Pandan

Pandan Wangi
(Pandanus amaryllifolius Roxb.)
Sinonim :
= P. odorus Ridl. = P. latifolius Hassk. = P hasskarlii Merr.

Familia :
Pandanaccae

Uraian :
Pandan wangi tumbuh di daerah tropis dan banyak ditanam di halaman atau di kebun. Pandan kadang tumbuh liar di tepi sungai, tepi rawa, dan di tempat-tempat yang agak lembap, tumbuh subur dari daerah pantai sampai daerah dengan ketinggian 500 m dpl. Perdu tahunan, tinggi 1-2 m.

Batang bulat dengan bekas duduk daun, bercabang, menjalar, akar tunjang keluar di sekitar pangkal batang dan cabang. D

aun tunggal, duduk, dengan pangkal memeluk batang, tersusun berbaris tiga dalam garis spiral. Helai daun berbentuk pita, tipis, licin, ujung runcing, tepi rata, bertulang sejajar, panjang 40 - 80 cm, lebar 3 - 5 cm, berduri tempel pada ibu tulang daun permukaan bawah bagian ujung-ujungnya, warna hijau.

Bunga majemuk, bentuk bongkol, warnanya putih. Buahnya buah batu, menggantung, bentuk bola, diameter 4 - 7,5 cm, dinding buah berambut, warnanya jingga.

Pandan wangi selain sebagai rempah-rempah juga digunakan sebagai bahan baku pembuatan minyak wangi. Daunnya harum kalau diremas atau diiris-iris, sering digunakan sebagai bahan penyedap, pewangi dan pemberi warna hijau pada masakan atau penganan. Irisan daun pandan muda dicampur bunga mawar, melati, cempaka dan kenanga, sering diselipkan di sanggul supaya rambut menjadi harum, atau diletakkan di antara pakaian dalam lemari. Daun pandan yang diiris kecil-kecil juga digunakan untuk campuran bunga rampai atau bunga tujuh rupa.

Perbanyakan dengan pemisahan tunas-tunas muda, yang tumbuh di antara akar-akarnya.

Nama Lokal :
Pandan rampe, p. seungit, p. room, p. wangi (Jawa).; Seuke bangu, s. musang, pandan jau, p. bebau, p. harum,; pandan rempai, p. wangi, p. musang (Sumatera). pondang,; pondan, ponda, pondago (Sulawesi).kelamoni, hao moni,; keker moni, ormon foni, pondak, pondaki, pudaka (Maluku).; Pandan arrum (Bali), bonak (Nusa Tenggara),;

Penyakit Yang Dapat Diobati :
Rambut rontok, menghitamkan rambut, menghilangkan ketombe; Lemah saraf (neurastenia), tidak napsu makan, rematik, ; Pegal linu, sakit disertai gelisah.;

Pemanfaatan :

BAGIAN YANG DIGUNAKAN : Daun.

INDIKASI :
Daun pandan berkhasiat untuk mengatasi:
- lemah saraf (neUrasthenia),
- tidak nafsu makan,
- rematik, pegal linu,
- sakit disertai gelisah,
- rambut rontok, menghitamkan rambut, dan
- ketombe.

CARA PEMAKAIAN :
Daun pandan segar sebanyak 2 - 5 lembar diiris-iris secukupnya lalu direbus atau diseduh, minum. Atau daun ditumbuk lalu diperas dan diminum. Pemakaian luar, daun dicuci bersih lalu digiling halus. Turapkan pada luka atau kulit kepala yang berketombe.

CONTOH PEMAKAIAN :
1. Lemah saraf :
Daun pandan segar sebanyak 3 lembar dicuci lalu dipotong
kecil-kecil. Rebus dengan 3 gelas air bersih sampai tersisa 2 gelas.
Setelah dingin disaring lalu diminum pagi dan sore hari, masing-
masing 1 gelas.

2. Rematik dan pegal linu :
a. Daun pandan segar sebanyak 3 lembar dicuci bersih lalu diiris
tipis-tipis. Seduh dengan 1/2 cangkir minyak kelapa yang telah
dipanaskan sambil diaduk merata. Setelah dingin siap digunakan
untuk menggosok bagian tubuh yang sakit.
b. Daun pandan segar sebanyak 5 lembar dan daun serai 20 lembar,
dicuci Ialu ditumbuk sampai halus. Tambahkan minyak kayu putih
dan minyak gandapura masing-masing 1 sendok makan. Aduk
sambil diramas sampai merata. Ramuan ini digunakan untuk
menggosok dan mengurut bagian tubuh yang sakit.

3. Gelisah :
Daun pandan segar sebanyak 2 lembar dicuci lalu diiris tipis-tipis.
Seduh dengan segelas air panas. Setelah -dingin disaring, minum
sekaligus. Lakukan 2 - 3 kali sehari, sampal tenang.

4. Rambut rontok :
Sebanyak 10 lembar daun waru muda yang segar, segenggam daun
urang-aring, 5 lembar daun mangkokan, 1 lembar daun pandan, 10
kuntum bunga melati, dan 1 kuntum bunga mawar, setelah dicuci
bersih lalu dipotong-potong secukupnya. Bahan-bahan tersebut
dimasukkan ke dalam panci email, lalu tambahkan rninyak wijen,
minyak kelapa dan minyak kemiri masing-masing 1/2 cangkir.
Panaskan sampai mendidih, lalu diangkat. Setelah dingin disaring,
siap untuk digunakan. Caranya, oleskan campuran minyak tadi ke
seluruh kulit kepala sambil dipijat ringan. Lakukan malam hari
sebelum tidur, esok paginya rambut dikeramas. Lakukan 2 - 3 kali
seminggu.

5. Menghitamkan rambut :
Daun pandan wangi sebanyak 7 lembar dicuci lalu dipotong-potong.
Rebus dengan 1 liter air sampai warnanya menjadi hijau. Embunkan
air rebusan tadi semalaman. Pagi harinya, campurkan rebusan daun
pandan tadi dengan air perasan 3 buah mengkudu masak. Air
campuran tadi lalu digunakan untuk meneuci rambut. Lakukan 3 kali
seminggu, sampai terlihat hasilnya.

6. Ketombe :
Daun pandan segar sebanyak 7 lembar dicuci bersih lalu digiling
halus. Tambahkan 1/2 cangkir air bersih sambil diremas merata.
Peras dan saring. Air perasan daun pandan ini lalu dioleskan ke
seluruh kulit kepala yang berketombe. Biarkan mengering, kalau
perlu olesan diulang sekali lagi. Kira-kira 1/2 - 1 jam kemudian,
rambut dibilas dengan air bersih. Lakukan setiap hari sampai
sembuh.

Komposisi :
KANDUNGAN KIMIA : Daun pandan mengandung alkaloida, saponin, flavonoida, tanin, polifenol, dan zat warna.

sumber iptek

Gandarusa

(Justicia gendarussa Burm. f.)

Sinonim : Gendarussa vulgaris, Nees. Justicia dahona Buch., Ham. Justicia nigricans, Lour. Justicia salicina, Vahl.

Familia : Acanthaceae

Uraian :
Berupa semak, pada umumnya ditanam sebagai pasar hidup atau tumbuh liar di hutan, tanggul sungai atau dipelihara sebagai tanaman obat. Di Jawa tumbuh pada ketinggian 1 - 500 m. di atas permukaan laut. Tumbuh tegak, tinggi dapat mencapai 2 m, percabangan banyak, dimulai dari dekat pangkal batang. Cabang-cabang yang masih muda berwarna ungu gelap, dan bila sudah tua warnanya menjadi coklat mengkilat. Daun letak berhadapan, berupa daun tunggal yang bentuknya lanset dengan panjang 5-20 cm, lebar 1 - 3,5 cm, tepi rata, ujung daun meruncing, pangkal berbentuk biji bertangkai pendek antara 5 - 7,5 mm, warna daun hijau gelap.

Bunga kecil berwama putih atau dadu yang tersusun dalam rangkaian berupa malai/bulir yang menguncup, berambut menyebar dan keluar dari ketiak daun atau ujung tangkai.

Buahnya berbentuk bulat panjang. Selain yang berbatang hitam (lebih populer) ada juga yang berbatang hijau.

Nama Lokal :
Handarusa (Sunda), Gandarusa, tetean, trus (jawa),; Ghandharusa (Madura), Gandarisa (Bima), Puli (Ternate).; Besi-besi (Aceh), gandarusa (Melayu).; Bo gu dan (China).;

Penyakit Yang Dapat Diobati :
Luka terpukul (memar), Tulang patah, Reumatik, Bisul; Borok, Koreng;

Pemanfaatan :

BAGIAN YANG DIPAKAI: Daun, segar atau kering.

KEGUNAAN:
1. Luka terpukul (memar), tulang patah fracture).2. Reumatik persendian.3. Bisul, borok, koreng.

PEMAKAIAN:
15 - 30 gr, direbus atau ditumbuk kemudian diperas dan diminum airnya. Kulit pohon dipakai untuk merangsang muntah, daun dapat digunakan untuk membunuh serangga.

PEMAKAIAN LUAR:
Tanaman segar dilumatkan, tempelkan ketempat yang sakit.Tanaman segar direbus, airnya untuk cuci.

