Harvesting MHRB - Suggestions?

[MelCat]

SWIM has a friend who has several mimosa trees on their property.

Given their amount of free time and lack of funds, harvesting their own powder seems like the most cost effective route.

Not to mention it allows verification that the utmost respect goes into the harvesting process.

Which brings me to the main point of this post...

It seems that everyone says it is the mimosa "root bark" that is the effective material for extractions.

What doesn't make sense to SWIM is that if it is the actual "root bark" that needs to be harvested, it seems very mean and disrespectful to take a trees roots.

SWIM has heard that the inner bark of the branches can be used instead.

I've been searching the forums and other sites for the best (most respectful to the plant) way of harvesting her glory.

Can anyone help shed some light on the best part of the tree to use and how to go about harvesting it with respect?

SWIM doesn't want to cause any significant damage to the trees.

Thanks...

 

[Doc Buxin]

SWIM has a friend who has several mimosa trees on their property.

Given their amount of free time and lack of funds, harvesting their own powder seems like the most cost effective route.

Not to mention it allows verification that the utmost respect goes into the harvesting process.

Which brings me to the main point of this post...

It seems that everyone says it is the mimosa "root bark" that is the effective material for extractions.

What doesn't make sense to SWIM is that if it is the actual "root bark" that needs to be harvested, it seems very mean and disrespectful to take a trees roots.

SWIM has heard that the inner bark of the branches can be used instead.

I've been searching the forums and other sites for the best (most respectful to the plant) way of harvesting her glory.

Can anyone help shed some light on the best part of the tree to use and how to go about harvesting it with respect?

SWIM doesn't want to cause any significant damage to the trees.

Thanks...

Well, I'm not an expert on Mimosa (yet), but I do have a good 20 years of bonsai experience under my belt.

The point being that, with bonsai trees, we have to trim their roots at least every couple years more or less, depending on the species & what kind of pot the tree is in.

The rule is to never cut more than 1/3 of the total roots of the tree. This way the tree continues to thrive while still in it's little container.

I'd wager that you could do the same thing with a regular-size tree.

In fact, it just so happens that I'm getting to try that theory out myself right now.

Yesterday I harvested a giant piece of root from a huge, old Mimosa tree. I will be watching it intently in the next several weeks/months to see if it continues to thrive.

After all, the idea is that it's supposed to be a sustainable harvest, not raping nature. God knows our species has done much too much of that.

I wish you well with your Mimosa project MelCat & I hope what I've brought to the table here helps in some way!

 

[BundleflowerPower]

I've been wondering the same thing. Before the one hard freeze we had this year I trimmed most of the leaves off of my trees, since they were going to die anyway. Luckily my trees survived the cold but I'm wondering about the stems as well. I've read in couple of forums that the leaves are active as well, but I don't have any sources to back that up. Can anyone verify this?

I'm currently making a tincture out of the leaves and some smaller stems. I had about 20 grams of them. I just used the whole stems after I cut them into pieces. Will let you all know how that goes.

From what I've heard and my own experience growing mimosa, it's a very resilient tree. It can take being pruned back severely.

Last year I had one in a large pot, cut 4 large holes in it and placed that pot into an even larger one. Then filled the void space with soil. A sort of double pot set up. I got a nice harvest of small rootlets in no time. But I didn't get to brew them because I burned my leg with boiling water right after I harvested them. This was a severe burn, like 3rd degree over my entire inner thigh, and even where the sun don't shine. I had read about using mimosa for burns so I made brew and applied it several times a day. The burn was completely healed in 2 or 3 weeks. It was amazing.

I did do a little burn test on the material and it smelled just like burned acacia confusa rootbark, like dmt. The double pot method seems to work very nicely, perhaps next time I'll try to make a larger space between the pots to allow the roots which grow into it become larger.

 

[DansMaTete]

I got 2 mimosas (6 months old) so i'm interested about harvest without killing them. I had the same idea as BundleflowerPower (double pot set up) but i didn't do it yet. Another system would be to divide a big pot into four : first year harvest a quarter of roots an next year another one and so on. I would be really happy to know if rootlets contain DMT or if it's only in older roots with bark on them.

