I received my first Aloe Vera plant from a friend who introduced me to its benefits and medicinal uses.
The ones I have in the photos are grown from offsets or babies from the initial mother plant.
Aloe Vera is a succulent plant that needs plenty of sunlight, at least a minimum of few hours of sun. It grows well in normal garden soil with good water drainage.
Too much of water or poor water drainage will cause root or leaves rot. It is not a deep rooted plant. It does not need much fertilizer. It is easy to grow and hardly any pest problem.
The leaves are green, thick and fleshy. The edges of the leaves are jagged. Some Aloe Vera plants have white specks on the leaves. The surface of the leaves are smooth and waxy. The leaves can grow to 35 to 36 cm (about 3 feet) long.
Aloe Vera plants can be grown in pots and in the ground.
The yellow slimy juice just below the skin of the leaves are toxic. It can cause stomach cramp, purging or skin irritation. It is best to keep out of reach of young children and pets. The part of the leaves that are edible is the transparent gel.
Aloe Vera can be propagated through offsets or baby plants. Allow the baby plants to grow to about 20 cm (8 inch) or more to allow the roots to grow before replanting them or re-potting them.
When the plants are matured, they will bloom yellow flowers in very long stalks.
Aloe Vera is widely used in medicines, cosmetic and alternative healing. It has healing and soothing properties. From my personal experience, Aloe Vera is very effective in healing of burns, cuts, abrasions, wounds, sunburns and insect bites. Remove the green skin of leaves and apply the gel directly onto affected parts.
It will stop bleeding for cuts, prevent blisters for burns and relieve itchiness. Repeat application till bleeding stop or redness of skin is gone. Other uses are for dandruff by rubbing gel onto scalp.
Another popular use is for sweet soup/drink (tong sui)...this is my simple recipe.
I bought this little cute winter melon from the road side stall after my morning walk.
I found this packet of sugar-cane rock sugar and a small packet of dried longan in my refrigerator.
Cut the winter melon into cubes after removing the skin and seeds.
Cut two Aloe Vera leaves from the plant and let the yellow slimy juice drip.
Peel off the green skin from the Aloe Vera leaves and cut the gel into cubes. Place cubes in a sieve and rinse with runny water to remove traces of yellow slimy juice. Place the winter melon, dried longan and water to boil till winter melon is soft. Then add in the rock sugar and boil till sugar dissolve. Finally, add Aloe Vera and once water boil, turn off the fire. I love chilled Aloe Vera sweet soup/drink, very refreshing.
Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
(Proverbs 16:24)
