Garden Blog - Top Tropicals

Date:

What hibiscus has the most health benefits. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What hibiscus has the most health benefits

Hibiscus sabdariffa (Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel, Roselle)

🌺 What hibiscus has the most health benefits

Hibiscus sabdariffa (Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel, Roselle) flowers have deep red calyces that are used worldwide to make a refreshing teas "Agua de Flor de Jamaica" and Karkade Tea, known for its tart flavor and health benefits. This is one of the most fast growing plants, bringing from seed to big bush a big flower crop within just one season.

📚 Learn more:

🎥 YouTube video: Jamaican Hibiscus Tea: what's in it?

🛒 Shop Edible Hibiscus

#Food_Forest #Remedies

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Why the shamans call Ayahuasca "vine of the soul" A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why the shamans call Ayahuasca vine of the soul

Banisteriopsis caapi - Ayahuasca

Banisteriopsis caapi - Ayahuasca

Banisteriopsis caapi - Ayahuasca

Banisteriopsis caapi - Ayahuasca

‍♀️ Why the shamans call Ayahuasca "vine of the soul"

Banisteriopsis caapi, known as Ayahuasca, is the key ingredient in the traditional Amazonian brew revered as the "vine of the soul." Used in sacred rituals for its hallucinogenic and healing properties, it cleanses the body and spirit while serving as a profound teacher in indigenous ceremonies.

#Fun_Facts #Remedies #Hedges_with_benefits #Food_Forest

🛒 Grow your own Ayahuasca vine

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

How to grow drumsticks on a tree. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to grow drumsticks on a tree

Moringa oleifera - Horseradish tree

🍗 How to grow drumsticks on a tree

Our Moringa Tree is full of drumsticks!
Learn more about this useful plant - Moringa oleifera - Horseradish tree - from our previous posts:

📚 Earlier posts:

#Food_Forest #Remedies

🛒 Plant your own Moringa Tree

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

How to always have your own Root Beer. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to always have your own Root Beer

How to always have your own Root Beer

  • Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, Acuyo, False Kava-Kava - is a close relative of Piper methysticum (Kava-Kava), and Piper nigrum (Black Pepper). It is very often confused with Kava-Kava, and probably has some similar medicinal effects.

  • This herb originated from Tropical America and grows also in the South Pacific.

  • Large-leaved perennial, known for its leaves, which are used for their spicy aromatic scent and flavor, some liken to root beer, others to anise-clove. It can be used for making a root beer-flavoted drink.

  • This species is easily identified by its huge leaves which can grow over a foot long in older specimens.

  • The leaves are chopped and used for flavoring, as well as used whole, as wrappings for meats, tamales, etc.


📚 Learn more about Piper plants

🛒 Grow your own Root Beer Plant

#Food_Forest #Remedies

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

How to always have your own Root Beer. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to always have your own Root Beer

How to always have your own Root Beer

  • Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, Acuyo, False Kava-Kava - is a close relative of Piper methysticum (Kava-Kava), and Piper nigrum (Black Pepper). It is very often confused with Kava-Kava, and probably has some similar medicinal effects.

  • This herb originated from Tropical America and grows also in the South Pacific.

  • Large-leaved perennial, known for its leaves, which are used for their spicy aromatic scent and flavor, some liken to root beer, others to anise-clove. It can be used for making a root beer-flavoted drink.

  • This species is easily identified by its huge leaves which can grow over a foot long in older specimens.

  • The leaves are chopped and used for flavoring, as well as used whole, as wrappings for meats, tamales, etc.


📚 Learn more about Piper plants

🛒 Grow your own Root Beer Plant

#Food_Forest #Remedies

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

How to always have your own Root Beer. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

How to always have your own Root Beer

Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, Acuyo, False Kava-Kava

How to always have your own Root Beer
  • Piper auritum - Root Beer Plant, Acuyo, False Kava-Kava - is a close relative of Piper methysticum (Kava-Kava), and Piper nigrum (Black Pepper). It is very often confused with Kava-Kava, and probably has some similar medicinal effects.
  • This herb originated from Tropical America and grows also in the South Pacific.
  • Large-leaved perennial, known for its leaves, which are used for their spicy aromatic scent and flavor, some liken to root beer, others to anise-clove. It can be used for making a root beer-flavoted drink.
  • This species is easily identified by its huge leaves which can grow over a foot long in older specimens.
  • The leaves are chopped and used for flavoring, as well as used whole, as wrappings for meats, tamales, etc.


📚 Learn more about Piper plants

🛒 Grow your own Root Beer Plant

#Food_Forest #Remedies

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Why walking outdoors improves mental health. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Why walking outdoors improves mental health

Why walking outdoors improves mental health
🌳 Why walking outdoors improves mental health

  • 🚶‍♀️Spending time in nature - even as little as 10 minutes - can yield short-term benefits for individuals with mental illness, according to a new study involving 1,492 participants with a diagnosed mental illness and 14,168 studies.

  • 🚶‍♀️Just 10 minutes of walking, running, or exercising in nature has a positive effect.

  • 🚶‍♀️The type of setting doesn’t matter - parks, mountains, forests, and farms all work.

  • 🚶‍♀️Nature benefits people with mood disorders and stress the most.


So, lets go outside and touch some plants!

🐈 Are you looking forward to results of study where cats are involved?

#Fun_Facts #Remedies


🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

What is the Secret of Longevity? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What is the Secret of Longevity?

