I'm Jonathan.

I'm Janet. I'm Jeannette. Coming to you from Salem, Oregon, in the USA.

Candy. Whip. Candy.

We're Plant Sluts.

We're plant. Hey, Sluts.

Hey, Sluts. Happy October. This month, our garden takes a dark.

Turn, and not just because it's the end of the season.

We're summoning some of the creepiest, most mysterious plants to haunt your earbuds. First up, we're going to spotlight skullcap, an herb with a name fit for a graveyard. And then, when the veil is the thinnest, at the end of the month, we'll be dropping a special Halloween episode. I'll get the sound effects ready.

First. Let's start with garden updates. Jeanette.

Well, I finally had the arborist come out to look at the tree that I hate. The hawks have flown the coop. As they say about hawks. I don't know. The hawks, I think, are gone. I think birds are starting to come back a little bit. He came by, and it was really cool to hear him talk about the trees. It wasn't just, like, a landscape company that's going to come chop everything down. They have a lot of rules specific to Salem or just in general. They can only cut up to 25% of the canopy, and they tried to stay below that number. So me having the tree just shaved at our property line wasn't even an option. They said the branch dipping towards our roof is not really in danger of doing any damage. It's too small.

Okay.

He looked at some of the branches where they're coming from, and everything seemed pretty secure and healthy. So we're not. I'm not super scared that it's going to, you know, bust our house down, maybe. As I described it, I don't think it'll take our roof in or anything or destroy all our solar panels.

And did you tell him that you thought it was walnut?

No. I tried not to sound that dumb, but after you talked for a long time about tree stuff, I was like, do you want to be on my podcast? So I asked him if he wanted to come on. Maybe if we have a tree episode in the future. Can't get him.

Oh, nice.

He studied, I think. I don't know what the. You studied arboriculture to be an ar? No, he studied, like, agriculture and, like, botany or something.

But does he know that it's called Plant Sluts? Like, does he know it's slutty?

I did tell him it's called Plant Sluts, and I didn't make eye contact when I mentioned that.

Okay.

He also gave you some good advice, saying like, the best course since it's in my neighbor's yard is wait for any deterioration to happen on their side so they have to pay for it. So he kept saying, he's like, I'm a salesman, but I'm also an arborist, so I'm not going to like, try to get you to like cut down this tree when it doesn't seem like you really need it. But he said, you know, if the branches start to die and deteriorate from, from the trunk, that's on the neighbor to get done. And since it's a landowner, as we've established, or a landlord, you know, it's their responsibility, it's his tree. I called the landowner about it, just saying like, hey, I'm gonna, you know, call someone. And he was like, okay, so it's your side of the property. Yeah, whatever you need to do on your side. And I was like, oh, I thought we were gonna chat about a tree for an hour, but apparently not.

We're not inviting him on the podcast.

Yeah, exactly. How about your garden, John?

Well, it finally rained in Montreal, so I'm excited about that because now I don't have any more hand watering and.

We'Re recording this a couple weeks before it comes out.

Yeah.

So it's not October 1st.

Right. So it's August. And in Montreal it hadn't rained for a really long time and it finally did rain a fair amount. So I'm just glad that I don't have to go to the garden to water.

Are you leaving the house enough?

Oh, my God. What? You, my mom? No. The answer is I'm not.

He's wearing his silk kimono right now.

No, I'm not. No, I'm not. But I also went to pick plums at my grandmother's house. It's this really old tree. Well, it's like it's been there since the 80s. And my grandmother's brother in law, my grandfather's brother, had brought a cutting back from Italy and they planted it in the backyard. And I actually haven't seen. It's a really interesting plum. It's yellow shaped, a little bit like oblong, kind of small, like, you know, maybe a bit bigger than a ping pong. And it has a, it's yellow with, with a bit of a reddish blush on it on some of them. And it has this bloom, like a white kind of bloom on it. It kind of feels a bit powdery, like it's not, you know, it's very matte it's not. Not very shiny. And it smells. Smells a lot like honey. And it's very. They're very, very sweet. And I actually did some research, and it seems like it could be a variety called Papagona Papagona Jala.

Is that how your grandmother says?

My grandmother doesn't know. Like, I was like, what type of is this? And they just have no clue. They're like, it's from Buen Albergo, you.

Know, And I'm like, it's from the old country.

Yeah. And so I did my own search, and I looked at all these different pictures of, like, yellow plums. I had to do it in Italian because English didn't me. Anything about all Italian plums obviously look like, I think, what we call an Italian plum. Like, you have. Right. Which is purple.

Yeah, purple. Yeah.

I posted it on our Instagram. You can kind of go through the. If you're listening, you should first of all follow us on Instagram. But you can see under our highlights under my name, like, you'll see some.

