Making Your Own Herb Garden: Facts About Coca Plants
The coca plant is one of the most prejudiced plants currently being produced and used. Most commonly associated with being the species which cocaine is created from, it has the stereotype of being a dangerous plant. However, the coca plant has many valid and safe uses, which have been used by herbalists since the discovery of the plants. That’s why it’s also beneficial for you to have these plants in making your herb garden.
The coca plant thrives in South America, Africa, Ceylon, Taiwan, Indonesia and Formosa. However, it is most commonly identified for its existence in the Andes of South America, where the greatest volume of cocaine is being made. The first known written source of the species was in 1783, but it was not classified until 1786, where it was given the name Erythroxylum coca. However, it is believed that the coca plant has been tended as a domestic plant for over two thousand years. There is proof within burial grounds of coca to support this theory.
Caring for the coca plant needs diligence and effort. The life of the coca plant starts as a fruit, which is gathered when the drupes are almost ripe. These drupes are set within a container and left to sit where the skin of the fruit becomes squishy. Once this has happened, the seeds are taken and the seeds are placed in the sunlight in order for them to dry out.
Only once this occurs, the seeds can be sown. It takes 24 days for the coca plant to germinate. Once the plant has grown 4 leaves, they are protected by a lattice covering for a year.
After the year has ended, the plants are transferred to preparation fields. This transportation can only be done during the rainy days. Three years after this transfer, some leaves may be harvested. Once the coca plant is able to be processed, they are harvested three or four times a year. A fully established acre of coca plants can yield 1,500 to 2,000 pounds of product per year.
While coca plants are annual, a field will be replanted once every twenty years, as the quality of the plant fades over time.
The most common use of coca plants is in the popular soft drink, Coca-Cola. While this soda no longer contains cocaine, it is still created directly from the coca leaf.
In starting your herb garden, as coca plants are so pricey, there are many steps taken to protect the crops from natural predators and disease. There are several varieties of insects that eat on the coca plants, as well as fungus that can harm or kill the stalks, branches and leaves. Weeds can also be devastating to young coca plants, as the weeds rid the soil of the nutrients that the plants need for basic life. In making your own herb garden, it’s good to know that there are also some medicinal benefits with the coca plant. Modern medicinal uses of coca include use as a bactericide, as spinal anesthetics and as treatments for ailments such as eczema and shingles.