Underwater Medicinal Herb Garden

I didn't realize I had an underwater medicinal herb garden. The plant with the round leaves is called Pennywort. I got some for my jar aquarium because I like the way it looks and it's a fast-growing plant that will help keep the water clean. 

 I've had it in a couple of aquariums before and I liked it, although it had to be pruned once a month or so or it would take over the tank. In this photo it had completely taken over the top half of the jar. It just kept growing in circles, and it was cutting off light to the lower half of the jar. 

 I started with about five small stems with a few leaves, and in a month I had it growing in two other jars, from what I pruned. I pruned it after this photo was taken. I didn't have room for any more in the jars so I figured I'd let it dry and add it to the soil in my potted plants. 

 It also grows in wet soil, and I wanted to plant some. I saw images of it growing in pots. It looked nice growing above water too and I wanted to try that. When I first got it something was bugging me, like there was something I should know about Pennywort, but I couldn't connect it at first. You don't necessarily think about aquarium plants being good for your health, but I started to recall that it had some benefits, and that I was pretty sure it also went by another name that I knew, so I looked it up.

 Lo and behold it turns out that Pennywort is a different name for one of my favorite herbs of all time- Gotu Kola. It's been used for centuries in traditional medicine for things like improving memory, circulation, immune system, mood enhancement and several other things. It flipped me out because I'd forgotten that, and I was thrilled that I was growing one of my favorite herbs without realizing it, and in an aquarium no less. 

 I got into herbs in the middle of high school and tried Gotu Kola pretty quickly. I liked it. Basically it was like drinking a cup or two of strong coffee, but without any jitters. It did boost energy levels a bit, without any of the geekiness of coke or speed. It wasn't like being high on drugs but it was still a very nice feeling. It gave me a little more energy but it also had a slight relaxation effect too, which was interesting...like an herbal speedball. 

 I got my bandmates in all the different bands I was in to try all my herbs and supplements on gigs, and they loved them, especially the guys in Generic Band. We took so much Gotu Kola that it became a band joke. Whenever somebody would mention Gotu Kola, somebody else would reply "Gotu Hell!" It was hilarious. 

 I was proud of myself for remembering an herb that itself is said to improve memory. Just as I was wondering what to do with all of the Pennywort I was about to prune from the jar, I found out that it's actually one of my favorite herbs. I figured I'd let it dry and then grind it up and put it into gelcaps, but then I read that taking it fresh is best. I had some so fresh it was still growing. 

 It said that an average dose was about 5-6 leaves. I was hoping to get my mom and my dog to take some too, but I knew that no matter how gnarly it might taste, I was going to start taking it again. In fact I took some about an hour ago and even though I've been up all night I don't feel tired. I do feel relaxed and really good actually, but I have a little more energy that I normally would. I can feel it as I write this, which is pretty cool. Taking it fresh seems to give a bit more of a "buzz." It's mild, but nice. This is excellent.

 My mom has been having memory issues, and I've been going over the herbs that can help boost memory, and Gotu Kola came up, as I figured it would. There are others, but it's probably the most widely-used herb for memory enhancement. I was worried about the taste, so I made a test batch. Since I was making it for three, I plucked about 20 leaves from the jar. 

 I put them in my trusty NutriBullet, with some water, lemon juice, honey and a pinch of pink salt. The delicate leaves were liquified except for tiny green specks. It looked like Key Lime Pie, and I'll be danged if it didn't taste somewhat like it too. I was very pleasantly surprised. I thought it might taste rough but it was delicious.

 I needn't have worried about the flavor either. I read more about it and found that it's used as an ingredient in many types of Asian cooking, for its flavor. The flavor is described as "sweet, bitter and grassy." I'd agree, but to me the sweetness was much more prominent than the bitterness. The "grassy" flavor is hard to describe but it's there and it's an interesting taste. Beijing Grass, which is also incredibly good for you, has a similar flavor. I call it "Springtime" flavor. 

 I read that it's highly regarded as both a medicinal and a flavoring ingredient in most if not all of the world, and there's a list of its many names. One name means "Herb of long life." It's been widely researched for centuries, and I can guarantee that many compounds have been isolated and used in regular meds, only renamed with 15-syllable names and sold for fifty times the cost of the herbal form. That's how it works. 

