Archive for NEEPS North East Eco-friendly People's Site          NEEPS Forum Index -> What's on TV/Radio andybebbington Grow your own Drugs Monday 2nd March 8.30pm BBC2 Quote: From ice lollies made from Echinacea to acne gels made from marigold flowers, home-made natural remedies are about to get a makeover as ethnobotanist James Wong reveals how to Grow Your Own Drugs in a new series for BBC Two Read More Lord_Azrael Opium fields in Moray........ Yeah, seriously though, I did see this advertised in the Radio Times and I'll be watching.  I have started a small Apothecary type garden based on medieval ideas, mainly for show as the herbs are great, but one day I intend to try a few more out.  The lemon balm is really nice! Maria Something else worth turning the box on for    wow. Thanks for this. I agree - lemon balm is lovely. wildgarlic I'll be watching this too - I want to grow much more in the way of useful plants, be it for food or medications. LA - what have you planted in yours? Do you have any photos or advice? Smooth Hound ill be watching that, thanks Lord_Azrael wildgarlic wrote: LA - what have you planted in yours? Do you have any photos or advice? I've not got a vast amount in mine yet as it's been a long term project, and I haven't got any photo's yet. The prime plants I managed to establish are Lemon Balm, St John's Wort, Thyme, Sage, Rosemary, Peppermint, Borage & Lavender. I also had a nice batch of Opium poppies (for show only!) I've been experimenting with a few other older remedy varities such as Wormwwod, Vervain, Valerian etc.  but the plants haven't been that good yet so will need some extra work.  I don't have any photo's yet, but I'll try later in the year when it's looking a bit nicer. A good reference book for plants from the Medieval period is Brother Cadfaels Herb Garden, based on the excellent series of books by Ellis Peters (and the equally excellent TV adaptions with Sir Derek Jacobi) It's a hard book to get hold of and I got mine in from America. Another good book on herbs is the one by Jekka McVikar. A lot of my general research over the years is based primarily around the Medieval apothecaries and the gardens that many of them kept, and not suprisingly many modern drugs are still based on exactly the same plants! wildgarlic Thanks - there are a couple on Ebay at the moment but one is £40 and the other £50 so I don't think I'll be buying it any time soon I will see whether the library has it in stock. myra saw part of an interview with this guy on Breakfast this morning, sounds really interesting, should be a good programme to watch. kimmie been waiting for this all week....lets hope it doesnt disappoint! lor138 Well, i loved that. What an interesting programme. Even my 12 yr old wanted me to record it as he had to go to bed in the middle of it! IainC Yup... the wife wants kiwi bushes now Maria Very good - some of it what my grandad would have called common sense...especially a good chicken soup being the best way to recover from a cold.   IainC Maria wrote: Very good - some of it what my grandad would have called common sense...especially a good chicken soup being the best way to recover from a cold.   I don't have a cold but I quite fancied some of that soup... plenty of chilli and garlic in it... sounded lovely lor138 IainC wrote: Maria wrote: Very good - some of it what my grandad would have called common sense...especially a good chicken soup being the best way to recover from a cold.   I don't have a cold but I quite fancied some of that soup... plenty of chilli and garlic in it... sounded lovely Soup looked ace didn't it! Yum. Forget-me-Not Grow Drugs Ohhh forgot to tape it!!!!   Beth IainC You'd get it on the BBC iPlayer I'd guess... fairly sure. Plus it may be repeated at some point during the week I'd guess. wildgarlic I missed it - but it is on iplayer - AND it's programme 1 of 6! http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00j3ktd kimmie Loved it...even took some notes...the face creams etc i knew about .... but the homemade syrup of figs looked lovely!  never even heard of gogi/goji or however its spelt berries! and like you all said that chicken soup....hmmmmmmm cant wait for the next one! Sassinak When I've seen Kiwi fruit mantioned in the past. I understood that it is 'Southern England' Frost hardy lol It would probably grow in a very sheltered spot with no late frosts or in a big polytunnel, but the vines are huge - 20-30 ft or more I am also fairly sure that you need a male plant to fertilise the female plant or no fruit. Sassinak It looks as if Thompson & Morgan and various others have Goji berry plants for sale. They state that they are as easy to grow as tomatoes. They come from the Himalayas and Tibet, so presumably they are used to the cold, but I think I would still be tempted to protect them during the winter pete_inthehills I was a bit worried about him going out and picking the goji berries from the wild as they look exactly like woody nightshade berries and these are toxic.  He did mention that folk shouldn't try to find them in the wild but I guess some folk won't listen. Although he seem knowledeable, I did find him very annoying. pete inthehills IainC Sassinak wrote: When I've seen Kiwi fruit mantioned in the past. I understood that it is 'Southern England' Frost hardy lol It would probably grow in a very sheltered spot with no late frosts or in a big polytunnel, but the vines are huge - 20-30 ft or more I am also fairly sure that you need a male plant to fertilise the female plant or no fruit. The one he mentioned "Jenny" self pollenates I'm sure he said. Agreed, up here you'd probably want to plant it indoors, or wrap it up in the colder weather somehow. kimmie he also said that the kiwi jenny will live up to -15....so should be ok for up here! unless we get a winter like tha last one wildgarlic lor138 wrote: IainC wrote: Maria wrote: Very good - some of it what my grandad would have called common sense...especially a good chicken soup being the best way to recover from a cold.   I don't have a cold but I quite fancied some of that soup... plenty of chilli and garlic in it... sounded lovely Soup looked ace didn't it! Yum. It had FIVE stock cubes in it   - happy with the 10 cloves of garlic though   IainC wildgarlic wrote: It had FIVE stock cubes in it   - happy with the 10 cloves of garlic though   Didn't realise it had that much stock in it. I do like my garlic as well though, chances are I'd have chucked in more chillis, etc as well though        NEEPS Forum Index -> What's on TV/Radio Page 1 of 1