Search Results for: cotton

Cotton Levant Gossypium Herbaceum Seeds

Cotton Levant Gossypium Herbaceum Seeds

Packet of 10+ seeds, all still in its protective layer of soft white NonGM, homegrown Cotton!

This is the stuff used for everything, even in today’s modern plastic obsessed era.

It is in your t-shirt, couch, jeans, books, coffee filters, cigarettes(some paper and filters), its used to make fishing nets, explosives, stock feed, cooking oil, cosmetics, and even in some mainstream medicines.

The root bark in very large amounts was even used historically by African-American slaves to cause abortion.
This was due to the naturally occurring insect repellent chemical “Gossypol” which is found in high amounts in the roots.

It’s very versatile stuff!

Unfortunately, the majority of cotton in today’s world market is Genetically modified.

For every 1 bale of organically grown cotton world wide, there are another 94.5 bales that are Genetically modified. Here in Australia we are in the top 5 GM cotton producers world wide.
Around 95% of all Aussie cotton grown is GM.

None of my stuff including this cotton is Genetically modified, and I will fight tooth and nail to ensure it never will be!!!

Wikipedia says Gossypium herbaceum, also called Levant cotton, is a species of cotton native to the semi-arid regions of Sub-Saharan desert and Arabian where it still grows in the wild as a perennial shrub.
It was first cultivated in Western Sudan from there it spread to India, before being introduced to Egypt.
It reached China in the 700 AD and was first cultivated from this period. A legend was perpetuated from a factual description of this plant by Greek historian Herodotus in the 5th century BC.
Although his book, simply titled “Histories”, was an account of a war between the Persian Empire and the Greek city states.
It also contained descriptions of vast lands beyond the boundaries of the world known by the Greeks at that time. He wrote: “certain trees…bear forth their fruit fleeces surpassing those of sheep in beauty and excellence, and the natives clothe themselves in cloths made therefrom.”
From this description came the legend of the “vegetable lamb plant” which was said to be a real sheep.
The tree would grow from a melon-like seed and grow into a lamb rooted to the earth by a stem from its navel.
It was said to graze on the surrounding vegetation until the all greenery around it was devoured at which point it would wither and die.
A 14th-century traveler by the name of Sir John Mandeville, professed to eating the flesh of this herbal beast. Although scientist tried to debunk this tale it was not officially labeled as a fable until 1887.”

Very cool plant, really white fluffy cotton and lots of it, just like “cotton balls” at the supermarket.

Twist it around a toothpick sized stick for making “cotton buds”, or use it as is for absorbent bandages. Can be used for spinning and making cloth like in the old days too. Great for craft projects with the kids and a super easy plant to grow.

Just remove the seeds from the fiber as best you can and stick them in some nice soil about 2cm deep. That’s it!

The cool pink and yellow flowers start in a few months time and you should be picking some of your own Non-Genetically Modified home grown cotton in around 5-6months time!

Grown by us organically, no nasties, no chems, no problems!!!

“NOT FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA or TASMANIA due to added expense and drama involved”.

If you buy anyway, despite me politely asking you not to, I will NOT be sending this item and you will receive a substitution of my choosing. 🙂

 

Guizotia Abyssinica Niger Nyjer Noog Seeds

Guizotia Abyssinica Niger Nyjer Noog Seeds

Packet of 100+ home grown organic seeds!

Never heard of this fella until a couple years ago, and I have to say it’s a real beauty.

Distant relative to the sunflower, it is just as productive as an oil and seed crop, but needs far less water and fertilizer inputs. To my eye it looks and grows very much like a cross between sunflowers and marigolds.

Generally its about knee high, multibranched and sprawling with beautiful yellow orange flowers that the native bees love.

It was a real battle to shoo them away to get pictures and in the end I just gave up as you can see from the picture.

If you have poor rocky soils and need a low maintenance feed crop then this is a great choice.

As a fodder crop the plant itself is highly nutritious with 18% protein 23% fiber, and a heap of calcium and vitamins. Cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, oxen, and deer have all shown benefit from its addition to their diet with great feed conversion rates and a nice balance of trace elements.

The seed is normally feed whole to bird in seed mixes especially for finches, and the “cake” left over after pressing and extracting the oils is able to be used as a 1:1 substitute for peanut, soya or cotton seed cake, without the need for additional inputs.

