This is the first installment of the Stacking Functions in the Garden, Food Forest and Medicine Cabinet : The Regenerative Way From Seed To Apothecary series
I was already a big fan of ginkgo, but now I'm even more enamoured with them. I will definitely plant another female on the outskirts of our property to enjoy their stinky fruits as well. Thank you for this thorough insightful article, much enjoyed!
Having lived in Korea on and off, gingko is one of those common Asian street trees that noone really notices until the females start dropping their stinky fruit! Then its a mad dash to collect the nuts and cook them for passersby, street food style.
That is very interesting regarding the mad dash to collect them and make use of them before they stink up the streets! Thanks for sharing that unique culturally illuminating anecdote.
I am glad you enjoyed the article.
I am going to be experimenting with using lacto-fermentation (a light salt brine) to extract and preserve the medicinal compounds in the leaves in synergistic preserves this winter. I figure if I use a diverse array of vibrantly flavored ingredients to make a sort of 'wild-fermented nootropic fire cider' (with hot peppers, ginger, tulsi, turmeric etc) the ginkgo leave flavor may blend in to become a subtle background flavor.
This way I would be able to extract the medicinal flavonoids and terpenoids more effectively than hot water extraction (tea) via the solvent action of the metabolic activities and byproducts of the lactic acid bacteria. My hope is to create a probiotic nutrient dense and more synergistically potent format for ingesting ginkgo leaf compounds than alcohol based tinctures (since most people do not have a still and so they are dependent on alcohol producing companies, where as lacto-fermentation can be achieved off-grid and with basic ingredients).
Wow - writing an encyclopedia then...very interesting and I am sold on the value of trees for urban areas. Interesting to learn how hardy Gingko is. The gingko nuts are medicinal too but need to be limited in use due to a negative chemical which I would have to look up.
I am glad you appreciate the in depth info I put together.
I appreciate you bringing up the compound in ginkgo seeds/"nuts" which can be problematic if it is not de-natured/minimized via cooking and/or if one ingests too many cooked seeds/"nuts".
I added some additional info on the 4’-O-methylpyridoxine (Ginkgotoxin) which is contained in the seeds in the article above with a suggestion to always cook the seeds before eating and to eat in moderation.
I recognized some of the herbs in your mixtures, including my favorites: anise hyssop and mint. :) We have been organic gardening and implementing some permaculture for some years now.
you prodded me into doing a little additional research with that mention of toxic stinky fruit containing multiple oils. the seeds are desirable but how are you going to get rid of the nasty residual organic matter?
I'd bet there is enough similarity in average size and shape of the seeds to make a mechanical separator to deal with a grove of ginko.
not that you need that sort of quantity unless you're helping supply some of the rest of humanity with a bunch of the output, but it was a fun train of thought to follow the old Native American methodology of trying to use all of the thing you harvested. not to mention the gratification of being able to actually use that urishiol
considering the cost of electricity for solar PV is based on the hardware/installation cost and eventually becomes a net gain unless the hardware breaks or the government "solar radiation mitigation" sky-manipulation blocks the usable sunlight... I see that as viable. just not at an industrial production level. industrial power production and distribution are highly profitable for the owners but not really for anyone else.
factor in that hydrogen produced from water by electrolysis has been demonstrated as a saleable feature all the way back to 1860 with the first hydrogen internal combustion vehicle selling over 300 units in France about a decade before the first internal combustion gasoline vehicle hit the market and I'd say it's a viable technology.
In 4th grade I had to make a leaf collection book. I still have it. A certain neighbor on the way to (Robert Frost Elementary) school had a ginko tree way back in their fenced yard. A few of the leaves blew on the sidewalk where I could reach them, they were a prize in my leaf collection. I still have it, though the glue and paper are much yellowed and damaged. Ginko is the most ancient tree, in a world where all the trees are ancient, compared to us. We are indeed the younger ones on the planet. The leaves resemble almost no other plant.
That is very cool! :) Thanks for sharing that. I actually sometimes get leaves blowing over the fence in our backyard from a neighbor's yard that has a ginkgo tree.
Godda love when medicine is delivered to you on the wind and dances its way into your garden in the form of glowing golden leaves.
Yes I find how unique the leaves are to be quite striking.
This is just a superb post.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment :) Glad you enjoyed the post.
I was already a big fan of ginkgo, but now I'm even more enamoured with them. I will definitely plant another female on the outskirts of our property to enjoy their stinky fruits as well. Thank you for this thorough insightful article, much enjoyed!
Thanks for reading, so glad you enjoyed the content :)
Having lived in Korea on and off, gingko is one of those common Asian street trees that noone really notices until the females start dropping their stinky fruit! Then its a mad dash to collect the nuts and cook them for passersby, street food style.
Very thorough article. Much enjoyed!
