In the 1980s, NASA spent millions of dollars on how to deal with unhealthy indoor environments.
They were interested in the big challenge of purifying air on space stations and long space flights.
Here’s what they came up with…
Houseplants.
The simplest plant to take care of:
Sansevieria laurentii, also known as “mother-in-law’s tongue” and “snake plant.”
The original NASA paper is here:
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19930073077.pdf
– … Read more
This is one of the most fascinating and promising local sustainable food projects I’ve ever seen. Please help take it to the next level.
– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org
… Read more
Ever Growing Family Farm is engaged in a radically innovative act…
They’re successfully growing rice in the Hudson Valley of New York on otherwise marginal land using traditional methods perfected over centuries by farmers from the Senegambia region of West Africa.
After two successful harvests, it’s time for them to get their own rice milling equipment.
They’re halfway there. Let’s … Read more
The ideal introduction to plants, herbs and “weeds” would be to have a grandmother (or grandfather) take us by the hand through the fields and woods from an early age.
In these “modern” times, few of us have that experience. Our guest on this installment of PlantWisdom.org, Dina Falcone, certainly didn’t.
Dina grew up in New York City’s East Village in the 1970s, an urban … Read more
What are plants?
Dumb bundles of cellulose that exist merely to do our bidding?
Sophisticated bio-chemical factories that are the source of countless medicines – and medicines to come?
How about this?
“Plants know us and love us as grandchildren.”
What is a grandparent?
Someone older than you…someone related to you…someone who cares about your well-being…someone in a position to help you in profound ways.
Carlos Castaneda (1925-1998) in his … Read more
It was one of our most popular programs, so I thought you might like to see her TED talk.
If you’d like to help our publishing efforts here at Plant Wisdom—and we can certainly use the help—consider contributing to our parent company, The Real Food Channel, that makes this programming possible.
– Ken McCarthy
PlantWisdom.org
Juliette de Bairacli Levy was born in Manchester, England, in 1912.
After studying veterinary medicine at the University of Manchester, she decided to spend her life traveling the world, studying the herbal healing practices of people in Mexico, France, Spain, England, Portugal, Greece, Israel, Turkey, Algeria, and French and Spanish Morocco.
Her research was particularly valuable because she gathered much of her knowledge in the era before the widespread use … Read more
In this video, we learn about a specific plant (skullcap), a specific herbalist (7 Song) and how a good herbalist approaches plants and healing.
7 Song is based in Ithaca, New York, in a beautiful area of Upstate New York.
In addition to lecturing, teaching and maintaining an herbalist practice, 7 Song is also active in the Ithaca Free Clinic, which is staffed by volunteer physicians, herbalists, acupuncturists, and other … Read more
Matthew Wood talks about the traditional Native Americans approach plant medicine and healing.
Being forest dwellers, Midwestern and Eastern native people developed special expertise in the use of roots and barks.
Wood is the author of:
– Seven Herbs, Plants as Teachers (1987)
– Vitalism, The History of Herbalism, Homeopathy, and Flower Essences, originally entitled The Magical Staff (1993)
– The Book of Herbal Wisdom (1998)
– The Practice of … Read more
Very soon after you start reading about herbs, you’ll come across technical names that describe the kind of things particular herbs are good for.
Don’t be intimidated by these terms.
They’re just fancy names for simple concepts.
Need to stimulate the flow of bile from your gall bladder? You need a “cholagogue.”
Need to control or stop the flow of blood? Reach for a “hemagogue.”
Are you a mom with … Read more
