Ok..some of yall remember I was gettin into medicinal herbs and such.....well, its progressing right along. My mullein is putting up its seed stalk..done collected several flowers and have them macecrating in olive oil for the winter ear aches....I have dried several leaves to smoke this winter when the bronchitis and cold coughs set in..which works great..its a big hit at work..people come to me now asking for some mullien and rolling papers when they start that coughing and gurgling..I dont have any papers, I make them buy thier own...LOL..
I have 3 beautifull elecampane plants..the leaves are HUGE!!!....made a syrup of the roots with water and sugar, boiled it till it thickened..makes a tasty cough syrup and works pretty good...This year, gonna try the honey method..you just chop the roots up and pour honey over them, let them set till you need it. 1 tbl spoon of the honey is supposed to work wonders...I have a fruit jar full of Yarrow flowers...ready for that stubborn fever...
My purple passion flower is running up the fence and blooming..so far its only set one passon fruit, but its been hot here, the blooms dont set well in the heat..and by hot I mean 104 and up...one day was 110 on 2 different thermometers...
Anyway, my Jerusalem artichokes are looking good, should make several pounds of tubers..at least enough for a good planting next year..only bought a pound of the seed tubers to start..at 10 bucks a pound..wanted to start small to see if they would grow here...And of coarse, my elderberries are growing great.as I said in the other post...they should be blooming next Spring...My stupid spearmint is taking over the house...gonna have to call in a possey to get it under control...what was 3 little sprigs last Spring, is now a 8 x 4 jungle of mint...But it sure adds a nice cool flavor to a pitcher of iced tea on a hot day...
Well, thats my story so far..didnt have much luck with my calendulas and marshmallows, they are growing, just not very good..marshmallows arent setting any buds yet..they may not bloom...maybe the climate, maybe the soil...
If anybody has any Good King Henry seeds, please let me know...cant find them on the internet, all are sold out..

Wow, that's impressive.
I have a couple of nice mullein plants that I'm planning to harvest for use in winter.
You mention passion flower, do you have a use for it? I have tons of it each year and gaze at all the fruits but know no use for them. Someone told me that they weren't ripe until they turned yellow and mine never do...
I'm not sure about the Good King Henry seeds but I do have Chenopodium growing in my garden but I'm not sure how to tell whether it's European or native. Any clues? Thanks.

there are different kinds of passion flower..some turn yellow, some purple,...do a google on it and research what kind you have...

But what do you do with it?

Passion fruit?...Jelly, add to salads, fruit salads, jams, juice them for a drink...Passion flower vine has many uses..mild pain reliever, anti anxiety, sleep aid, stress relief, its a calming drug..I have heard you can smoke it and get a mild buzz...Not into that so I cant verify that...

You can eat passion fruit, it's delicious and full of vitamin A. Just open it up and eat the pulp, little seeds and all.

Any idea how long they take to mature? I have some that are about the same age as my tomatoes which are beginning to ripen rapidly now. Should I try one? Any clues on determining ripeness?