Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

When I hit 40 I lost some energy, but I still love working in the yard and on projects but found it a lot harder to get started and get my butt in gear. When I took one of the diet supplements in the am I still had the get up and go when I got home from work and managed to sleep ok. But no more than 2 or 3 days in a row or I would end up with a restless night sleep, and run down the next day. I figured if I added a little ephedra grind to my coffee. I could make a brew that was weaker than a full dose and give me more energy. I started running/jogging with my youngest and if I lose 20 lbs I would probably get more energy. I really don't like pharmaceuticals and rarely use them. Most cause serious side effects and end up being pulled off the shelves and become fodder for the lawyers. If I could find an herbal substitute for Advil cold and sinus during allergy season I would be fixed up. It contains Ibuprophen and benedril. Acedaphedimine doesn't work for me. Benedril does very well but also make you drowsy which is exactly what I don't want. Any TCM substitutes for Advil cold and sinus?

When I was trained we were taught that leaf was not used in TCM only the seed, I don't know many TCM herbalists that use leaf in any of their formulas. It is not in the available concentrates from my suppliers and when I use it I only use western standardised extracts.

The main reason it is not used is the tendency for simple raw leaf or extracts to contain ginkgolic acid which is toxic. So it was used in some folk references but not commonly by professional practitoners. Since the advent of standardized concentrates with safe levels of ginkgolic acid it's use has expaned.

from
Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database
http://www.naturaldatabase.com/(S(y545j ... as2mr30p45))/nd/Search.aspx?cs=&s=ND&sample=1&rh=1

I need some herbalist training. Any good books you can suggest?

back to mulberries for a moment: a really good source in the USA is http://www.raintreenursery.com/catalog/ ... ttype=MULB. I planted an Illinois Everbearing and in it's second year it gave about twenty fruits with flavor similar to good cherries. I'm impressed. I understand the nigra fruit typically has best flavor, rubra (native to North America) next, and alba least, but there is huge variation between cultivars. The fruitless mulberry seems to have the best tasting leaves....go figure.

20 fruit???? My first season with a standard black/red tree saw well over 1,000 fruit . First season with KING WHITE saw over 500 fruit , the white ones about 3 inches long and VERY sweet ,, almost a Vanilla essence after-flavour. Cut back ( about one THIRD of branch length) after fruiting will give second crop in same season ,, but about half in volume as first crop.

Well, the first two months after planting had two nasty frosts: one killed all shoots (about 3" at that time), second killed any new shoots a month later. The nigra tree died entirely, the rubra barely held on and grew three branches at about 6" (15 cm) each. Really bad start...but coming back! Growth this year is at least double that so far and spring is not over!

You may get much better growth where you are (warm nights, humid days), but in this microclimate we have strong afternoon winds nearly every day as soon and temps plunge from 25degC (80degF) to 10degC (50degF) every evening. It has pros and cons....

The Shahtoot ( King White) is far more cold tolerant. wE ARE WELL INTO WINTER HERE IN sYDNEY AND IT STILL HAS ALL IT'S LEAVES ,, THE BLACK/RED IS LEAFLESS.

That is not necessarily a sign of toughness as the red is reputed to be far more hardy than the white, it may even indicate the opposite A lot of plants that deal with cold tend to drop leaves faster than their warm-climate adapted brethren.

Thats so true

i learnt all that the hard way by living in the area of NNSW east of the great dividing range but shut of in a valley along the clarence river.

Its subtropical in summer, but dry and quite cold in winter.
Its prone to late frosts, and fasle starts to spring

there a few features that make problems.
One is the high daytime temperatures.
it causes the planst to not go fully dormant , or to wake up mid winter after theyve had sufficient chill and start forming flowers and new leaves.
For example i spoke to a friend down there now and she says all the peaches are out in full bloom right now. This happens often.
Whats going to happen is they will form fruits and new leaves, and then at the end of July when the killer frosts come and we get a few nights at -5C or -6C there will be horrible damage to the trees.
Mulberries also wake up early. The garden and widely naturalised species there is the white mulberry (M alba). (the fruit isnt white BTW, its black)
Less common are the newer introductions like white fruited M alba, White shatoot, Red shahtoot and the occassional M nigra which is quite rare as its much harder to propagate by cuttings.
Ive never seen M rubra anywhere.

