Groundcover - Seeds

<h4 data-mce-fragment="1">SEEDS (15pcs/bag)</h4> <p data-mce-fragment="1"><strong data-mce-fragment="1">Common names:</strong> Gotu Kola,&nbsp;<meta charset="utf-8">Indian Pennywort,&nbsp;<meta charset="utf-8">Asiatic Pennywort, Spadeleaf, Brahmi Herb,&nbsp;<meta charset="utf-8">Kodavan&nbsp;et.al<span data-mce-fragment="1"><br data-mce-fragment="1"> <strong data-mce-fragment="1">Scientific name:</strong><em data-mce-fragment="1">&nbsp;</em><em data-mce-fragment="1">Centella asiatica</em> / <em data-mce-fragment="1">Hydrocotyl asiatica<br data-mce-fragment="1"></em> <strong data-mce-fragment="1">Family:</strong> Apiaceae</span></p> <h4 data-mce-fragment="1"><strong><span>Plant history &amp; use:</span></strong></h4> <p data-mce-fragment="1">Gotu Kola is a well-known medicinal plant that originates from Asia. It has long been used to alleviate e.g. stress and anxiety. It is also commonly used to cure skin conditions such as eczema, wounds and acne as it improves the elasticity of the skin. Gotu Kola is an adaptogen and therefore, like <a title="Ashwagandha seeds" href="https://tradgardsdags.nu/collections/froavdelning/products/ashwagandha-indisk-ginseng-withania-somnifera" target="_blank"><strong><span><span style="color: #4e991d;">Ashwagandha</span>,</span></strong></a> it is one of the few plants with an&nbsp;incredibly wide range of uses in traditional medicine. There are a variety of scientific articles to read for those interested in learning more in-depth.</p> <p data-mce-fragment="1">For purely medicinal purposes, extracts are made from the Gotu Kola plant. But you can also use its health-promoting properties in food and drink.</p> <p data-mce-fragment="1">In Burma for example, a salad is often made with "Pennywort" as a base together with tomato, onion &amp; peanuts etc. You can also&nbsp;make tea brewed&nbsp;from the leaves or make a cooling drink.</p> <h4 data-mce-fragment="1"><strong data-mce-fragment="1">Cultivation:</strong></h4> <p data-mce-fragment="1">In its natural environment, Gotu Kola is often found growing in water, in moist-retaining soils&nbsp;as well as dryer areas&nbsp;along roadsides and hedgerows.<br><br>It is an easy-to-grow and vigorous plant that thrives best in moisture-retaining soil in semi-shady locations.&nbsp;It appreciates&nbsp;an airy soil with a lot of organic material&nbsp;that&nbsp;retains moisture and at the same time&nbsp;drains off excess water effectively. Gotu Kola can also grow in drier soils.<br><br>The Gotu Kola plant spreads quickly, so if growing in a pot, a wide pot is preferred.<br><br>This plant usually does not grow taller than 30 cm but, on the other hand, it likes to spread&nbsp;horisontally&nbsp;towards&nbsp;widths of 1 m. For this reason, it is an effective ground cover&nbsp;for intercropping with other crops.<br><br>Gotu Kola is a common water plant and&nbsp;is well qualified&nbsp;for hydroponic cultivation systems.</p> <h4 data-mce-fragment="1"><strong data-mce-fragment="1">Sowing:</strong></h4> <p data-mce-fragment="1"><span data-mce-fragment="1">Put&nbsp;seeds</span><span data-mce-fragment="1">&nbsp;</span><span data-mce-fragment="1">in an airtight plastic bag with moist sand/peat/sowing soil in the fridge for 3 weeks.</span> <span data-mce-fragment="1">Then sow</span> <span data-mce-fragment="1">in moist soil. Cover with a thin layer of soil. Keep the&nbsp;soil moist.</span></p> <h4 data-mce-fragment="1"><strong data-mce-fragment="1">Characteristics:</strong></h4> <p data-mce-fragment="1">Lifespan: Perennial <br data-mce-fragment="1">Location: Part shade/Sun<br data-mce-fragment="1"> Height: 30 cm (width 1 m)<br data-mce-fragment="1"> Germination Time: 2-8 weeks<br data-mce-fragment="1">USDA&nbsp;Zone:&nbsp;7-10<br></p>