The seed is like a thinner softer shelled sunflower and a simple hand press is all that is needed to extract the oil and it can be used in all the same way olive oil is, with a similar fruity flavour.

The oil smells amazing when heated! Nutty, fruity, delicious.

Used as a spice in India for several traditional curries, the pounded seeds are also commonly made into chutney which is spread on chapathi.

In their homeland of Ethiopia they are considered medicinal.

There a sweet soupy tea made from crushed roasted seeds is commonly used as a cold and flu treatment.

It is still grown on a massive scale in Ethiopia today, but its productivity has ensured its spread to Sudan, Uganda, Zaire, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe, the West Indies, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, France, and it is even grown on a pretty big scale here in Australia too now, both as a cover crop or green manure and also as a profitable oil and bird seed crop.

Commonly called Niger, Guizotia abyssinica also has the common names of nigerseed, noug, noog, nug, nyger, nyjer, ramtil, ramtilla, inga seed, blackseed, khursani, verbesina da ĂŤndia, abisin, negrillo, ramtilla, gujitil, valisalu, valasulu, uchellu, gurellu, karale, nigersaat, tourteau de niger, tourteau de nyger, tourteau de noug, Guizotia oleifera, Polymnia abyssinica, and due to finches loving thistle seeds it was also marketed as “black thistle” for a while back in the day.

This is despite the fact it isn’t a thistle, not even close, and it doesn’t have any spikes.

It’s useful, pretty, easy to grow, nutritious, and you should really buy a pack or two..

Grown by me and the Mrs organically, no chems, no nasties, no problems!!!

 

Hibiscus Mutabilis Rose of Sharon Confederate Rose Seeds

Hibiscus Mutabilis Rose of Sharon Confederate Rose Seeds

Hibiscus Mutabilis Rose of Sharon Confederate Rose Seeds

Packet of 150+ Seeds!

Large shrub or tree with massive amounts of huge blooms.

As the name “mutabilis” suggests, these fellas change color throughout the day.

The flowers are a crisp pristine white in the morning, but throughout the day the flower brightens up and changes to all the shades of pink then it deepens and darkens before closing in the afternoon.

Big smooth maple shaped leaves, about as big as a dinner plate, flowers are saucer sized, or even a little bigger at times. It handles frost ok, dropping it’s leaves and going dormant, but in warmer climates like mine it pumps all year round. The leaves and roots are said to be edible, never tried it myself, and like most Hibiscus Species the bark makes a great rope or tie for other plants and vines.

Sometimes known as the Rosemallow, Cotton wood, Dixie rose, Dixie rosemallow or the Cotton rosemallow, this fella is really quite common, often a feature plant in parks and gardens from the middle of NSW and right up the coast.

Originally from China and considered a medicinal species in its native homeland, but now it is highly valued as an ornamental all over the world.

Hardy, frost, drought, flood tolerant, beautiful, easy to grow, and if you feel the need you can even make a bit of rope out of it.

Wildharvested locally, no chems, no nasties, no problems!!!

Panda Ying Yang Orca Frost Bean Phaseolus Vulgaris Seeds

Panda Ying Yang Orca Frost Bean Phaseolus Vulgaris Seeds

Panda Ying Yang Orca Frost Bean Phaseolus Vulgaris Seeds

Packet of 10+ bean seeds!

Another great great heirloom variety that is well worth adding to the collection.

Seen them called panda beans, ying yang beans, orca(killer whale) bean, frost bean, and they are actually a Phaseolus vulgaris, just a much rarer, cool looking relative of the Kidney bean. I challenge you to find a cooler looking bean, it just isn’t possible.

Great tasting too.
Just prepare them as you would any other green bean.
We eat lots of them small straight off the vine, or wait until they get big and boil them up in soups, stews, or even slow cook with tomatoes like the baked beans in a can.

Very popular in China and Japan, and as a delicious novelty crop in the USA and the UK. (Also illegal to import to OZ without a costly permit, and a forest of paperwork. Found that out the hard way a few years ago…)

Very easy to grow, and large returns off just a few plants.
This packet is plenty to get you started as they yield really well.
Makes a great plant for kids and as a gift for gardening friends. Grows fine in a pot still producing a decent amount of beans so perfect for folks that live in rental properties or in the city.
We use polystyrene broccoli boxes and grow the vines up a piece of cotton string tied to the guinea pig and chook houses.
Gives them shade, gives us and them a feed and saves space.

