Chicory, Forage   (Cichorium intybus)

Herbaceous perennial.  This is a coarse variety of chicory meant for pasture.  Seed can be broadcast fall or spring.  The long taproot penetrates subsoil and breaks up plowsole to improve aeration and water holding capacity of soils.  The leaves provide superior forage for cattle, horses, goats, etc, containing up to 30% protein.  Chicory is rich in potassium, sulfur, calcium, sodium, manganese and iron.  Sow in fall, spring, or summer at 100 g per 1,000 square feet.

Cactus, Bolivian Torch          Trichocereus bridgesii            

(Achuma)

Perennial cactus native to Bolivia . This blue-green skinned columnar cactus sports star-shaped clusters of long spines.  It is a traditional sacrament that can easily be grown in a bright window.  Water regularly during the growing season, but water very infrequently through the winter.  Protect from frost.  Inoculate cactus mix with soil taken from around other growing cacti, and make sure the mix is extremely coarse (incorporate coarse, sharp gravel/pumice) in order to support sprouting seeds as they elongate and germinate.  Sow in spring. 

100 seeds/pkt $2.95, Open Pollinated

Those of you who are familiar with starting cacti from seed may ignore these directions. Here are some tips for those of you who are just starting out growing cacti from seed.  You need to use full spectrum grow lights or a good greenhouse.  You can't just germinate them on a windowsill in an apartment--they need bright light and very warm temperatures for germination and growth!  For starters, you can buy cactus mix at the nursery supply store, but most of us make our own.  Here's the common recipe:  50% white pumice, 25% coarse, sharp sand, and 25% organic matter such as coir or compost.  Mix thoroughly and inoculate with a handful of cactus mix taken from around growing cacti--this will provide bacterial/fungal substrate that supports the growth of healthy cacti.  Use gallon pots or smaller.  Fill to 1/2 inch from rim with your cactus mix, then provide a thin (1/4 inch) layer of sifted mix as a seedbed. To make the sifted mix, run your cactus mix through a 1/8 inch screen. Sprinkle seed on surface and mist or water by setting pot in a bowl of water.  Do not dislodge seeds or seedlings by rambunctious watering--its counterproductive.  Many growers stretch plastic wrap over the top of the pot to create a mini-greenhouse effect for germination, then remove the plastic once the seedlings are up and going.  Set the pot in the light greenhouse or below full-spectrum grow lights. Optimal temperature is 70 to 90 degrees F.   Germination is dependent on temperature, light, moon phase and the species you're working with, but generally occurs between 1 and 5 weeks after planting.  If the seeds do not germinate, allow the pot to completely dry out, then start over.  This sometimes jump starts the process.  Once the seedlings appear, keep them propped up with pieces of pumice or gravel.  Remove plastic wrap, but keep evenly watered for the first 6 months.   After that, during the summer, water every 3 to 5 days, allowing the surface to dry between waterings.  Water not at all or very infrequently during the winter. Many growers allow their cacti to grow closely together for the first year or two, then transplant to single pots once they have attained sufficient size to be readily handled.   That's it in a nutshell.  Richo

Cactus, Giant Saguaro                       (Carnegia gigantea)

Family: Cactaceae

Cactus, San Pedro        Trichocereus pachanoi     

(Achuma, San Pedro Cactus, Washuma)

Perennial cactus native to South America. This is a hard-to find offering of seed of San Pedro, which is unusual because most of the San Pedros found growing in the US are from sterile clones.  These seeds, however, are from vibrantly flowered and fruiting cacti that are open-pollinated, fertile and choice.  This blue-green skinned columnar cactus is nearly spineless.  It is a traditional sacrament that can easily be grown in a bright window.  Water regularly during the growing season, but water very infrequently through the winter.  Protect from frost.  Inoculate cactus mix with soil taken from around other growing cacti, and make sure the mix is extremely coarse (incorporate coarse, sharp gravel/pumice) in order to support sprouting seeds as they elongate and germinate.  Sow warm and humid. 

