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Post by stevil on Dec 5, 2008 3:26:40 GMT -5
Gosh! I am now friends with people eating alfalfa. Not sprouts, but alfalfa! My world has changed... Do you want to join us at Grazers Anonymous (GA) yet?
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Post by canadamike on Dec 5, 2008 4:24:54 GMT -5
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Post by canadamike on Dec 5, 2008 5:04:35 GMT -5
Speaking of skunk cabbage, does any of you grazing wizzards have ever attempted the weird experiment to try to exploit its thermogenic capabilities in your cold frames? An increase of 15 to 35 degrees in the surrounding air sounds like a good low cost alternative to...whatever else, basically....
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Post by stevil on Dec 5, 2008 10:50:44 GMT -5
I would if I had time, but I am still trying to munch on the frozen skunk cabbage growing at the edge of the property... I am mightily impressed (I hope you are not mocking us??? )...... in my opinion this is the most extreme food in existence For the benefit of those that don't know this plant, the leaves contain large amounts of calcium oxylate crystals (as does the tropical/sub-tropical vegetable Taro, Colocasia esculenta). I've read some excruciating accounts of well known US wild foragers trying Skunk Cabbage for the first (and usually last) time. It seems that cooking doesn't destroy the crystals and 6 months or so of drying is required by which time the leaves taste like cardboard.... Does freezing help? Here's my lonely plant www.hagepraten.no/gallery/pic.php?mode=large&pic_id=1137I shall check at the weekend if it's melted the snow....
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Post by canadamike on Dec 5, 2008 13:33:37 GMT -5
Of course I was mocking you, with the hope to be mocked in return . Hey, it is winter now, if we don't work hard at laughing we will cry.... But the thermogenic question is a valid one I think. I realy wonder what it could do in a cold frame if interplanted with greens, for example. When it breaks dormancy, which should be earlier in a cold frame since the plant can grow and set flowers through snow. !5 TO 35 CELSIUS DEGREES ABOVE EXTERIOR TEMPERATURE IS A LOT OF HEAT, some of it is bound to give resisual heat in the cold frame. This is highly worth some investigation... This is, indeed, a remarquable plant.
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Post by stevil on Dec 5, 2008 14:07:11 GMT -5
Suggest you collect lots of seed and we can do some trials for you....
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Post by plantsnobin on Dec 5, 2008 14:58:15 GMT -5
Check out www.aroid.org for more info on heat producing plants. If you type in 'heat producing' on that sites search, you will find some very interesting research. I'm not a great fan of aroids myself, but I do have a few in the garden. Might be worth growing a few in the greenhouse to see if any discernible heat would be produced.
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Post by canadamike on Dec 5, 2008 16:30:47 GMT -5
I doubt very much it would be of interest in the large setting of a greenhouse unless huge quantities were used, enough not to be able to grow anything else but in a small setting like a cold frame it could be different.
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Post by ottawagardener on Dec 5, 2008 17:13:43 GMT -5
I didn't respond because of the mockery but I did think 'hmmm... interesting idea.' A non biological solution that I heard that seemed interesting was using those dreaded Xmas lights - the energy inefficient ones. They produce a bit of heat, spread it more evenly and look cherry.
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Jan 26, 2016 14:38:19 GMT -5
Today i built my first coldframe. In it i planted some seeds for Mighty Midget Pea, which is an "extra dwarf" variety. It's the only extra dwarf variety i know of that has wrinkled seeds. We will see how things turn out.
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