The stems, shells, pods and the root system releases valuable nitrogen into the soil feeding nearby plants. For this reason, we normally grow a few of these and a melon or Cucumber in the same box.

The finished plants rot down quickly and its great for providing “humus” (carbon, fibre and other micro nutrients needed for ideal plant development). The same box of soil can be used again and again with very few inputs that way. Just mix in the finished vines, add a handful of compost and a handful of fresh soil to top the box up, wack in some more seeds and you’re good to go.

Grown by me and the Mrs organically, no chems, no nasties, no problems!!!

Dried Epazote Herb Dysphania Ambrosioides Insecticide

Dried Epazote Herb Dysphania Ambrosioides Insecticide

Dried Epazote Herb Dysphania Ambrosioides Insecticide

Tiny 5+gram bag of dried and crushed, oily, super potent seed heads, and leaves.

That’s about 2.5liters of spray when mixed up and really quite cheap when you compair the price of nasties like “Confidor” or commercial Pyrethrum sprays.

Very powerful as an insecticide and the thing to use when all other organic options have failed.

These days I only really use it as a spot spray on aphids and mealy bugs, or when my bean pods have a lot borers or weevils and I am harvesting seeds in less than a month.

Apparently it will kill ants and wasps, but never tried it myself, I just leave them alone these days.

It contains a whole host of natural chemical components that kill and/or repel most insects and animals for that matter.
Kept the possums off the mangoes and much less fruit fly this season, even with all the rain.

Naturally high levels of Ascaridole (up to 70%), limonene, p-cymene, and smaller amounts of numerous other monoterpenes and monoterpene derivatives (α-pinene, myrcene, terpinene, thymol, camphor and trans-isocarveol).

The ascaridole (1,4-peroxido-p-menth-2-ene) is rather an “uncommon constituent” of spices, and is also quite toxic to most creatures in large doses.

I am only selling this as an insecticide, not as a food, and although it is just a picked, washed, dried, crushed, powdered and packed herb, it really is toxic in large doses, so please do not eat it.

That’s where is other claim to fame comes in as a vermicide(kills worms in your gut) and to treat amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, malaria chorea in many parts of the world still to day.
“Oil of chenopodium” is derived from this plant which Merriam-Webster defines it as “a colorless or pale yellow toxic essential oil of unpleasant odor and taste, … formerly used as an anthelmintic”.

In the early 1900s it was one of the major anthelmintics used to treat ascarids and hookworms in humans, cats, dogs, horses, and pigs. Anthelmintics are drugs that are used to treat infections with parasitic worms.

It was also sometimes referred to as Baltimore Oil, because of the large production facility in Baltimore that specialized in extracting the oil from the plant. Chenopodium was replaced with other, more effective and allegedly less toxic anthelmintics in the 1940s.

Epazote is still used to treat worm infections in humans in many countries today. (again, not recommended)

In Honduras, as well as other Latin American countries, the whole plant or the leaves are ground and added to water. This mixture is then consumed.
In a few areas in Latin America, the plant also is used on a large scale to treat worm infections in livestock.

Epazote not only contains terpene compounds making it unattractive to insects itself, it also naturally delivers partial protection to nearby plants simply by masking their scent to some insects, making it a useful companion plant.

How to make a spray.

First of all buy a packet of herb from me, or even better buy some seeds and Grow your own Epazote.

Then it is pretty easy, and no more expensive than the chemical laden mainstream alternatives.

Step 1. Add 1teaspoon which is about 1gram to 2cups or 500ml of water. Leave to cool for a few hours or even better overnight, stirring whenever you think of it.

Step 2. You need to filter this super fine so the nozzle doesn’t block. I use our home grown non-gmo organic cotton, but coffee filters, a folded over “Chux”, piece of sponge or just a old tshirt will work fine.

Step 3. Adding a surfactant, wetting agent or “sticker”, to help open pores on the plants and disolve waxes on the shells of beetles and grasshoppers really does help a lot.

