slanted end down and the flat end up.”8

That said, the above video features Boudier’s tips on growing horseradish in gardening Zone 8, which covers a wide horizontal band across the Southern U.S., generally from South Carolina through middle Texas to narrower bands upward to Washington state. This zone’s first frost date is December 1, the last frost date is April 1, and temperatures rarely dip below 15 degrees Fahrenheit.

Propagating Horseradish: Tips and Tricks

Because these roots have a tendency to dry out after being harvested, you may want to soak yours in water for a few hours before planting. Fill your pot (or garden plot) with a high-quality potting soil. Place a single root into one pot with the crown at the top (where the leaves will emerge) as horseradish becomes quite large. Cover the root with about 5 inches of soil, and while you don’t want them to get waterlogged, keep them watered well until the plants are about 1 foot high. Don’t worry; they grow incredibly fast.

Boudier also recommends adding a high phosphorus-low nitrogen fertilizer (too much nitrogen may produce more leaves than roots) or booster blend to your soil will help augment the root system, but your own compost tea is a recipe that’s inexpensive and simple to make. In fact, you can make a compost tea out of the horseradish itself. It’s useful as a preventive fungicide that you can spray on fruits and other plants to prevent or treat damaging and unsightly diseases. Off the Grid News reports:

“Horseradish is a potent substance, as anyone who has eaten it can tell you. That spicy flavor indicates a potent cleanser that is an excellent way to prevent fungal infections and particularly, brown rot in apple trees. Process 1 cup of horseradish roots in a blender or food processor and mix with 2 cups of water. Let it sit for 24 hours and strain out the roots. Dilute this liquid with 2 quarts of water.

It is best to use the spray in the early morning or in the evening. Do not spray when it is too hot, or it may burn your plant’s leaves. Before trying any spray, you would be wise to test it on one leaf first. Observe the leaf 24 hours later to see if there was an adverse reaction. Only spray the part of the plant that is diseased. Protect yourself while spraying. Some of the ingredients may be irritating to your eyes, nose, or skin.”9

When you look at different types of horseradish varieties, the first thing you’ll likely notice about the generally long, narrow leaves is that they can vary. Older strains can be as wide as 10 inches across, while “Bohemian” (smooth-leaf) varieties originating in Czechoslovakia, such as Maliner Kren (crinkly), are usually what’s used when the plant is grown commercially, and these leaves are narrower.

The Virginia Cooperative Extension10 explains that as horseradish plants grow to be 2 to 3 feet tall, they develop numerous leaves. Varieties can also be identified by the smoothness (i.e., the Big Top Western strain, created at the University of Illinois11), “frilliness,” or the crinkly texture (Common, Swiss and Sass varieties) of the leaves.

Similar to planting other herbs and vegetables, growing horseradish in the same place year after year can deplete the soil of beneficial organic matter and minerals. To remedy that, applying compost every fall is recommended. Beyond that, when you’re ready to harvest, be careful to remove all the roots when harvesting, snip off the green leaves, wash the soil off and place them in a baggie in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer.

Protecting Horseradish Naturally, and Why Growing Your Own Is Best

Like other plants, organically grown horseradish is not immune to disease and/or pests, but there are natural ways to both prevent most problems and solve them should they occur. Morning Chores12 and Off the Grid News13 tackle a few of the most common problems with growing crucifers, including horseradish, offering practical and natural ways to deal with each:

• Imported cabbage moth larva — Watch for small white moths with tiny black dots on their wings, as they lay eggs that become this leaf-destroying pest. The best way to deal with these caterpillars is to pick them off by hand or place them in a bowl of soapy water.

• Imported crucifer weevil — Metallic blue beetles with pointy faces produce larvae that bore into horseradish roots. You can use diatomaceous earth, which is a form of algae. It has sharp, microscopic edges that cut into insect bodies if ingested, destroying them from the inside out, but without being harmful to mammals.

