I was introduced to the Native American Church tipi ceremonies beginning in August 2018. Some of the traditional plants (non-psychoactive) used in the ceremonies are hard to find here, so I bought a bunch of seeds from ebay.
During the next 4 years it is my intention to hold tipi ceremonies on the land that I have up in Central Texas and I wish to have these plants available up there to use in the ceremonies.
I don’t have pictures yet because I just planted the first batch of seeds today. These include Sweetgrass, White Sage and Incense Cedar. I planted 60 of the Sage seeds and 50 of the Sweetgrass seeds in some seed starter containers. They traditionally have low germination rates so I over planted. If they take root, I will post pictures of their progress.
The incense cedar seeds require more steps. They have to be soaked in water and then placed in the refrigerator in moist medium for at least 60 days to scarify them. I began soaking the 20 seeds I bought tonight and will pop them into the fridge tomorrow.
This is the same process I had to use on the acorns I collected last November in Maryland. Most of the oak trees that started growing this spring are still hanging in there, but just barely. I think I burned them with fertilizer I used. Seems like fertilizer that is good for basil is not necessarily good for oak trees. I hope they make it. I have dreams about having majestic white oaks to plant among the 4 or 5 different varieties of oaks that I already have in my woods.
The other batch of seeds I bought were an impulse buy. It was 10 seeds for Dwarf Red Japanese Lacy Maples. I really liked the color in the pictures that I saw. These seeds need to soak and winter like the cedar seeds so I started them today. I have to be careful where I plant these in my woods. They can’t really tolerate the full day Texas sun. Morning sun then shade is perfect so I will be scouting out locations.
I’ve tried cloning other species that I have here to be able to plant some up in my woods. We had a Bottlebrush tree lose a limb in a storm back in July. I took some cuttings and it looks like 7 out of 10 of them might actually make it.
I have other cuttings in sand right now. Some seem to be doing ok. Esperanza leaves are all still green and vibrant. My two different crepe myrtles don’t seem happy. My two different oleander batches are pretty much a goner. I might try again in the spring when they have new growth.
I have some other seeds that haven’t been delivered yet. A really big blackberry that I am going to try, a thornless variety of the pea eggplant and two different types of basil. I might have to order more seed starter packs. I bought an LED indoor plant light because our windows block most of the UV rays. I may have to buy a second one now or a bigger one with a timer.
I hope we have a mild winter down here but since this is 2020, my gut tells me we will have snow before the end of November. The first cold front that came through last week dropped the temperature from the mid 90’s down to 57 over night.
I love the smell of basil. We have cuttings in small vases in several rooms of the house. The different colors from the different types of flowers are really nice.