Many folks use things like soap or dishwashing liquid, but worm wee works just as well and gives the plants a little feed at the same time. 30ml to 500ml water is plenty.

Step 4. Be very targeted in your spraying, only spray late in the afternoon, and only the parts of the plant that need protection. If you spray in the morning, or you spray large areas you will kill the bees and predatory insects that you should be protecting and encouraging, and maybe even burn the leaves of your plants..

The shinier, waxier, older, hardier the insect, the more applications needed to kill it.

Some insects will not actually die for ages, things like grasshoppers, stink bugs and green beetle, but if you watch carefully, they are often no longer able to feed or breed after a couple applications, which is all you are after anyway.

Please note, I offer no guarentees of effectiveness with your critters, at your place.

I only know what works here for me, and for that reason I am unable to offer advice for something I have never done myself, there, at your place…

Handle with care as it is a poison, a mild and natural one, but a poison none the less!

Finally, Don’t bloody eat it! And if are buying with the intention to do so, just don’t.

Buy it elsewhere, as I am not selling for human or animal consumption in any way. This is a bug spray, ONLY.

Grown by me and the Mrs organically, no chems, no nasties, no problems!!!

NOT FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA or TASMANIA due to added expense and drama involved.

If you decide to buy anyway, despite me politely asking you not to, I will NOT be sending this item and you will receive a substitution of my choosing. 🙂

Cancer Radium Weed Euphorbia Peplus Petty Spurge Seeds

Cancer Radium Weed Euphorbia Peplus Petty Spurge Seeds

Great big packet of 250+ seeds! Plenty to get you started!

This awesome little plant is really gaining popularity in OZ these days after many years of traditional medicinal use, all around the world.

Here is some data I pinched online>>>

“The plant has been used for centuries as a traditional folk medicine to treat conditions such as warts, asthma and several types of cancer.
But for the first time a team of scientists in Australia has carried out a clinical study of sap from Euphorbia peplus.
The study of 36 patients with a total of 48 non-melanoma lesions included basal cell carcinomas (BCC), squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and intraepidermal carcinomas (IEC), a growth of cancerous cells confined to the outer layer of the skin. Patients had failed to respond to conventional treatment including surgery, or they refused or were unsuitable for surgery because of their age.
The patients were treated once a day for three consecutive days by an oncologist using a cotton bud to apply enough of the E.peplus sap to cover the surface of each lesion. The initial results were impressive, says findings to be released this week in the British Journal of Dermatology.
After only one month 41 of the 48 cancers had completely gone.Patients who had some of the lesions remaining were offered a second course of treatment.
After an average of 15 months following treatment, two thirds of the 48 skin cancer lesions were still showing a complete response.
Of the three types of skin cancer tested, the final outcome was a 75 per cent complete response for IEC lesions, 57 per cent for BCC and 50 per cent for SCC lesions.
Side-effects were low, with 43 per cent of patients in no pain as a result of the treatment and only 14 per cent reporting moderate pain, and only one patient encountered severe short-term pain.
In all cases of successful treatment the skin was left with a good cosmetic appearance. The researchers, from a number of medical institutions in Brisbane, attribute the benefit to the active ingredient ingenol mebutate which has been shown to destroy tumour cells.
Experts said further studies were needed and people should not try this at home as the weeds sap can be harmful to the eyes and should not be eaten.”

Works for me and the picture is pretty self explanatory I reckon….

A quick Google scholar search should fill in the gaps, as will checking out this link. *EDIT, link died….

It can take a while to germinate, but it always comes up in the end.

50 seeds from this lot produced 30ish plants in 2months, just in standard black and gold potting mix, with a little sand mixed in. (That’s quite a saving when single plants are generally $6-15 plus delivery!)
Sprinkle the seeds on loose soil in pots and water as normal.

Some folk do say its hard to grow these guys, but I have never had any problems? Just sprinkle onto loose soil, water and wait.

Stuff comes up like a weed around the mother plants, but without regular watering, and partial shade the heat and lack of water here kills them off in the end. But, transplanted to pots and put around the side of the house they thrive!

Grown by us organically, no nasties, no chems, no problems!!!

 

Posting Plants

Posting plants the Fair-Dinkum-Seeds way.