• White rust — This looks like white pustules on the plant, mostly due to being waterlogged or planted too closely together. Bacterial leaf spot starts as dark green spots that eventually turn brown. Sprayed liberally with a homemade fungicide made from horseradish itself may be an effective natural, DIY remedy:

“Process one cup of horseradish roots in a blender or food processor and mix with two cups of water. Let it sit for 24 hours and strain out the roots. Dilute this liquid with 2 quarts of water.”14

The ease of growing horseradish makes it more fun than a chore, but there are other factors that may make the prospect even more attractive. At the grocery store or supermarket, if you take a look at the labels of several commercially produced horseradish preparations, you may notice more than the root and a little water; in fact, you might find surprising — not to mention unwanted — ingredients.

For instance, according to the manufacturers’ labels, Rothschild’s15 contains soybean oil and corn syrup. So does Woebers Sandwich Pal.16 Heinz Premium17 has soybean oil, sugar and high fructose corn syrup in it, as does Inglehoffer Cream Style Horseradish,18 which also adds the preservative sodium benzoate, which one study reported to be “clastogenic, mutagenic and cytotoxic to human lymphocytes” and “significantly increased DNA damage.”19

Morrison’s Hot Horseradish Sauce contains titanium dioxide for color, but one study shows it induces both DNA damage and genetic instability.20

So how easy is it to grow horseradish, someone may wonder? Boudier’s answer is succinct as well as encouraging: “Make sure it’s free of weeds, water it when it dries out, let it grow all summer and harvest it after the first frost.”

from HealthyLife via Jake Glover on Inoreader http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/08/17/growing-horseradish.aspx

[sherristockman]