CARA PEMAKAIAN:
1. Tulang patah, bisul: Yang segar dilumatkan atau yang kering dihaluskan, diaduk dengan arak, cuka secukupnya, untuk kompres. Tulang yang patah sudah dalam posisi yang benar dan terfiksasi.
2. Memar, keseleo, reumatik: 15 - 30 gr kering atau 30 - 60 gr gandarusa segar direbus minum airnya.
3. Memar: Daun gandarusa diolesi minyak, layukan di atas api. Tempelkan ke tempat sakit.

CATATAN :
Di India dan Asia Tenggara, dipakai sebagai penurun panas, merangsang muntah, anti reumatik, pengobatan sakit kepala, kelumpuhan otot wajah, eczema, sakit mata dan telinga.

PERHATIAN :
Wanita hamil dilarang memakai tanaman ini.

sumber : iptek

Kumis Kucing

(Orthosiphon aristatus (B1) Miq.)
Sinonim :
O. longiflorum, Ham. O. grandiflorum et aristatum, Bl. O. spiralis, Merr. O. stamineus, Benth. O. grandiflorus, Bold. Clerodendranthus spicatus (Thunb.) C.Y. Wu. Trichostemma spiralis, Lour.

Familia :Labiatae

Uraian :
I. URAIAN TANAMAN:
Terna, tumbuh tegak, pada bagian bawah berakar di bagian buku-bukunya, tinggi 1-2 m, batang segi empat agak beralur, berbulu pendek atau gundul. Daun tunggal, bundar telur lonjong, lanset atau belah ketupat, berbulu halus, pinggir bergerigi kasar tak teratur, kedua permukaan berbintik-bintik karena ada kelenjar minyak atsiri. Bunga berupa tandan yang keluar di ujung cabang, wama ungu pucat atau putih (ada yang warna biru dan putih), benang sari lebih panjang dari tabung bunga. Buah geluk wama coklat gelap. Tumbuh di dataran rendah dan daerah ketinggian sedang.

II. Syarat Tumbuh
a. Iklim
1. Ketinggian tempat : 500 m - 900 m di atas permukaan laut
2. Curah hujan tahunan : 3000 mm/tahun
3. Bulan basah (diatas 100 mm/bulan) : 7 bulan - 9 bulan
4. Bulan kering (dibawah 60 mm/bulan) : 3 bulan - 5 bulan
5. Suhu udara : 280C - 340C
6. Kelembapan : sedang
7. Penyinaran : tinggi

b. Tanah
1. Jenis : andosol, latosol
2. Tekstrur : lempung berpasir
3. Drainase : baik
4. Kedalaman air tanah : diatas 70 cm dari permukaan tanah
5. Kedalaman perakaran: 30 cm - 60 cm dari permukaan tanah
6. Kemasaman (pH) : 5 - 7
7. Kesuburan : sedang - tinggi

III. Pedoman Bertanam
a. Pengolahan Tanah
1. Tanah dicangkul sedalam 30 cm - 40 cm hingga gembur
2. Buatkan bedengan selebar 100 cm - 120 cm, tinggi 30 cm, jarak antar bedengan 40 cm - 50 cm, dan panjangnya disesuaikan kondisi lahan
3. Tebarkan pupuk kandang diatas bedengan tersebut

b. Persiapan Bibit
1. Pada umumnya tanaman kumis kucing diperbanyak dengan stek batang atau stek cabang
2. Pilih batang atau cabang yang tidak terlalu tua, lalu dipotong menjadi stek-stek berukuran panjang 15 cm - 25 cm atau beruas sekitar 2 buku - 3 buku

c. Penanaman
1. Stek bibit ditanam langsung di kebun sedalam 5 cm, kemudian padatkan tanah di sekitar pangkal stek
2. Jarak tanam 30 cm x 30 cm, 40 cm x 40 cm, 40 cm x 50 cm dan 60 cm x 60 cm

Nama Lokal :
Kumis kucing, Mamang besar (Indonesia); Kutun, mamam, bunga laba-laba (Jawa); Mao Xu Cao (China).;

Penyakit Yang Dapat Diobati :
Infeksi Ginjal, Infeksi Kandung kemih, Kencing batu, Encok; Peluruh air seni, menghilangkan panas dan lembab;

Pemanfaatan :

BAGIAN YANG DIPAKAI :
Seluruh tumbuhan, basah atau kering (dianginkan dahulu, lalu dijemur di panas matahari).

KEGUNAAN:
1. Infeksi ginjal (Acute dan chronic nephritis), infeksi kandung kemih (Cystitis).
2. Sakit kencing batu.
3. Encok (Gout arthritis).
4. Peluruh air seni (Diuretic).
5. Menghilangkan panas dan lembab.

PEMAKAIAN :
30 - 60 gr. (kering) atau 90 - 120 gr (basah) direbus, atau yang kering/basah diseduh sebagai teh.

CARA PEMAKAIAN:
1. Nephritis, edema (bengkak):
0. aristatus (kumis kucing) 30 gr, Planto asiatica (daun urat) 30 gr, Hedyotis diffusa. (rumput lidah ular) 30 gr, semuanya direbus.

2. Infeksi saluran kencing, sering kencing sedikit-sedikit (anyang-anyangan) : 0. aritatus, Phyllanthus urinaria (meniran), Commelina communis, masing-masing 30 gr., direbus.

Komposisi :
SIFAT KIMIAWI DAN EFEK FARMAKOLOGIS:
Manis sedikit pahit, sejuk, anti-inflammatory (anti radang), peluruh air seni (diuretic), menghancurkan batu saluran kencing. KANDUNGAN KIMIA: Orthosiphon glikosida, zat samak, minyak atsiri, minyak lemak, saponin, sapofonin, garam kalium, myoinositol.

sumber : iptek

Sereh

Sereh(Cymbopogon nardus (L.) Rendle.)
Sinonim :
Andropogon nardus L., Andropogon citriodorus Desf.
Familia :
Poaceae


Uraian :

Perawakan:
rumput-rumputan tegak, menahun, perakarannya sangat dalam dan kuat. Batang: tegak atau condong, membentuk rumpun, pendek, masif, bulat (silindris), gundul seringkali di bawah buku bukunya berlilin, penampang lintang batang berwarna merah.

Daun:
tunggal, lengkap, pelepah daun silindris, gundul, seringkali bagian permukaan dalam berwarna merah, ujung berlidah (ligula), helaian;. lebih dari separuh menggantung, remasan berbau aromatik.

Bunga:
susunan malai atau bulir majemuk, bertangkai atau duduk, berdaun: pelindung nyata, biasanya berwarna sama, umumnya putih.
Daun pelindung: bermetamorfosis menjadi gluma steril dan fertil (pendukung bunga).
Kelopak: bermetamorfosis menjadi bagian palea (2 unit) dan lemma atau sekam (1 unit).
Mahkota: bermetamorfosis menjadi 2 kelenjar lodicula, berfungsi untuk membuka bunga di pagi hari.
Benang sari: berjumlah 3-6, membuka secara memanjang.
Putik: kepala putik sepasang berbentuk bulu, dengan percabangan berbentuk jambul.

Buah:
buah padi, memanjang, pipih dorso ventral, embrio separo bagian biji.


Asal-usul Ceylon.
Waktu berbunga Januari- Desember.
Daerah distribusi, Habitat dan Budidaya Tumbuh pada daerah dengan ketinggian 50-2700 m dpl. Di Sri Lanka, tanaman ini tumbuh alami, namun dapat ditanam pada berbagai kondisi tanah di daerah tropika yang lembab, cukup sinar matahari dan dengan curah hujan yang relatif tinggi. Di Indonesia banyak terdapat di Jawa, ditepi jalan atau dipersawahan dan dikenal dengan nama Sere (New Citronella grass). Biasanya tumbuh di dataran rendah pada kethiggian 60-140 M dpl.


Perbanyakan:
dapat diperbanyak dengan potongan rimpang. Jarak tanam yang dianjurkan adalah 0,5-1 meter


Pemanenan:
dilakukan bila tinggi tanaman telah mencapai 1-1,5 meter. Pemotongan pertama dilakukan pada umur 6-9 bulan. Pemanenan selanjutnya dilakukan selang 3-4 bulan (umur panen sangat mempengaruhi rendemen minyak atsiri). Penurunan intensitas cahaya matahari sampai 50% dan pemupukan urea sampai 100 kg/ha dapat berefek pada peningkatan hasil minyak atsiri sereh wangi. Berat segar daun dan berat bahan kering daun hanya dipengaruhi oleh dosis pemupukan nitrogen. Kadar air daun hanya dipengaruhi intensitas cahaya matahari. Tinggi tanaman dipengaruhi oleh Intensitas cahaya matahari dan dosis pemupukan nitrogen dan keduanya terdapat interaksi dalam mempengaruhi tinggi tanaman. Pada jarak tanam yang rapat dapat berefek pada peningkatan jumlah daun atau anakan pada 5-7 MST, jumlah anakan / rumpun pada 5-15 MST; begitu pula produksi bahan tanaman pada 24 MST serta tidak berpengaruh pada kandungan geraniol dan sitronelol. Interaksi antara jarak tanam dan pupuk NPK berpengaruh terhadap tinggi tanaman pada 5 MST dan jumlah anakan / rumpun pada 19 MST. Interaksi antara pupuk kandang den pupuk NPK berpengaruh pada jumlah daun / anakan pada 5 MST. Interaksi antara pupuk kandang, jarak tanam dan pupuk NPK berpengaruh pada jumlah anakan / rumpun pada 21 MST. Semakin rapat jarak tanam dapat berefek pada peningkatan hasil minyak atsiri; jarak tanam yang semakin lebar berpengaruh pada tinggi tanaman yang semakin tinggi; dosis pemupukan tidak berefek pada peningkatan hasil minyak atsiri dan tinggi tanaman. Jarak tanam dan dosis pemupukan yang berbeda tidak berefek pada perbedaan hasil berat daun segar dan diameter kanopi pada saat panen. Jarak tanam 50 x 50 cm berefek pada lebih beratnya daun kering dari pada jarak tanam yang lebih lebar;, sedangkan perbedaan dosis pemupukan tidak berpengaruh. Dosis pemupukan urea 50 kg/ha sampai 100 kg/ha dapat berefek pada kenaikan jumlah anakan pada saat panen, sedangkan jarak tanam 90x90 cm akan mempercepat pembentukan anakan.