What is the Secret of Longevity?
⬆️ What is the Secret of Longevity?

"...Time spent in the garden doesn't count against your lifespan..."

  • ❣️ Gardening not only helps you stay active and healthy but can also be a fun and rewarding way to extend your life. Let nature nurture you!

  • ❣️ Living Longer with Green Spaces: A study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health found that a 10% increase in vegetation within 1,600 feet of your home can lower your death risk by 4%.

  • ❣️ Nature Exposure: Being outside boosts your mood

  • ❣️ Exercise: Gardening is a great workout.

  • ❣️ Healthy Eating: Grow and eat your own fresh produce. Gardening promotes daily exercise and a plant-based diet.

  • ❣️Mind Exercise: Gardening can reduce stress and keep your mind sharp.
  • ❣️Many centenarians (people living to 100) gardened and continue gardening! In "blue zones," where people live longer, gardening is common.


#Remedies #How_to

🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals

Date:

Where does Vanilla come from? How to grow your own Vanilla Beans. A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

Where does Vanilla come from? How to grow your own Vanilla Beans

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid beans, seeds

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid beans, seeds

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid flower

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid flower

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid

Vanilla planifolia - Bourbon Vanilla Bean Orchid

Vanilla dilloniana - Leafless Vanilla Orchid, flower

Vanilla dilloniana - Leafless Vanilla Orchid, flower

Where does Vanilla come from? How to grow your own Vanilla Beans.
  • ❣️ Vanilla spice comes from Vanilla Orchid!
  • ❣️ Vanilla planifolia is a leafy climbing orchid from hot, wet tropical America. It is grown for its pods which, when dried, become the commercial vanilla.
  • ❣️ The flowers are hand pollinated.
  • ❣️ The Aztec Indians in Mexico used Vanilla Pods to flavor their chocolate drink 'Xoco-latl'. Vanilla was believed to be a tonic for the brain.
  • ❣️ Vanilla Pods are picked green when they have no scent. The lengthy curing process, which develops fragrant aroma, is one reason for its high cost.
  • ❣️ Vanilla orchid needs a flat, solid, porous support for climbing and in order to flower and produce seed pods. It can be grown over a log or a board (make sure the support wood is not chemically treated), or climb over a tree.
  • ❣️ If really happy, Vanilla orchid can exceed 100 feet in length in just a few years. The plants flower only when mature, which takes a few years. It only flowers when it gets strongly attached to a support with its aerial roots.
  • ❣️Vanilla orchid can be grown indoors as a house plant. Culture is similar to traditional orchids, however, it will need a support or trellis. Just keep in mind that for Vanilla Bean production, Vanilla Orchid must attach to a porous surface (like a wood log).


Learn more:

📚 Vanilla - The Most Versatile Orchid

🎥 How to produce my own vanilla: secrets of Vanilla pollination
Vanilla dillioniana - The Biggest Vanilla Orchid in 100 Gal Pot

🛒 Shop vanilla orchids

#Food_Forest #Remedies #Container_Garden

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Date:

What are 5 most useful edibles for tropical garden? A Top Tropicals Garden Blog post.

What are 5 most useful edibles for tropical garden?

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel

Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel

Gynura procubens - Longevity Spinach, Cholesterol spinach

Gynura procubens - Longevity Spinach, Cholesterol spinach

Sauropus androgynus - Katuk, Tropical Asparagus

Sauropus androgynus - Katuk, Tropical Asparagus

Cymbopogon citratus - Lemon grass

Cymbopogon citratus - Lemon grass

Lippia dulcis - Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf

Lippia dulcis - Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf

What are 5 most useful edibles for tropical garden?
  • 📍 1. Hibiscus sabdariffa - Flor de Jamaica, Karkade Sorrel - Flowers are used to make a tea "Agua de Flor de Jamaica". Medical studies show that it lowers blood pressure and has diuretic effects. The pleasant flavor is on the tart side similar to a cranberry juice. We make this cold tea every day - perfect for hot summer. Full sun ☀️
  • 📍 2. Gynura procubens - Longevity Spinach, Cholesterol spinach - one of the Superfoods, and there are many claims that it lowers cholesterol. We use it in our cooking all the time and so far we are all alive! Full sun☀️
  • 📍 3. Sauropus androgynus - Katuk, Tropical Asparagus. Delicious young shoots, one of the most popular leaf vegetables in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, people cook it in stews and soups. It is among only a few flora containing vitamin K. Full sun or semi-shade☀️🌓
  • 📍 4. Cymbopogon citratus - Lemon grass: Versatile performer in the kitchen where it can be used in teas, beverages, herbal medicines, Eastern inspired soups and other dishes. Full sun or semi-shade☀️🌓
  • 📍 5. Lippia dulcis - Aztec Sweet Herb, Sweetleaf: Mexican herb with incredibly sweet leaves that can be eaten from the plant like candy or tossed into fruit salads for an unusual addition. It has been used since the time of the Aztecs for coughs and colds. Tastes great, can be used by diabetic patients. We add this herb to Karkade or Mint tea as a sweetener. Shade or semi-shade ☁️ 🌓


Lean more:

📚 Katuk
Longevity spinach post
Longevity Spinach Recipes
Aztec Sweet Herb

🎥 Karkade Tea
Longevity Spinach

🛒 Shop edibles, herbs and spices

#Food_Forest #Remedies

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
🔴 Join 👉 TopTropicals
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
< Previous pageNext page >Most recent entryBlog table of contents