Indian Creates Vegan Wool From A Wasteland Plant

 Intrigued at the sight of hummingbirds using a fibre from a flowering plant to keep their young ones warm, Tamil Nadu-based Gowri Shankar's curiosity about this plant piqued as he was looking out of his window one day. Shankar identified the plant as Calotropis and began to research about the plant's fibre. Five months on, he created an alternative to wool that is wholly plant-sourced and vegan. Shankar created 'Weganool' by using the hollow and light cellulose fibres of shrubs Calotropis Gigantea and Calotropis Procera; his faux wool has a composition of 70% organic cotton and 30% calotropis plant, and it could just be the next thing in the fashion scene! Production of the wool is done by hand by rural women near Auroville in the outskirts of Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu.

The natural fibers used to create vegan wool. Photo courtesy: Faborg.in

The Plant 

Calotropis, is a wasteland shrub and it yields a durable fiber (commercially known as Bowstring of India) used to make ropes, carpets, fishing nets and sewing thread. Calotropis Gigantea and Calotropis Procera are Ayurvedic plants with medicinal properties and grow all over India. The plant is a tall, flowering shrub that thrives in dry and harsh growing conditions without human intervention, water, fertilizers or pesticides in Africa and several Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries. It is also known as giant milkweed, and has thick stalks and pale flowers.
 

Seeds from the time of Jesus and the Maccabees are being renewed—and grown amid the fruits of Jewish-Arab unity.

We all know the resurrection story from 2,000 years ago described in the pages of the Christian bible. Recently, a restoration of life, in a sense, took place in the Holy Land—but with 2,000-year-old dry date seeds from the same region where the religious legends began.

In the 1960s, when archaeologist Yigal Yadin dug at Masada, an ancient fort that is one of Israel’s most popular tourist attractions, he found a catchment of Judean date seeds.

Through radiocarbon analysis, the seeds of the species Phoenix dactylifera were shown to be around 1,990 years old, or from 35 BCE to 65 CE, when the Roman philosophers Strabo and Pliny were writing about the Judean date’s medicinal qualities.

15 years ago, Dr. Elaine Soloway of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, along with Dr. Sarah Salon of Hadassah Medical Center, were able to miraculously germinate one of the seeds.

In honor of its longevity, it was named Methuselah, after the longest-living human being in the Bible (Genesis 5: 21-27). Methuselah, however, being a male tree, would not be able to produce a date without a female partner. So in 2014, six seeds were germinated from 32 that were unearthed in archaeological digs in the Judean Desert and near the Dead Sea, from a similar age.

They were also given Biblical names, but only one female—Hannah—flowered.

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In the spring of this year, she was pollinated using the powdery grains from Methuselah. And soon, Hannah produced 111 dates that were recently harvested..

Most of the semi-dry dates with reddish-blonde color will be used for research, but the masterminds behind the project got to taste a few, with Dr. Soloway enjoying the “honey or caramel aftertaste.”

Researchers Dr. Elaine Soloway of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (left) with Dr. Sarah Salon of Hadassah Medical Center, moments after picking the dates – MARCOS SCHONHOLZ

The home of these extraordinary trees is the Kibbutz Ketura campus of the Arava Institute located on the Israeli-Jordanian border in the dramatic Arava Valley—with the steep, mile-high, red mountains of southern Jordan – biblical Edom – on one side and the whitish limestone from ancient ocean floors on the Israeli side, in a section of the Great Rift Valley between Syria and Africa.

Photo by MARCOS SCHONHOLZ, Arava Institute

There is something else remarkable about the home of these dates. Since 1996, the Arava Institute has brought together Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian college students to learn how to cooperatively solve the regional and global challenges of our time.

Foster cross-border environmental cooperation through discourse at a time when it is so needed, the leaders here engage civic organizations and individuals representing Jews and Arabs with both state and private interests to discuss, develop, and negotiate formal and informal environmental agreements.

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The Arava Institute reminds participants that the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is about land—more precisely, the borders that nations draw on the land. When the land is looked upon solely as a geopolitical instrument, it is viewed as one of the major stumbling blocks to any reconciliation or just settlement of the conflict. However, when the land is approached, as it is at Arava, from an environmental perspective—which knows no political borders, walls and fences—new frameworks open up, including in the political sphere: New dynamics are created.

The student body of the Arava Institute is made up mostly of Jews, Christians, and Muslims—and in those three religions, born in the deserts of the region, dates and date trees have always played an important role, according to Rabbi Michael M. Cohen, who teaches at the Arava Institute and also at Vermont’s Bennington College.

“Following the example of Muhammad, Muslims traditionally break their daily fast during Ramadan with a date. In the Jewish Torah, dates are considered one of the seven most important species of the Land of Israel. And Jesus was reportedly welcomed into Jerusalem with his supporters waving date palm branches.”

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Grown on this campus steeped in faith, the dates of Methuselah and Hannah, like all the great redemption stories, remind us that what today appears to be dead or beyond reach can in fact be revived to help create a better, more just, and redeemed tomorrow.

This morning I was thinking about my Gardenias, they look sad so I looked up a few points of interest to help them.

Here is one site I thought was useful.

GARDENIA CARE IN SPRING

Gardenias are one of the most popular and rewarding garden shrubs to grow in temperate and subtropical gardens. Their heady fragrance, masses of beautiful cream flowers from spring to autumn and glossy green leaves make a highly desirable combination for gardens, hedges or pots.