Penyakit Yang Dapat Diobati :

Akar: digunakan sebagai peluruh air seni, peluruh keringat, peluruh dahak / obat batuk, bahan untuk kumur, dan penghangat badan.

Daun: digunakan sebagai peluruh angin perut, penambah nafsu makan, pengobatan pasca persalinan, penurun panas dan pereda kejang.


Pemanfaatan :

CARA PEMAKAIAN DI MASYARAKAT
Untuk penghangat badan:
5 gram akar segar Andropogon nardus, dicuci dan direbus dengan 1 gelas air selama 15 menit; kemudian diminum 2 kali sehari masing?masing 1/2 gelas, pagi dan sore.
sumber : iptek

Dikenal juga sebagai salah satu tanaman pengusir nyamuk dan juga sebagai rempah-rempah masakan Indonesia.

What are the Benefits of Eating Mango?

Mango originated in Southeast Asia where it has been grown for over 4,000 years. Over the years mango groves have spread to many parts of the tropical and sub-tropical world, where the climate allows the mango to grow best. Mango trees are evergreens that will grow to 60 feet tall. The mango tree will fruit 4 to 6 years after planting. Mango trees require hot, dry periods to set and produce a good crop. Most of the mangos sold in the United States are imported from Mexico, Haiti, the Caribbean and South America. Today there are over 1,000 different varieties of mangos throughout the world.

Mangoes, both ripe and unripe are very good sources of vitamin C. 16mg of vitamin C is present in 100 gms of mango. Both vitamins A and C are anti oxidants and help to prevent free radical injury and thus reduce the risk of certain cancers. Ripe mango provides a good source of calories.

Mango is a delicious and aromatic tropical fruit. Mangoes are very nutritious and excellent source of carotene as compared to other fruits. 100 gms of edible portion of the mango contain about 1990ug of beta-carotene (vitamin A), which is much higher than in other fruits. The total carotenoids in mango increase with the stage of ripening. Eating mangoes in the season may provide a store of vitamin A in the liver, sufficient to last for the rest of the year and highly beneficial for the prevention of vitamin A deficient disorders like night blindness.

The ripe mango is antiscorbutic, diuretic, laxative, invigorating, fattening and astringent. It tones up the heart muscle, improves complexion and stimulates appetite. It increases the seven body nutrients, called 'dhatus' in Ayurveda. They are food juice, blood, flesh, fat, bone marrow and semen. The fruit is beneficial in liver disorders, loss of weight and other physical disturbances.

Green or unripe mango contains a large portion of starch which gradually changes into glucose, sucrose and maltose as the fruit begins to ripe. Green mango is a rich source of pectin which gradually diminishes after the formation of the stone. Unripe mango is sour in taste because of the presence of oxalic, citric, malic and succinic acids.

Just one mango contains 1-3 times your recommended daily intake of Vitamin C and beta-carotene � a cancer fighting antioxidant. Mangoes also contain all 4 recognised anti-oxidants (namely Vitamin A, Vitamins C & E and Selenium) that prevent Heart Disease, Cancer and Diabetes - the three biggest killers in the western world.

Small mangos can be peeled and mounted on the fork and eaten in the same manner. If the fruit is slightly fibrous especially near the stone, it is best to peel and slice the flesh and serve it as dessert, in fruit salad, on dry cereal, or in gelatin or custards, or on ice cream. The ripe flesh may be spiced and preserved in jars. Surplus ripe mangos are peeled, sliced and canned in sirup, or made into jam, marmalade, jelly or nectar. The extracted pulpy juice of fibrous types is used for making mango halva and mango leather. Sometimes corn flour and tamarind seed jellose are mixed in.

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Melati

Jasminum sambac (syn. Nyctanthes sambac) is a species of jasmine native to southern Asia, in India, Philippines, Myanmar and Sri Lanka. Common names include Arabian Jasmine, Mogra (Hindi and Marathi), Mallikā (Sanskrit), Kampupot, Melati (Malay and Indonesian Language), Sampaguita (Filipino), Mallepuvvu (Telugu), Mallipu (Tamil), Mallige (Kannada) and Kaliyan (Urdu).
It is an evergreen vine or shrub reaching up to 1-3 m tall. The leaves are opposite or in whorls of three, simple (not pinnate, like most other jasmines), ovate, 4-12.5 cm long and 2-7.5 cm broad. The flowers are produced in clusters of 3-12 together, strongly scented, with a white corolla 2-3 cm diameter with 5-9 lobes. The flowers open at night, and close in the morning. The fruit is a purple-black berry 1 cm in diameter



Cultivation and uses
It is widely grown throughout the tropics as an ornamental plant for its strongly scented flowers. Numerous cultivars have been selected, including some with fully-double flowers such as the cultivar 'Grand Duke of Tuscany'.
It is the national flower of the Philippines, adopted by its government in 1937. In the Philippines, the flowers are gathered and strung into leis, corsages and crowns or its oils distilled and sold in stores, streets, and outside churches. The garlands may be used to welcome guests, or as an offering or adornment in religious altars.
Besides the Philippines, it is also the national flower of Indonesia, which was adopted by Indonesian government in 1990 along with Moon Orchid (Phalaenopsis amabilis) and Rafflesia arnoldii. In Indonesia, the flower symbolizes purity, eternal love and nobility. It also symbolizes the beauty of a girl. The flower is commonly used in religious or cultural ceremony especially in Java and Bali. It is nicknamed puspa bangsa (nation flower or people flower) by the government.
In Hawaii, the flower is known as "pikake" or "pikaki," and is used to make fragrant leis. In South India, jasmines are strung into thick strands and worn as a hair adornment. In China, the flower is processed and used as the main ingredient in jasmine tea.



Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Oleaceae
Genus: Jasminum
Species: J. sambac



source : wikipedia

Rosella plant

The Roselle (hibiscus sabdariffa) is a species of hibiscus native to the Old World tropics. It is an annual or perennial herb or woody-based subshrub, growing to 2–2.5 m tall. The leaves are deeply three- to five-lobed, 8–15 cm long, arranged alternately on the stems.

The flowers are 8–10 cm in diameter, white to pale yellow with a dark red spot at the base of each petal, and have a stout fleshy calyx at the base, 1.5–2 cm wide, enlarging to 3–3.5 cm, fleshy and bright red as the fruit matures. It is an annual plant, and takes about six months to mature.

A roselle variety planted in Malaysia. Roselle fruits are harvested fresh, and their calyces are made into a drink rich in vitamin C and anthocyanins.

Names

The roselle is known as the rosella or rosella fruit in Australia. It is also known as meśta/meshta on the Indian subcontinent, chin baung in Myanmar, krajeab in Thailand, bissap in Senegal, Mali, and Niger, the Congo and France, dah or dah bleni in other parts of Mali, wonjo in the Gambia, zobo in Nigeria, karkade (كركديه; IPA: ['karkade]) in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, omutete in Namibia, sorrel in the Caribbean and Jamaica in Latin America, Saril in Panama, rosela in Indonesia, asam paya or asam susur in Malaysia. In Chinese it is 洛神花 (Luo Shen Hua) .

Uses

The plant is considered to have antihypertensive properties. Primarily, the plant is cultivated for the production for bast fibre from the stem of the plant. The fibre may be used as a substitute for jute in making burlap [1]. Hibiscus, specifically Roselle, has been used in folk medicine as a diuretic, mild laxative, and treatment for cardiac and nerve diseases and cancer. [2]
The red calyces of the plant are increasingly exported to America and Europe, where they are used as food colourings. Germany is the main importer. It can also be found in markets (as flowers or syrup) in some places such as France, where there are Senegalese immigrant communities. The green leaves are used like a spicy version of spinach. They give flavour to the Senegalese fish and rice dish thiéboudieune. Proper records are not kept, but the Senegalese government estimates national production and consumption at 700 metric tons per year. Also in Myanmar their green leaves are the main ingredient in making chin baung kyaw curry.
In East Africa, the calyx infusion, called "Sudan tea", is taken to relieve coughs. Roselle juice, with salt, pepper, asafetida and molasses, is taken as a remedy for biliousness.
The heated leaves are applied to cracks in the feet and on boils and ulcers to speed maturation. A lotion made from leaves is used on sores and wounds. The seeds are said to be diuretic and tonic in action and the brownish-yellow seed oil is claimed to heal sores on camels. In India, a decoction of the seeds is given to relieve dysuria, strangury and mild cases of dyspepsia. Brazilians attribute stomachic, emollient and resolutive properties to the bitter roots.

