Rasta Seed Project

Australian flora is full of medicinal plants and the weeds that we find annoying can actually contain astonishing medicinal properties. Things like nut grass and farmers friends
The Australian Aborigines have been cultivating this knowledge for 40,000 years and are of course no strangers to these bush medicines.
Alas today only a handful of people remain who have the extensive knowledge of Aboriginal herbal medicine and while the men know all the plants, it is the women who know the details of their respective uses.
I wouldn’t advise anyone to try these at home as the complexities of dosage and application is best left to the experts. This information is here to make people aware of the incredible diversity of medicine growing around us and the importance of preserving remaining tracts of original native habitat for future generations.
These plants are for human beings as a gift from nature, not to be exploited by genetic pirates and so hence we all have to be aware that the humble gum tree growing in our backyard may have some secrets that can benefit all humanity. Here are a few common Australian plants you might recognise:

Melaleuca quinquenervia
Paperbark
Family Myrtaceae
Young leaves are bruised in water and the liquid drunk for the relief of headaches, colds and during general sickness.
The volatile leaf oil, obtained by steam distillation has been used for coughs and colds and externally for neuralgia and rheumatism, also as an expectorant during colds. Oil of niaouli formerly used as a vermifuge.

Cyathea australis
Rough Tree Fern
Family Cyatheaceae

The Aborigines at the roasted stalks of young leaves as a tonic after any kind of disease.

Hibiscus tiliaceus
Yellow Hibiscus, Cotton tree, talwalpin, maband
Family Malvaceae

The inner bark and sapwood are heated in seawater or freshwater and the infusion used as an antiseptic for pouring into wounds. The wound is then strapped with the bark of the same plant.

Araucaria cunninghamii
Hoop Pine, coorong, cumburtu coonam
Family Araucariaceae

The resin has been used in the treatment of kidney complaints and in stricture causing urine retention: a solution of the resin in alcohol is prepared and twenty to thirty drops are given in a single dose in some water. Three to four doses are said to be sufficient for a cure.

Casuarina equisetifolia
She Oak, Beachoak, dalgan, wunna-wuuarumpa, muwarraga
Family Casuarinaceae

Bark is an excellent astringent and is useful in chronic diarrhoea and dysentery. On Groote Eylandt it is used as a mouthwash prepared from young twigs by soaking in fresh or salt water.
Also said to be used in China (where it is not native) as an astringent.

Are you a seed saver? Get into your own seed production. The head creator gave us the seed so we could do our own seed collecting and become our own seed cleaners. The seed of life is ours for sharing with our brothers and sisters. Mango seed, Avocado seed, Papaya seed, mustard seed, carrot seed, bitter greens. We have a rasta garden and this spring we have had rain and the rain has made the seed shoot up. Radish, tobacco, blue sage, sunflower, chilli, amaranth, marigold, lettuce, tomato, eggplant, pumpkin, beans, parsley, basil, fennel and mustard. All without any effort at all except a couple of vital things, compost and good seed sowing and saving practices.

Most experienced gardeners know that a good compost means a good soil and hence good vegetables. Vegetable scraps, grass clippings, animal manure, comfrey, seaweed, fish emulsion, ash. (No eggshells or citrus peels). There are so many books and articles on compost making it’s not funny. If you have good compost you have good vegetables. A plant is only as good as what it is growing in. Makes sense. It’s a cycle. Plants are nutrients so their waste breaks down into nutrients and the whole lot is recycled again.

Good seed, good seed sowing mix, the seeds will germinate. You can’t imagine the bounty from a few seeds. For seed sowing you get two thirds course river sand one third compost. Drainage and water holding capacity. The only trouble with compost is all the seeds in the compost, so laying the compost out in the sun will kill the weed seeds but give you a nice mix that will hold water. Try it, lay the compost out on the pavement on plastic in the hot sun for a couple of days, then mix it in with the sand. You only need enough to fill a couple of polystyrene boxes from the fruit shop. Then sow your seeds to a depth of one third the diameter of the seed. Small seed sit on top and larger seed goes further down into the mix.

Spring is here in the southern hemisphere. The time is now. Get a few containers and have a go. You might think it’s a lot of effort when you could go down to the vege shop and buy them, but the food we grow heals us. It is much more potent than any shop bought vegetable. Most of the vegetables in the fruit shops are inferior, except certified organic and that’s expensive. They are bred with the multinational in mind. Profit at the expense of nutrition.

Use the rest of your compost on the garden. Do you know that one shovel full of compost will feed a whole fruit tree, so you dont need much to activate a garden. The more the better of course and once you get to know all the seeds that start popping up out of the compost you can cull, and let the ones you want to grow remain.

Dont be discouraged if the seed doesn’t come up first time. There are a multitude of reasons why seed won’t germinate. It has it’s own internal clock. When the temperature is right and provided it is mature when harvested and stored properly, it will grow. The Seed Savers Handbook is a great resource for anyone looking to learn.

Start with the humble bean. Link up with open pollinated Seed Savers and Seed Saving Networks all over the world, they are working hard to keep the genetic diversity of vegetables alive so we can grow our own food, save our own seed and keep the cycle going in a perfect harmony the way nature intended.
Jah Bless One Love

Scientifically known as Phaseolus lunatus this bean is a tropical and subtropical lima bean. It is a perennial vine that keeps producing large fat beans for most of the year. You can eat them green shelled or dried. Delicious, plump and creamy they store well in jars and the dry bean will keep for months. Sometimes they get weevils but a few nights in the freezer will fix that.  In the subtropics they can grow on a fence or strong trellis and, depending on how many plants you have, will provide a good harvest every week.  If anyone wants to know how to get some of these beans to grow they can contact Loretta

Not to Western Australia