They were at one point in time...
( And you've taken my statement out of the context I used. )
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Conkers - Coffee?
- Thread starter TeeDee
- Start date
They were at one point in time...
( And you've taken my statement out of the context I used. )
I love this kind of stuff, well done @TeeDee
I am a trained ecohydrochemist, and a big part of that is botanical analysis and understanding what plants are telling you about the habitat your are in. I have of course gone down a similar path of interest and books like below would be of reading interest.
Understanding medicinal plants: their chemistry and therapeutic action
Book by Bryan Abbott Hanson 2005
The Food as Medicine and Medicine as Food debate has been going on for forever, but never disappoints. I will watch the thread with interest and will see if I can find electronic books to share.
I am a trained ecohydrochemist, and a big part of that is botanical analysis and understanding what plants are telling you about the habitat your are in. I have of course gone down a similar path of interest and books like below would be of reading interest.
Understanding medicinal plants: their chemistry and therapeutic action
Book by Bryan Abbott Hanson 2005
The Food as Medicine and Medicine as Food debate has been going on for forever, but never disappoints. I will watch the thread with interest and will see if I can find electronic books to share.
How do you use conkers for washing? Do you think it would work on knitted fabric?I like that you're trying everything that we think of as 'famine food' for edibility, etc., and I freely admit that many of them I'm happy just to add to the seasonal foraging, but conkers...those I use for washing hand made, embroidered, hand made lace, linens. I've never made the varicose vein treatment, thankfully not in need, but I watch James Wong's programme with interest. Archaeobotany and Ethnobotany are of great interest
M
I've got an abundance of conkers and handmade items...
Shell them, grate them up, soak them in warm water, agitate them about a bit, strain and use the liquid in washing.
Watch your hands with it though, it's nowhere near as kind or gentle as soapwort.
I grow soapwort in a big tub, if you want to try some later on, when the plant is in full growth, I'll happily send you some. It's pretty easy to grow from seed, though quicker from a root.
Online instructions have it wrong. You don't need to dig up the roots and kill the plant, you just pull a leafy stem or two and scrunch them up in water. Rub vigorously and the resultant soft green water is both soapy and non staining. It's very gentle on hands and fabric.
The chestnut liquid is toxic to watercourses, and it does a really nice job of laundering linen. Not so sure I'd use it on wool though, it contains a kind of natural brightener.
I have eaten them roasted, no idea if that changes them like it does cashews which are very poisonous eaten raw. They’re not very nice at all and not worth the bother. Coffee, well that is also a roasted seed.
However TeeDee, you are quite mad and I suspect you will give it a go.
The juice of the soaked grated nuts (and bark, etc.,) gives a natural blue flurorescence in water. You can see it sometimes on a watercourse where a chestnut tree overhangs. The aesculin is contained in the nuts, the inner bark, and the leaves too to some extent.
Bushcrafters often use a handful of the leaves to wash their hands....but we know to be careful with it.
It's very good to wash whites, but I wouldn't use it on coloureds and I would be very careful with my hands near it for too long on a concentrated liquor.
Aesculin is a toxic glucoside...which is why we've been urging a sense of caution about eating them, even processed.
en.wikipedia.org
Bushcrafters often use a handful of the leaves to wash their hands....but we know to be careful with it.
It's very good to wash whites, but I wouldn't use it on coloureds and I would be very careful with my hands near it for too long on a concentrated liquor.
Aesculin is a toxic glucoside...which is why we've been urging a sense of caution about eating them, even processed.
Aesculin - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
However TeeDee, you are quite mad and I suspect you will give it a go.
Eccentric.... I spell Mad E-C-C-E-N-T-R-I-C
Thanks for the vote of confidence to my , sense of Darwinian Adventure however...
The juice of the soaked grated nuts (and bark, etc.,) gives a natural blue flurorescence in water. You can see it sometimes on a watercourse where a chestnut tree overhangs. The aesculin is contained in the nuts, the inner bark, and the leaves too to some extent.
Bushcrafters often use a handful of the leaves to wash their hands....but we know to be careful with it.
It's very good to wash whites, but I wouldn't use it on coloureds and I would be very careful with my hands near it for too long on a concentrated liquor.
Aesculin is a toxic glucoside...which is why we've been urging a sense of caution about eating them, even processed.
Aesculin - Wikipedia
Noted , and thank you.
Once you've seen and become aware of the change in the 'tone' of the water, you'll really note it and I hope I've been clear enough.
I think that once you no longer can see that.....almost, but it's not, like a shadow of the irridescence you see on a puddle with a tiniest drop of petrol....I reckon you're probably well on the way to being clear of the aesculin.
I won't swear to it, because it's terribly subjective this kind of telling if something is okay or not.
Best of luck with it
M
I think that once you no longer can see that.....almost, but it's not, like a shadow of the irridescence you see on a puddle with a tiniest drop of petrol....I reckon you're probably well on the way to being clear of the aesculin.
I won't swear to it, because it's terribly subjective this kind of telling if something is okay or not.
Best of luck with it
M
I have no idea. I know that I watched James Wong's programme and he made up a paste/ointment, and the lady who used it found it very beneficial.
I have his book somewhere, but surely the recipe is online ?
M
I have his book somewhere, but surely the recipe is online ?
M
Our local country park was build around a man made loch. The developers drowned an old mining village and the area surrounding it was old industrial land mixed with remaining farmland.
They had a tree nursery on site and grew thousands of trees. Couldn't get horse chestnuts to grow though. An old tree that had survived all the upheaval produced brilliant conkers, and when my sons were little they gathered half a carrier bag full to play with one Autumn. After a few weeks of them rattling around the house I threw the remains into my compost heap. Come late Spring and I took apart the heap, there were nearly 140 conkers all sprouting top and tail....I phoned the Rangers and asked if they wanted them. Yes, was the very definite response, so we carefully packed every one of them up and trailed them down to the park.
Apparently it's easy to sprout them in a compost heap or under a pile of leaf litter.
I think the country could do with a lot more chessie trees
They had a tree nursery on site and grew thousands of trees. Couldn't get horse chestnuts to grow though. An old tree that had survived all the upheaval produced brilliant conkers, and when my sons were little they gathered half a carrier bag full to play with one Autumn. After a few weeks of them rattling around the house I threw the remains into my compost heap. Come late Spring and I took apart the heap, there were nearly 140 conkers all sprouting top and tail....I phoned the Rangers and asked if they wanted them. Yes, was the very definite response, so we carefully packed every one of them up and trailed them down to the park.
Apparently it's easy to sprout them in a compost heap or under a pile of leaf litter.
I think the country could do with a lot more chessie trees
With making the initial tincture of soaking the conkersin alcohol, I’ve seen about using cheap vodka. Do you think there’s any issue with using scotch whisky instead? I’ve got a bottle of cheap stuff here that has been kicking about for some years. Seems silly to hit something else if that’ll do and it’s not being drunk.
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