An example of it, but at Plant Sluts. Pod. Pod on Instagram.

Yes. Thank you, Janet. You know, so this idea of having, you know, these trees that my grandmother's. So there's also a purple plum tree that I often get fruits from, a fig tree that she has growing out in the backyard, and a pear tree. It kind of makes me think a lot about this idea, the permaculture principle of zones. Do you know the zone kind of principles?

I don't think so.

It's this idea that when you design your permaculture garden, you want to think about, you know, the kind of care that's needed in what you're planting.

Yeah.

And the type of access you might need and how often you might use a crop or need to tend to a crop. So you want to build these zones based on that. So that works really well if you have an actual, you know, land.

Yeah.

That you have complete control over, and that's within, you know, a very clearly defined area. But when you live in the city, this is really impossible. So for me, I. I like to think about all the gardens that I have as this kind of different zoning. So I have in my backyard, which is unfortunately a bit shady.

It is shady. I've seen what goes on back there.

Oh, yeah. Well, yeah. Okay. Now I'm, like, embarrassed and turning red. My backyard is kind of shady, so I have some fruits that, you know, can tolerate shade. Shade back there on the roof. I have, you know, all my tomatoes Peppers, things that I want to grab quickly, you know, last minute lettuce, kale, all those things that, yeah, they need to be watered quite often as well. So I want them to be easily accessible.

Yeah.

And then there's my community garden where I have things like garlic and sweet potatoes growing there and any kind of perennials that need, like, deep soil to add to that. I guess I have these other things. So my grandmother, at my grandmother's house, I have, you know, I mean, she wouldn't say it's mine. It's not mine. It's access. I don't actually tend.

Maybe you'll inherit it someday.

Yeah, maybe I don't actually tend to it. That's my uncle mostly that does that. But, you know, I have access to those kind of things. And even, you know, in a larger scale, there's, you know, organizations in Montreal and I think a lot of cities have this where they collect fruit, you know, from neglected fruit trees or from, from people's houses or people's fruit trees that they can't tend to. And so there's like a sharing arrangement.

I've never heard of that.

Oh, no. I'm officially a fruit, a fruit pick leader for Fruits Defendu, like defended fruits. I don't know if it really translates well. And with this I can sign up to adopt, like an orphan tree. And so then I put together a group of people who will go and help pick these fruits. And we share one third with the owner of the tree. One third are given to a charity, and one third is for us to kind of divide amongst the pickers.

I'm curious. Would you do something like your grandfather did and illegally import a cutting of that plum tree to maybe, I don't know, Oregon, so I can graft it onto my Italian plum?

Listen, like, I'm not with U.S. customs right now.

Oh, yeah.

Like, let's wait. Let's wait in three and a half years and see. And see what? What?

Okay.

What I can do. But I would, I would, I wouldn't be opposed to it. I, I actually. Oh. Oh, no. Jeanette, do you want to tell them about our giveaway?

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Get that Glow Sluts.

It's.

Time for grapes and grapes. This is the segment where we serve one salty take and one sweet one. John, do you have any grapes or grapes?

Yeah, I do have a grape. I'm gonna sound ungrateful, but it is unsolicited advice on gardening.

O.

I know. Because here we are giving. Well, we don't give that much advice, but in a way we are kind of like unsolicited.

If you subscribe, you are soliciting, you consent to being.

Yeah, to being. Right. Okay. Thank you. Well, it's. It's just that there's this old guard at the community garden that really feel the need to tell people what to do.

Yeah.

I talked already about how I. My concept that I applied to my community garden, it's a little bit chaotic. I kind of let it do its thing. Yes. I know I did say this year that I would have more control and just try and be more on top of weeding. But things happen. Okay. And I didn't, I didn't keep. I mean it's cleaner than it looked last year. But you know, I've had this man who's really friendly, like I come like he's my friend at the garden. I say hello to him every time I'm there. I let him take some of my time to transplant in his garden. But he's always saying things about my garden. Like, you know, he once asked me why I'm not using my herbs. Why did I let it go to flower? He. He once was like, do you eat at all? Because nothing here you can eat. And I'm just like, yes. You just can't see because it's all covered under like gigantic borages and cosmos, which I'm going to get to, believe me.

It's just not fair because he's probably retired and gets to just base his whole life. And you are merely unemployed.

Yes. Which normally would mean I'm looking for work. Sure.

Hypothetically, that could.

Which is itself a full time job. I've heard. I have no excuses. Except mental health. Okay.

Yeah.

I need time by myself.

Okay.

I Have cats.

Oh, my God, you have so much.

Yes.

Well. And does he think, like, you're supposed to have, like, a family you're feeding? Because I find, like, even having two people I'm feeding with a garden, I have too much food.

