Re: Diabetes Dietary Help
Virginia , thanks so much for recipes to integrate the bitter melon into our diet.I only have one plant this season, it's small and late because of the drought, but have lots of seed from past years, to try again next year. It doesn't look like we'll get seed this year.I do have a seed list ,that I compile each year and will send it to anyone that might want it, or other op herbs, veggies or flowers. I save less than in years past, as the economics is not there, and we all need to put our energies to good use.But I experiment with new things each year and save seed from the old about 5 years before I compost them. It seems a shame that there isn't more interest in small scaleseeds. but it seems you have to be big enough to make the economics work. -so it is.:)sharon Original Message- From: "Virginia Salares" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 9:35 PM Subject: Re: Diabetes Dietary Help > Sharon, > > I grew up with bitter melon. There was always a vine or two we could pick > from. I enjoy the taste and wish I could grow it easily here. My children, > born in this Continent, would have none of it.. > > Both the leaves and fruit are edible. The leaves are boiled quickly and > eaten as a salad with sliced tomatoes and some mild fish sauce (or sea salt) > as seasoning. I also add it to mung bean or lentil soup; the leaves are > added when the beans are cooked just before taking it out of the stove. The > fruits are picked before they are ripe. Cut lengthwise into half and slice > crosswise very thinly, immature seeds and all. Mix with sliced tomatoes, > season with salt and eat as is. The thinly sliced fruit can be added to > sauteed beef - typically this is seasoned with salted black beans. The > fruit can also be cooked in a stew with eggplant, tomatoes and okra. > > Many of these dishes are delicacies in the Philippines. Bitter melon is > part of the diet, eaten because its taste is prized and not for therapeutic > purposes. I found out when I went back to the Philippines 5 years ago that > the mature seeds are being used for diabetes. They are crushed and > swallowed. > > I saw in some web articles that the leaves are dried, powdered and made into > capsules or made into tea. > > Virginia > > > - Original Message - > From: "kentjamescarson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Sunday, September 22, 2002 9:54 PM > Subject: Re: Diabetes Dietary Help > > > > Hi Allen, I went out of my way to track down and grow bitter melon for my > > husband who has a mild diabetes. he tryed it but wouldn't eat it, the word > > bitter is in there for a reason. does anyone know of a reciepe to make it > > paletable? I dried it ,to make a powder that i can give him in capsels, > but > > don't know if that would help or how much he should take. one thing you > > gardeners out there should grow it, if nothing else for the amazing show > it > > preforms when the fruit ripens ., about a different melon, we just ate the > > best melon I have ever tasted.,JUst coming in in late sept.We've saved > these > > seed about 5 years, .They originally came from Southern EXposure seed > > exchange,which specializes in mid Atlantic open pollinated seed. this > > cantaloupe is called Edisto. WowWE . had a bonfire, watched the exinox > > moon come up.. feels good to greet the fall. :)Sharon > > - Original Message - > > From: "Allan Balliett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Sent: Sunday, September 22, 2002 6:32 PM > > Subject: Re: Diabetes Dietary Help > > > > > > > >BITTER MELON is available in Asian and Farmer's markets and in a > > supplement > > > >form. Technically a summer squash rather than a melon, its lumpy, > ridged > > > >skin and flesh are the color of pale jade and it's similar in size and > > shape > > > >to a cucumber. Bitter melon is a traditional diabetic remedy throughout > > the > > > >Far East. In clinical tests, bitter melon inhibits glucose absorption, > > > >increases insulin flow and has insulin-like effects. > > > > > > I took some of Seeds of Changes lemon cucumbers as a gift to my > > > favorite Asian restaurant. They said 'Melon, not cucumber.' I said > > > 'No, you heathens, this is a cucumber, that's the irony!' their chef, > > > with a cleaver in one hand and a LONG lemon cucumber in the other > > > came out and said, through a translator: these two are the same. They > > > are both MELON' > > > > > > At that point, I said 'well, fancy that, what a fool I've been!' > > > > > > I'm wondering, though, if the lemon cucumber were not 'sold as' a > > > melon in the rest of the world (the ball nature being the uniqueness > > > of this variety) > > > > > > I am aware, of course, that the cucumber is a variety of summer squash. > > > > > > -Allan > > > > > > > > > > > > >
Re: Question on Cosmic Pipe
In a message dated 9/23/02 9:01:53 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << I wondered if there was a special significance beyond being able to recognize the different bottles at a later time. >> We were using the colors for the four directions according to Native Americans law...sstorch ps: been enjoying your tinctures and savles. How are your remedies holding up???