Tea

In Africa, especially the Sahel, roselle is commonly used to make a sugary herbal tea that is commonly sold on the street. The dried flowers can be found in every market. In the Caribbean the drink is made from the fresh fruit, and it is considered an integral part of Christmas celebrations. The Carib Brewery Trinidad Limited, a Trinidad and Tobago brewery, produces a Shandy Sorrel in which the tea is combined with beer.
In Thailand, Roselle is drunk as a tea, believed to also reduce cholesterol. It can also be made into a delicious wine - especially if combined with Chinese tea leaves - in the ratio of 1:4 by weight (1/5 Chinese tea).

Rosella ice-cream

Beverage

Jamaica (Anglicized as IPA: /həˈmaɪkə/) is a drink, popular in Mexico and Central America, which is made from calyces of the roselle. In Malaysia, roselle calyces are harvested fresh to produce pro-health drink due to high contents of vitamin C and anthocyanins. In Mexico, 'agua de Jamaica' (water of roselle) is most often homemade. It is prepared by boiling the dried flowers of the Jamaica plant in water for 8 to 10 minutes (or until the water turns red), then adding sugar. It is often served chilled. The drink is one of several inexpensive beverages (aguas frescas) commonly consumed in Mexico and Central America, and they are typically made from fresh fruits, juices or extracts. In Mali and Senegal, calyces are used to prepare cold, sweet drinks popular in social events, often mixed with mint leaves, dissolved menthol candy, and/or various fruit flavors.
With the advent in the U.S. of interest in south-of-the-border cuisine, the calyces are sold in bags usually labeled "Flor de Jamaica" and have long been available in health food stores in the U.S. for making a tea that is high in vitamin C. This drink is particularly good for people who have a tendency, temporary or otherwise, toward water retention: it is a mild diuretic.
In addition to being a popular homemade drink, Jarritos, a popular brand of Mexican soft drinks, makes a Jamaica flavored carbonated beverage. Imported Jarritos can be readily found in the U.S.

Phytochemicals

The plants are rich in anthocyanins, as well as protocatechuic acid. The dried calyces contain the flavonoids gossypetin, hibiscetine and sabdaretine. The major pigment, formerly reported as hibiscin, has been identified as daphniphylline. Small amounts of delphinidin 3-monoglucoside, cyanidin 3-monoglucoside (chrysanthenin), and delphinidin are also present.

Production

China and Thailand are the largest producers and control much of the world supply. Thailand invested heavily in roselle production and their product is of superior quality, whereas China's product, with less stringent quality control practices, is less reliable and reputable. The world's best roselle comes from the Sudan, but the quantity is low and poor processing hampers quality. Mexico, Egypt, Senegal, Tanzania, Mali and Jamaica are also important suppliers but production is mostly used domestically
In the Indian subcontinent (especially in the Ganges Delta region), roselle is cultivated for vegetable fibres. Roselle is called meśta (or meshta, the ś indicating an sh sound) in the region. Most of its fibres are locally consumed. However, the fibre (as well as cuttings or butts) from the roselle plant has great demand in various natural fibre utilizing industries.
Roselle, a tetraploid species, is a relatively new crop and industry in Malaysia. It was introduced in early 1990s and its commercial planting was first promoted in 1993. It is gradually becoming an important pro-health drink in the country. To a small extent, the calyces are also processed into sweet pickle, jelly and jam. The planted area is still small, around 150 ha annually, planted with mainly two varieties. In peninsular Malaysia, Terengganu state is the largest producer.
Genetic variation is important for plant breeders to increase its productivity. Being an introduced crop species in Malaysia, there is a limited number of germplasm accessions available for breeding. Furthermore, conventional hybridization is difficult to carry out in roselle due to its cleistogamous nature of reproduction. Because of this, a mutation breeding programme was iniated to generate new genetic variability. The use of induced mutations for its improvement was initiated in 1999, and has produced some promising breeding lines.
www.africagro.com

source : wikipedia

Kemangi

Nama Latin : Ocimum sanctum Linn

Famili: Lamiaceae /Labiatae

Deskripsi
Jenis kemangi yang banyak diusahakan adalah jenis lokal yang belum jelas nama/varietasnya. Penampilan tanaman cukup rimbun. Daun berwama hijau muda. Bunga putih kurang menarik. Bila dibiarkari berbunga maka pertumbuhan daun lebih sedikit dan tanaman cenderung cepat tua dan gampang mati.

Manfaat
Kemangi (Ocimum canum) lebih sering digunakan sebagai lalap. Ada juga yang menggunakannya sebagai campuran sayur tertentu. Sayuran ini memiliki aroma harum dan rasa yang khas. Belum banyak petani yang mengusahakan kemangi dalam skala besar, paling hanya di sepetak tanah saja. Ini dikarenakan nilai komersial sayur kemangi memang masih rendah.

Syarat Tumbuh
Kemangi tidak menuntut syarat tumbuh yang rumit. Dapat dikatakan semua wilayah di Indonesia bisa ditanami kemangi. Yang jelas tanahnya bersifat asam. Kemangi juga toleran terhadap cuaca panas maupun dingin. Perbedaan iklim ini hanya mengakibatkan penampilan tanacnan sedikit berbeda. Kemangi yang ditanam di daerah dingin daunnya lebih lebar dan lebih hijau. Sedang kemangi di daerah panas daunnya kecil, tipis, dan berwama hijau pucat.

Pedoman Budidaya
Benih Kemangi diperbanyak dengan bijinya. Biji diperoleh dari buah kemangi yang masak di batang. Ciri biji yang tua ialah berwama - hitam dan kering. Biji kemangi harus disemai terlebih dahulu sebelum ditanam. Tanah untuk persemaian diolah hingga gembur. Campur dengan sedikit pupuk kandang. Bila tanah terlalu lengket tambahkan pasir. Lantas taburkan biji kemangi dan tutupi dengan lapisan tanah tipis-tipis. Rawatlah tanaman yang sudah tumbuh di persemaian. Tanaman yang terlalu rapat dikurangi. Cabut tanaman yang lemah atau pertumbuhannya terganggu. Setelah berumur sekitar 4 minggu tanaman muda ini sudah bisa dipindah ke lahan. Kebutuhan benih kemangi untuk penanaman satu hektar lahan sekitar 2-5 kg. Penanaman Kemangi biasanya ditanam dalam bedengan-bedengan. Bedengan berukuran 1-1 m dengan panjang sesuai ukuran lahan. Sebelum penanaman, bedengan diberi pupuk kandang. Antar bedengan dibuat parit pengairan selebar 35 cm. Jarak tanam kemangi ialah 50 x 50 cm atau 60 x 60 cm. Buat lubang tanam kecil saja, yang penting tanaman muda bisa masuk dan tidak sesak.

Pemeliharaan
Pemeliharaan Tanaman muda yang sudah di lahan perlu dicek apakah tumbuh dengan baik. Bila ada tanaman yang mati atau pertumbuhannya jelek, harus segera disulam. Penyiangan perlu juga dilakukan. Gulma yang tumbuh dicabut atau dikored. Waktu penyiangan tak perlu menunggu hingga rumput tumbuh besar atau banyak. Rumput-rumput liar ini justru lebih berbahaya saat tanaman masih mada karena daya saing akar tanaman dalam menyerap hara masih sangat rendah. Bunga-bunga yang tumbuh harus dibuang. Bila tidak maka produksi pucuk segarnya akan menurun. Kuncup bunga dibuang seminggu sekali seraya melakukan pemangkasan. Aturlah agar percabangan menjadi kompak dan pertumbuhan pucuk nantinya tidak berat sebelah, melainkan merata ke segala penjuru. Pemupukan Dosis pupuk kandang yang diberikan ialah 10 ton/ha. Kemangi perlu mendapat tambahan pupuk yang banyak mengandung nitrogen, sepeni Urea. Unsur ini penting untuk merangsang perlumbuhan daun kemangi secara terus-menerus. Pemupukan pertama dilakukan saat tanaman berumur 3 minggu. Pemupukan kedua saat tanaman berumur 5 minggu. Setiap kali memetik, berikan 3 g pupuk nitrogen per tanaman. Kebutuhan pupuk Urea untuk tanaman kemangi ialah 150 kg/ha.

Hama dan Penyakit
Hama-penyakit yang menyerang tanaman kemangi sangat sedikit. Bahkan petani kemangi sangat jarang melakukan penyemprotan insektisida. Penyemprotan ini memang dihindari karena dikhawatirkan residunya masih tertinggal di daun yang dipanen rutin. Meskipun demikian, bila ditemukan ulat yang menyerang daun kemangi dalam jumlah besar, dapat dilakukan pengendalian dengan insektisida Azodrin sebanyak 20-30 cc/1 air; atau Diazinon 60 EC dengan dosis 1-2 cc/1 air.

