Lupinus seeds for sale

Kashmir Himalayan Lupinus

Kashmir Himalayan Lupinus
One of the most decorative plants, thanks to it's tall stalks bearing large flowers in a number of brilliant colors. Very hardy, long-lived and low maintenance. The popular Russell Lupine produces a mixture of pastel shades including rose, lavender and blue flowers and blooms from April through July.

Lupines do not require a lot of moisture and grow well in both full sun and partial shade conditions. For best results, seeds should be soaked in cold water overnight and planted in the early autumn. Keep soil moderately moist during germination, do not overwater. Cover with 1/8 inch of soil, use light, sandy or gravelly, well-drained soil. It germinate in temperature 55-70F. Days to germination in 15-70 days. Direct sowing is recommended as Lupines do not transplant well.

Rate and availability of seeds and Medicinal plants at The JK Medicinal Plants Introduction Centre, PO Box 667 GPO Srinagar SGR JK 190001. More details: http://jkmpic.blogspot.com

 

Kashmiris are the lost tribe of Hebrews

Osho - Pahalgam is one of the most beautiful places in the world. That is where Jesus died, and he died at the age of one hundred and twelve. But he got so fed up with his own people that he simply spread the story that he had died on the cross.

Of course he was crucified -- but you have to understand that the Jewish way of crucifixion was not the American way. It was not sitting in a chair, and with just a push of a button you were no more; not even time to say, "God forgive these people who are pushing the button, they don't know what they are doing." They know what they are doing! They are pushing the button! And you don't know what they are doing!

Jesus would not have had any time if he had been crucified in the scientific way. No, it is a very crude way that the Jews followed. Naturally, it sometimes even took twenty-four hours or more to die. There have been cases of people having survived for three days on the cross, the Jewish cross I mean, because they simply nailed the man by his hands and his feet.

The blood has the capacity to clot; it flows for a while, then it clots. The man is, of course, in immense pain, in fact he prays to God, "Please let it be finished." Perhaps that is what Jesus was saying when he said, "They don't know what they are doing. Why have you forsaken me?" But the pain must have been too much, for he finally said, "Let thy will be done."

I don't think that he died on the cross. No, I should not say that "I don't think..." I know that he didn't die on the cross. He had said, "Let thy will be done"; that's his freedom. He could say anything he wanted to say. In fact, the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, had fallen in love with the man. Who would not? It is irresistible if you have eyes.

But Jesus' own people were busy counting money; they had no time to look into the eyes of this man who had no money at all. Pontius Pilate for one moment had even thought to release Jesus. It was in his power to order his release, but he was afraid of the crowd. Pilate said, "It is better that I should keep out of their business. He is a Jew, they are Jews -- let them decide for themselves. But if they cannot decide in his favor then I will find a way."

And he found a way, politicians always do. Their ways are always roundabout; they never go directly. If they want to go to A, they first go to B; that's how politics works. And it really works. Only once in a while it does not work. I mean, only when there is a non-political man, then it does not work. In Jesus' case also, Pontius Pilate managed perfectly well without getting involved.

Jesus was crucified on the afternoon of Friday, hence "Good Friday." Strange world! Such a good man is crucified, and you call it "Good Friday." But there was a reason, because Jews have... I think Devageet, you can help me again -- not with a sneeze, of course! Is Saturday their religious day?
"Yes, Osho."

Right... because on Saturday nothing is done. Saturday is a holiday for the Jews; all action has to be stopped. That's why the Friday was chosen... and late afternoon, so by the time the sun sets the body has to be brought down, because to keep it hanging on Saturday would be "action." That's how politics functions, not religion. During that night, a rich follower of Jesus removed the body from the cave. Of course, then comes Sunday, a holiday for everybody. By the time Monday comes, Jesus is very far away.

Israel is a small country; you can cross it on foot in twenty-four hours very easily. Jesus escaped, and there was no better place than the Himalayas. Pahalgam is just a small village, just a few cottages. He must have chosen it for its beauty. Jesus chose a place which I would have loved myself.

I tried continuously for twenty years to get into Kashmir. But Kashmir has a strange law: only Kashmiris can live there, not even other Indians. That is strange. But I know ninety percent of Kashmiris are Mohammedan and they are afraid that once Indians are allowed to live there, then Hindus would soon become the majority, because it is part of India. So now it is a game of votes just to prevent the Hindus.

I am not a Hindu, but bureaucrats everywhere are delinquents. They really need to be in mental hospitals. They would not allow me to live there. I even met the chief minister of Kashmir, who was known before as the prime minister of Kashmir.