<h4 data-mce-fragment="1">SEEDS (20pcs/bag)</h4> <p data-mce-fragment="1"><strong>Common name:</strong>&nbsp;Caper, Caper Bush, Flinders Rose<br> <strong>Scientific name:</strong> <em>Capparis spinosa</em><br> <strong>Family:</strong> Capparaceae</p> <h4 data-mce-fragment="1"><strong><span>Plant history &amp; use:</span></strong></h4> <p data-mce-fragment="1">The Caper Bush&nbsp;is a Mediterranean plant that have a long history of being cultivated for&nbsp;its edible unopened flower buds. After picking, they are put in salt to release bitter&nbsp;compounds&nbsp;and to&nbsp;bring out&nbsp;the sourness. This is the kind of capers we often see canned in stores. You can also let the flowers remain on the plant until they eventually turn into fruits, the fruits can then similarly be put into salt to&nbsp;be made ready for consumption.&nbsp;</p> <p data-mce-fragment="1">Preserving&nbsp;capers is very easy. It can be broken down into 4 steps:</p> <ul> <li>Put the fresh flower buds/fruits in a bowl of salt</li> <li>Leave the buds/fruits in the bowl with salt for 3-7 days (or longer if desired).</li> <ul> <li>Drain the water that accumulates in the bowl and add some extra salt every day.</li> </ul> <li><meta charset="utf-8">When preservation is finished, rinse off the salt from the buds/fruits and soak them in water. Soaking time is up to your own taste, but recommended minimal time is 15 minutes. You can soak for several hours if desired. Grab a spoon and make a taste test every once in a while to find the flavor that suits you.</li> </ul> <p>You can also&nbsp;pickle younger shoots and leaves from the Caper Bush. If you want to use slightly older leaves and shoots, a tip is to blanch them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes before pickling. Mix your caper&nbsp;shoots &amp; leaves&nbsp;with salt and vinegar, leave in the fridge for about 1 month. Ready to eat.</p> <p data-mce-fragment="1">Cultivation of capers has been traced back as far as 7,000 years ago in present-day Turkey, Jordan and Syria. There, it is believed to have been used for both culinary and medicinal applications. In medicinal use, all plant parts were used,&nbsp;most prominently as a digestive aid.</p> <p data-mce-fragment="1">In tropical &amp; sub-tropical food&nbsp;forests (agroforestry) it is effectively used in the lower layer as a ground cover plant.</p> <h4 data-mce-fragment="1"><strong>Cultivation</strong>:</h4> <p data-mce-fragment="1">In its&nbsp;natural environment, capers often grow in high temperatures and soils with poor water and nutrient availability. A typical adaptation to a nutrient-poor environment is its very widespread root system, which makes it suitable as a soil binder in&nbsp;shorelines or eroding soils etc. In its natural environment, it is often&nbsp;growing on rocky cliffs and slopes. It grows on the walls of many ancient Mediterranean fortifications. The caper is an easily cultivated bush for home growers in the Mediterranean region (Spain, Italy, Greece, the coastal Balkan countries and south &amp; west Turkey).</p> <p data-mce-fragment="1"><meta charset="utf-8">The Caper Bush develops an extensive root system, hence it grows best&nbsp;in deep, medium-textured, loamy soils.</p> <p data-mce-fragment="1">In temperate climate, capers are best grown in pots in bright locations and overwintered frost-free. Capers are characterized by an initial upright growth&nbsp;to later grow long horizontal lateral shoots that spread along the ground - or hang down&nbsp;along the wall that the plant has mounted.</p> <p data-mce-fragment="1">The bush is productive and in optimal conditions there can be good harvests of up to 3000 buds per bush and season. In temperate climate, you can't really expect the same results, but you can do your best to mimic the plant's&nbsp;natural environment by:</p> <ul data-mce-fragment="1"> <li data-mce-fragment="1">put&nbsp;it in direct sunlight throughout the summer months,</li> <li data-mce-fragment="1">let it grow in well-drained Mediterranean&nbsp;soil&nbsp;</li> <li data-mce-fragment="1">let the soil dry out between waterings.</li> </ul> <p data-mce-fragment="1">It's recommended&nbsp;to&nbsp;transplant your Caper Bush into&nbsp;a larger pot&nbsp;as&nbsp;the plant grows bigger.