My aloe plant and I: improve our human/plant relationship?

I have a huge aloe plant that's several years old. (I'm not sure if I have a green thumb, but house plants seem to last forever with me!)

The aloe and I spend a lot of time staring at each other, but little more :-). In a way that's great because I never burn myself and so don't need the care of the plant. It sits in a big pot that I've placed into a shiny copper basin in our dining room beside a southeast window and seems to enjoy its own existence next to my husband's potted bay leaf tree.

I like aloe hand creams, but find aloe straight-up too sticky. Are there any other uses for this abundance of aloe? And can I mix it with other natural ingredients to make something useful? Also, can I "farm" some of the aloe now and store it properly, or does it deteriorate easily? Is it necessary to even farm it now and store it?

I froze many pounds of my husband's incredibly yummy summer tomtatoes starting in September because, after cooking about a ton of them over the summer, and giving away another ton, it looked like we would never finish the tomatoes that kept coming and coming in his incredible "Earth Boxes." (This was the 1st year he tried them, and the abundance that grew was truly incredible! I STRONGLY recommend them to everyone to at least try! See earthboxes.com as a starting place, although I'm sure DG could recommend the best place to buy them. We had 3 to start, and plan to buy at least 3 or 4 more and grow a large variety of veggies in them, besides the superb tomatoes and delicious cucumbers he expermented with...more than 1 type of plant can be grown in each Earth Box.)

Now where was I? Oh yes, I froze the summer tomatoes, but surely frozen aloe gel would be silly :-)

Aloe is an ancient and wonderful gift...I'm hoping to find uses worthy of it. So is my aloe plant :-)

Lila

P.S. Here's a photo of my aloe plant next to my husband's bay leaf tree...the bay tree enjoys summers outside in it's pot.

Lila

This message was edited Jan 15, 2006 11:28 AM

I found it interesting to see rows and rows of aloe vera plants growing in south Texas as crops. Seems like they find more and more uses for the plant everyday. I have several aloe vera plants that take little care inside our house. In the summer I put them on the porch and enjoy them alot.

cuckoo

Aloe is good for a toner or astringent for your face. It controls acne, tightens pores, & reduces redness from irritation. It is used as a skin refresher on hot, humid days - when your skin can become inflamed from the heat. It is sensitive skin's best friend. It is also wonderful for burns, scrapes & scratches, rashes, sunburned skin & scalp, hangnails, cold sores, diaper rash, eczema - anything that is injures skin can benefit from aloe vera. The stickiness is gone after it dries - just wipe off any globs. I usually break off a sinmgle leaf & place it in a paper cup in the bathroom, in view so I remember to use it often. It will only last a couple of days, before browning. It can be used on the skin prior to a lotion or mositurizer, for added kick. It is your most useful cosmetic - so begin by experimenting, & see what it can do for you. I cannot reccommend using it for consumption - it tastes awful :)
Julie

Oh yeah - THAT taste...ugh! Personally - the smell "ain't" too great either...but it's a remarkable plant. OH btw - that taste works great as a deterrent to animals chewing on things they shouldn't. I just brush in on whatever's being gnawed on...seems to do the trick every time. LOL

I know of a nail biter and I laughed thinking that aloe plant juice might work to stop this nail biter!!!!!!

cuckoo

Aloe as an animal repellant?? What a novel idea! That had never ever occurred to me... We have an 8-month old kitten who seems to think that all plants are his to chew. Especially my poor potted gardenias (both of which are also trying to fight off some weird bug/mite thing that I just cannot get rid of) :( So sad! I was planning on going shopping for a houseplant in the next day or two and I think I will add an aloe plant to my list.

I don't know much about aloe other than I absolutely love it for my very, very sensitive and dry skin. Are there multiple types? Do I need to worry about any of them being harmful to our little kitten/plant muncher?

There are all types of aloes!! As for Mr. Kitty...I'd check w/your vet being that he probably weighs a tad less then my rottie - LOL.
Good luck!!

Silly Mr. Kitty can and will eat just about ANYTHING. I mean, not like a normal kitty... He's not that picky. He eats all the usual things, and he's especially a big fan of ham and green beans, but he also eats RAW garlic right off the cutting board as I perpare dinner! And he eats tomatoes, pickles, saltines, green onions, spinach, hummus, taboulli, pitas, bread, pancakes, waffles, maple syrup, raspberries, blueberries.... I could go on for hours. And here he is sitting my lap as I type! He's "merrh"ing at me, I think he knows I'm typing about food :) If your rottie won't be harmed by aloe, I feel certain that this little rascal will be absolutely fine with anything I bring home. I swear, Umlaut can digest anything. Aloe should be quite a welcome addition. At least it won't sit on my knee and talk as I eat.

Aloe flavored yogurt is actually quite popular in some Asian countries, and also in Mexico. I read about it recently in an export products report from the US Dairy Council. Not that I'm suggesting you make aloe yogurt, it's just another interesting bit of info!

Try placing a bowl of catnip for your little devilish kitty... they love the munch on greens, & the catnip seems to hit the spot. My cats rarely touch my plants. The exception is the spider plant - which is irresistable to most cats! But your kitty sounds like he needs his own salad bar!
Julie

Lila, Aloe freezes beautifully. Just put your leaf or leaves in a plastic bag and pop them in the freezer. Remember, don't cut them crossways, cut them lengthwise, and the leaf will "heal" itself over, so you won't have the chopped off look. Try rubbing some frozen leaf on sunburned skin, and you will thank your plant and your freezer!!:)

flyingfeather - GREAT tip re cutting the aloe...I'd never heard that before....and have to admit I hate the "chopped" look but love the benefits of aloe. :) Always seemed to be a double-edged sword.

Great idea about freezing aloe! I'm not a sun worshiper, so no sunburns, but it may just make a wonderfully "cool" hand cream type of application straight from the freezer :-) for the backs of my hands that always get really dry.

Frozen aloe also might quiet irritated insect bites (which I truly and deeply hate)...nothing like a good scratching of a bug bite, but nothing worse than how miserable and raw it feels after that scratching.

Lila

This message was edited Mar 6, 2006 12:14 AM

I make my own little Cream stuff with my aloe

i use like 12 huge leaves scrape it all out then place in blender with shea butter johoba oil and a little warm wather with disolved pectin in it. blend it for a whille the place it in the fridge, i use the stuff for everything, i just had some cosmetic surgery and its working wonders on my scars. next batch im going to use cocoa butter though

anna