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fyzygy

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Posts posted by fyzygy

  3. Posted

    I sun-dried a few SCOBYs, they turn into this extremely tough, skin- or leather-like substance, which is actually moderately sweet to the taste. But teeth won't cut it -- it's strong, like animal hide. In the mouth it rehydrates with the saliva, texture like that of a really tough mushroom. I think one would need to shred it somehow prior to ingesting. And I'm guessing nobody knows how good (or not) it might be to eat. 

  5. Posted

    I had some unrooted Tricho tips standing in a pot. One of them fell over in the middle of this crazy heatwave, and in a matter of hours was completely cooked. It will probably survive, but with significant scarring from sunburn. In the vertical position, this cutting was adapted to full-sun conditions (and all of its peers, remaining vertical, suffered no damage at all). Lesson learned. 

  6. Posted

    On 09/02/2017 at 10:02 AM, Drake1337 said:

    I have read about this a few times. (Only have access to my phone so am unable to locate the search bar on the mobile site.) Anyway l was wondering how some other members inoculate with rhizobia? I have tried looking for specific products l might be able to buy. Some members have said grab some soil from other acacia, would this be acceptable for A Courtii? And if you did inoculate what were your processes for applying? When they are seeds (during soaking)? Or after a soak and mix it in with germination medium? 

     

    I have heard, most commonly, to take some soil from the vicinity of an established Acacia. I doubt that the exact variety would matter all that much. 

    However, I find it easier to water my Acacia seedlings with the liquid drained off from sprouting lentils. Sometimes I throw a few sprouting lentils in too, for good measure. 

    Last time I repotted an Acacia seedling, the roots were clustered with small round things that looked a lot like ... lentils! (Not my reason for trying this; just a coincidence).

    My rationale is twofold: (1) Acacias and lentils are both legumes, (2) water ex sprouting is supposed to be good for plants. I water all of my plants this way, but especially Acacias. 

    I dare say that in any case, as with Tricho species, the synergistic microbes will appear naturally, as a matter of course. (Wherever there is food, there shall be mouths to consume it, to paraphrase Darwin/Malthus.)

    Somebody might like to conduct some A/B testing to see if there's anything to this sprout-water method.

    I don't do any of this during the Acacia germination phase, only after the seedlings have legs to stand on, so to speak. 

     

    • Like 1

  7. Posted

    Kombucha produces AAB, not LAB, by default -- though LAB may be present in kombucha, more or less accidentally. (That's acording to review study quoted from in my previous post). There are a large number of variables, such as fermentation period, involved in the brewing of kombucha, none of which has been decisively studied. 

     

    1 hour ago, saguaro said:

    lactic acid bacteria (LAB) probiotics i

     

  8. Posted

    Recently, this tea-based fermented beverage has become increasingly popular in western cultures, mainly in the functional food movement for its alleged health benefits. Kombucha tea is thought to reduce cholesterol levels and blood pressure; increase weight-loss; improve liver, glandular, immune, and gastric functions; reduce kidney calcification; increase vitality; combat acne; eliminate wrinkles; purify the gall bladder; improve constipation; alleviate arthritis pain; inhibit cancer proliferation; cure AIDS; and many others. Most of these health benefits are unsubstantiated and based on personal observations and testimonies, but there are some indications that kombucha tea consumption may indeed aid health prophylaxis and recovery through detoxification, antioxidation, energizing, and immune-stimulating effects. However, despite the lack of evidence from clinical trials to substantiate benefits to human health, kombucha is one of the fastest-growing beverages today within the functional food category, demonstrating a +49% dollar growth over the period of July 2017 to July 2018.  •.  "Kombucha Tea Fermentation: A Review" Journal of the American Society of Brewing Chemists, 2020. 

     

    "Health prophylaxis" strikes me as an interesting concept -- enhanced health (familiar to eastern traditions and complementary medicine) differs greatly from the western model of health as (mere) absence of disease. So perhaps "therapeutic" is not the right word ... 

  9. Posted

    12 minutes ago, saguaro said:

    Of course, because it would be unethical in the extreme to test foods as therapeutics without clinical rationale.

    Not sure I follow. Kombucha is everywhere these days -- from bottle shops to supermarkets -- and yet there's no supportive clinical data on either safety or therapeutic efficacy in humans? Anecdotally, there is evidence both for and against kombucha as a therapeutic foodstuff. We need to know more, especially if manufacturers are trading on a widespread consumer "intuition" that fermented foods = healthy (according to biochemists, kombucha is of negligible probiotic value). All of the animal studies I've seen point out the need for further research with human subjects. If not by now, at what point will we have reached sufficient "clinical rationale"? 

     

     

     

     

  11. Posted · Edited by fyzygy

    Recently started brewing my own, mainly for fun and the light fizz. I was surprised, given the marketing hype surrounding commercial kombucha offerings, that there is actually zero scientific evidence -- i.e., in human trials -- of any therapeutic benefit. Granted, there are promising animal laboratory studies, as well as a 2200-year tradition of consumption in China. There are risks of adverse outcomes. Two of the most exciting things I discovered were (1) SCOBYs can be dried and eaten, and (2) kombucha could be the basis of a new textiles industry: seamless clothing. I know people who guzzle this stuff by the gallon, sometimes as an alcohol substitute in social contexts. And it is refreshing -- but also sugary, fizzy, liable to contamination and leaching from storage vessels. Any tips from master brewers out there? 

  19. Posted

    It is hard to put the genie back in the bottle, once Indigenous knowledge has escaped custody of its traditional owners. Chacruna Institute, for one, is pushing hard for reform in this space. Personally, I suspect that framing the issue as one of "justice" probably won't appeal that strongly either to western science or capitalism. Decimation of the Amazon basin (for example) demands a radical reconfiguration of political-economic imperatives. Not even a global pandemic has been able to bring that off. It's ironic, but we need the medicine now more than ever before ...

    • Like 1

  25. Posted

    8 hours ago, kindness said:

    My vacuum cleaner would suck the leaves off the plant at very least… at most it would probably rip vine offshoots off… 

    A small gutless portable handheld could do the trick. Or one with variable suction. As a general principle, the more eco-friendly the intervention (e.g. lacewings) the less virulent the infestation needs to be. But I've heard of people taking out entire clouds of aphids with a vacuum. 

     

    8 hours ago, kindness said:

    yes I stuffed up.  It hurts.  I was very happy that the plant was doing so well in an area that gets winters down to -8… it’s an indoor plant in a window…

    I know that feeling. It will pass. Nature casts no judgement . But grief is okay too -- plants are our friends and it sounds like you were close. We all have horror gardening stories to share, but your plant may well come good. Since it was established and thriving, it's probably a lot tougher than you think. I've had many a plant presumed dead spring back to life, the tragic losses cases are usually young plants. You've helped out the community here by drawing attention to the fact that caapi can be grown indoors (I had no idea!). Good luck, take some pics of the recovery. 

     

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