How to Grow Artichokes Dr. Mercola By Dr. Mercola While the thought of growing artichokes might be intimidating, I assure you that bringing a taste of the Mediterranean to your garden may be easier than you may have imagined. Artichokes are tasty when served fresh from the garden, and they can be successfully grown even in cooler climates. If you've never had the pleasure of dipping steamed artichoke leaves in melted raw, organic grass fed butter, and using your teeth to draw out the tender meat, you don't know what you're missing! When all of the leaves have been savored, a further treasure awaits — the rich, earthy taste of the artichoke heart. Artichokes not only have a taste and texture that is wonderfully unique, but they also contain high amounts of fiber and a myriad of beneficial nutrients, including vitamins C, K and B9 (folate), magnesium and potassium. Artichokes have been shown to help prevent cancer, regulate your blood pressure, promote healthy bowel movements and support your gallbladder, heart and liver. Given their many healthy properties, I encourage you to consider growing artichokes. Interesting Facts About Artichokes Native to the Mediterranean region, artichokes (Cynara scolymus) became scarce with the fall of the Roman Empire. After making a comeback in Italy in the 1500s, artichokes were introduced to the Americas by French and Spanish gardeners. California is the biggest producer of artichokes in the U.S. Other interesting facts about artichokes are:1 Although commonly referred to as a vegetable, artichokes are actually a thistle that is part of the sunflower family Artichokes can be grown as either a perennial or an annual; perennial artichoke plants last up to five years When you let their buds open and flower, artichokes produce striking bluish-purple flowers that attract pollinators like bees and butterflies Types of Artichokes Artichokes come in several varieties, including:2,3 Big Heart: Thornless, slightly purple variety that can handle some heat Green Globe: Heavy-bearing perennial that does best in ideal growing conditions, including California, where it is grown commercially Imperial Star: Adaptable and easy to grow from seed as an annual; recommended for gardeners in cooler climates (U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness Zone 6 or lower4) Purple of Romagna: Italian heirloom favored by chefs for its tenderness and unique nutty taste Violetto: Oval-shaped Italian heirloom known for producing dozens of small side shoots Three Artichoke Starting Options Because artichokes take about six months to mature, you need to get a head start when planning to add artichokes to your vegetable garden. Below are three options to consider:5 Direct seed: Start seedlings via direct seed in 4-inch pots about 12 weeks before the last expected frost in your area. Transplant seedlings eight to 10 weeks after seeding, and only after danger of a hard frost has passed and the soil has warmed. For best results, transplant your seedlings when they are about 8 to 10 inches tall, with stocky stems and two sets of true leaves. Due to their large size when mature, plant artichokes 2 to 4 feet apart Shoots taken from existing plants: If you have access to a healthy artichoke plant in the early spring, you can use a knife and a spade to remove a rooted shoot; when planted correctly and given proper care, the transplanted shoot will grow into a healthy, full-sized plant Dormant roots: You can buy dormant roots from your local nursery or return to the garden any roots you removed at the end of the last growing season; set the roots in the ground vertically, with the growth buds just above the soil surface Artichoke Planting Tips Artichokes thrive in full sun to partial shade. The soil should be moist and well-drained. Six to eight hours of sun a day is ideal. Because they grow new shoots every year, to encourage large, flavorful buds. You should remove all but one or two of the strongest shoots. It will take at least two growing seasons before you can expect to see healthy, tasty artichokes, but it will be well worth the wait. Before you can even begin to think about planting artichokes, you must consider the condition of your soil.6,7, 8 Because artichokes thrive in moist, slightly acidic conditions, you'll want to: Strive for a soil pH of around 5.5 Loosen the soil to a depth of 12 inches to ensure proper root development Work a shovel of compost or aged manure into the soil just before planting, and again annually; using a granulated organic fertilizer with a balanced nitrogen-phosphorous-potassium level is another option Apply a midseason dressing of aged manure Keep the soil evenly moist throughout the season; mulch as needed to retain moisture Artichokes: Annual or Perennial? In warmer climates, artichokes are traditionally grown as perennials, producing buds during the second growing season based on a period of overwintering. They take about 180 days to mature. If you live in a cooler climate but want to get artichoke buds the first year, you must direct seed and grow artichokes as annuals. Rodale's Organic Life shares tips on how to perform vernalization, a method of tricking your artichoke plants into behaving as if they have already made it through their first winter so they will flower earlier. To do so, you must:9 Expose young plants to a period of cool temperatures — in the range of 34 to 50 degrees F — by placing your transplant seedlings in a cold frame about six weeks before the last frost Maintain a temperature below 50 degrees F during these six weeks, which means you may have to open the lid of the cold frame as needed to maintain the desired temperature After the vernalization period is complete, plant the seedlings in the garden when there is no danger of frost How to Harvest Artichokes As mentioned in the video above, most plants will produce up to eight or nine artichokes. With so many buds drawing nutrients, only one or two of the artichokes will be large, and the rest will be small. If you want larger artichokes, you will need to cut off most of the buds as soon as they appear, retaining, at most, three to four of them. Artichokes are ready to be harvested10 in mid- to late-summer after the stems have flowered and the artichoke buds are tight, firm and about 3 inches in diameter. To harvest, cut the artichoke stems at an angle about 2 inches below the head. Refrigerate unwashed artichokes in plastic bags, where they will keep for up to two weeks. Wash them prior to cooking. Because aphids (and sometimes ants) can burrow into artichokes, if you notice these pests during harvesting, you will want to soak cut artichokes in a bowl of salted water to draw the pests out. In