30 seeds/pkt $4.95, Open Pollinated

Those of you who are familiar with starting cacti from seed may ignore these directions. Here are some tips for those of you who are just starting out growing cacti from seed.  You need to use full spectrum grow lights or a good greenhouse.  You can't just germinate them on a windowsill in an apartment--they need bright light and very warm temperatures for germination and growth!  For starters, you can buy cactus mix at the nursery supply store, but most of us make our own.  Here's the common recipe:  50% white pumice, 25% coarse, sharp sand, and 25% organic matter such as coir or compost.  Mix thoroughly and inoculate with a handful of cactus mix taken from around growing cacti--this will provide bacterial/fungal substrate that supports the growth of healthy cacti.  Use gallon pots or smaller.  Fill to 1/2 inch from rim with your cactus mix, then provide a thin (1/4 inch) layer of sifted mix as a seedbed. To make the sifted mix, run your cactus mix through a 1/8 inch screen. Sprinkle seed on surface and mist or water by setting pot in a bowl of water.  Do not dislodge seeds or seedlings by rambunctious watering--its counterproductive.  Many growers stretch plastic wrap over the top of the pot to create a mini-greenhouse effect for germination, then remove the plastic once the seedlings are up and going.  Set the pot in the light greenhouse or below full-spectrum grow lights. Optimal temperature is 70 to 90 degrees F.   Germination is dependent on temperature, light, moon phase and the species you're working with, but generally occurs between 1 and 5 weeks after planting.  If the seeds do not germinate, allow the pot to completely dry out, then start over.  This sometimes jump starts the process.  Once the seedlings appear, keep them propped up with pieces of pumice or gravel.  Remove plastic wrap, but keep evenly watered for the first 6 months.   After that, during the summer, water every 3 to 5 days, allowing the surface to dry between waterings.  Water not at all or very infrequently during the winter. Many growers allow their cacti to grow closely together for the first year or two, then transplant to single pots once they have attained sufficient size to be readily handled.   That's it in a nutshell.  Richo

Calabash Tree, Mexican (Crescentia alata)
(Mexican Calabash Tree, Jicaro, Morrito, Winged Calabash)
Family:  Bignoniaceae
Evergreen tree to 30 feet, native to the tropical americas.  Protect from frost.  The stout, spongy-barked trunk gives rise to sturdy, spreading branches, which are a preferred resting place for orchids and epiphytes. The night-blooming flowers are large, yellow and purple, bell-shaped and pollinated by bats.  These (the flowers, not the bats, well, partially the bats) transform into the globular fruits that hang heavily.  These fruits are hard-shelled and gourdlike.  They are used extensively to make containers, bottles, cantines, flatware, utensils and musical instruments, including maracas. Trees prefer full sun to part shade and moderate to heavy watering.  They will work as a container plant, kept indoors during the winter. Scarify, soak overnight and sow warm.  10 seeds/pkt $3.95   

Family:  Mint (Lamiaceae)
Hardy to -30 degrees F.
Evergreen perennial native to the mediterranean.  I find this to be one of the better medicinals for small gardens due to its compact habit, long flowering, and aromatic foliage. Delightful light-blue flowers on a spreading plant with miniature, rounded leaves.  Dried herb as a tea is antiseptic, diaphoretic and expectorant. Plant prefers full sun and dryish soils.  Sow seed in spring, in a flat in the greenhouse or directly in the garden, in a carefully prepared seedbed.  Germ is in 1 or 2 weeks. 
50 seeds/pkt., Certified Organically Grown

Calendula seed set
Family: Asteraceae

Days to maturity: 40 to 50 days to flower.
Annual or short-lived perennial.  Native to southern Europe. Does well in pots.  Calendula flowers are a premier antiseptic and healing agent when made into salve, succus, tincture, or simply masticated and applied to the injury.  Inhibits inflammation, promotes formation of granulation tissue in wounds.  Bright yellow-orange dye-plant.  Plant prefers full sun, any soils.  Direct-seed in spring or summer in garden, or grow as a container plant. 