Re: Diabetes Dietary Help
Sharon, I grew up with bitter melon. There was always a vine or two we could pick from. I enjoy the taste and wish I could grow it easily here. My children, born in this Continent, would have none of it.. Both the leaves and fruit are edible. The leaves are boiled quickly and eaten as a salad with sliced tomatoes and some mild fish sauce (or sea salt) as seasoning. I also add it to mung bean or lentil soup; the leaves are added when the beans are cooked just before taking it out of the stove. The fruits are picked before they are ripe. Cut lengthwise into half and slice crosswise very thinly, immature seeds and all. Mix with sliced tomatoes, season with salt and eat as is. The thinly sliced fruit can be added to sauteed beef - typically this is seasoned with salted black beans. The fruit can also be cooked in a stew with eggplant, tomatoes and okra. Many of these dishes are delicacies in the Philippines. Bitter melon is part of the diet, eaten because its taste is prized and not for therapeutic purposes. I found out when I went back to the Philippines 5 years ago that the mature seeds are being used for diabetes. They are crushed and swallowed. I saw in some web articles that the leaves are dried, powdered and made into capsules or made into tea. Virginia - Original Message - From: "kentjamescarson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Sunday, September 22, 2002 9:54 PM Subject: Re: Diabetes Dietary Help > Hi Allen, I went out of my way to track down and grow bitter melon for my > husband who has a mild diabetes. he tryed it but wouldn't eat it, the word > bitter is in there for a reason. does anyone know of a reciepe to make it > paletable? I dried it ,to make a powder that i can give him in capsels, but > don't know if that would help or how much he should take. one thing you > gardeners out there should grow it, if nothing else for the amazing show it > preforms when the fruit ripens ., about a different melon, we just ate the > best melon I have ever tasted.,JUst coming in in late sept.We've saved these > seed about 5 years, .They originally came from Southern EXposure seed > exchange,which specializes in mid Atlantic open pollinated seed. this > cantaloupe is called Edisto. WowWE . had a bonfire, watched the exinox > moon come up.. feels good to greet the fall. :)Sharon > - Original Message - > From: "Allan Balliett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Sunday, September 22, 2002 6:32 PM > Subject: Re: Diabetes Dietary Help > > > > >BITTER MELON is available in Asian and Farmer's markets and in a > supplement > > >form. Technically a summer squash rather than a melon, its lumpy, ridged > > >skin and flesh are the color of pale jade and it's similar in size and > shape > > >to a cucumber. Bitter melon is a traditional diabetic remedy throughout > the > > >Far East. In clinical tests, bitter melon inhibits glucose absorption, > > >increases insulin flow and has insulin-like effects. > > > > I took some of Seeds of Changes lemon cucumbers as a gift to my > > favorite Asian restaurant. They said 'Melon, not cucumber.' I said > > 'No, you heathens, this is a cucumber, that's the irony!' their chef, > > with a cleaver in one hand and a LONG lemon cucumber in the other > > came out and said, through a translator: these two are the same. They > > are both MELON' > > > > At that point, I said 'well, fancy that, what a fool I've been!' > > > > I'm wondering, though, if the lemon cucumber were not 'sold as' a > > melon in the rest of the world (the ball nature being the uniqueness > > of this variety) > > > > I am aware, of course, that the cucumber is a variety of summer squash. > > > > -Allan > > > > > >
Re: covers
Hi Teresa, I get my inoculants, here in the States, by several suppliers. Two of my the common that I use are Irish Eyes (http://www.irish-eyes.com/index.php) and Filaree Farm (http://www.filareefarm.com/). I believe both ship outside the US. Didn't sound like you were looking for a supplier yourself, but thought I'd add the links in case you were. Mike At 08:45 PM 9/22/2002 +, you wrote: >>From: Dave Robison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>Subject: covers >>Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2002 09:52:22 -0700 >> >>At 12:03 PM 9/19/2002 -0400, Teresa wrote: >>>Could anyone suggest a cover crop to shelter this ground and hold it >>>together over the winter? Something to establish quick, or have I left >>>it too late? Will rye germinate this late? >> >>I lie rye/vetch because the grass sets a huge amount of root hairs, >>adding OM to the soil. Make sure it's annual, not perennial rye, so that >>it doesn't get established. Rye grain is ok. My other favorites are >>crimson clover (beautiful flower) and fava bean -- both are digested >>fairly easily by the soil when you turn them in. And for a cover you can >>eat, my favorite salad green is maches (corn salad). Makes a huge amount >>of root fiber too. >> >> >> >>David Robison > > >Great, thanks Dave. Corn salad grows OK here, so does trefoil, but crimson >clover never came up when I planted it earlier. I searched the web for >clover inoculants but couldn't find any in UK except Microbio. I've >certainly never seen any for sale. Are these more common in the States? >Though since trefoil establishes so well, I'm not really stuck for cover >crops, I do like crimson clover. Tried it once before I remember and it >was really slow to establish. > >Cheers >Teresa > >_ >Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com >