Panen dan Pasca Panen
Sejak umur 50 hari sesudah tanam, daun kemangi sudah bisa dipetik. Lakukan pemetikan pada daun-daun muda seperti melakukan pemetikan pucuk teh. Pemetikan akan merangsang pertumbuhan cabang-cabang baru yang memungkinkan lebih banyak tunas baru tumbuh. Tunas-tunas baru ini dapat dipanen pada periode panen berikutnya. Panen pucuk kemangi dapat dilakukan hingga tanaman berumur tua. Bila ingin tanaman berumur panjang, jangan.biarkan sampai berbunga dan berbuah. Pisahkan tanaman yang khusus untuk diambil bijinya sebagai bibit. Dengan cara ini, tanaman yang hendak diambil pucuknya tak terganggu produkdvitasnya. Altematif lain dengan menyisakan satu atau dua cabang yang dibiarkan berbunga dan berbuah. Setelah bijinya tua cabang ini dipangkas. Biasanya kemangi dipetik sepanjang 15 cm. Bila ingin dipasarkan kemangi disatukan dalam ikatan kecil yang berisi 5-10 batang.

sumber iptek

Gardening In A Square Foot

If you haven’t heard of square foot gardening, you’re about to learn one of the most useful and versatile gardening techniques ever created. Conceived by Mel Bartholomew, author of Square Foot Gardening, the techniques have been enthusiastically adopted by gardeners all over the world. Square foot gardening is eminently suited for container gardening, patio and roof gardening, backyard gardening, organic gardening, herb gardens, vegetable gardens, flower gardens and more.

The basic concept is to start small ? the unit of measure is the square foot. Although Bartholomew’s original square foot garden was four feet square, many schools, community gardens and home gardeners start even smaller ? a couple of one square foot containers is plenty to get you started. According to Bartholomew though, a four square foot garden provides just enough harvest for one person.

How to Create A Square Foot Garden

Creating your own square foot garden is as easy as building (or buying) a box in which to garden. My own first square foot garden was a two square foot garden on the cement apron outside my back door in a city apartment. I used four square wicker plastic lined wicker wastebaskets bought for a dollar apiece at the All-for-a-Buck store. Any container that can hold 6-8? of dirt, and has drainage holes in the bottom will work. The biggest requirement for location is sun ? choose a nice, sunny spot to place your garden.

Did I say dirt? Amend that. Bartholomew recommends what he calls ‘Mel’s mix’ instead of soil. Mix 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 compost to fill the squares of your box or container. A 10 pound bag of each was plenty to fill my little 2 square foot garden.

Choosing and Laying Out the Plants for Your Square Foot Garden

The most important factor in laying out your garden is the one-square-foot grid. You’ll be planting one type of plant in each square ? how many of them depends on the recommended spacing between plants ? which you’ll find on the back of the seed packets. Depending on the needs of the specific seedlings, you can plant 1, 4, 9 or 16 plants in each square. To break it down ? if the recommendation on the seed packet is 1 foot apart, you can plant 1 in a square. If they need six inches between plants, you can plant 4. Two inches gives you room for 9 plants, and one inch spacing means you can fit 16 plants into one square foot.

My own first square foot garden was a spaghetti garden with this layout:

1 Basil Plant 4 Tomato plants

1 Oregano Plant 16 Onion plants

After You Harvest Your Square Foot Garden

Harvest the crop in each square foot when it’s ready, and continue harvesting until it’s no longer producing fruit/vegetables. At that point, uproot the plants in that square (use them for compost!), and plant another, different crop. By refilling and rotating the crops, you avoid depleting the natural nutrients of the soil, and keep every bit of space productive throughout an entire growing season.

About the Author This article courtesy of http://www.floral-world.org/

Shaan Randow

picture by mom2rj

Gardening in Containers

Container gardening is a wonderful idea whether you have a garden bed or not. It's perfect for apartments or small areas, but can also really enhance your patio. Here are some tips on gardening in containers.

Every Garden can benefit from the addition of container gardens. They add interst and variety, plus are easily moved around. If you live in an apartment or have a small area to work with this may be the only solution for you.

Your Container

Your container can be pretty much anything and is only limited to your imagination. Just make sure there is adequate drainage for your plants. I love old buckets, discarded kitchen pots and baskets for a rustic feel. For a formal garden choose a more traditional container.

Regardless of your choice of container, make sure it's not to big or too small for your planting.

Your Soil

Do not use garden soil for your container plants. Garden soil is too heavy, dries out too quickly and will not provide the needed nutrients your container plants need. You can find good potting soil at your local garden center or you can mix your own.

To mix your own make sure you include soil, peat, sand and a slow release fertilizer.

Maintenance

You'll need to pay close attention to your container grown plants -- much more than plants in your garden beds. The soil will dry out more quickly so frequent watering it a must. You'll also need to fertilize more frequently. Water in the morning or evening whenever the soil is almost dry and water thoroughly until water comes out the bottom drainage holes.

One thing I really love about container gardening is mobility. If a particular grouping doesn''t work you can simply move your pots and change your garden design.

Have fun, experiment and be creative!

About the Author
Jill has been an avid gardener for the last 15 years. She faces the challenges of New Mexico's high desert at 6800 feet.Resource websites are http://www.bulbandseed.com and http://www.agardenwalk.com/

Jill Dow

Gardening is Good Therapy

Many of us garden just for the sheer joy of it. But did you know that all over the country the healing aspects of gardening are being used as therapy or as an adjunct to therapy?

Although this might sound like a new concept, garden therapy has been around for decades. For example, the Garden Therapy Program at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, and in regional hospitals in Atlanta, Augusta, Columbus, Rome, Thomasville and Savannah, has been helping people for over 40 years through gardening activities known as social and therapeutic horticulture.


So what exactly is social and therapeutic horticulture (or garden therapy)??


According to the article ‘Your future starts here: practitioners determine the way ahead’ from Growth Point (1999) volume 79, pages 4-5, horticultural therapy is the use of plants by a trained professional as a medium through which certain clinically defined goals may be met. ‘‘Therapeutic horticulture is the process by which individuals may develop well-being using plans and horticulture. This is achieved by active or passive involvement.’


Although the physical benefits of garden therapy have not yet been fully realized through research, the overall benefits are almost overwhelming. For starters, gardening therapy programs result in increased elf-esteem and self-confidence for all participants.’


Social and therapeutic horticulture also develops social and work skills, literacy and numeric skills, an increased sense of general well-being and the opportunity for social interaction and the development of independence. In some instances it can also lead to employment or further training or education. Obviously different groups will achieve different results.


Groups recovering from major illness or injury, those with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and mental health problems, older people, offenders and those who misuse drugs or alcohol, can all benefit from the therapeutic aspects of gardening as presented through specific therapy related programs. In most cases, those that experience the biggest impact are vulnerable or socially excluded individuals or groups, including the ill, the elderly, and those kept in secure locations, such as hospitals or prisons.


One important benefit to using social and therapeutic horticulture is that traditional forms of communication aren’t always required. This is particularly important for stroke patients, car accident victims, those with cerebral palsy, aphasia or other illnesses or accidents that hinder verbal communication. Gardening activities lend themselves easily to communicative disabled individuals. This in turn builds teamwork, self-esteem and self-confidence, while encouraging social interaction.?


Another group that clearly benefits from social and therapeutic horticulture are those that misuse alcohol or substances and those in prison. Teaching horticulture not only becomes a life skill for these individuals, but also develops a wide range of additional benefits.


Social and therapeutic horticultures gives these individuals a chance to participate in a meaningful activity, which produces food, in addition to creating skills relating to responsibility, social skills and work ethic.?


The same is true for juvenile offenders. Gardening therapy, as vocational horticulture curriculum, can be a tool to improve social bonding in addition to developing improved attitudes about personal success and a new awareness of personal job preparedness.


The mental benefits don’t end there. Increased abilities in decision-making and self-control are common themes reported by staff in secure psychiatric hospitals. Reports of increased confidence, self-esteem and hope are also common in this environment.


Prison staff have also noticed that gardening therapy improves the social interaction of the inmates, in addition to improving mutual understanding between project staff and prisoners who shared outdoor conditions of work.?


It’s interesting that studies in both hospitals and prisons consistently list improving relationships between participants, integrating with the community, life skills and ownership as being some of the real benefits to participants.


But in addition to creating a myriad of emotional and social benefits, the health benefits of being outdoors, breathing in fresh air and doing physical work cannot be overlooked. In most studies, participants noted that fresh air, fitness and weight control where prime benefits that couldn’t be overlooked.?


Although unable to pin down a solid reason, studies have shown that human being posses an innate attraction to nature. What we do know, is that being outdoors creates feelings of appreciation, tranquility, spirituality and peace. So it would seem, that just being in a garden setting is in itself restorative. Active gardening only heightens those feelings.?


With so many positive benefits to gardening, isn’t it time you got outside and started tending to your garden? Next time you are kneeling in fresh dirt to pull weeds or plant a new variety of a vegetable or flower, think about the tranquility you feel while being outdoors in your garden. Let the act of gardening sooth and revitalize you. Soak up the positive benefits of tending to your own garden.


If you have someone in your life that could benefit from garden therapy, contact your local health unit to find out more about programs in your area. Not only will the enjoyment of gardening help bond you together, but it will also create numerous positive mental and physical benefits for both of you.


So get gardening today for both your physical and mental health. You’ll enjoy the experience so much that you’ll immediately thank yourself. Valerie Giles operates the Grow Your Own Garden Website which focuses on gardening products, flower and vegetable seeds, atio furniture and garden accessories. Everything ou need for the gardening season.http://www.grow-your-own-garden.com/

Valerie Giles

Green Thumb Gifts: Beyond Gardening Gloves

Ahh, spring! It has sprung! Gardeners (and budding gardeners - no pun intended) have begun the quest for a weedless lawn, or a bountiful garden. But if you're looking for gifts for someone with a green thumb (or someone with green thumb envy), consider the situation first.