Yeah. He did tell me I should cut all of my cosmos and just leave one. And hot tip men don't like to be shamed. So I. My, My defense. Oh, it's for the pollinators.

Yeah.

I'm leaving it there because the bees love it, and it's really good for pollination. And it kind of shuts them up a little bit because then it kind of makes them feel like they're not with the times or that they're doing something wrong and. And they kind of retreat a bit.

Can I ask you about the cosmos? Is that a weed or invasive or what is the deal with your cosmos? Because I just planted some in my front yard.

I mean, weed is a social construction.

Yeah. Like, is it something you need to take out? Like, how did it end up in your plot?

Well, I'll tell you. So cosmos are just like, they seed really well and prolifically, so they just kind of, like, spread everywhere, which is, like, good if you want a wild, you know, an area and you want it to grow. A lot of flowers for pollinators, but in the community garden, it does get kind of out of hand. But they're very noticeable. Rather, they're very easily identifiable. So when they start growing, they kind of look a little bit like dill sometimes, like, when they first are growing, I'm kind of confused as to whether it's dill or cosmo. But they grow in, like, such a distinctive way that you can easily just rip them out before they really cause any problems and before they seed.

And do you typically rip them out before they seed?

No, because I'm kind of mixed. Because, you know, during the winter time, like, purple cone flower and cosmo and cornflowers, like, all of those provide a lot of seeds for birds.

Yeah.

And so I'm kind of like, ah, you know, I. I tend to leave them because I think the birds should have them.

Yeah.

And then I just. The next. The next season, I'll just make sure I, you know, clean it up to. To my liking.

Does this affect the other people's gardens? Because that's some of the things I think about planting in my own front yard. There's some things I've wanted to put that I don't. Because I don't want it to take over the neighbor's yard and then have to like, have them secretly hate me. Is that a big.

And then like right in a grape to.

Yeah, exactly. Oh, my God. I'm sick of reading my neighbor's grapes. My neighbor planted a full clover lawn and a ton of Himalayan BlackBerry along the fence. How do I kill them?

She called me and wanted to discuss trees for an hour because she called an arborist. Honestly, some things just provide beauty and.

You don't want to have to defend every single thing you grow.

No, no. There's certain things, like you should really care about. Obvious weeds that are nuisance.

Yeah.

Don't worry about, you know, things like cosmos and. And that type of thing. People really love cosmos. They're beautiful.

Yeah.

And bees love them.

Do you have any grapes?

Yes, I do have a grape. Which is just, I guess more of like a good feeling or. It was cute. So I went camping with some friends recently in Nova Scotia and they all had kids, which. Yeah, they had the kids, which was fine.

Good for them.

And. Yeah, and I brought. I actually brought a book by Sam Tear. I don't know if you know who this is. He's an edibles kind of foraging expert. And so there's a book called Edible Plants of North America, I believe. And I brought it with me. It's like really like a tome of knowledge for identification of wild native herbs or even invasive herbs that are edible. And so I was kind of like looking around, you know, kind of going through the guide and the kids, you know, six, they were like a mix of six year old and nine. They were so into it. Like, they would be like, what about this one? What about that one? This is something probably that people with kids have. But I, I had like intrusive thoughts of like being like, yeah, this is edible, you know, bunchberry. Do you know what this is?

No.

Cornice canadiensis, I think it's also called. Well, in French it's called cinque foil. It's a. It's an indigenous species that grows all in the woods and mostly I think in the eastern part of the continent. No, it's. It's red.

Oh, okay.

Well, the flower, it has actually bracts. So it has first green leaves, four, I think four to six green leaves with four to six white bracts, which are leaves that look like flowers but aren't. And then when it, when it's mature, it has little red berries. And I know that you can chew those, like you can eat them. So, you know, we were walking around, I was like, yeah, you can eat these. And they were, like, collecting them and eating them. And then all of a sudden, I had this intrusive thought, like, oh, what if it's. What if I'm totally wr. God, it's like. And then I started to imagine, like, what would I have to tell my friend? Like, what. What would I tell my friends? Like, they would never talk to me again. Yeah. But they were fine. They woke up the next day. Once I left, I got a text message from a friend that was saying the kids were going around picking blueberries. And they told me, and they said, jonathan is so knowledgeable about plants. That's so adorable. Anyways, that's my. That's my grape. That's my grape. It made me feel. It made me feel great. And for, like, maybe a millisecond, I was like, I want kids.

Oh, no.

Then I remembered.

So if you have any gardening gripes and you need some advice, send us an email at plants pod gmail.com and we will do our best to give you advice that won't accidentally kill you.

So now grab a mug, pick some herbs, because we're gonna spill the tea.

Dang.

Today we have a super scary garden tea sent to us by a listener.

Yeah, our first mailed in tea.

Snail mail.