That is very interesting regarding the mad dash to collect them and make use of them before they stink up the streets! Thanks for sharing that unique culturally illuminating anecdote.
I am glad you enjoyed the article.
I am going to be experimenting with using lacto-fermentation (a light salt brine) to extract and preserve the medicinal compounds in the leaves in synergistic preserves this winter. I figure if I use a diverse array of vibrantly flavored ingredients to make a sort of 'wild-fermented nootropic fire cider' (with hot peppers, ginger, tulsi, turmeric etc) the ginkgo leave flavor may blend in to become a subtle background flavor.
This way I would be able to extract the medicinal flavonoids and terpenoids more effectively than hot water extraction (tea) via the solvent action of the metabolic activities and byproducts of the lactic acid bacteria. My hope is to create a probiotic nutrient dense and more synergistically potent format for ingesting ginkgo leaf compounds than alcohol based tinctures (since most people do not have a still and so they are dependent on alcohol producing companies, where as lacto-fermentation can be achieved off-grid and with basic ingredients).
Wow - writing an encyclopedia then...very interesting and I am sold on the value of trees for urban areas. Interesting to learn how hardy Gingko is. The gingko nuts are medicinal too but need to be limited in use due to a negative chemical which I would have to look up.
I am glad you appreciate the in depth info I put together.
I appreciate you bringing up the compound in ginkgo seeds/"nuts" which can be problematic if it is not de-natured/minimized via cooking and/or if one ingests too many cooked seeds/"nuts".
I added some additional info on the 4’-O-methylpyridoxine (Ginkgotoxin) which is contained in the seeds in the article above with a suggestion to always cook the seeds before eating and to eat in moderation.
Thanks for the thoughtful and helpful comment.
Very welcome. You do amazing work.
Very informative article. Thank you. Will plan to incorporate gingko biloba in my rotating herbals.
Thanks for reading and for the kind comment. I hope that the medicine ginkgo provides brings you increased resilience and longevity.
I recognized some of the herbs in your mixtures, including my favorites: anise hyssop and mint. :) We have been organic gardening and implementing some permaculture for some years now.
very interesting.
you prodded me into doing a little additional research with that mention of toxic stinky fruit containing multiple oils. the seeds are desirable but how are you going to get rid of the nasty residual organic matter?
see, I've read a bit about gasification of dry cellulose products to make a burnable fuel for engines etc. you can build a rig to do it if you're handy and it's doesn't require as high of a tolerance to work as building a plastic recycling into hydrocarbon fuel device does (http://www.energeticforum.com/forum/energetic-forum-discussion/renewable-energy/7255-how-to-turn-plastic-waste-into-diesel-fuel-cheaply)
so I'm guessing a combination of those two pieces of hardware would work for this lovely method of processing the wet fruit after a serious quantity nut harvest (https://www.grtgaz.com/en/new-gas/hydrothermal-gasification)
I'd bet there is enough similarity in average size and shape of the seeds to make a mechanical separator to deal with a grove of ginko.
not that you need that sort of quantity unless you're helping supply some of the rest of humanity with a bunch of the output, but it was a fun train of thought to follow the old Native American methodology of trying to use all of the thing you harvested. not to mention the gratification of being able to actually use that urishiol
Thanks for the intriguing comment and ideas.
I like your thinking with using every last bit of the gift one is receiving from a fellow being.
On a separate note, What are your thoughts on the current hydrogen solar systems (the ones that use electrolysis to create hydrogen gas)?
considering the cost of electricity for solar PV is based on the hardware/installation cost and eventually becomes a net gain unless the hardware breaks or the government "solar radiation mitigation" sky-manipulation blocks the usable sunlight... I see that as viable. just not at an industrial production level. industrial power production and distribution are highly profitable for the owners but not really for anyone else.
factor in that hydrogen produced from water by electrolysis has been demonstrated as a saleable feature all the way back to 1860 with the first hydrogen internal combustion vehicle selling over 300 units in France about a decade before the first internal combustion gasoline vehicle hit the market and I'd say it's a viable technology.
https://fuel-efficient-vehicles.org/energy-news/?page_id=819
In 4th grade I had to make a leaf collection book. I still have it. A certain neighbor on the way to (Robert Frost Elementary) school had a ginko tree way back in their fenced yard. A few of the leaves blew on the sidewalk where I could reach them, they were a prize in my leaf collection. I still have it, though the glue and paper are much yellowed and damaged. Ginko is the most ancient tree, in a world where all the trees are ancient, compared to us. We are indeed the younger ones on the planet. The leaves resemble almost no other plant.
That is very cool! :) Thanks for sharing that. I actually sometimes get leaves blowing over the fence in our backyard from a neighbor's yard that has a ginkgo tree.
Godda love when medicine is delivered to you on the wind and dances its way into your garden in the form of glowing golden leaves.
Yes I find how unique the leaves are to be quite striking.
Thanks for the comment.