 I was impressed to read about it. I never knew all the things it was used for, and I had no idea it was used in cooking. It's said to stimulate growth of new brain calls and protect existing ones. It helps recovery from Alzheimer's and stroke. Like most herbs it's a powerful antioxidant, and that alone is a good reason to take it. It detoxifies the body. It can improve cognitive function, mood and sleep.

 Most compounds in herbs work better when some supplemental nutrition is added, but Gotu Kola has it covered. It contains a variety of vitamins and minerals, phenols, phytochemicals and such, plus protein and fiber. No wonder they call it "Herb of Long Life." 

 Heck, if I had a small greenhouse I could grow my own ingredients for making green juice. Beijing Grass really surprised me too by how good it tastes, and blended with Pennywort it would taste delicious. Beijing Grass and Pennywort both grow like weeds. Beijing Grass grows in pots just fine but it will quickly grow into a thick ground cover if planted in the ground. 

 Here Pennywort grows in a pot, and it looks like growing above water is no problem either. Right now I can harvest enough to have a green drink at least twice a week, and if I get it going in pots I can make it every day.

 I'd probably just plant both of them in the ground, although I'd have to grow some in at least one aquarium, just so I could have some fish to look at. The Beijing Grass doesn't need quite as much water, so half of the greenhouse could be kept drier, and they could duke it out when they meet in the middle.

 Seriously, they both grow like crazy and they might fight for territory. I might have to make a concrete "demilitarized zone" in the middle of the greenhouse. I got into Beijing Grass because in addition to many other things it's used for, it helps detoxify the body and has good nutritional benefits. Those two things would make an extremely potent green juice, and I could even take it up another notch...I could grow my own Spirulina to add to the formula. 

 Spirulina is the most nutritionally-complete food on planet Earth, and that's the dried form. Fresh Spirulina is about fifty times more nutritious, since it's "living" food, like yogurt. I could sell that shit all day long, because people would see and feel the results for themselves. The folks on the cutting edge of nutrition and what to put into your body say that living Spirulina is the only way to go.

 That's a main reason that using fresh leaves is so good...if it's drunk soon after it's made, the cells are still alive. Our bodies respond tremendously well to living foods. If I could vacuum-bottle it without heating it'd probably stay "living" for several days or longer, which could be tested with a microscope, but if kept refrigerated it would still keep most of its nutritional value for at least a month or two. 

 If enough people tried it, I could put the word out when I made a batch and people could come and get it fresh. I'm daydreaming here, but it could seriously be done. Other people do it. It'd be hella good for you, better than probably 95% of most other green juices, and it'd be really tasty too. I'd do it just for friends and family, which is about the extent of how far my products have spread anyway.

 I haven't taken it in years, and I was tickled to death when I realized that not only was I growing it underwater in my jar, but that taking it fresh is best. Besides the fact that it's an aquarium plant, the language barrier was a part of not connecting the two names, just like the Tower of Babel. To my ears, "Gotu Kola" sounds African or maybe Indonesian or something, while "Pennywort" sounds quite British, or at least European. Gotu Kola by any other name is still Gotu Kola. 

 This is the happiest of happy accidents, especially if it helps my mom. It may not drastically help her memory, but the other things will be beneficial regardless, and again it's been widely-studied for ages, with some very positive results. As for the flavor, I loved it. My dog drank about half of what I gave him. He likes less lemon juice. He loves V8 juice, so I added some and he finally finished it.

 But the important thing was my mom. She's picky, and although she'll take something if I ask her to, she'll let me know if she doesn't like it. She liked it so much that she scraped the foam from the sides of her cup with a spoon. She likes it. Hey Mikey! That makes me very happy. My own Gotu Kola farm. Who'd have thunk it? 

 From the positive experiences I had taking it years ago to the way I feel now, I know I'd like to keep taking it, and I know other people would like it too. Who knows...it might just become the next Red Bull. Nah, they'd never let that happen, but once my circle of friends tried it they'd want more. They'd tell two of their friends, and then they'd tell two of their friends, and they'd tell two of their friends, and so on. 

 I'd harvest my Pennywort and my Beijing Grass and my Spirulina and make a big ol' batch, bottle it up, slap a cool label on that bitch and I'd have the green juice of green juices. I'd call it "The Green Agenda." Maybe I'd get lucky and Al Gore would sue me and I'd get free publicity. Never say never. "To your very good health!" - Keith Emerson