Yeah, it was snail mailed in. I don't know how they found my address. That's the spooky part. Here's my revenge mint story. My partner and I bought our home in April of 2023. As we were moving in, our neighbor Scott comes over and is in our garage. He isn't offering to help move us in, just telling us about the neighborhood. Cool. Seems nice enough. This was Friday. Sunday, Scott comes knocking on my front door. He tells me that my air conditioner is too big for my house and I have to replace it.

He must be like a contractor or something, right? He knows this kind of thing.

He's going to go to Korea for a few days and he'll give me until he gets back at the end of May to replace it. I try to explain to him that we just bought the house with everything we had. There's no more money to spend on replacing a functioning AC unit that passed inspection. He goes to Korea and we go about our lives. He comes back and the next day is on our porch.

That's creepy.

This time I sent my partner to deal with him. He tells Scott, no, we're not replacing it. Scott tells him it's making the fence shake, it's so loud, and it keeps him up at night. He said that he Put up with it with the last owner because they were old and needed it to be cooler. But we're young and we could just open a window.

Not in this climate apocalypse we're living in.

My partner told him, if it's keeping you up, come over and talk to me, even if it's late. So he's basically like saying, like, come knock on my door anytime and tell me when it's being so loud that you can't even sleep. So a few days later, about midnight, I see this high beam light flashing through our bathroom window that faces his house. I ran to my son's room, and there's a spotlight flashing from Scott's house into my son's room from over the fence.

Even creepier.

Yeah. Then we hear the screaming. Shut it off. Shut it off. I'm not going out there to talk to him. And that's when the police start showing up. So the police were like, sorry we have to do this, but your neighbor called about the AC unit. I know it's 100 degrees out and I have mine running, and honestly, it's not any louder than anyone else's. But Scott kept calling the cops. Eventually, when Scott started to rip out chunks of the fence in front of the unit and calling the police constantly, the police advised us to get a camera. As we were putting up the camera, Scott came over to talk to us. He told us, we're in violation of the sound ordinance. Mind you, we are not in an hoa. He demanded again that we replace the AC unit and that it's too big for our house and we could open a window. Again, he called the police, and they took a decibel reading from the sidewalk at the property line. And the police were not going to go onto his property to lean through the hole that he made in the fence. When he ripped the boards down to get the sound reading like he had suggested, the police informed us he had plans to sue us for years of pain and suffering because of this AC unit. We had only been in the house for three months at this point. I had it.

I hate this guy so much.

I know. So here comes the revenge. The next day, I went out and bought mint and lemon balm to plant all along the fence line in the dirt. Try and stop that shit from spreading like the plague. I've continued to take mint sprigs and put them in water so they root, and I just keep planting. I think he might be trying to spray because some of it looks sick, but he'll be spraying and picking mint out for the rest of his tortured life. Fast forward about eight months. The fence he ripped holes in and has claimed was his fell down. Once it fell, it was immediately our fence classic. So I built a fence out of metal poles, string, and all the morning glory that I thought the space could hand.

Oh, no.

I created a lovely wall between our properties. It twisted up on all his tomatoes and later dropped seeds like crazy. I saw a few baby morning glory plants in his veggie garden just before we got a new fence to put up between us. On the odd occasion, I get a few slugs or other pests in my garden. I toss them over to play at Scott's house. So while Scott's sweating through his battle with my mint, I'll keep my AC running, savoring the cool, creepy revenge. Signed, Minty misdemeanor.

Wow. How satisfying would it be to make, like, a mojito with that mint? You know, you're just, like, sitting. You're just, like, sitting on your porch sitting on your porch with your AC running. Anyways, taking a sip of that sweet mojito with the mint from your. From your neighbors.

I just love the visual of, like, chucking slugs over the fence. I've done that now. Did you do it because of similar revenge feelings?

Yeah, I guess. Her personality is. Sounds very much like mine. Like, that's what I would do. That's my style.

Yeah.

That's my vibe. Yeah. I mean, but sounds so creepy. Like, what? Well, why was that guy just standing there when they were moving in in their driveway? Just like a peeping Tom.

I know it's scary because these things can escalate. You just never know. Like, when you move in, you just don't know who the neighbors are.

I mean, I do. I do kind of understand that sometimes the noise coming from, you know, people's houses could be kind of annoying. Air conditioners, for instance. Yeah, I find kind of annoying. My backyard has three air conditioning units kind of facing it.

That aren't yours?

No, that are not mine. No. I don't have. I don't have a. What is that? A heat exchange? A heat pump. And they're kind of old units, and, well, one of them is actually new. And I did actually make a fuss with my neighbor. I sent him an email with the planning code that shows that it needs to be at least one meter away from the lot line because he had. Well, I. I live in. You know, in Montreal, it's very typical to have houses that are. Share. Share a wall. You know, they're like Row houses. You know, he was going to put it right on that line. And it was right next to the hammock that I love sitting in and reading. And I just had this image of me never really enjoying it or being, like, blown with, like, hot air from that. But, I mean, in this setting, it seems like the. The man is pretty far from that, you know?