Question on Cosmic Pipe
Hi Steve, I am finally getting around to putting in the preps around one of our trees as cosmic pipe. I noticed in your instructions that you mention putting different colored tapes on each of the four bottles & I wondered if there was a special significance beyond being able to recognize the different bottles at a later time. I actually sealed the bottles with a bit of beeswax. Thanks! Blessings, Jane
Re: solar dryers
Gooday David and Rex Dont know whether this is relevant, but the J C Grainger prune farm at Young (New South Wales) had a commercial size solar drying setup. A friend of mine was the on site construction engineer who developed the design of the solar collector panels and put the whole thing into operation. He worked for the Australian National University in Canberra - Energy research division - but I have to say that having observed their progress for 15 years or so I firmly believe it was deliberately intended that none of this ever became a commercial reality!! The Grainger installation worked by the use of a system of interconnected curved collector panels covered with glass mirrors that focussed sunlight to heat a water pipe system - hot water was accumulated and stored in a large tank (2000gal+) and this was used via a heat exchanger system to replace the propane heat source in the drying tunnel. Using hot water allowed energy storage and longer running times.It worked well when first installed - a major benefit is that the burnt gases are no longer there to contaminate the fruit. I can post more on this if youre interested, my friend has gone to the happy hunting ground but I still have some of the leftover bits in my yard LCharles > > >Any thoughts or pointers? We have the sunshine and I'm keen to add > >value by dehydrating a portion of our produce. > > > >Thanks... Rex > But I don't know of anyone actually doing > this on a large production scale. David Robison
Re: cover crops
I'm just going to have to try those crops again . I think it was before bd that I tried the maches, I've changed since then.!thanks for the advice. - Original Message - From: Dave Robison To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, September 23, 2002 12:21 PM Subject: cover crops Dave - Have you found an affordable source for fava as a cover crop? What about mache? thanks, -AllanI've grown my own seed for years, easy to do for garden scale plantings. Obviously you need more for a CSA operation. You might buy a bulk order for the first year and grow it out. Both set copious amounts of seed. In fact, mache does great as a volunteer crop -- let it seed once and you will never have to sow it again. I believe Territorial Seed would sell a pound amount, no doubt other venders as well. FAVAs have grown great for me here, although I've never grown more than a bed of them. I've actually produced bushels of huge beans from them. They are, however (and this is ironic, given AC's remarks), suceptibl to fungal attacks. Mine always got black growing tips in the early spring. Maybe the temp/humidity there. I grow them as a cool season crop, out by June. I get some black tips at the end, and some black fly but never been a serious problem. Using 508 fits. Sharon said: Allen-I have never been able to grow favas here , maybe they needed aspecial innocculant.I tried several times with seed from Bountiful, as wellas another place I can't remember. , perhaps fedco. The seed came up butjust sat there and then died. I'm not used to that in our garden I thoughtit was because it wants an alkaline soil.I've grown it in Or and CA, where soils tend to be acid. Never had any problem, never needed an innoculant. Note that there are specific varieties of fava, some not cold tolerant at all. Windsor is the most popular in the trade and it's not my favorite for either cold tolerance or flavor. Territorial Seed has a good list of varieties. I don't know if a specific innoculant is marketed, I would look for a vetch innoculant since they are related. The corollary is that if vetch grows wild in your area, you probably have the bacteria present, just boost it with