It was such a great struggle to bring him down from prime ministership to chief ministership. And naturally, in one country how could there be two prime ministers? But he was a very reluctant man, this Sheikh Abdullah. He had to be imprisoned for years. Meanwhile the whole constitution of Kashmir was changed, but that strange clause remained in it. Perhaps all the committee members were Mohammedans and none of them wanted anybody else to enter Kashmir.

I tried hard, but there was no way. You cannot enter into the thick skulls of politicians.
 

I said to the sheikh, "Are you mad? I am not a Hindu; you need not be afraid of me. And my people come from all over the world -- they will not influence your politics in any way, for or against."
 

He said, "One has to be cautious."
I said, "Okay, be cautious and lose me and my people."

Poor Kashmir could have gained so much, but politicians are born deaf. He listened, or at least pretended to, but he did not hear.

I said to him, "You know that I have known you for many years, and I love Kashmir."
He said, "I know you, that's why I am even more afraid. You are not a politician, you belong to a totally different category. We always distrust such people as you." He used this word, distrust -- and I was talking to you about trust.

At this moment I cannot forget Masto. It was he who introduced me to Sheikh Abdullah, a very long time before. Later on, when I wanted to enter Kashmir, particularly Pahalgam, I reminded the sheikh of this introduction.

The sheikh said, "I remember that this man was also dangerous, and you are even more so. In fact it is because you were introduced to me by Masta Baba that I cannot allow you to become a permanent resident in this valley."

Masto introduced me to many people. He thought perhaps I might need them; and I certainly did need them -- not for myself but for my work. But except for very few people, the majority turned out to be very cowardly. They all said, "We know you are enlightened...."

I said, "Stop, then and there. That word, from your mouth, immediately becomes unenlightened. Either you do what I say, or simply say no, but don't talk any nonsense to me."

They were very polite. They remembered Masta Baba, and a few of them even remembered Pagal Baba, but they were not ready to do anything at all for me. I am talking about the majority. Yes, a few were helpful, perhaps one percent of the hundreds of people that Masto introduced me to. Poor Masto -- his desire was that I should never be in any difficulty or need, and that I could always depend on the people he had introduced me to.

I said to him, "Masto, you are trying your best, and I am even doing better than that by keeping quiet when you introduce me to these fools. If you were not there I would have caused real trouble. That man for instance, would never have forgotten me. I control myself just because of you, although I don't believe in control, but I do it just for your sake."

Masto laughed and said, "I know. When I look at you as I am introducing you to a bigwig, I laugh inside myself thinking, `My God, how much effort you must be making not to hit that idiot.'"

Sheikh Abdullah took so much effort, and yet he said to me, "I would have even allowed you to live in Kashmir if you had not been introduced to me by Masta Baba."

I asked the sheikh, "Why?... when you appeared to be such an admirer."
He said, "We are no one's admirer, we admire only ourselves, but because he had a following -- particularly among rich people in Kashmir -- I had to admire him. I used to receive him at the airport, and give him a send-off, put all my work aside and just run after him. But that man was dangerous. And if he introduced you to me, then you cannot live in Kashmir, at least while I am in power. Yes, you can come and go, but only as a visitor."

It is good that Jesus entered Kashmir before Sheikh Abdullah. He did well by coming two thousand years before. He must have been really afraid of Sheikh Abdullah. Jesus' grave is still there, preserved by the descendants of those who had followed him from Israel. Of course men like me cannot go alone, you can understand. A few people must have followed him there. Even though he went far away from Israel, they must have gone with him.

In fact the Kashmiris are the lost tribe of Hebrews of which the Jews and Christians both talk so much. The Kashmiris are not Hindu, nor of Indian origin. They are Jewish. You can see by looking at Indira Gandhi's nose; she is a Kashmiri.

She is imposing emergency rule in India -- not in name but in fact. Hundreds of political leaders are behind bars. I had been telling her from the very beginning that those people should not be in parliament or assemblies or in the legislature.

There are many kinds of idiots, but politicians are the worst, because they also have power. Journalists are number two. In fact they are even worse than politicians, but because they have no power, they can only write, and who cares what they write? Without power in your hands then you may have as much idiocy as possible, it cannot do anything.