Yeah. If there's a whole garden and a fence and vegetable garden on the other side. And in your situation, they hadn't installed the air conditioner yet?

No, I saw. So there was like an. There was an installer that came and he was talking about where to put it. And I overheard them. I mean, that's how close. That's how close it is. You know, like, I heard him talk about, you know, where to put it. And then, you know me, I was like, like looking up, like, no, no, no, I don't think that that's right. You know, I. Because keep, you know, I do often read through mundane documents like the planning code and municipal codes and things like that. So I, I have. And I know exactly where to look for. So I sent him an email with that reference. And. And they did. He did put it a bit away. And it's better, I mean, than it would have been. But it's still. I can still hear it.

But if you, if you were like, looking at houses and buying it and the air conditioner was already there, do you think you would start telling the neighbor they need to, like, like, you buy a new house and then you're like, get rid of it?

Honestly, even if I was annoyed, I would wait at least like a year before I bring it up to the neighbor. Try and create, like, a rapport with them. Get to know them.

Yeah.

Maybe slip a couple mentions of their loud air conditioner in, like, over, you know, tea and crumpets. So if you have any garden tea to spill, please bring it our way. You can send us an email@plant slutspodgmail.com. you can also message us on social media, on Instagram plants, plant.sluts.pod. thank you. So, onto the next segment. We are doing Scary Creepy spooky Spotlight. Right. What do you have for us, Jeanette?

This episode is skull cap. Insert spooky Halloween sound here. So skullcap is a really interesting plant and there are two main types, American skullcap and Chinese skull skull cap. And we're going to talk mostly about American skull cap because of the tariffs. Jonathan, what do you know about skull cap?

I actually really don't know much about It. I. I looked it up and I see a photo that's. It doesn't really ring a bell. I don't know if it's even around here.

Okay. American skullcap can also sometimes go by blue skullcap. And it's a perennial wildflower with buds that kind of look like bluebells, but it's in the mint family. And I bought some blue skull cap from the master gardener sale in Salem. It was called blue skull Cap, and I just saw that it was native and medicinal, and I didn't really know much about it, and I planted it in the ground.

Okay. That's what I was thinking is because it's in the mint family, it like spreads like crazy.

Yeah, it hasn't spread yet, but it's. It's kind of. It's. It hasn't been there that long. I'm curious how it will spread, but after researching this episode, I don't think spreading will be that bad of a thing because it seems to be like a really useful plant. American skullcap is native throughout North America, especially in the wetlands and along stream banks. And it gets about up to three feet tall.

Oh, okay.

And it blooms in the summer, whereas the Chinese skullcap, it's a single stem. It has purple flowers that resemble medieval helmets, and that's where the name came from. But they're different species.

Okay. And so that's why American would be called blue skullcap because it's blue versus the purple, which is the Chinese skullcap.

Yeah, exactly.

Okay.

So the reason I wanted to talk about skullcap is because it has such interesting traditional and medicinal uses. But as a little disclaimer, we're not doctors. We're just. We're not even professional podcasters. We're. No, we're not doctors. We're only amateur podcasters. And this is for entertainment, hopefully, and educational purposes only. So always talk to a healthcare professional before trying any herbal remedies or supplements, especially if you have health conditions, if you're pregnant or take medication. I just found out that people with hypothyroidism can't take lemon balm, which is something I'm always, like, suggesting because how much I like it.

So people with hypothyroidism. So a slow, slow.

Okay, so just, you know, that's referring back to our first episode. So just, you know, be very careful before you start any supplements if you get super excited about it listening to it on here. But with American skull cap, the above ground parts are used as like a gentle nervine and help support relaxation so now you know why I have it in my garden.

Nervine means it's like a nervous system. It works on the nervous system.

Yeah, exactly.

That's what. Okay.

It's historically used by native Americans and early European settlers, helping them with anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, and it can also be used for mild pain relief.

Okay.

And it's mostly used as a tea, a tincture or you can find capsules for calming purposes.

Plus if it's a tincture, it's made with alcohol. So that also helps calm.

Yes, exactly.

Helps you sleep.

And I looked into like what makes this like a calming herb. Like what is in it that really helps. American skullcap contains bicolin. Bicolin is how I pronounce it. Bicoline actually hooks onto your GABA receptor and that's like your calm down switch in the brain. That's one of the things that kind of help create that relaxation effect when you take skullcap.

I remember lemon balm also works with the GABA receptors. Right. Did you see anything about mixing lemon balm with skullcap?