Some people think of gardening as a chore. Others see it as relaxing. Some will see it as exercise, and still others consider it art. Some people have the magic touch in the garden, while others couldn't grow mold if they tried! This is important when considering gardening gifts. You need to know if you should give something to make gardening easier, more fulfilling, more challenging, or more fun.


For those people who see it as a chore, gardening just adds more items onto the never-ending to-do list. In this case, you need to consider gardening gifts that will make these outdoor chores easier, faster, and less of a hassle.


Power tools and storage & organization aids usually fall into this category, along with the ever popular lawn tractor. A leaf blower/vacuum can make clean-up a breeze (again - no pun intended). The same can be said for a pressure washer. Heavy jobs are made easier with a wheelbarrow or yard cart. And organizing a collection of garden tools is simple with a storage bench or shed. Other ideas include a convenient watering timer.


If your gift recipient enjoys gardening as a hobby, you'll want to take a look at gardening gifts that can bring more fulfillment or enjoyment to the outdoors. They would benefit from a magazine subscription like "Garden Design", or a gardening book ("Front Yard Gardens: Growing More Than Grass") to help cultivate their ideas. Garden enthusiasts like to sit back and enjoy their hard work, so patio furniture and accessories would also be a great gift.


And let's not forget the gardener wanna-be: those whom we love that just can't seem to keep that plant alive - whose thumb isn't really green at all! Start off with a how-to book like "Lawn Care For Dummies" or "Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants", and complement that with some basic gardening tools or accessories. These types of gifts would also be great for first-time home buyers.


For the gardener who already "has it all", you might want to consider something a little more unique, like an indoor grow light, solar stepping stones, or a cascading fountain. And if you're just not sure what to get, there's always a gift certificate or gift card.


For more gardening gift ideas, visithttp://www.the-gift-wizard.com/gardening-gifts.html
About the Author
The Gift Wizard is a gift researcher for http://www.the-gift-wizard.com/

The Gift Wizard

Herbs For A Spaghetti Garden

Herbs are one of the delightful pleasures of life. They add flavor to your food, scent to the air and beauty to your garden. In colonial times, no home was complete without an herb garden for the lady of the house to use in her kitchen, and it wasn’t unusual for those herb gardens to be separated by use ? savory herbs, tea herbs, medicinal herbs. That’s a tradition that’s made a comeback in many modern gardens.


One of the more popular types of kitchen gardens is a spaghetti garden. Oregano, basil, garlic, bay and parsley are such easy to grow plants that it’s a pity for anyone to use dried and bottled herbs if they have a sunny patch of ground or a window-box. A few square feet of garden space can easily yield all the herbs that you’ll need for delicious Italian meals. They’re even easy enough to grow in a sunny window for year round use.


Bay Laurel


Bay leaves add a piquant hint of spice to stews, soups and especially spaghetti sauce. The bay laurel is a small tree that grows slowly ‘ about a foot per year ‘ making it eminently suitable for growing in a container. Unless you live in a mild climate zone (where the temperatures don’t drop below 25 degrees in the winter), you’ll do best to keep the tree in a pot and bring it indoors during the winter.


Basil


Basil is an annual, but it seeds itself so easily that I’ve never had to buy another after planting my first year. There are many varieties of basil, but all grow fast and require frequent pinching back to keep them from growing leggy and tall. To harvest: when the plants have reached about 6-8 inches tall, you can begin harvesting. Simply use your thumb and forefinger to pinch off the top 1/3 of the plant, just above a leaf intersection. Be sure to pinch off any flower buds before they go to seed. Six to eight plants will provide enough basil to make pesto for the entire neighborhood.


Garlic


Garlic is possibly the easiest plant in the world to grow. Simply break apart a clove of garlic (yes, right from the grocery store!), and plant the cloves about 4 inches apart, 2-4 inches deep in light soil. Water lightly, and watch them grow. Harvest when tips of leaves turn brown ‘ do NOT let them flower. To harvest: dig up the bulbs, and use them. In the interests of keeping a fresh supply going, plant one or two cloves from each bulb!


Parsley


Parsley is easily the most used herb in the world. It comes in both flat (Italian) and curly varieties, and complements the flavor of everything from delicate sauces to hearty stews. It’s often used as a garnish on plates, or chopped and added to soups, dressings and salads. It adds vitamins and color, and subtly brings out the flavor of other ingredients in the meal. The parsley plant is a biennial, flowering in its second season. It prefers a little shade on a hot sunny day, and should be kept well watered to avoid wilting and drying. To harvest: pinch back woody older stems all the way to the base, allowing new leaves and branches to grow.


Oregano


A perennial ground cover plant, oregano is a prolific grower that can send out shoots that grow up to six feet in a single season. If encouraged with pruning and bunching, oregano can grow into a small border plant. It prefers light, thin soil and lots of sun, so keep it on the south side of your garden. Harvesting can start when the plants reach 4-5 inches. Simply pinch back as you would basil. The young leaves are the most flavorful part of the plant, and are actually considerably stronger dried than fresh. To dry, lay the harvested leaves out on newspaper or drying screens in the sun until the leaves crumble easily. Dried oregano will retain its flavor for months.

About the Author This article courtesy of http://www.florists-guide.com/

Tim Henry

Herbs For A Tea Garden

Is there anything more refreshing on a hot summer day than a tall glass of iced tea with a sprig of fresh mint? Or a more calming end to a long day than a steaming infusion with chamomile or mint? A tea garden can ensure that you have a steady supply of your favorite herbs ? and it’s surprisingly easy to grow.


Most tea herbs grow quite happily in moderate sun, so choose a spot that gets about 6 hours of full sun a day. If you choose to grow your tea herbs directly in the ground, be aware that many of them will spread voraciously, choking out any other plants nearby. To prevent that, sink bottomless buckets or baskets into the ground and plant the herb plant inside it to help control the roots. Of course, if you choose to garden in containers, that won’t be a problem at all.


Chamomile


Chamomile is a very pretty, lacy annual (though there is one variety that is a perennial) that grows about 2 feet high. It likes partial shade to full sun, and sandy, dry soil. The tea is made from chamomile flowers rather than leaves. Harvest regularly once the plants start to flower. To dry chamomile, cut stems back to new leaf growth and tie in loose bunches. Hang upside down in a dry, dark place till the leaves are crumbly. Or: dry just the flower heads on drying screens in the oven or in the sun.


Catnip


Catnip has been used for medicinal teas for colds and stomach upsets since ancient times. Its most often combined with other herbs ? lemon balm and lemon grass are particular favorites. The plant is a perennial that grows readily in dry, sandy conditions, but can be coaxed along in nearly any sort of soil or light conditions. Added bonus: catnip is a natural pest repellant, both in the garden and dried. To take advantage of its pest repellant properties, dry and place in cloth pouches and tuck under baseboards or closets. Tea is made from dry or fresh leaves, combined with chamomile, comfrey or lemon balm.


Lemon Balm


A hardy, drought-resistant perennial, lemon balm grows so readily that it is actually considered a pest plant in some parts of the United States. The plant looks a lot like mint ? to which it’s related ? and has a hint of minty flavor to it. Like most other tea herbs, it can be used either dried or fresh, though the dried leaves have a more intense flavor. The plant grows about 24 inches tall, and must be pinched back and pruned often to keep it under control.


Mint


Ah, mint! There are so many varieties of mint that you could easily plant a mint garden with no other plants at all. At last count, there were an estimated 6,000 varieties ? and growing, since the plant cross-pollinates so easily. It’s also the most pernicious spreader of all the herbs. One plant will take over an entire garden within two seasons if it’s not contained. Mint likes rich soil and light shade, but will grow in almost any conditions. It also makes a great, easy to maintain house plant.


Some favorite mint varieties for tea are:Peppermint ? of course! Peppermint is the most popular of all the mints, with its sharp, spicy, cooling tastes.


Spearmint ? the mint of mint juleps. Spearmint grows readily in any climate.


Apple mint ? a hint of fruity flavor underlying the cool, fresh taste of mint


Chocolate mint ? yes, chocolate! This one is far better with dessert than as a tea. Crush the leaves and whirl in a blender with vanilla ice cream for an incredible treat.


About the Author This article courtesy of http://www.florists-guide.org/

Tim Henry

How to Attract Butterflies to Your Garden

The flittering of the butterfly through your garden is no accident if you planned your garden carefully. The adult butterfly flitters from flower to flower - sipping nectar from many flowers in your gardens, while other adult butterflies search for areas to lay their larvae. It is good to take note that the butterfly garden is going to differ from other areas of your garden. Your natural instincts will be to kill off pests, larvae and creatures in the garden, but in the butterfly garden your best results are noticed when you use organic gardening: Which means no chemicals at all.

If you want to include the use of butterflies in your landscape you will need to create a safety zone for your butterflies to feel safe. Butterflies frequent habitual zones, where they feel safe and where areas of the landscape meet with the tree lines. Creating your butterfly gardens near or around trees will help in attracting even more of these graceful creatures to your gardens.

A tip in attracting the Black Swallowtail or the Anise Swallowtail is this: Plant parsley, dill or fennel in your gardens, these plants attract this certain butterfly. If these herbs are not your favorites, you can attract other types of butterflies using other flowers. To attract the Fritillary butterfly for instance, plant Lupine flowers your garden. Or you may want to consider planting Snapdragons to attract butterflies that are native in your own area. Your early butterfly gardens are going to attract butterflies only in passing, but creating and growing the gardens that offer a safe haven for the butterfly will urge them to stay in your garden.

