discussion Sea Foam

[Jim R]

Hi Richard
I don't know. Will have to wait for farmer John to reply. The stuff I got is based on rapeseed. A lot of glycerine comes from Palm oil which is not very environmentally friendly.
Jim

 

[Guest]

Hi ,
Just checked , there is little or no difference between the two types. Most these days is plant based. Remember most of beauty products, including soap contain glycerin to retain moisture. The concern I believe was with religious beliefs when using an animal based product , nowadays the vegetable product has taken over.

As for the use we take one part glycerin per two parts hot water, not boiling as this would destroy the plant material.
The stems or whatever you wish to preserve need to completely covered and held under the mix for between 4 and 6 days. I say 6 because some thicker stems will take longer to treat. I use two buckets, or bowls. One needs to sit inside the other. You can fill the upper bowl with water or sand, it just needs to hold the plants under , not crushing them , or pushing the mix out from the lower bowl ! so take care. The best temperature is around 65 F Old School or the new fangled c is 18.33333333 when preparing the material. In other words not too cold !:hugging-face: REMEMBER NONE METAL CONTAINERS .I've just remembered this .

After the 6 days remove the plants from the container, I hang mine upside down over a newspaper covered floor ! in a warm sunny area with good air circulation for 3/5 days . I normally start this in the greenhouse, and put some polythene down first due to wanting to live a little longer :sad:
Then hang the stems again upside down in a warm, dry and dark place for 2 to 3 weeks to complete the drying process. Store the preserved stems in a dry and dark area until use. Hope this has helped, I should have some plants ready by next week to start,so will post again when I do with some photos of the plants at that stage.

Percy.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Richard
No reason why it shouldn’t work. Animal and vegetable derived glycerol (also called glycerine or glycerin) are exactly the same chemical. The “vegetable ” tag just lets people know it isn’t animal derived and suitable for vegetarians.
Tim

 

[Tim Marlow]

Hi John
The other issue could be BSE fears. Not so much of an issue now, but the Pharmaceutical industry still only uses materials that are certified BSE free. This includes plastics and rubbers, not just feedstock chemicals.
Cheers
Tim

 

[Jim R]

Thanks Percy. I shall look out for suitable containers to ensure good dunking.
Monty

 

[prichrd1]

Ah!!!!

The Nitro Glycerin Stage.

Now did JR say 10 parts two weeks or 14 parts ten days !!!! :confounded:

Oh well here goes!! :tongue-out3:

View attachment 312940

Should be fun,

Paul.
:smiling2::smiling2::smiling2::smiling2:

 

[Guest]

Hi John
The other issue could be BSE fears. Not so much of an issue now, but the Pharmaceutical industry still only uses materials that are certified BSE free. This includes plastics and rubbers, not just feedstock chemicals.
Cheers
Tim

Yes that is a valid point Tim, I had read earlier that Halal and the Jewish religions needed to know how the meat had be slaughtered and that was the reason for an uptake in production of vegetable based product .
John.

 

[Guest]

Well doneJim, you should get away with using any container from the kitchen if you say its for food stuffs ! :smiling2:

 

[Guest]

Paul ...
Love it :thumb2::thumb2:
John.

 

[Jim R]

DISASTER!!! The missus looked at the plants this morning and they are covered in creepy crawlies and look quite sick. I think they are aphids like Si mentioned. Plants are now outside having been sprayed with bug killer. The infestation came on really quickly.
I think I will leave them a day or two for the bugs to be killed. Rinse them and then try to embalm some. I think they were almost at the preserving stage anyway.
Jim Thrower

 

[Guest]

DISASTER!!! The missus looked at the plants this morning and they are covered in creepy crawlies and look quite sick. I think they are aphids like Si mentioned. Plants are now outside having been sprayed with bug killer. The infestation came on really quickly.
I think I will leave them a day or two for the bugs to be killed. Rinse them and then try to embalm some. I think they were almost at the preserving stage anyway.
Jim Thrower

Gott in himmel !!!!
Right , Jim.
After doing as you said do the following.
Remove the plants from the pot, leaving the roots intact for the moment.
Hang them up side down for a couple of days, then sit and removed the leaves carefully. Leaving then for that time will help reduce the leaf tearing at the steam join.
Having done that proceed with the method I mentioned on Thursday .
Any problems pm me.
John .

 

[Jim R]

Good morning fellow gardeners.
All bugs are now deceased bugs!!! :thumb2: I chose the most tree-like and they have been soaking as per Professor John's instructions. I have just hung them up to dry in the garage. The garage has a flat roof and gets very warm when the sun shines so hopefully they will dry. I have not removed all the leaves as being soggy wet they stuck to me, the scissors and the plant - I'll let them dry a bit and have another go.
The wife may be missing a few pegs :thinking:
View attachment 313536
Jim

 

[Guest]

Jim .
Looks ok .:thumb2:
John

 

[Guest]

Afternoon green fingered friends, here in short meadows the first crop of seagrass has been hanging in the green house for 3 days.
Mix made and the plants prepared. The preparation was by shaking the plants in a bucket, seed collection time.:smiling3: Once this was done the seed were removed and popped into an envelope, maked up and stored.
Water added to the glycerine and the plants emersed. They can sit until Sunday/Monday .

I only used a small group for the first batch . The rest are maturing well and I would expect looking at the colour they will be ready this coming week. Still giving a little water, but as the temperature is so much lower been doing it every 3 days.

View attachment 314035
From these 9 small plants came .
View attachment 314036
Hazard a guess, 1000 or more, ready for next year !
The remaining plants are as you can see rapidly nearing harvest.
I love that pink/red tinge to the plant at this stage.

View attachment 314037View attachment 314038
Pleased with this years crop, the heat definitely caused the loose seed in the garden from old compost to germinate, seeing them appear after 2016 when they were harvested was exciting, esp considering the size of the seed.

Dzhon Throwersky

 

[Jim R]

Hi Mr Throwersky
Looking good. Mine are drying nicely in the garage. Nice and warm with the sun. A lot of the black seeds are still attached though.
Farmer Jim

 

[scottie3158]

John,
Some good looking plants and some great info on treating them with the glycerin

 

[Peter Gillson]

fascinating blog.

Peter

 

[Guest]

Hi Mr Throwersky
Looking good. Mine are drying nicely in the garage. Nice and warm with the sun. A lot of the black seeds are still attached though.
Farmer Jim

Jim.
Fear not, the first time I treated them I had left the seeds on by mistake. Give them a gentle shake in a bucket, then turn them out onto a sheet of white paper. I suggest you do this inside as the slightest puff of wind will scatter the seeds over the garden ! Then keep in a paper bag/ envelope.
John.

 

[Guest]

John,
Some good looking plants and some great info on treating them with the glycerin

Thanks Paul.

fascinating blog.

Peter

Hi Peter, thank you, glad you think so and are enjoying it .
John.

 

[Richard48]

Wonderful job you budding horticultarists.Mine would last long with x2 mad cats.They would trash any flora and fauna.
Richard