my experience has been that plants from places with low average winter temperatures do worse in areas like that place, where there is a larger day/night swing.
Species from SE USA seems to suit valleys of inland NNSW especially well.
Pecans, Persimmon, Sassafras, Mulberries, Cottonwood, Slash pine, Acer sp.

same for veggies. you are better of trialing imported veg varieties from the USA and Japan that you are using Ausralian seed from down south, or the frost free coast, or European imports.
Watermelons, Okra, cowpeas, pumpkins and squash, shiso, edamame, all do very well in the summer. while open hearted cabbages like 'Georgia southern' Collards do exceptionally well in winter

that area is a bit ignored by aussie gardening guides. its at a confluence of quite different zones and generally tends to get glossed over. Ive found more help in american garden guides than in any aussie one, in case any of you live there and are pulling your hair out;)

the only solution is to try diff fruit varieties at different points of the landscape, using early budburst varieties above or near the frostline, and late budburst varieties lower down the valley.
of course you cant know this till you trial them.
Shelter helps ammeliorate frost, so more dense planting helps keep it away, as does planting on a slight slope so cold air flows away.
sun later in th morning rather than early permits a slow thaw and results in less damage

Chinese herbal medicine (TCM) is very different from European or western herbal treatment. To start with the Traditional Chinese pharmacy includes animal and mineral substances not just plant material. It also often involves sophisticated preparation of the herbs to reduce toxins found in the natural substance.
A major difference to the western use of herbs is that the majority of herbs are prescribed in formulas not on an individual basis many of the formulas contain large numbers of herbs i.e. 15-20 herbs at a time. The formulas are crafted to improve effectiveness and reduce side effects, many of these formulas have been in continuous professional application for over a thousand years. Herbs are prescribed not just on the symptoms but also on the energetic effect of the herb, and the acupuncture channels that they enter. So correct application requires an understanding of TCM physiology of both the Zang Fu (organs) and acupuncture vessels. As an example of the importance of energetic effects we can look at cough in some cases the cough is related to an external effect that has not penetrated the body deeply and is effecting the lung. In others it can be caused by reverse flow of stomach energy. In the first you require herbs that rise expand and enter the lung acupuncture channel. In the second you need to use herbs that descend and enter the stomach channel. The incorrect herbs choice will have no effect or in some cases actually worsen the condition.

One of the main features of Chinese herbal medicine is the division of herbs into 3 groups, Superior herbs, inferior herbs, and poisons. Superior herbs are said to enhance life-force and increase longevity, they are often used for lengthy periods especially by the elderly. Inferior herbs are relatively safe but they have a strong ability alter the balance of the body's systems and are generally used short term to correct health problems, they form the majority of prescribed herbs in clinical practice. Poisons are extremely powerful in their ability to alter the balance of the body's systems the majority of western prescription drugs would fall into this category, they are used rarely in TCM.

Having said all that I must say it's been 20 years since I trained and there are probably many books that are fine but apart from the professional level Materia Medica's the three most used book I have are: Chinese Tonic Herbs by Ron Teeguarden - an excellent intro to the use of superior herbs in TCM, Planetary Herbology by Michael Tierra which combines aspects of TCM and western herbalism and The Holistic Herbal by David Hoffmann on western herbs.

Thanks!

Quick note on the herbal ibuprofen, willow bark tea is the old standby. It's basically aspirin in its natural form.

We have willows all over I saw mention of white willow, does it matter which type of willow?

http://www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/willow-bark-000281.htm

Doesn't seem to matter which kind of willow, but white is most common.

I had two large willows on my place when I bought it, cottonwood beetles killed one and I killed the other as it was literally growing around the utility pole. When the dead tops were all below the power lines i cut it down. I'll come up with a good place to plant a weeping willow in a low area. Its always cooler under a weeping willow! I didn't think I would ever want to plant a willow tree!