The Salvia divinorum Research and Information Center - Shroomery

Erowid Salvia Divinorum Vault : Cultivating Diviner's Sage
Aphids are a little more resistant to a simple castile soap spray, so I recommend using insecticidal soap on them.
These soaps contain salts of fatty acids and are quite safe to use, even within days of harvest. The directions
say the soap can be left on, but I wash the leaves off the following day after application just to be safe.
There are some biological controls that work wonderfully. The parasitic wasp Encarsia formosa is very effective
against whitefly. These tiny wasps are barely visible to the eye. They lay their eggs inside developing whitefly
pupa, so one of their young hatches out instead of the whitefly. For aphids, try ladybugs or Aphidoletes
aphidimyza (see source on page 35 for these).
I fertilize my plants about once a month with fish emulsion when they are outdoors in the summer. In the winter I
use Stern's Miracid as Salvia divinorum likes acidic soil. Feeding a lot of nitrogen to your plants will attract more
problem insects to them, so cut back on fertilizing as part of the strategy to bring pests under control. lifespan.
For all practical purposes, the lifespan of a Salvia divinorum plant is about five to six years. The plants get woody
as they age, growth slows, and they become more brittle and start to fall apart. If they have been staked and
prevented from falling over and rerooting, then it is time to take some cuttings and start again. Cuttings from an
old plant will show the same vigor as cuttings from a younger plant.
Preparing the Leaves Salvia divinorum leaves should be dried in a food dehydrator on a medium high setting
(130-140 degrees). At this temperature, drying will take between one to two hours depending on the size of the
leaves. I remove the mid ribs on the large leaves and they never take more than one hour to dry. Drying at lower
temperatures causes the leaves to lose their green color and turn brown. The leaves are 90% water, so ten
grams of fresh leaves equals one gram of dried material. It takes a lot of fresh leaves to produce one ounce of
dried leaves; a gallon size plastic bag stuffed full with leaves weighs only two ounces.
Once dry, I push the leaves through a sieve to powder them, then pack the powder tightly into glass vials and
store in the freezer. The potency of salvinorin A will be retained for many years this way. Fresh leaves can be
stored in the refrigerator for a few days before losing potency, but be sure to keep them in a plastic bag with a
damp paper towel. Freezing fresh leaves does not work, as when thawed they turn into a slimy mess. Leaves
can be juiced using a wheat grass juicer and then frozen for long term storage. When thawed, the juice is held in
the mouth as is done with the fresh leaves. Dried leaves can be reconstituted by soaking in a small amount of
water and then chewed.
Since Salvia divinorum is one of the rarest of all plant entheogens, it is my hope that many people will choose to
cultivate this plant. It was almost driven into extinction once, so let's work to preserve this valuable plant ally for
future generations to enjoy.
Salvia Resources Allies
(Formerly ... of the jungle.)
P.O. Box 2422
Sebastopol, CA 95473
$2 Catalog (Deductible from your first order.)
The Basement Shaman
P.O. Box 1255
Elgin, IL 60121
847-695-2447
bshaman@interaccess.com
$2 Catalog
BPC
P.O. Box 1368
Sebastopol, CA 95473
$2 Catalog
Companion Plants
7247 N. Coolville Ridge Rd.
Athens, OH 45701
614-592-4643
http://www.frognet.net/companion_plants/
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