Hieracium pilosella
trends & technology
For the hobby gardener , growing hydroponically offers enormous opportunities and sometimes opens unsuspected alternatives . When you start a hydroponic system with the proper nutrients , you are generally struck by the rapidity of growth and the vigor of your plants ; not to mention the profusion and generosity of your yields . During the last 30 years of research on plants and hydroponics and growing plants in our greenhouses , we obviously experienced a large amount of plant varieties . One of our goals was to attain unequalled growth allied with excellent crop quality and high active principle content . Another objective was to offer new alternatives to small commercial growers , associating them to successful and economically independent ventures . During this time , we came across a large variety of plants , and nearly each time the results were astounding . Plants were plentiful , beautiful , and healthy ; they smelled sweet and tasted great . So , quite naturally , a section of our studies was directed to culinary and therapeutic plants . But if it was easy to choose the right culinary plants
“ One of our goals was to attain unequalled growth allied with excellent crop quality and high active principle content .”
( basil , sage , mint , parsley , chives , etc .), it was much more difficult to determine which medicinal varieties would be interesting to cultivate . The idea was to establish a list of high-value cash crops that we could grow in our greenhouse in France , analyze , and eventually suggest to potential small-scale commercial growers . In order to be sure of our choice , we contacted the faculty of pharmacognosis at the University of Toulouse . The faculty suggested a few plants , from which we chose Hieracium pilosella and Hypericum perforatum , which were both excellent candidates for economical , practical , and medicinal purposes .
Hieracium pilosella
Hieracium pilosella ( also called mouseear hawkweed ) has been used since ancient times for its medicinal qualities , mainly as a “ cleaner .” Historically , the sap was used to accelerate the cicatrisation ( contraction of fibrous tissue , formed at a wound site ) of internal and external wounds and to relieve kidney malfunctions . Today it is still used . Known as an astringent with strong diuretic , depurative , and antibiotic properties , it is often used to eliminate superfluous water from the body and increase the secretions of the gall bladder . All parts are used . The most common way of preparing it is by infusion of the fresh leaves for internal cleansing . Hieracium is a soil-cover , rampant ( 30 cm maximum ), colony-forming plant . It is a perennial , stoloniferous herb whose rosettes each produce a single , lemon-yellow flower between May and September . Seeds stay on the plant until the end of winter . Their largely smooth leaves vary in size according to habitat , and their under-surface features a dense cover of white hairs .
82 grow cycle