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ferrel_human
stone eater



Registered: 06/26/09
Posts: 16,318
Loc: Texas
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Mandragora officinarum
#21724751 - 05/26/15 12:45 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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They came.

Fresh from Israel and harvested in April. Which is a very good thing.
Now I got a couple of questions for the ones in the know, what soil mix is good for these seeds? Should I top sow or bury them? What are good fertilizers?
I was gonna use my fertilomes ultimate potting mix. It has no nutrients but is awesome at holding water so I may cut it with perlite. But I need a little help with everything else. What to feed after its taken off, light levels. Should they be in the shade or full sun. Etc, etc, etc.
Thanks for all the help and I expect karode and modern _ shaman to chime in.
-------------------- Nature is my church and walking through it is gospel. It tells no lies and reveals all to those who look, and listen, closely. -Karode
 Looking for Mimosa tenuiflora seeds. Buttons for trade
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1234go
Ban Lotto Champion


Registered: 07/08/09
Posts: 53,886
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Just posting to say, that's awesome. I'm jealous.
Mandrake's always been on my "list to grow", just haven't gotten around to her yet.
Best of luck.
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modern.shaman
San Mescalito




Registered: 05/09/12
Posts: 3,224
Loc: Zone 13
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Re: Mandragora officinarum [Re: 1234go]
#21725645 - 05/26/15 05:18 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Either hold off on germinating until the weather cools off a bit (September?) or germinate inside in cooler temps.
Mandrake go dormant during the summer in the heat so right now is not a good time to sow. Keep them in the fridge and/or soak the seeds in cold water for a few days before sowing. Fresh seeds germinate without issue in two weeks but some take a month or more to sprout.
They can do better in full sun/bright shade in winter with cool temps or else they may go dormant early; your better with bright shade as your sun may be too strong. I have mine indoors in the shade and they have re-sprouted due to lower temps in the 70-80's(usually they go dormant around now outside in the 80-90's)
My soil is pretty simple and low nutrients is not an issue however make sure that the soil drains well and is loose and that the soil dries out in about a weeks time. One a side not very gritter soil is not better as the root will have more trouble diggin deeper; loosening the soil with perlite is better than rocks and other hard aggregate.
Plant them on the surface of the soil or just under a cm. Keep the soil moist but the wet.
Just pretend they are carrots... carrots that cause MADNESS.
Edited by modern.shaman (05/26/15 05:26 PM)
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karode13
Tāne Mahuta




Registered: 05/19/05
Posts: 15,290
Loc: LV-426
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Sweet ferrel. Very happy to see the people were legit.
I can't add anything more than what modern_shaman already has. I'd follow his advice.
They're easy to grow once they sprout.
Welcome to the mad carrot club.
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cowsRmeat
Don't step on the MomeRaths



Registered: 04/23/14
Posts: 3,153
Loc: Wonderland
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Re: Mandragora officinarum [Re: karode13]
#21725997 - 05/26/15 06:48 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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If these truly do grow like carrots, I better avoid them. I can kill a batch of carrot seedlings like no other. For some reason, carrots just don't want to grow for me...
-------------------- One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. 'Which road do I take?' she asked. 'Where do you want to go?' was his response. 'I don't know', Alice answered. 'Then', said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'
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ferrel_human
stone eater



Registered: 06/26/09
Posts: 16,318
Loc: Texas
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Re: Mandragora officinarum [Re: karode13]
#21726240 - 05/26/15 07:53 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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@ modern- so you think I should store in the fridge first and then germinate inside my house? I have the AC set at 76 Fahrenheit. Could I keep them in the fridge til I use them? I'd hate for them to go bad.
Quote:
karode13 said:
Welcome to the mad carrot club.
Thanks man. This SHOULD be a club. 
Ever since you started that thread buddy, I just didn't know what happened to me. I had to grow plant. Not so for the drugs because, let's face it, it could kill me but more so because of the stories behind this plant. One example. I read in the poison garden that when it was harvested, the plant would yell out because it was often referred to a human like root. Pretty creepy if you ask me. That's only one such tale and there is also biblical text on the plant.
I think it would just be a really cool plant to grow.
-------------------- Nature is my church and walking through it is gospel. It tells no lies and reveals all to those who look, and listen, closely. -Karode
 Looking for Mimosa tenuiflora seeds. Buttons for trade
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spaceman101
Friend to all



Registered: 01/18/13
Posts: 11,726
Loc: In heaven bored as hell
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I've been thinking about giving these a shot myself but I couldn't find any active info on them so I kinda pushed it to the back of my mind. I know that the roots can be shaped similar to human form but It's most likely planted within a mold to get the that nice shape.
Where could I find it in biblical text if I went looking? This sounds even more interesting now
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karode13
Tāne Mahuta