In early spring, though, gardenias can be a worry. By the end of winter, they are often looking miserable with yellow leaves and no flowers – or worse, buds that are brown and dropping.

Most gardeners have heard somewhere along the garden grapevine that gardenias need a dose of Epsom salts in spring. While this won’t hurt them, magnesium deficiency (which is what is treated with Epsom salts) is a very minor disorder.

The key to understanding how to improve the look of gardenias in early spring is to know the conditions they enjoy. Gardenias are subtropical shrubs and are related to citrus. They grow naturally in areas with mild winters and warm, moist summers.

In most parts of southern Australia, winters vary from mild to cold and even frosty. When soils are cold, gardenias wish they could relocate to Cairns or somewhere tropical. In these cold and often dry conditions, they hunker down and stop taking up nutrients. This is what leads to yellowing leaves.

With the arrival of spring, day temperatures begin to rise, but soil warming is slow. Gardenias take time to get the nutrients they need to return to their lush, green state. By late spring, however, the warm soils, balmy days and higher humidity levels see most gardenias looking far better.

TIPS TO BOOST YOUR GARDENIAS

Liquid feed: In late winter and early spring, apply a liquid fertiliser for flowers - we love Sudden Impact for Roses liquid, which is great for all flowering plants - not just roses! Repeat in a fortnight.

If yellow leaves persist, apply Yates Iron Chelate Liquid (follow the instructions on the container).

Water: If the soil is dry, water gardenias well making sure that the water is soaking in around the roots. Water regularly when conditions are dry. If soils are hard to wet, mix a soil wetting agent into the watering can - Wettasoil is a great option for this.

Slow release feed: In addition to the liquid food, scatter slow-release fertiliser around your plants. There are plenty of special formulations for gardenias on the market, but our favourite is Kahoona. Alternatively, you can use any product that's formulated for flowering plants or citrus. This fertiliser will kick in to feed the plant as conditions warm.

Feed again in summer.Add organic matter: Toss a few spades of composted cow manure or compost under the plants as mulch – organic matter helps improve soil condition, which leads to better growth.

Remove old buds: Buds formed in late autumn often fail to open. Remove these to make way for new flowers.Check for pests: Check for waxy brown or white scale on the backs of leaves and on stems.

Ants on the plant or a skin of black sooty mould on the leaves indicate the plant has scale. Spray with horticultural oil.

Repot: 

Potted gardenias that have been in the same pot for two or three years can be repotted in spring into a larger pot with fresh, good quality potting mix.

For the happiest gardenias, we suggest you choose a premium mix that's specially formulated for gardenias, such as Supersoil Professional Gardenia, Camellia and Azalea Potting and Planting Mix.Chewed buds: Weevils hide in the soil and feed on new buds and leaves.

Use a torch to check plants at night and squash any found. With good feeding and regular watering, most plants will outgrow the damage.Pruning: If pruning is needed to tidy or shape the plant, it can be done at any stage during the warmer months. The gardenia will quickly put on new growth, but remember pruning delays flowering.By: Jennifer Stackhouse

One of my favourites!  I sprinkle the seeds in the soil and wait to see how they develop! 

https://housemethod.com/lawn/columbine-flower-planting-care/

https://www.yates.com.au/plants/flowers-and-ornamentals/aquilegia/how-to-grow-aquilegia

I find the yellow are lovely but hard to come by.

My cat's grass!

they have one each grown from seeds from Bunnings

Self seeded in the wrong place too close to the rose bush Antirrhinum from last year but growing this year, have just let it be to see what happens!

Grown at the begining of the year during Lock down here in WA I took bits of cuttings and little self seeded seedlings from around the garden and put them into this basket to see what would happen, then I went and purchased some violas later in the year.

Two cuttings of different Geraniums put into a pot under the Pergolas at home.

One of my favourite Pansies

Your flowers are just beautiful Celia ... a real credit to you.

Portulaca in a big jug I made at ceramics donkeys years ago I have it hanging on a hook under the shade, It was a test last year to see if they would grow without soil, it is mainly Vermiculite also tiny little bit of soil with a drink of Thrive.  I didn't want to put all soil in as I thought it would much too heavy for the handle of the jug to survive!

I have found that Portulaca like poor soil to grow in, doesn't like the rich potting mix.

Last year's Ornithogalums which I have split up after they finished flowering and I replanted them over the garden to make more clumps of.  But it is a pity they don't have a scent.

 [White Star I think they are known as]

The Front Garden I opted for no lawn!  Mostly natives.

Geraldton Wax - Is it really from Geraldton?

Geraldton Wax (Chamelaucium uncinatum) occurs naturally in the Chapman River Regional Park, Rangeway and Allanooka Springs - about an hour's drive from Geraldton, southeast of Walkaway..  It also grows naturally, in its many forms, in areas down the west coast between Kalbarri and Wembley in Perth.

The Geraldton Wax natural form likes its soil to be acidic or neutral while quite a lot of Geraldton's soil, particularly in the Central Business District area near the coast, is alkaline due to the influences of the coast.  So waxes from the Geraldton area are a mismatch with the soil type in the Geraldton City Centre.  However, with a little soil treatment they can grow in your garden.

For more information view the pamphlet here

     One of the plants in my front garden.