{"title":"Medicinal Plants","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eShop medicinal seeds selected for Florida and southern growing conditions. Explore regionally adapted, climate-resilient varieties chosen for medicinal qualities, resilience, and strong garden performance. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"beebalm-horsemint","title":"Beebalm \/ Horsemint","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAlso known as dotted horsemint, a perennial that dies back to the ground in North Florida unless we have a warm winter. Bushy with 2-4' spread and height of about 3'. Can grow much bigger with irrigation and good soil. Showy lavender and cream flowers are perhaps the best Florida wildflower for attracting vast numbers of pollinators. From summer through fall the blooms attract pollinators. Very drought resistant. Tastes like spicy intense oregano, and used in the kitchen as an herb or tea.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eThis can get \"weedy\" and spreads easily. But we love that about it! And so do the pollinators.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46227357794493,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/Beebalm.jpg?v=1776463145"},{"product_id":"anise-hyssop","title":"Anise Hyssop","description":"\u003cp\u003eWe love this plant so very much! The pollinators do too, which is our main reason for growing Anise Hyssop, but the tasty leaves and flowers are also a pleasure! They taste like a sweet anise\/licorice and are excellent in teas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePurple flowers are gorgeous, abundant and very attractive to many pollinators. Seeds are easy to save too!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTrimming\/topping early on when plants are young will encourage more branched, bushy plants. They will die back when summer temperatures start soaring and are best sown in the fall for spring blooms.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46300309815485,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/AniseHyssop_3.jpg?v=1776463173"},{"product_id":"ashwagandha","title":"Ashwagandha","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis gorgeous plant in the solanaceous family (related to peppers, tomato, eggplant) is native to the drier regions of India, Northern Africa and the Middle East. It's popularly used in Ayurevedic medicine and has been for at least 3,000 years. Also known as Indian Ginseng. It seems to grow in a wide variety of conditions around the globe, and is at home in the sub-tropic weather. We had great success with it, harvesting healthy roots and loads of seeds and leaves for winter medicine. Has a wide variety of uses as it is an adaptogen. The pungent root smells very strongly - Earthy, horsey, bitter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSow 1\/4\" deep indoors and set transplants outdoors once all dangers of frost have passed. These really love heat and light and can be resistant to germination. Give them time (sometimes a few weeks), and preferably start when it's naturally warm or indoors on a heat source. We set ours out mid March and started harvesting roots at the end of July and through the late summer. Ashwagandha prefers to be in full sun, and does not need irrigation once established. Harvest of the roots can happen around when a lot of the ripening seed pods (which are like tiny tomatillos in little papery lanterns) turn brown. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=L_kD-1iRUX8\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eHere's a great video\u003c\/a\u003e on harvesting and processing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe only issue with leaving them in too long is that they are susceptible to root knot nematodes, so harvest as early as possible and if they did get infected, follow planting that area with a mustard in the winter and build up good organic soil with mulch and compost.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304240959677,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/ashwagandha6.jpg?v=1777568222"},{"product_id":"calendula","title":"Calendula","description":"\u003cp\u003eBright yellow and orange blooms with excellent medicinal properties and an edible flower that looks awesome on salads and cakes! Grown in our gardens for the past five years, these lovely bright jewels have become easily adapted to our area. Many flowers have multiple branching blooms per flower and were really spectacular. A great colorful splash in the garden during winter months when not much else is flowering, providing food for pollinators.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304242467005,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/calendula2.jpg?v=1777568278"},{"product_id":"velvet-bean","title":"Velvet Bean (pole)","description":"\u003cp\u003eA plant with many common names: Magic Velvet Bean, Bengal Velvet Bean, Florida Velvet Bean, Mauritius Velvet Bean, Yokohama Velvet Bean, Cowage, Cowitch, Lacuna Bean, and Lyon Bean.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever you call it, this tropical legume is a vigorous producer in our climate where it absolutely thrives in the hottest months, climbing 15' high or more, and bearing loads (LOADS!) of beautiful deep dark purple flowers and large black velvety pods. Great for your Goth garden collection, if you have one or aspire to have one. One seed survived the rabbits the first spring we tried growing this, and a single plant produced an estimated 1,600 seeds!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt takes a long time to fully mature to seed, so plant in April or early May for a long frost-free season. This variety is a non-irritating or itchy one, although with the amount of time we spend with them they do get a bit irritating. Most of the year as they were growing, we did pet them and say hello. So velvety!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrown for soil improvement and silage and fodder for livestock, it is also edible and medicinal.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBoth the immature pods and mature seeds are edible, and like other legumes benefits from soaking and boiling to remove anti-nutritive compounds. It is very high in protein and considered a significant food source in regions where it is most commonly grown. Personally we have not tried eating this one yet, so we want to hear about it if you do!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis bean apparently has many medicinal uses and applications from aphrodisiac to being neuro-protective, and is emerging as a potential support for Parkinson's Disease. There is so much to learn and love about this magic bean!\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304251805885,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/velvetbean4.jpg?v=1776972635"},{"product_id":"wand-mullein","title":"Wand Mullein","description":"\u003cp\u003eThanks to Mary Santello who gathered these seeds for us and provided this description! This species of Mullein is a lovely biennial, or here in Florida, a sometimes annual herbal wildflower and bee attractor. Preferring sun to part shade, she begins as a dense basal rosette of leaves from which grows a towering flower stalk, reaching to 3' or more. The flowering stalk is studded with buds that open successively from top to bottom with sweet, 1-2\" diameter yellow flowers with red centers that bees love to visit. Blooming usually begins in mid-late April, and lasts for 3-4 weeks.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe flower stalks may need support when at full height. After blooming is complete, the big, round, green seed pods are quite attractive and add interesting texture and structure to flower arrangements. This Mullein species is easy to propagate and is somewhat drought tolerant, but may need watering in an extended dry period. Wand Mullein is a real show stopper when in full bloom, and like other species of Mullein, has some medicinal properties.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNote that Florida mullein sometimes skips the two-year cycle and does it all in one year. You'll have to watch and see what happens to your plants. I highly recommend collecting seed from this plant in a month or two (when the seed pods get brown\/dry) and adding them to your garden. You will always have mullein on hand if you do that!\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304251904189,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/files\/mullein1.jpg?v=1776973348"},{"product_id":"white-flowering-borage","title":"White-flowering Borage","description":"\u003cp\u003eEdible flower and young leaves, with mild cucumber flavor. Large plants bear lots of small white flowers, not so common as the blue\/purple ones. Attracts bees and butterflies, big time! Leaves are a bit prickly and can be irritating. Once it's past its prime and temperatures heat up, borage seems to just melt into a mushy black mess. But while it's alive it's spectacular.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Working Food Seed \u0026 Merch Shop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304252199101,"sku":null,"price":4.5,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}]}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0724\/1734\/5725\/collections\/ashwagandha6.jpg?v=1787068340","url":"https:\/\/workingfoodseeds.org\/collections\/medicinal-plants.oembed","provider":"Working Food ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}