Butterflies are attracted to areas of your gardens where they can gather food for their offspring. The caterpillar will eat from the plants while the adult butterflies will sip on the nectar of the flowers. As your plants, shrubs, and flowers mature, the amount of butterflies to your gardens will also increase. The plants and flowers that you put in your garden this year will attract only a few, but in the years to come the natural instinct of the butterfly will lead them to your garden.

What is the adult butterfly searching for in your gardens? The butterfly searches for areas to take shelter from the high winds, the rains, and the summer storms. This is where the trees and shrubs in your gardens become important in protecting the butterfly and offering shelter. During the normal, warm sunny summer day the butterfly wants the wide-open areas of your lawn and garden.

Butterflies will seek soft soil that is sandy-like to find water. The sand-like soil that allows water to puddle up after a rainstorm is a butterflies delight. The developing stages of the caterpillar to the butterfly are observed often in the established butterfly garden.

By creating the atmosphere in the garden that offers the shelter, food, water and the fragrance the butterfly is searching for you will have Butterfly Garden success.

Need flower and garden products? Visit The Garden Source Network today!
About the Author This article is provided courtesy of The Garden Source Network - http://www.garden-source.com - a large gardening network devoted to helping you find all the gardening materials you need, such as Seeds, Live Plants, Roses, Trees and Beautiful decor. This article may be distributed and published on any website, as long as this statement and URL remain intact, and the website address is linked properly.

Kathy Burns-Millyard

How to Choose Water Garden Plants

By Brett Fogle

So the water garden bug has bitten. You’ve dug and leveled and sweated and said words you hope that no one else has heard. Now it’s time for the fun part ‘ picking out your water garden plants!

Plant varieties within these four categories are what you need to eyeball: deep-water, marginals, oxygenators, and floaters. (If you think these words are big words, just be happy we’re not talking about medicine.)

After you’ve diligently planted your new plants in plastic tubs, pans, or clay pots, packing the fertilizer- and chemical-free soil down tightly, load the container down with pea gravel to keep the soil from floating away. (Don’t ask why this works, but it does.) Plunk your plant into the water at the appropriate depth (You’ll read about that in just a minute) and you’re on ready to go!

Plant-dunking should be generally be done during the growing season. For new ponds, wait four or five weeks for the water plants to do their thing before you add your fish. If you just can’t hold your horses, or your fish, for that long, you can jump the gun a couple of weeks, but the idea is to let the plants first get established.

When picking your plants, you’ll no doubt be wowed by water lilies of the tropical persuasion. These aquatic wonders are popular compared to their hardier cousins with knock-out fragrance, big blooms day or night ‘ depending on the variety ‘ and a habit of blooming their little hearts out nearly every day during the growing season. They love their warmth, though, so unless you live in a year-round, warm-weather climate, be prepared to hasten them into a greenhouse or at least muster up some funds to buy them some ‘grow’ lights to tough it out through the winter.

They will definitely bite the dust at freezing temperatures, but give them night-time temps of at least 65F and daytime temps of 75F or warmer, and your love affair with tropicals will only grow that much more torrid.

Hardy water lilies, while not the showboaters that tropicals are, are . . . well, hardier. Their big advantage is that they can stay in the water year ‘round unless it freezes so deeply the rootstock is affected. And being the tough guys they are, you can plant these puppies deeper than the tropicals, some living it up in depths of 8 to 10 feet.

Both hardy and tropical water lilies are real sun worshippers. At least 5 to 10 hours a day is what it takes, along with regular fertilization, to keep these plant pals happy.

Everybody and their brother with a water garden wants a lotus plant. (Sisters, too, no doubt.) These water-lily relatives come in hardy and not-so-hardy strains, so make sure you know what you’re buying. Much bigger than water lilies, lotus have huge, famously splendid blooms that not only will knock your socks off, but make you forget you have feet altogether. Their leaves and seed pods are so breathtaking, they’re a favorite in costly cut-flower arrangements. Big, bold, and beautiful, with water-depth needs of 2-3 feet, these shouters are really better off in big ponds that get plenty of sun.

Marginals (sometimes called ‘bog’ plants by those less high-falutin’) are grass-like plants that strut their stuff in shallow areas no deeper than 6? that border the water garden. They also do well in mud. Cattail, bamboo, rush, papyrus, and many other plants fall into the family of marginals and grow best with a minimum of at least three hours of sun.

Some plants are there but not seen, working stoically under water and without fanfare to fight algae, oxygenate the water, and provide food for fish. (In lieu of these plants, if your pond is small, you can fake it fairly adequately with an aquarium pump.) Easy on the wallet, varieties of these plants can be bought in bunches and like their soil sandy and/or gravelly. Like hardy water lilies, they, too, will warrior it through the winter.

Water hyacinths have become a recent rage, especially for the lazy among us. No soil is required for these beauties. Toss them in the water and they’re ‘planted.’ A water hyacinth ain’t just another pretty face, though; these plants do their part in the war against algae and blanket weeds by keeping sunlight scarce on the water’s surface. But one note of caution: This plant may take over the world if allowed. It’s invasive as all get out, so keep it under control or you (and your neighbors) may wish you’d never laid eyes on it.

A water garden isn't a garden without plants. Take your time, know your climate, and choose wisely. Your rewards will be great in return.

To read the full article, click here:
http://www.macarthurwatergardens.com/Newsletters/July2004/pond-plant-selection.shtml
Brett Fogle is the owner of MacArthur Water Gardens and several pond-related websites including macarthurwatergardens.com and pond-filters-online.com. He also publishes a free monthly newsletter called PondStuff! with a reader circulation of over 9,000 pond owners. To sign up for the free newsletter and receive a complimentary 'New Pond Owners Guide' for joining, just visit MacArthur Water Gardens at http://www.macarthurwatergardens.com/. brett@macarthurwatergardens.com

Love to garden but short on money? Here’s 10 money saving ideas

By Jan Money
Copy-write 2005 Jan Money.

A great perk of organic gardening is finding different ways to achieve the same or improved result.

Many items that are normally binned can be of great use to the outdoor enthusiast. Here are ten ideas that won’t cost you anything.

1.Food leftovers: All leftover food is to be composted. Composting is becoming quite a thing to do, and special composting bins can be bought or even made quite easily. There are many different stories of what to do and each person will find the way that suits them. Keeping the temperature quite warm is the key to success. If you need quick results then just keep chucking it on the top and then just pull some out of the bottom of the heap, then sieve it and the compost will be ready to use for seeds and small plants.

2.Hedge cuttings: Instead of ordinary composting or burning it on the bonfire, see if you can get a hold of an electric garden muncher.This takes branches of up to one inch thick and you just put them into a hole in the machine and it munches it up into little chips. These are great for keeping the moisture in the soil, so just spread them around the base of shrubs and fruit trees to control the temperature of the ground.

3.Decorating trays: Keep all roller paint trays and anything similar to use as seed trays. Get a pen and make some holes in the bottom of the tray for drainage. Add a little vermiculite or small pieces of gravel and fill with seed compost.

4.Thrown-out carpets, old cardboard boxes, and other bits and bobs can be put over the vegetable plot in Autumn to prevent those early spring weeds from coming up. Spread over the whole area and weigh down with rocks, lift off on a sunny spring day a few days before you want to work on it.

5.Recycle glass jars: One’s with sealable lids are the best for storing seeds, peas and beans until next year. After cleaning the jars, make sure they are totally dry by popping them into a warm oven before storing your seeds. Try and collect dark coloured jars, or wrap paper around clear jars to prevent light damage to the seeds.

6.Yoghurt cartons: In fact all dessert pots are great for re-potting seedlings. Again, make a hole in the bottom, put a little fine gravel or vermiculite and then fill with compost or soil.

7.Metal coat hangers: Make little cloches with old wire coat hangers. Make them into a square and then put the hook in the soil push down until the curve rests upon the top of the soil. Put another one a small distance away to make the two ends of the cloche. Then chuck over a sheet of plastic and weigh down the corners of it with rocks.

8.Lolly sticks: These make great row tags in your greenhouse rows or seed trays. They don’t last indefinitely but they are really good for writing the names of seeds on.

9.Aluminium bottle stops: Keep these from milk or juice bottles and coloured foil around drinks bottles. String together with cotton to make a bird scarer and put on fruit bushes before the birds start munching on the fruit.

10. Transparent plastic: These can be placed over a plant in cold weather to protect from frost damage.

For more info go to:http://www.gardeningsupply.info/articles
About the Author Jan Money is a freelance writer from Poole, in the UK and has been writing gardening articles since 2005.For all your gardening needs and supplies:http://www.gardeningsupply.info/

Make the Most from Your Vegetable Garden

By B. Ellis

Make the Most from Your Vegetable Garden

All your hard work has paid off, and now you are presented with a dilemma, too many vegetables! After sharing your wealth with friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and anyone that happens to come to visit, there are alternative options of what you can do with your extensive supply of tomatoes, zucchini and other bountiful crops that will bring great joy to the community around you.

There are many different ways to approach this, the easiest would be to look up in your local phone book for organizations that you could donate your vegetables to. A good place to start would be food banks, women’s shelters and half-way houses. Don’t be discouraged if at first you are turned down, some community resources have to follow guidelines that will not allow them to accept fresh fruit or vegetables. You can also look up on the internet for locations near you that would find great joy in being the recipient of your sharing.