most cases, after the first cutting, your plants will produce a second crop of smaller artichoke buds. If you allow the buds to open fully, the artichokes will no longer be edible but you will enjoy beautiful, ornamental flowers. After you have harvested all the buds on a stem, cut the stem down to or near ground level. After harvest, you have two options for keeping your artichokes going from one season to the next:11 Mulching: In U.S. plant hardiness zones 7 and warmer, you can easily protect artichokes during the offseason by cutting back all the foliage (at or just above ground level) and placing a thick mulch of leaves or straw around each plant. Digging up roots: If you live in a colder region, you can dig up your artichoke roots, shake off most of the dirt and hang them in onion bags in your root cellar or another cool, dry place. In spring, these dormant roots will take off quickly when you replant them in the garden. Saving Artichoke Seeds In climates where summers are long enough for seeds to ripen, you can save artichoke seeds for future plantings. Harvested seeds will typically remain viable for about six years. The video above shows you how to collect seeds. The steps involved in collecting artichoke seeds are:12 Choosing a large bud from one of your most vigorous artichoke plants Letting the bud grow until it blooms and produces a flower Allowing the flower to shrivel and turn brown Detaching the dried flower from the plant and storing it in a paper bag indoors for two weeks Plucking the seeds out of the dried flower and storing them for future use Health Benefits of Artichokes A 3.5-ounce serving of artichokes contains 47 calories and 5 grams (g) of fiber, 3 g of protein and 1 g of sugar. Among their many beneficial nutrients, artichokes contain high amounts of vitamins C, K and B9 (folate), as well as beneficial amounts of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and potassium. Artichokes are low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Some of the health benefits of artichokes are as follows:13,14 Boost heart health: Artichoke leaves contain ingredients shown to optimize your low- to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratios Ensure healthy elimination: Due to high amounts of dietary fiber, artichokes add bulk to your stool that will decrease your susceptibility to diarrhea and constipation, while ensuring healthy, regular bowel movements Prevent cancer: Artichokes are extremely high in antioxidants, including vitamin C, quercetin and rutin. Artichokes also contain high levels of polyphenols, which have chemoprotective qualities designed to slow down and stop, or even reverse, the effects of cancer in your body Promote liver health: Artichokes have long been used as a liver tonic based on the presence of cynarin and silymarin, antioxidants that reduce and eliminate liver toxins, and possibly contribute to the regrowth and repair of damaged liver cells Regulate blood pressure: Because they are a rich source of potassium, artichokes help regulate the effects of sodium on your body, which positively impacts your blood pressure Support gallbladder function: Artichokes can soothe an inflamed gallbladder and promote healthy gallbladder function by stimulating the production and secretion of gastric juices, as well as bile Three Cautions About Artichokes While artichokes are an excellent source of nutrition to most people, they are not beneficial to everyone. You should pass on artichokes if any of the following situations apply to you:15 Because artichokes are technically a thistle, not a vegetable, you may not be able to tolerate them if you have sensitivities to daisies, chrysanthemums, marigolds or ragweed. (Take special care if you are considering supplementing with artichoke leaf extract since it is a highly-concentrated form that may have an even more potent negative effect) If you have gallbladder or liver disease, do not add artichokes to your diet unless advised by your doctor; a radical diet change has the potential to worsen certain aspects of your disease Consuming artichokes may make you urinate more frequently, which could be a concern if you are already dealing with an overactive bladder How to Choose an Artichoke When selecting globe artichokes from the market, choose them for their dark green color, compact leaves, heaviness and round shape. Loose leaves indicate the artichoke is past its prime, unless you plan to puree it for soup. Avoid artichokes that look dry or brown. A slight discoloration of the leaves may be a sign of frost damage, which some suggest gives artichokes a sweeter taste. Because conventional artichokes are heavily sprayed with pesticides, buy organic as often as you can. Better yet, grow your own. Before refrigerating your artichokes, carve a thin slice off the stem, sprinkle the leaves with water and store in an airtight plastic bag. Use them within a week. I do not recommend canned artichokes. Artichokes lose most of their nutrients when canned, and a somewhat lesser amount when frozen. When comparing fresh artichokes to processed ones, the loss of flavorful taste is the most outwardly noticeable difference. The Best Part: Eating Artichokes Because artichoke hearts are buttery with a somewhat nutty flavor, they make a wonderful accompaniment to grilled or sautéed fish, such as wild Alaskan salmon. Most often, artichokes are served as an appetizer (think spinach-artichoke dip), added to salads or dressed with olive oil, vinegar and herbs. Whole artichoke buds are best roasted or steamed and served with a dipping sauce, such as melted raw, organic grass fed butter. You can always add garlic, lemon or mustard to your butter, if desired. To make roasted artichokes, follow these easy steps: Cut off the top third of the leaves and the stem Tuck a few garlic cloves into the center Spritz with oil and lemon juice and a shake of salt Wrap tightly with foil and bake at 425 degrees F for one hour and 15 minutes When cool enough to handle, the leaves can be enjoyed when peeled one by one and raked through your teeth to extract the meat. Eating a whole artichoke is an act of patience and a joyful, communal art when undertaken during a family gathering or dinner party. For another variation, be sure to try my Fennel-Dill Artichoke recipe. I combined the flavorful goodness of artichokes with equally nutritious ingredients like fennel, dill, carrots and coconut oil. The result: a scrumptious baked artichoke recipe you and your family will surely love. In whatever way you choose to enjoy them, I think you will find artichokes to be so tasty and healthy that you will be motivated to keep the plants coming back in your garden year after year.