Source - Osho Book "Glimpses of a Golden Childhood"

Extracts: http://www.messagefrommasters.com/Osho/osho/Osho-on-Sheikh-Abdullah.html

Melissa officinalis seedlings for sale

Melissa officinalis plant

Lemon Balm

Bot. name Melissa officinalis

Family : Labiatea

Other names:  Balm, Lemon Balm, Melissa Balm (USA), Balm Mint

Distribution : Sonamarag, Ramban (Kashmir Himalayas), Iran, USA, Pakistan. Egypt, Italy, Ireland.

Ecological notes : Grows on rich soils

Status :  Not so common

Details : The herb is commercially produced in Hungary and the oil in Ireland.

Melissa grows best in alluvial soil, excess water is harmful, while yields diminish in light and dry soils (Guenther).

Major producing countries : Hungary, Egypt, Italy, for herb Ireland for essential oil

Yield and description : Genuine Melissa oil is a pale yellow sweet smelling oil with an odour of aromatic lemon. Yields are as low as 0.014% for distillation of the fresh herb to 0.112% for dried herb, increasing to 0.13% using cohobation. True oil is extremely expensive. The oil is held in high esteem for its use in aromatherapy, it is reported to have a sedative effect. There is little use for the oil in perfumery, where the odour is readily suggested by blends of the very cheap oils of Lemon, Lemongrass and fortified by Citronella oil. According to Arctander the plant is known in Europe as "Hearts Delight" since infusions of the herb were supposed to cure heart disease and melancholia and this led to the late 1930's perfume "Cosur-Joie", which had a melissa like top note.

Uses : Infusions are made from the herb; the oil has several names (Oil of Balm, Oil of Lemon Balm, Oil of Melissa Balam, Oil of Balm Mint, Oil of Melissa Officinalis) and is used as a sedative in alternative medicine.

Cultivation details :  Planting is usually 40,000 plants/Ha. with propagation from seed. The plants have a life of 10 years but are usually replaced every five years with crop rotation to rejuvenate the soil. Propagation in the northern hemisphere is from April to July.

Harvesting period : In the first year the crop is in August, thereafter two crops are experienced. The first in June and the second in August.

Harvesting methods : Usually by hand on a clear warm day as the leaves will turn black if harvested wet. For good appearance leaves should not be left in the sun.

Post harvest treatment, preservation, storage pre-treatment : Weed control is recommended (Pank). It has been reported that, in Kashmir and Egypt, irradiating seeds has an effect on growth, essential oil content and composition. The quantity of herb was reduced but the oil content was increased, with the irradiation dosage varying the proportion of the constituents.

Preservation and storage : The oil should be stored in filled sealed containers, out of light and kept cool. The oil is subject to oxidation.

Processing method : Stainless Steel steam distillation retorts equipped for cohobation should be used to increase the yield.

Composition of oil : Many reports exist regarding the composition. An analysis, from New Zealand, given for Melissa officinalis L. subsp altissima (Dawson) not only gives a yield 0.33% but constituents totally different from those of Melissa officinalis L. subsp officinalis.

A summary of the composition is given by Lawrence as follows:

Compounds Percentage range

Methyl Heptenone 2.2 - 8.6

Citronellal 1.0 - 8.4

Linalool 0.5 - 2.7

Neral 19.6 - 36.1

Geranial 25.3 - 47.5

Geranyl Acetate 1.2 - 6.2

1.9 - 9.7

Carophyllene oxide 0.5 - 9.0

EQUIPMENT

Forage Harvester

Stainless steel distillation equipment

Melissa officinalis - Lemon Balm seedlings are available

For further information if you are interested in purchasing Seeds/Plants from the Jammu and Kashmir Medicinal Plants Introduction Centre, or to request more information :
email us. jkmpic@gmail.com, jkmpic@yahoo.in