Another great idea is to do a ‘vegetable exchange’ with other gardeners, you neighbor could have a bumper crop of beans or corn and not a great harvest on tomatoes, exchanging them will give you the best of both vegetables! The only thing of caution here is that it’s a good idea to exchange with people that have the same basic gardening ethics, if you grow organic vegetables then you may not want to exchange with someone else that prefers to use chemicals or pesticides in their garden.

Preserving your vegetables for the rest of the year is also a great option. There are many sources online that can walk you through step by step on how to preserve your vegetables, either by canning, freezing or making something more specific like salsa sauce with your tomatoes.

You can use the same approach to this as the idea above as well, have a variety of vegetables gathered from people around you and have a harvesting party. Get each person to bring enough of something from their vegetable garden that each person that attends will have an item to go home with. (For example if you have zucchini, another has tomatoes, and yet another has beans, you would walk away with at least two other types of vegetables)

The first hint that you need to find alternative options is to realize that when your friends, family, and neighbors start running in the other direction and turning off all the lights and pretending they are not home when they see you walking towards them with more of your delicious vegetables, that there are alternatives that will not only help others in your community but make all your hard work in your vegetable garden go a little bit further in spreading the joy to others.

For more gardening tips you can go to www.gardening-tips-n-tools.com
About the Author None

Attracting Birds to a Tropical Garden

By Brian Ramsey

Some individuals enjoy bird watching but prefer to do their bird watching in their back yard. Below is some advice on attracting wild birds to your back yard. Firstly it depends upon having wild birds in the general area where your house is located and then you can attract then to your backyard. The method used to attract the birds will depend upon what is the diet of the bird. If the bird is a nectar feeder e.g. bananaquits or hummingbirds, then large flowering plants will attract them. Hummingbird bills are perfectly adapted to the various types of flowers that they feed on, so different types of flowers will attract different hummingbirds. Some hummingbirds have especially curved or elongated bills that allow them to feed on special flowers, e.g. the White-tipped Sicklebill hummingbird whose downward curving bill allows it to draw nectar from heliconias. The Ruby-Topaz Hummingbird has a short and slightly decurved bill that is suited to feeding on the flowers of the ixora shrub. The Blue-tailed Emerald has a short bill that is suited for feeding on the Hibiscus flower. The Copper-rumped Hummingbird has a straight long bill that allows it to feed on medium sized tube shaped flowers such as the allamanda. Hummingbirds have little or no sense of smell, so colour is important to a hummingbird's search process for locating flowers containing nectar. While they will visit any flower that has sufficient nectar they prefer flowers that are red to orange in colour. It is believed that this colour preference is due to the fact that red flowers standout in a green background and so are more easily seen by the hummingbird. It is also believed that because hummingbirds compete with insects for nectar they choose flowers that are less likely to be visited by insects. Most insects do not see well at the red end of the colour spectrum and so may not visit red flowers while hummingbirds see the full visible spectrum. If space in your yard is very limited, preventing you from having large flowering shrubs, an area to consider is the curb area between your property line and the roadway. You can plant small flowering shrubs such as the miniature ixora, which will then attract birds to your property. For birds that are fruit eaters, the presence of ripe fruit will attract and so having fruit trees will attract birds. The majority of trees however only fruit once per year for a few months, so the attraction is not year round. If your garden has sufficient space then multiple fruit trees that bear at different times in the year will ensure a continuous bird presence. One tree that bears fruit for a very extended period is guava and so can attract birds for most of the year. Trees are also an attraction to birds because they provide nesting and resting sites. If you have the palm trees that people usually plant in from their houses that will generally attract Palm Tanagers who will feed on the small nuts, use material from the tree for building their nests and may also nest in the tree. When a large number of flowering shrubs and/or fruit trees is not an option, you can consider purchasing a bird feeder. The type of feeder will also be dependent upon the type of birds in the area and the type of birds that you want to attract. For nectar feeders you use a sugar solution (the feeder usually has directions). You must put the feeder in a location where the birds will see it and you must change the solution regularly (2 -3 days). Red Feeders are good for attracting hummingbirds because they have a preference for red flowers. If you use a feeder it will take a few days for the birds to recognise that it is present in your yard. Other feed can attract other types of birds. Bare-Eyed Thrushes and Kiskadees are somewhat omnivorous and so you can use rice (not boiled). I have found that they will also be attracted by dog food. Tropical Mockingbirds can also be attracted with rice. In addition, ripe fruit such bananas, mangoes and cherry can be used and will usually attract Blue-Gray Tanagers, Palm Tanagers and Yellow Orioles. As an alternative to purchasing a feeder you can construct a feeder. For fruits you can build a simple chicken wire basket or bamboo joint to hold the fruit and attach it to the fence. Another low cost feeder can be constructed using a plastic bowl with a narrow edge. To construct this feeder you punch three holes, equidistant around the bowl. Then attach wire strands through each hole with the strands coming together at the top to form either a hook or a loop for suspending the bowl. Three strands are required to provide stability to the bowl particularly when birds alight on the bowl to feed. It is necessary to punch several holes in the base of the bowl to allow any rainwater or liquids to drain out the bowl. Attracting birds, apart from the visual delight also provides the benefit of controlling the insect population, as many birds are insect feeders.

Mosquitoes in Your Garden? Try Planting These!

by Scottie Johnson

If you are a serious gardener, you spend lots of time outdoors. And, for sure, you would rather be tending your plants than swatting mosquitoes. While there are many things you can do to keep mosquitoes away, there are some plants that will beautify your yard and help repel mosquitoes. As one more way to keep mosquitoes away from you and your yard, try planting these attractive plants.
HORSEMINT
Horsemint has a scent similar to citronella. Horsemint grows wild in most of the Eastern United States, from Mexico, Texas up to Minnesota to Vermont. It is partial to sandy soils and will grow in USDA Zones 5-10. Native Americans used it as a treatment for colds and flu. It has natural fungicidal and bacterial retardant properties because it's essential oils are high in thymol.
ROSEMARY

This wonderful herb we use for seasoning is also a great, natural mosquito repellant. It has been used for centuries to keep pesky mosquitoes away. Rosemary is a native of the Mediterranean, so it likes hot, dry weather and well-drained soil. It is hardy in USDA zones 8-10, and must be grown as a pot plant in colder climates. If you happen to live in a part of the country where rosemary does not grow, you can get a good quality rosemary essential oil; mix 4 drops with 1 cup olive oil. Store in a cool, dry place. When it comes to fresh plant oils as natural mosquito repellants, there is every reason to have the plant in your yard, if they will grow in your area. It is an inexpensive and attractive way to boost the appearance of the landscape and have natural mosquito repellants on hand as well.
MARIGOLDS
Organic gardeners have used marigolds as companion plants to keep aphids away. Mosquitoes don't like its scent any better (and some humans feel the same way). Marigolds are sun-loving annuals that come in a variety of shapes and sizes for almost any landscape. They are quite easy to grow from seed.
AGERATUM
This charming little bedding plant contains coumarin, and mosquitoes detest the smell. It is used in the perfume industry and is even in some commercial mosquito repellants. Don't rub ageratum on your skin, though. It has some other less desirable elements that you don't want to keep on your skin in quantity. Ageratums are annuals, and the come in a muted blue and white that compliments most other plantings.
MOSQUITO PLANTS
There are two types of plants that are called mosquito plants.
One is a member of the geranium family that was genetically engineered to incorporate the properties of citronella. Citronella only grows in tropical places, but it is a well known repellant for mosquitoes. This plant was created to bring the repellant properties of citronella into a hardier plant. It will grow where any geranium will thrive. Many have questioned its usefulness as a mosquito repellant, but it is attractive enough to warrant planting for it's ornamental value. The other kind of mosquito plant is agastache cana. Its common names include Texas hummingbird mint, bubblegum mint, giant hyssop, or giant hummingbird mint. As you might guess, hummingbirds are quite attracted to it. It is a New Mexico native, also found in parts of Texas. It is, in fact, a member of the mint family and its leaves do have a pungent aroma when crushed. In its native habitat, it is perennial, and is usually hardy in USDA Zones 5a-9a. It blooms late summer to early fall, so it catches hummingbirds on their annual migration. The long, medium pink flowers reel in butterflies as well.
CATNIP
One of the most powerful mosquito repellant plants is ordinary catnip. Recent studies have shown that it is ten times more effective than DEET at repelling mosquitoes. It is a short lived perennial throughout most of the United States. It is easy to grow from seed, and quickly reseeds. Aside from its intoxicating effects on cats, the leaves make a very soothing tea.With all of these plants, the leaves must be crushed to release the aroma. Otherwise mosquitoes can't smell them. And, with rosemary and catnip, you can simply crush a few leaves and rub on your skin and clothing to enhance the effect. So, next time you are revising your plantings, consider using some of these attractive plants to do more than just enhance the landscape. You can have pretty ornamentals that also drive mosquitoes away.
About the Author Scottie Johnson is a life long mosquito warrior and freelance writer dedicated to eliminating mosquitoes from your life. She is also an organic gardener. For more information about mosquito control in your home and yard, visit her website at http://www.mosquito-kill-net.com/mosquito-plants.html Copyright 2004 All rights reserved.