Gardening is the purest of human pleasures

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July 2, 2009

Jo Anne Boudreau, Democrat Columnist

Anonymous The Weatherford Democrat Thu Jul 02, 2009, 04:37 PM CDT

Over two thousand years ago, a 58 year old man by the name of He Shou Wu in China was so despondent over not having a desire to take a wife that he drank himself into a stupor, staggered up on a mountainside and passed out under a tree. When he came too he lay there looking up into the tree at a beautiful vine intertwined growing all the way to the top of the tree. He lay there thinking that that was the way he wanted to be with a woman. He dug a small piece of the vine and roots and took it to the village elder to find out what it was. This old village herbalist told him that the vine had fabulous restorative and reviving powers. He started growing the vine in his yard and drank a cup a day of tea made from the stems and leaves (some use only the roots but I’m not into killing the plant to get the roots since modern lab analysis shows the stems and leaves to have almost as much healing power as the roots). After several days his virility was restored and he soon married and fathered 32 children and lived to the ripe old age of 136 (documented). Since that time the herb plant has been known as He Shou Wu.

He Shou Wu can grow in almost any soil but prefers warm, moist, sandy soil with plenty of organic matter and shade. I wrapped 8-foot tall chicken wire loosely around two big oak trees in my back yard and planted He Shou Wu at the base of each tree. As the vines grew, I threaded the young tender vines into the wire. The vines quickly covered the chicken wire and grew on up into the trees all the way to the top. I cut a tall piece of cattle panel to fit in a big galvenized tub, filled the tub with a mixture of 2/3 potting soil and 1/3 sand. The sand helps hold nutrients and moisture in the soil. I planted a He Shou Wu plant in the tub and it soon covered the tub and cattle panel. This is one vigorous vine that brings vigor to anyone that eats it or makes tea with in. He Shou Wu is covering a fence next to my herb store porch. There’s plenty of He Shou Wu growing around this herb farm for harvesting, drying and packaging to sell in the herb store. I gather big sprigs of this wonderful herb every day for tea and to add to soups and stir-fries.

He Shou Wu grows best when given lots of well-rotted manure, mushroom compost or other organic fertilizers. I dump wheelbarrow loads of manure and old hay around He Shou Wu when I clean out the dairy goat shed during the winter while the plants are dormant. This heavy winter feeding causes the leaves to come back early in late winter before the last frost and to grow a bumper crop of leaves and vines throughout the growing season. This is one super hardy plant.

This herb has been used for hundreds of years by millions of people to increase vitality and restore youthful vigor. I call it ‘herbal viagra.’ This is the number one herb in Japan today. An 80 something woman told me she was still suffering from hot flashes. They went away when she started drinking a cup of He Shou Wu tea every day. Many women tell me that hot flashes are a thing of the past once they start drinking a cup of He Shou Wu tea and a half cup of Pomegranate juice every day. He Shou Wu’s reputation borders on mystical for strengthening the reprodutive system in men and woman alike, getting rid of hot flashes, backaches, joint pain and prostate problems. It cleanses the heart and arteries, cleanses fat and lipids from the blood, and cleanses the liver, gall bladder and kidneys. It is relaxing – helps us deal with stress and anxiety. Studies show it contains the youth enhancing resveratrol and lecithin, two compounds that are beneficial in lowering cholesterol and enhancing circulation. Find He Shou Wu plants and tea at Boudreau Herb Farm.

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