compost. I've used garden innoculant in the past, but don't bother now. BD compost seems to get them the bacteria they need, seems to be sufficient root nodules. BTW, after compost tea treatment, I had what appeared to be nodules on poppy plants this year -- dwarf variety of papver rhoes was 4-5 feet high. I had no idea they formed symbiotes. Makes you wonder how many other non-legumes might also be interacting with the azobacter. As far as mache, i tried it once and found it flavorlessso , never grew it again.I find it a delicious lettuce-flavored green, but with more flavor than lettuce. Yum. It does become tougher with age, so gather it young and juicy. Incidentally, it is one of the few plants that actually can grow in winter (as opposed to sitting there dormant) under cool, low-light conditions. Great for the rainy Pacific NW. David RobisonStellar Processes1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405Portland, OR 97205(503) 827-8336www.ezsim.com
solar dryers
Any thoughts or pointers? We have the sunshine and I'm keen to add value by dehydrating a portion of our produce. Thanks... Rex There was a Small Farm Energy Project back in the '70's. Bob Steffen was part of it. They had some folks using a large air collector, like 10 ft X20 ft to substitute for propane grain dryers. You used the same fan to blow heated air thru the grain bin but disconnected the propane burner. I've though of applying the same idea to a large cabinet dryer that would then be suitable for drying fruit etc. It's not hard to build a flat-plate air collector. It makes more sense to me to separate the components and optimize the heat production. But I don't know of anyone actually doing this on a large production scale. There are plenty of small homesteaders using solar dryers, for example, http://www.humboldt1.com/~michael.welch/extras/fooddeh.pdf BTW, I just heard that Bob Steffen lost his crop this year due to drought -- so none of those great BD oats this year. David Robison
cover crops
Dave - Have you found an affordable source for fava as a cover crop? What about mache? thanks, -Allan I've grown my own seed for years, easy to do for garden scale plantings. Obviously you need more for a CSA operation. You might buy a bulk order for the first year and grow it out. Both set copious amounts of seed. In fact, mache does great as a volunteer crop -- let it seed once and you will never have to sow it again. I believe Territorial Seed would sell a pound amount, no doubt other venders as well. FAVAs have grown great for me here, although I've never grown more than a bed of them. I've actually produced bushels of huge beans from them. They are, however (and this is ironic, given AC's remarks), suceptibl to fungal attacks. Mine always got black growing tips in the early spring. Maybe the temp/humidity there. I grow them as a cool season crop, out by June. I get some black tips at the end, and some black fly but never been a serious problem. Using 508 fits. Sharon said: Allen-I have never been able to grow favas here , maybe they needed a special innocculant.I tried several times with seed from Bountiful, as well as another place I can't remember. , perhaps fedco. The seed came up but just sat there and then died. I'm not used to that in our garden I thought it was because it wants an alkaline soil. I've grown it in Or and CA, where soils tend to be acid. Never had any problem, never needed an innoculant. Note that there are specific varieties of fava, some not cold tolerant at all. Windsor is the most popular in the trade and it's not my favorite for either cold tolerance or flavor. Territorial Seed has a good list of varieties. I don't know if a specific innoculant is marketed, I would look for a vetch innoculant since they are related. The corollary is that if vetch grows wild in your area, you probably have the bacteria present, just boost it with compost. I've used garden innoculant in the past, but don't bother now. BD compost seems to get them the bacteria they need, seems to be sufficient root nodules. BTW, after compost tea treatment, I had what appeared to be nodules on poppy plants this year -- dwarf variety of papver rhoes was 4-5 feet high. I had no idea they formed symbiotes. Makes you wonder how many other non-legumes might also be interacting with the azobacter. As far as mache, i tried it once and found it flavorless so , never grew it again. I find it a delicious lettuce-flavored green, but with more flavor than lettuce. Yum. It does become tougher with age, so gather it young and juicy. Incidentally, it is one of the few plants that actually can grow in winter (as opposed to sitting there dormant) under cool, low-light conditions. Great for the rainy Pacific NW. David Robison Stellar Processes 1033 SW Yamhill Suite 405 Portland, OR 97205 (503) 827-8336 www.ezsim.com