(Orange Calendula)
Family:  Asteracea
Annual.  40 to 50 days to maturity.  Native to southern Europe.  Calendula flowers are the premier antiseptic and healing agent when made into salve, succus, tincture, or simply masticated and applied to the injury.  Inhibits inflammation, promotes formation of granulation tissue in wounds.  The flowers, when boiled, yield a bright yellow-orange dye. Sow the seed directly in the garden in the spring, or grow as a container plant. Space plants 6 inches apart.  This strain produces predominantly orange flowers, measuring up to 3 inches in diameter. They are exceptionally pretty, and make excellent medicine.  In fact, we prefer to grow this cultivar for dried calendula flowers used for making the infused oil and the tincture--they are very rich in the flavonoids that help make Calendula such a good antiinflammatory. It is easy to gain attachment for different types of Calendula, because they tend to elicit positive emotions and memories of summer days skittered by like clouds in a rainwashed sky, but truth be told this one is my favorite.  Yellow, well, yellow is mellow, but so well represented that it becomes a bit cliche.  But orange, now orange, it is a taste we never grow tired of, acceptable even to children, and as a color it meets similarly universal appeal.  Maybe because its the color of the rising sun.
50 seeds/pkt., Certified Organcially Grown

(Wild Calendula)
Family:  Aster (Asteraceae)
Annual.  40 to 50 days to maturity. 
Vigorous self-seeder. A rare offering of the parent plant of our domesticated Calendulas. Makes bushy plants with many small, star-like flowers. These are particularly frost hardy, and will blossom on past hard frosts that kill off most other garden plants.  Plant prefers full sun to part shade and moist soils.  Sow in pots, or sow in the garden in the spring in a prepared seedbed.  These are slower germinators than other Calendula, as they retain some of their wild ways.  30 days of cold, moist conditioning or sowing in the fall or very early spring will enhance germ rate.  20 seeds/pkt., Certified Organically Grown

Syn. Lessertia frutescens
(Kankerbos)
With its deeply divided, gray-green leaves and large, showy, bright scarlet flowers and fascinating inflated seedpods, Cancer Bush is in high demand as a horticultural oddity and decorative garden plant. Plant is used as a bitter tonic and a general panacea. Thoroughly scarify each seed and sow warm.  Germ in 10 to 30 days, and ongoing (see extra seedling coming up in photo).  20 seeds/pkt., Open Pollinated

Caper Bush (Capparis spinosa)
Family: Capparidaceae
Hardiness: 10 degrees F, but will survive colder winters if given a dry microsite on the south face of a foundation or rock wall.  Does well in pots. 
Evergreen shrub native to Europe.  This plant is the source of the tight, green buds that are preserved in vinegar to make the gourmet condiment "capers." The flowers are decorative--white with violet puffs composed of multiple stamens.  The dried stems or root bark have been much employed for treating gastrointestinal woes and a plethora of other conditions.  The plant is astringent and healing, and is good for tonifying the blood vessels.  Plant prefers full sun and poor, gravelly or sandy soil. Sow in spring, in warm soil.  Greenhouse propagation or lights works very well on this one, or check the directions for direct seeding, below.  20 seeds/pkt $3.95

Some hints about the Capparis spinosa from the source: This plant prefers alkaline, not acid soils.  Germination best in sandy loam, planted in rock grooves, entirely exposed to sunshine with a little water from time to time. When it starts growing you can't stop it--a very strong survivor in difficult conditions.

Family:  Lobelia (Lobeliaceae)
Hardy to all temperate zones
Herbaceous perennial native to Eastern, Southern and Central US.  Roots used by First NAtions people to make a love charm.  Bright scarlet flowers attract hummingbirds to the prolific nectaries.  Plant prefers part shade to full sun and very moist, poorly drained soils. Surface sow in spring.  Just press seeds into surface of soil and keep evenly moist and in the light.  Seedlings are nearly microscopic at first but will soon reach transplantable size.  Grow out in pots until plants are large enough to make it in the landscape or garden.   200 seeds/pkt., Certified Organically Grown