I have seen places that sell tinctures and herbal medicine create blends with skullcap and lemon balm. It also has bogonin W O G O N I n which shows to have anti anxiety effects in mice without grogginess. Like you get from like Valium.

No idea. Never taken Valium.

Yeah, I don't. What's the Valium? Would you, Jonathan, rather have something really strong that knocks you out or something gentle but keeps you clear headed for your anti anxiety tincture?

I think something that keeps me calm and clear headed. Yeah. I mean when I feel grog, if I feel groggy or sleepy or kind of out of it, I don't like that feeling. I really don't like that feeling. But of course, like sometimes I just need something to knock me out. Like I just want to forget about the day, I just want the day to be over. Or I really want coffee but it's too late so I just want to knock myself out so I can wake up and have coffee.

When you crave coffee, you just like take sleep.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah. Most people who take skullcap as like tea or tincture that say to take it at night because it does, it can put you to sleep. It has melatonin and serotonin in it and in it.

Really?

Yeah. And those help regulate sleep and mood. It also has oroxylin A which works as a dopamine reuptake inhibitor.

Okay, so it's like an antidepressant In a way, yeah. That's what Wellbutrin is. It's a dopamine reuptake inhibitor.

Oh, interesting. So I would wonder if you can take it with Wellbutrin or not because it has the same effect or if.

It would interfere or like make it even better maybe.

So both American and Chinese skullcap have skulltarian in it and there's less in the Chinese one. But that's a kind of anti cancer chemical. It makes tumor cells self destruct and blocks a protein called TNFR2 that that cancer linked immune cells use to help tumors.

Honestly, it's like a lot of like technical stuff.

I'll be through it soon. Jonathan, do you feel like. Do you like how I'm calling you Jonathan? I'm trying to remember.

Yeah, I know. Jonathan, it's fine.

Do you think nature has more cancer cures than we know?

Well, yeah, I think for sure. Like, I think of prevention. Like we already. There's already things in nature, in plants and the food that we eat that have the ability to hinder the per. Like the production of cancerous cells, like all the vitamins and minerals we need, but also like antioxidants and all these other properties that, you know, people are finding out about. Phytonutrients. There are so many elements that are not necessarily vitamins, you know, because like vitamins were really basically something that I guess scientists just figured out that we definitely need. But I think we don't really know fully the whole picture. But there's already like the tools for our body to fight cancer. There's always things that are creating like free radicals in our body. Right. Which, which end up causing cancer. And we just need like the tools to like shoot them down while they're being produced.

Yeah.

And. And I think already like there are those things that exist in nature. And then on top of that. Yeah. In terms of like cures for sure. Like there's so many things that we don't know and that we haven't found that are possibly more effective than, you know, like what exists today and learning about it.

I feel like you have to be so careful because you don't want to feel like you have so much control that you caused yourself to get cancer or could have prevented it or you don't want to get sold something that claims, you know, it has skulltarin in it and then I'm not gonna get cancer because like the balance is so. Yeah, delicate.

It's also like the human psychology plays into it where if you think that you're taking all these things, then you kind of unconsciously or subconsciously permit yourself to do things that could cause cancer. You know, I mean, nothing as obvious as like I take Skulltarin and then I'm like smoking cigarettes. And I think it's like canceled each other out. Like that's, that's a bit too like obvious. But, you know, there is that kind of psychology of it. Like, you know, you wear a helmet and you kind of give the impression to car drivers that it's safer for them to drive around you, which is proven.

Oh. In studies that it is safer. Or that car drivers think it's safer.

Car drivers think it's safer. So there's research. Now my like anti car kind of thing comes into this. This is like a cross between like War on Cars and Plant Sluts.

His other podcast.

Yeah, basically the only other podcast on my subscription list. Yeah, yeah. There's research that shows, and it was conducted, I think, in the UK that shows that when car drivers see cyclists wearing helmets, they leave less room for them and they're less likely to slow down than if they see a bicyclist with, without a helmet on.

Oh, that's so weird.

Yeah, yeah, that's awful. Anyways, you know, not. I wouldn't. So it's, it's, it's kind of more subtle. Things like if, if you think that you're being really good at, you know, giving yourself all of the things that are anti cancer, you're more likely to kind of like forgive yourself for eating, you know, like deep fried foods or things that have, you know, because I think when you use frying oil, you know, there's a lot of like oxidation that happens and you know, it creates, it increases the amount. Like there's. I'm not, I'm not a scientist on this matter, but that's what I've read, you know, And I think a lot of people know or suspect that that that can increase the risk of cancer.

I feel like people get obsessed with these kind of medicinal like, cure all type plants or supplements and then neglect simple things like how much water are you drinking? Are you having enough protein in your diet? Do you eat enough fiber and like the real, the real not sexy stuff, you know, but you're taking like all these supplements that you think are gonna cure everything.