Registered: 05/19/05
Posts: 15,290
Loc: LV-426
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Genesis 30:14-16
Quote:
14 During wheat harvest, Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrake plants, which he brought to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your son's mandrakes." 15 But she said to her, "Wasn't it enough that you took away my husband? Will you take my son's mandrakes too?" "Very well," Rachel said, "he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son's mandrakes." 16 So when Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. "You must sleep with me," she said. "I have hired you with my son's mandrakes." So he slept with her that night.
Quote:
I know that the roots can be shaped similar to human form but It's most likely planted within a mold to get the that nice shape.
No moulds are used. The root splits and it resembles legs and arms, if you use your imagination.
@ferrel: I've had a fascination with witchcraft and the occult since as long as I can remember. As I grew older and realised I could grow some of the ones mentioned in magick texts I decided to grow them. Their history and legends is why I grow them. The old tales of people using dogs to uproot the plants, in case they heard the mandrake screams and died, are very interesting. Another is that they only grow under trees or places where men were hanged and their ejaculation hit the ground. When you die in such a fashion you ejaculate, as well as lose control of other bodily functions.
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cowsRmeat
Don't step on the MomeRaths



Registered: 04/23/14
Posts: 3,153
Loc: Wonderland
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Re: Mandragora officinarum [Re: karode13]
#21727916 - 05/27/15 09:22 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Dear geez! This plant has nothing but a bizarre history, does it not?
I've heard that they scream when pulled up, but didn't know that was supposed to kill you.
Yours have never screamed at you, have they karode?
-------------------- One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. 'Which road do I take?' she asked. 'Where do you want to go?' was his response. 'I don't know', Alice answered. 'Then', said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'
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Mostly_Harmless
wyrd bið ful aræd



Registered: 05/12/09
Posts: 5,043
Loc: Perfidious Albion
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Re: Mandragora officinarum [Re: cowsRmeat]
#21727961 - 05/27/15 09:36 AM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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Mandrake features in the awesome film Pan's Labyrinth
 "Ofelia with the mandrake, the “plant that wanted to be a man”. Its presence in the movie is a reminder that all magic is not fairy tales and that occult knowledge can have actual applications in real life."

“The occult properties of the mandrake, while little understood, have been responsible for the adoption of the plant as a talisman capable of increasing the value or quantity of anything with which it was associated. As a phallic charm, the mandrake was considered to be an infallible cure for sterility. It was one of the Priapic symbols which the Knights Templars were accused of worshipping. The root of the plant closely resembles a human body and often bore the outlines of the human head, arms, or legs. This striking similarity between the body of man and the mandragora is one of the puzzles of natural science and is the real basis for the veneration in which this plant was held. In Isis Unveiled, Madam Blavatsky notes that the mandragora seems to occupy upon earth the point where the vegetable and animal kingdoms meet, as the zoophites and polypi do in the sea. This thought opens a vast field of speculation concerning the nature of this animal-plant.” – Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages
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ferrel_human
stone eater



Registered: 06/26/09
Posts: 16,318
Loc: Texas
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This is all new to me. It's just very interesting to finally grow a plant used in witch craft. I'm pretty sure it's in the book Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities. I had the book but I gave it away after I read it.
I got my seeds in the fridge right now. I'll sow them in the weekend. I got some deep square pots. Would it be ok to use these or should I go smaller to start out? Reason I ask is because I don't want it to go root bound and I want to keep it as natural looking as possible.
-------------------- Nature is my church and walking through it is gospel. It tells no lies and reveals all to those who look, and listen, closely. -Karode
 Looking for Mimosa tenuiflora seeds. Buttons for trade
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cowsRmeat
Don't step on the MomeRaths



Registered: 04/23/14
Posts: 3,153
Loc: Wonderland
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I'd go for the deep big ones from the beginning. But Don't take my word for it.
I'm glad you reminded me about Pan's Labyrinth, MH! That was an AMAZING movie! I'll have to go watch it again.
-------------------- One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. 'Which road do I take?' she asked. 'Where do you want to go?' was his response. 'I don't know', Alice answered. 'Then', said the cat, 'it doesn't matter.'
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modern.shaman
San Mescalito




Registered: 05/09/12
Posts: 3,224
Loc: Zone 13
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Re: Mandragora officinarum [Re: cowsRmeat]
#21729238 - 05/27/15 03:52 PM (8 years, 8 months ago) |
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ferrel you could store them until September if you wanted to as they don't become nonviable that quickly, especially when stored in cold fridge.
I would use deep pots from the get go. These plants are ALL about the roots and if you are not careful when repotting young seedlings, the main tap root will break; will keep growing though. I got some new Mandragora autumnalis seeds to keep my officinarum company. Mandrake and Womandrake
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ferrel_human
stone eater



Registered: 06/26/09
Posts: 16,318
Loc: Texas
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Quote:
modern.shaman said: ferrel you could store them until September if you wanted to as they don't become nonviable that quickly, especially when stored in cold fridge.
I would use deep pots from the get go. These plants are ALL about the roots and if you are not careful when repotting young seedlings, the main tap root will break; will keep growing though. I got some new Mandragora autumnalis seeds to keep my officinarum company. Mandrake and Womandrake 
That's cool man. Well what is the difference between autumnalis and officinarum? I think mine are the former though and not the latter?
And thanks. I'll go with the deep pots then.
-------------------- Nature is my church and walking through it is gospel. It tells no lies and reveals all to those who look, and listen, closely. -Karode
 Looking for Mimosa tenuiflora seeds. Buttons for trade
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kactus.brand.g
Registered: 08/22/14
Posts: 6,886
Last seen: 6 years, 10 months
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I'll have to start some of these up too when I get moved,cant wit to see your progress buddy
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