</p> <p data-mce-fragment="1">As&nbsp;mentioned earlier, you harvest either the unopened flower buds or the fully formed fruits. If the flower bud is allowed to bloom, the bush produces sweetly scented, spectacular flowers. The Caper Bush&nbsp;can flower already in the first year sown from seed.</p> <p data-mce-fragment="1">Caper buds are usually picked in the morning&nbsp;since that is when they're believed to have their highest aromatic value.</p> <p data-mce-fragment="1">The Caper plant an be propagated via cuttings.</p> <h4 data-mce-fragment="1"><strong>Sowing</strong>:</h4> <p data-mce-fragment="1">Caper seeds germinate irregularly. To create better germination conditions:</p> <ul data-mce-fragment="1"> <li data-mce-fragment="1">Soak the seeds in lukewarm water for 1 day</li> <li data-mce-fragment="1">Place the seeds between&nbsp;two pieces of&nbsp;damp&nbsp;tissue paper/moist sand and leave in the fridge for 4-6 weeks</li> <li data-mce-fragment="1">Soak the seeds one final time in lukewarm water<meta charset="utf-8"> for 1 day</li> <li data-mce-fragment="1">Sow seeds 0.5 cm deep in&nbsp;sowing soil</li> </ul> <p data-mce-fragment="1">The roots of the young caper plants are usually easily disturbed and&nbsp;are sensitive to&nbsp;damage when transplanting. A good solution can be to sow the seeds in <a title="Degradable growing trays 10-pack" href="https://tradgardsdags.nu/collections/smarta-redskap/products/nedbrytbara-odlingsbrickor-10-pack" target="_blank"><span style="color: #4e991d;" data-mce-style="color: #4e991d;"><strong>degradable growing trays</strong></span></a> that you can&nbsp;seamlessly transplant into a larger pot without disturbing the roots.</p> <h4 data-mce-fragment="1"><strong>Characteristics</strong>:</h4> <p data-mce-fragment="1">Lifespan: Perennial<br data-mce-fragment="1">Location: Sun<br data-mce-fragment="1"> Height: 50 cm<br data-mce-fragment="1"> Germination Time: 1-12 weeks<br>USDA Zone: 8-10</p>

<p></p> <p> SEEDS (15pcs/bag)</p> <p style="background: white; margin: 0cm 0cm 15.0pt 0cm;"> <strong>Common name:</strong> <span>Loofah,<meta charset="utf-8"> Cucumber, Cucumber, Bath Cucumber</span><br> <strong>Scientific name:</strong> <em><span>Luffa aegyptiaca</span><br></em> <strong>Family:</strong> <span>Cucurbitaceae</span></p> <p> <strong><span>Plant history &amp; use:</span></strong></p> <p></p> <p> <meta charset="utf-8"><b>Wax gourd<span> </span></b><span>is a species in the genus Benincasa (the only one) in the family of cucumber plants (Curcurbitaceae). Biologically, therefore, not a pumpkin belonging to the genus of pumpkins (Curcubita), nor a melon (read more &gt; Melons). However, they are closely related to each other belonging to the same family. It is called winter melon in the same way as winter pumpkins because it is harvested late when it has grown (read more &gt; Pumpkins). The species has its origin in South and Southeast Asia and is cultivated in warm and humid climates generally throughout Asia. There are different varieties. See the film, click on "New Sokhom" under the image above.</span><br></p> <div> <br> <b>The fruit</b> : It is a large green, long, narrow fruit that can grow to 80 centimeters long. The fruit is covered with fine hairs that fall off when ripe, giving the fruit a waxy coating. The coating gives the fruit a long shelf life, up to a year. The flesh is white with a slightly sweet taste.<br><br><br> <span style="color: #ff0000;">HOW TO USE A WAX PUMP</span><br> <br>Wax gourd is eaten as a vegetable similar to squash. It is one of the few vegetables available in winter. Used in soups, stews, stir-fries, chutney, fruit drink or candied as a snack. In China as a filling in New Year and moon cakes. In India known for its medicinal properties and used in spiritual contexts.</div> <p></p> <p> Cultivated and used since the 4th century in the Roman Empire. Young fruits were eaten, ripe fruits were used as bath sponges. Luffa sponge was the most widely used sponge in the United States until WWII.