FYI :

Trimming adult Mimosa tenuiflorae during the rainy season is not recommended because it can cause them to perish

About tronc/branch bark : i tought it doesn't contain DMT and that's why you can find it everywhere on the web (you can order it legaly even where MHRB is forbidden) this mimosa tenuiflora bark powder used for skin care (regenerate epidermal tissue). And i heard few time people complaining about extraction fail and it turned out tronc/branch bark was used.

Other tought : season seems important for DMT content in RB so it could be the same in other parts of the plant. Dry season is when alkaloids concentration is the most important in RB => it could be the opposite in stem/leaves, higher concentration in rainy season (<= lots of guessing in there :?: ).

 

[Doc Buxin]

Well, after further investigation, it seems as though I've actually got Mimosa opthalmocentra root bark rather than the hostilis species. Interesting....

 

[Continuum]

Mimosa opthalmocentra, huh? Lucky you! If they are flowering age, please consider sharing the seeds....

Air layering might be an idea in addition to the double pot and could be done for trees in the ground. Planning to try it this Spring for the first time myself (on an ophthal, no less) for propagation, but maybe it would work for sustainable harvest as well.

 

[Doc Buxin]

Mimosa opthalmocentra, huh? Lucky you! If they are flowering age, please consider sharing the seeds....

Air layering might be an idea in addition to the double pot and could be done for trees in the ground. Planning to try it this Spring for the first time myself (on an ophthal, no less) for propagation, but maybe it would work for sustainable harvest as well.

I will indeed consider sharing the seeds for they are prolific on this particular specimen due to the tree's old age. I have already collected quite a few myself. Thanks for the tip Continuum!

 

[Doc Buxin]

Wonderful news fellow nexians!!!

As I stated previously, I have decades of experience doing bonsai as an art form.

When doind bonsai, one is required, from time to time, to trim the roots of the trees in order to keep them healthy. Just as a good trimming of the aeriel portions annually can keep a tree very healthy & happy.

Well, the Mimosa tree that I harvested roots from at the end of February is thriving!!! Yea!!!

Just as I suspected, even though I dug up & chainsawed some mighty big root pieces, the total harvest was less than 1/3 of the entire root system of the tree & this is the % that one wants to shoot for.

In general, if one is careful & respectful, (which one should always be when dealing with trees) one can harvest no more than 1/3 of the roots of a given tree in a given growing season & if the tree was healthy to begin with, said harvest should not take away any of that healthiness.

After checking on the tree this morning, I was so excited to share this wonderful news with you all!:d

P.S.: I harvested the roots in February purposely because that's when I do my bonsai root trimming also, being that it is late-winter/early spring time here in the Northern hemisphere & the trees, while still dormant, are preparing to come out of their dormancy period at this time. This is the time, according to my bonsai teachers, that one should trim the roots of a tree.

 

[BundleflowerPower]

Nice. I'm happy the tree is thriving. Like you said, as long as one is respectful and has the right intention, the tree will be alright. And if not, one can take it as a lesson for the future.

This is just my opinion, but the more I work with plants, the more I think that they can sense our intentions. The tree was probably happy that someone appreciated it enough to work with it, which is rare these days.

 

[Doc Buxin]

Nice. I'm happy the tree is thriving. Like you said, as long as one is respectful and has the right intention, the tree will be alright. And if not, one can take it as a lesson for the future.

This is just my opinion, but the more I work with plants, the more I think that they can sense our intentions. The tree was probably happy that someone appreciated it enough to work with it, which is rare these days.

All the trees that I have the privilege to work with, I feel, are "happy". I give them all great attention & love.

It kills a little piece of my heart whenever I lose a tree.

From my very first psychedelic trip on mushrooms over 30 years ago, I KNEW that I had to be close to trees at all times. It was something deeply ingrained in my soul. Probably because I grew up surrounded by fruit orchards & giant conifers that my great-grandfather & grandfather planted.

My father also happens to be an expert tree trimmer. More than likely that's why I ended up getting into the art of bonsai.