Home: http://jkmpic.blogspot.com

Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) seeds

English name : Seabuckthorn, Himalayan Details: Much branched spiny shurb, leaves oblong lanceolate or linear, silvery white beneath. Flowers one sexed occuring on different plants. Fruit orange red 6mm. Distribution : China, Mongolia, Russia, Germany, Canada, Iran and  Kashmir Satus: Un-common Ecological notes: Grows in riverine sandy soils. Chemical composition Juice The fruit of the sea buckthorn plant weighs between 270 and 480 mg and averages 350 mg depending upon cultivar and maturity (Li 1999). Pressing these berries yields 60% to 85% juice. Juice yield of 67% has been reported derived from centrifugal methods (Heilscher and Lorber 1996). The juice is very high in organic acids as reflected in the high levels of titratable acidity, and has a low pH (near 2.7). Quantitatively the most important organic acid is malic acid, but there several other minor acids have been reported (Beveridge et al. 1999). Protein levels are fairly high for a fruit juice and this probably explains the fact that sea buckthorn juice is a cloudy or opalescent product. Vitamin C content has been reported as high as 600 mg/100 g of fruit. Vitamin E content is 160 mg/100 g of fruit (Bernath and Foldesi 1992). Pulp and seeds contain triglyceride oils with important medicinal value such as superoxide dismutase activity in mice, which enhance the activity of NK cells in tumor bearing mice (Dai et al. 1987; Chen 1991; Degtyareva et al. 1991). Oil There are two sources of oil in sea buckthorn fruit: the seed which contains 10%–15% (w/w) oil and the pulpy fruit parts surrounding the seed which contains 29%–48% oil (T.S.C. Li, unpubl. data). Both pulp and seed oils from sea buckthorn vary in vitamin E content depending on whether derived from seed oil (64.4 to 92.7 mg/100 g seed), juice oil (216 mg/100 g berry), or from the pulp after juice and seed removal (481 mg/100 g berry). Carotenoids also vary depending upon the source of the oil. The seed oils are highly unsaturated with up to 73% or more of the fatty acids making up the oil being linoleic or linolenic (Oomah et al. 1999). Pulp oil is more saturated with about 38% of the fatty acids being palmitic, and 14%–50% of the fatty acids being palmitoleic acid. The difference between seed and pulp oil seems to lie in the relatively high content of C16 fatty acids in the pulp oil and the relatively high proportion of C18 fatty acids in the seed oil. Phytosterols Phytosterols are plant sterols with structures related to cholesterol and which are capable of lowering plasma cholesterol on consumption by humans. Elevated blood cholesterol is one of the well established risk factors for coronary heart disease and lowering this indicator can presumably impact heart disease incidence (Thurnham 1999). Phytosterols are the major constituents of the unsaponifiable fraction of sea buckthorn oils. The major phytosterol in sea buckthorn oil is sitosterol (b-sitosterol), with 5-avenasterol second in quantitative importance. Other phytosterols are present in relatively minor quantities. The total quantity of phytosterol is quite high in sea buckthorn and may exceed soybean oil by 4–20 times. It was reported that the total sterol content, varied between subspecies and collection sites, in the seeds, fresh pulp/peel, and the whole berries were 1200–1800, 240–400, and 340–520 mg/kg, respectively (Yang et al. 2001). Clearly, as a source of dietary sterol, sea buckthorn is worthy of further consideration. Sea Buckthorn cultivation : Sea buckthorn normally is transplanted or directly seeded in the fall or spring. It grows best in deep, well drained, sandy loam soil with ample organic matter. In arid or semiarid regions, water must be supplied for establishment. Soil acidity and alkalinity, except at extreme levels, are not limiting factors, although it thrives best at pH 6 to 7. Sea buckthorn is sensitive to severe soil moisture deficits, especially in spring when plants are flowering and young fruits are beginning to develop. Sea buckthorn, like other crops, requires adequate soil nutrients for a high yield with better quality berries. It responds well to phosphorus fertilizer (T.S.C. Li unpubl. data). Nitrogen fertilization can adversely affect root nodulation and it delays the development of nodules after inoculation with Frankia (Akkermans et al. 1983; Montpetit and Lalonde 1988; Bosco et al. 1992). Recommended plant spacing for sea buckthorn varies, regions with lower land values and bigger machines may consider larger spacing. In British Columbia, 1 m within the row and 4 m between rows was recommended. Rows should be oriented in a north-south direction to provide maximum light. The ratio of male to female plants is important for maximizing fruit set. Recommendations for male : female ratios vary with plant density and region. In Kashmir, with an orchard planting of 2500 trees/ha, a 1 male : 6–8 females ratio is considered adequate. Sea buckthorn flowers are wind pollinated. Moderate pruning is required to maximize yield and reduce yearly fluctuations. The crown should be pruned annually to remove overlapping branches, and long branches should be headed to encourage lateral shoot development. Weed control is very important in sea buckthorn planting, especially for promoting growth of newly planted seedlings (Li and Schroeder 1999). Planting/seed materials are always available for research purpose: For more details:- Sheikh GULZAAR Head The JK Medicinal Plants Introduction Centre POB: 667 GPO Srinagar SGR JK 190001 R&D division : Sonamarag (Kashmir) Ph: (Resi) 01933-223705 Mob: 09858986794 e-mail: jkmpic@gmail.com home: http://jkmpic.blogspot.com