</p> <p> The young, green fruit is eaten as a vegetable, similar to a common cucumber. Quite early in the fruit's life, it begins to develop a distinctive fibrous structure on the inside. On a fully ripe fruit, the skin easily peels away from the fibrous inside, resulting in a near-perfect sponge that can be used in the same way as our regular household sponges - on the counter, in the bathroom or as a cleaning sponge.</p> <p>One advantage of using a luffa sponge is that it stays fresh significantly longer than a "regular" synthetic sponge.</p> <p> If you cut the loofah sponge along the long side so that you can turn the sponge inside out, you can use the more textured inside as a stronger scrub and the smoother outside as a softer scrub.</p> <p> Edible younger shoots, leaves and flowers - a common way is to "stir-fry" leaves and shoots in a little soy sauce, etc. Asian sauces. Seeds left over after harvesting mature luffa can be roasted and eaten like pumpkin seeds.</p> <p> The fibers that run along the long side of the fruit's edges are durable and can be used as strings for tying up other plants, for example.</p> <p> <strong>Culture:</strong></p> <p><meta charset="utf-8"> Cucumbers prefer a sunny location with good water supply. They grow best in locations with sunlight all day. If you have a greenhouse, this is a perfect place for cucumbers.</p> <p> Grows best in humus-rich, well-drained and nutrient-rich soil. Regular nutrient supply is preferred.</p> <p>Provide plenty of climbing space for optimal growth.</p> <p> At first the fruit is firm in shape and green in colour. It is when the fruit is around 10 cm that the fruit is edible. Shortly after that<meta charset="utf-8"> A fibrous structure begins to form inside the peel, making the fruit unsuitable for edible purposes.</p> <p> When the fruit becomes lighter and the skin starts to feel looser against the inside and the color turns yellow to brownish, the fruit is ready to harvest. It is best to harvest the fruits before they turn completely brown and the skin becomes completely dry, otherwise it can be difficult to peel the fruits without damaging the inside.</p> <p>Pinch the fruits off the vine and let them dry for another day before soaking them for a couple of hours to make it easier to remove the skin. Do not soak for longer than 1 day as bacterial growth may occur. Remove seeds by opening the bottom of the fruit and shaking them out. Peel. Rinse the loofah sponge with water to remove loose plant debris. Lay out to dry again - outside in the sun protected from rain works great.</p> <p> If you still want to leave the fruits on the plant until they are completely brown and dry, it is easiest to remove the peel with a regular kitchen knife after soaking.</p> <p>If the risk of frost is approaching and your fruit still doesn't look ready, it is still recommended to harvest early, as repeated exposure to frost damages the foliage and the fruit can rot. Pinch off the fruit and hang it indoors with the skin on to dry. When you see the skin going from firm to loose (slightly shriveled appearance) and the color changing to brownish, it is time to open the skin.</p> <p> The flowers are bright yellow.</p> <p> Fruits can grow to 75 cm in favorable conditions.</p> <p> <strong>Sowing:</strong><br></p> <p> The mushroom cucumber needs some time to develop mature (strongly) fibrous fruits. Therefore, it is advisable to start them indoors in February/March. When the risk of frost is over, the plants can be planted/exhibited.</p> <p> Soak seeds 1 day in advance. Sow seeds in seeding soil, cover with a thin layer of soil. Keep the seeds moist. To more easily maintain good moisture, the seeds can be covered with plastic film with air holes.</p> <p> <strong>Features:</strong></p> <p> Year: One year <br>Growing position: sun<br> Height: 2 m<br> Germination time: 5-20 days</p>