No, I agree.

So Skullcap also has properties that are neuroprotective or protect those nerve cell. Protect your nerve cells when estrogen is low. Like maybe when you're in menopause and has some anti HIV 1 properties and the way stops the virus from attaching to cells or fusing or spreading. But just in lab tests so far.

It seems like there's a lot of overlap with lemon balm. Right. Like, because lemon balm also had similar properties to, like, the antiviral.

Yeah. It's interesting because they're both in the mint family.

Oh, right. Oh, okay. Yeah, that's true.

Maybe we should just be planting our mint in the ground.

Yeah, that neighbor is gonna live forever.

Yeah, exactly. But so Skullcap used to be called Mad Dog or the Mad Dog herb, because it has a long history of use in herbalism, In Western herbalism during, like, pre industrialized United States to treat rabies in humans and animals.

Oh, interesting.

It was a treatment for the hysteria and hydrophobia that you get with rabies.

Hydrophobia?

Have you heard of that? With rabies?

Yeah, I think so.

If you get rabies, you die mostly because you're terrified of water and drinking water.

That's so weird. Like, it's kind of like Last of us vibes.

Yeah, totally. Yeah.

What are sort of like planting guidelines? Is this available in, like, nurseries or is it more like in the wild? You have to collect the seeds and spread.

I bought it at the Master Gardener plant sale. I've actually been kind of researching how to find more medicinal plants in nurseries. Because most nurseries, when you go to the herb section, it's like oregano, thyme, lemon thyme, basil, and you're just like, that's it. Like, where are all the interesting, you know, herbs? Where's the.

It's interesting that you say that. Do you know, I believe, like, the experimental farm network. No, I won't go into how they operate, but I believe they have like a medicinal seed dropdown menu for when you're buying their seeds.

So I have been researching and there's a website called Strictly Medicinal Seeds. Strictly Medicinal Seeds. And I haven't used it yet, but a lot of people on Reddit, when I posted, asking about how do I find some non ornamental passion flower and things like that, they recommended that in Canada, there's Richter's Herbs. R I C H T E R S and again, I haven't used these.

Never heard that.

I'm more interested in, like, seeing the live plants. Like, I know you can buy seeds, but a lot of times it's hard to germinate them. So having one already started is cheating.

It's cheating.

I know. I like to cheat.

Well, I was going to say, like, how is the skull cup that you planted doing.

Yeah, it's doing really well. I harvested it because you usually harvest after the flowers bloom, which is kind of through August, you can grow it in full shade, but it prefers partial shade, so mine's in partial shade.

Really?

Yeah.

It's like there's not that much good stuff that you can plant in chains.

Oh, I know. Yeah.

To be honest, you had said that it's found in wetlands and along riverbeds. But like, what is the range in terms of where to where we typically find it grown?

You can find it natively grown from Newfoundland to British Columbia and all the way down south to Florida.

Oh, okay.

And it's hardy in zone six through nine, so you can grow some too, John.

Yeah. Okay. But then like, I guess you wouldn't find it in between. Like it would be like Newfoundland to maybe Montreal and Toronto and then nothing in the prairies in Canada at least.

It actually doesn't really spread invasively, but it can spread, spread more in really wet areas. It grows in sandy loamy or clay soil. And I think that's why mine is just like living its best life. It can deal with like mildly acidic soil. Neutral, mildly alkaline.

It's pretty verse. What about reproduction?

I can give you some slutty facts about it.

I've been waiting for that, Jeanette.

Yeah.

I want to know how slutty this plant is.

It's very slutty. The bumblebees are the primary pollinators for. For American skullcap. The flowers have like a hooded upper petal and a lower lip that provide a landing platform.

It's like uncircumcised.

I was thinking more of a female anatomy.

Also uncircumcised.

True. Yeah. Jesus. So it attracts bees that way and it directs them towards the nectar reward inside. Skullcap is also a hermaphrodite.

Love them.

So it has male and female parts so it can do some self pollination.

So like independent but like still looking out for the one.

Exactly. Some species do this thing where the flowers are closed and strictly self pollinate and that guarantees the seed production even in the absence of any pollinators.

So it's like a fused flower bound to a lifetime of chastity, but by choice. Right. So it's like a nun.

Yeah.

In Korea and Japan, I've been seeing things about people who have sworn off relationships of men. Really? Because let's be honest.

Yeah.

What is that called? It would be the equivalent to that in the plant world. People who are swearing off men. Completely celibate. Yeah, celibate. But it's like. It's like incel, but like voluntary celibate. Like a vocal.

But they still want children.

Skullcap is a vocal.

A vocal. I wonder how they'd act on the Internet.

Tell me more about the skullcap in terms of its position in this universe.