Posting Plants
Posting Plants

We post all our plants in 100mm posts, well wrapped to protect the roots from damage and disturbance, from the “delicate handling” they will receive from Australia Post….
The plants will be watered and wrapped, and if they will benefit from leaf trimming to limit water loss by transpiration and evaporation, then they may even get a light haircut before packing.

It all depends on that individual plant, and its particular needs.

Rest assured we will do our absolute best to get it to you in the same condition it left here, after all, we want you to have success growing it!

We firmly attached the pot to the base of the box with a sort of cotton seat belt, to stop it sliding up and crushing the delicate tip of the plant.
Some plants will be wrapped in plastic as well, but the majority won’t, again it all depends on that individual, that you have bought.
The packing boxes themselves have been specifically chosen by us after extensive testing, and I feel they are the absolute best you can get for protecting delicate plants.
Seriously, they are not the cheapest, but the design is perfect, and that is all that matters.
They have to get a real hammering before any damage is inflicted on the actual plant.
We only send express post so that the majority of plants make it to you by the weekend.
We send either on a Monday or a Tuesday depending on how busy we are, and it normally takes us a day or to get them organized, so bear that in mind.
That’s it folks, well packed and protected, sent in pots via “Express Post” so they arrive in good health, to wherever you want in OZ!

International delivery of plants not available at this stage, but if your really keen, send me a message by clicking here…

Mouse Melon Cucamelon Melothria Scabra Seeds

Mouse Melon Cucamelon Melothria Scabra Seeds

Mouse Melon Cucamelon Melothria Scabra

20+seeds per pack of this fantastic little vine.

I am growing hundreds of the little buggers just in three polystyrene boxes in the picture.

I got a $1 roll of cotton thread and hung it from the awning, then I tied it to a stick.

I then sat the boxes on top of the stick, (to keep the string tight) then filled each box with one bag of cheap potting mix and wacked 4-6 seedlings in each box.

As they grew I spread all the little side shoots evenly and a couple of months later I have this. Awesome hey. Nothing fancy, but it does the job. Hundreds of fruits, bugger all costs, and looks really cool I reckon.

The fruit themselves are pretty cool too. The are about as big as a grape and they look like a little watermelon, except unlike a melon you eat them whole.

They taste like Watermelon x Cucumber x Lime x AWESOMENESS!!!

It is believed to have been a domesticated crop before western contact began and has a history of medicinal uses that have become obscure over time. If you have any knowledge on the medicinal subject shoot me off an email.

Anyway, there it is folks, Mouse melons!

Organically grown by me and the Mrs, no chems, no nasties no problems!

 

“NOT FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA or TASMANIA due to added expense and drama involved.

If you decide to buy anyway, despite me politely asking you not to, I will NOT be sending this item and you will receive a substitution of my choosing. 🙂

 

Tropical Scarlet Milkweed Asclepias Curassavica Bloodflower Seeds

Tropical Scarlet Milkweed Asclepias Curassavica Bloodflower Seeds

Tropical Scarlet Milkweed Asclepias Curassavica Bloodflower Seeds

Packet of 25+ freshly harvested seeds!

This fella is wildharvested from our place by me and the Mrs.

We never planted it on purpose, it’s just a volunteer from someone else’s plantings I guess?

I better clarify that it is not the much more weedy and invasive balloon flower or Gomphocarpus physocarpus which we are constantly pulling out when it blows in from neighbouring properties.

This is the much less invasive and more manageable, but similar species Asclepias nivea var. curassavica or Asclepias curassavica, most commonly known as tropical milkweed, bloodflower, blood flower, cotton bush, hierba de la cucaracha, Mexican butterfly weed, redhead, scarlet milkweed, or wild ipecacuanha. It will spread around a bit if given the chance, but it never really outcompetes neighbouring plants or grows on mass. If you don’t want it to spread just deadhead it like you do with any other flowers.

Very pretty little flower and small herb like structure, it is the food plant of the Monarch, Queen and many other butterfly species. Monarch larvae and adults rely on Asclepias species for food and when their young eat the foliage they taste foul to predators.

They make a really nice cut flower, just be careful not to get the white sap on you.

I just cut the stems then stab them in the ground for a second or two. Soil clots the sap, no mess no fuss.

The native bees love it and it is a very hardy trouble free species.

Wild harvested from our place, no chems, no nasties, no problems!!!