The astrology. So according to our magical book of herbs, Skullcap is feminine, right?

Oh, right. Interesting.

So that's why she don't pay no man no mind.

Oh, exactly. Vocell.

Yeah. The planet ruling planet is Saturn, and the element is water. And so Saturn doesn't have a water sign that it's associated with. Saturn is typically associated with, I believe, Capricorn and Aquarius, which are air and fire signs. But I was like, I want to talk about its zodiac. So then I dug a little deep and I realized, Jonathan, both of our Saturn planets in our natal charts are in Scorpio, which is a water sign.

So Skullcap is the Vocell that binds us.

Exactly. We're basically part skull cap.

Wow.

This is using the whole sign house system. And so I wanted to read.

No idea what you just said, but I believe you.

In case anyone's, like, copying our charts at home and trying to figure it all out, I just want them to.

Know that, like, where we were born.

Yeah.

And when we were born. All that.

They're going to figure it out. They're going to find the hospital.

It's the vocals. They're going to doxy us.

Dang it. When you were born. If Saturn is in Scorpio, what does that mean about your personality? And I'll give you a little breakdown because this is supposed to apply to both of us.

You don't want me to answer that question.

I mean, you can answer at the end. Unless you already know.

No, I have no clue, Jeanette.

Okay. It's a strong personality with intense emotion, but a blockage of your feeling nature. So you have a lot of, like, complex emotions that are generated. No, that's not. You.

Me.

I know, right? You. You're shrewd, apt to be secretive. That's the Scorpio. And you may have something of a power complex and be prone to jealousy. I'm just gonna check. Yes, for both.

Prone. Yes. But you can manage that kind of thing? I think so, yeah. Like, you have to just be, like, conscious of that. That. That you are prone to jealousy. And I would say, yeah, that sounds exactly like me, but.

And then sometimes, though, we always think of it in relationships, but I wonder if there's places in Our lives where we're prone to jealousy that we don't even realize. And not necessarily like looking at an influencer's, you know, garden and being jealous or their, you know, camera work or their podcast. But if you have your Saturn in Scorpio, you're likely to have fear surrounding the issue of emotional closeness and sexuality.

Okay, so fear emotional closeness just straight up.

Yeah, yeah. Also, Saturn and Scorpio may mean that you've become a student of the occult as a means to explore the dark realms within your psyche, which, for me.

That'S exactly what you're doing right now.

I'm doing it to you, and you love it.

Oh, my God.

And so your. Your, like, lesson in life is to learn to master and bring consciousness to those hidden drives within you. Transform the energy into healing power for yourself and those around you. I feel like the lessons are always just, like, get in touch with yourself, babes.

I have a question.

Yeah.

So, like, having a house in a certain planet, does it work in the same way as, like, your sun sign in that there's, like, there's 12 periods in a year, and each of those is associated. So, like, 1 12th, theoretically, 1 12th of the world has. This has their house in Saturn.

So it's where the planets are the moment you were born. There's 12 houses. But we're not talking about houses right now. We're just talking about. The sky is divided up into the 12 zodiacs signs constantly. And so the placement of Saturn when we were born was under Scorpio.

Oh, I see. I see. Okay.

And now I didn't include the houses because we don't know Skullcap's house. But also you and I have.

Right. Because Skullcap wasn't necessarily born.

Yeah.

Okay.

We both have different houses that are Saturns that are in Scorpio are in. So that's just. And that's a different part of our personalities. And I texted you yours. Yeah, there's. So there's 12 zodiac signs, 12 houses, God knows how many planets. Because they include the sun, the Moon, they include. I mean, astrology includes Chiron, Pluto.

Do they include.

They include your true node. Some include Lilith, which I don't even know what that is.

What about Galactica?

Sounds sure.

Probably. And so if you had to rate this 0 to Xanax, you would rate it what?

I think I would give skullcap a 10 out of 100, because that is the effectiveness compared to Valium that it said it had on mice. But it also gave me crazy nightmares. So I'll have to come back to it and see.

I guess that kind of fits the whole Halloween vibe. To have all these nightmares with was.

Some the nightmare was like weird. It was like Australia. It had to do with plants. I don't even know.

Oh God.

Now I just start recounting my verbal nightmares on our podcast. Everyone's favorite thing to listen to. People talking about their dreams.

When I drink lemon balm, I feel like I had weird dreams.

Okay, interesting.

I can't remember what they were, but.

I think it depends, like if you're prone to nightmares because I think I am prone to nightmares. So when I do have a vivid dream, it typically goes south quickly. Thanks for getting slutty with us. If you liked this episode, share it with your plant friends, your plant enemies. Email us with plants you think are slutty enough to be covered on the show. And please rate, review and share so our garden can grow.

Bye slugs.

Bye sleds.