Do you like to tackle projects on your own? Yeah, me too. I have been coloring my own hair for years, painting my own nails and even making my own candles. I am even teaching myself how to play the guitar rather than paying for lessons I cannot afford.
You might say I just do not like to spend money, but in reality, it is sort of a personal challenge to do as much as I can on my own. So, when I looked into ordering hoodia supplements, I thought, why not try growing hoodia myself?
Well, that was a bit of a mistake. I found out that hoodia is grown in the Kalahari Desert in South Africa and that it is a succulent. It can suppress your appetite because of a component called p57 contained in the hoodia plant. This component acts as glucose in the body, which staves off hunger by fooling the brain into thinking you do not need to eat. (Hunger is triggered by low blood glucose). Though I knew I could not develop a pill form of hoodia, I knew the natives in South Africa chew on the stems, so why could I not? Or perhaps make some sort of tea with the plant.
So, I ordered my hoodia seeds and special Kalahari sand. The sand cost more than the seeds and I knew why soon after I planted them. In just a few short weeks, my plants were getting bigger and looked nothing like a hoodia plant or anything like a succulent for that matter. They were marigolds! I would have been taken! I called the company, but after being put on hold for 30 minutes, I decided to part ways with my $20 and move forward.
I had already blabbed to everyone I knew that I was going to grow my own hoodia plants. I could not exactly back out now. Instead, I researched some companies and found authentic hoodia seeds and special sand. The seeds were pricey, but I was not going to let that deter me. You are thinking I should have just sprung for the $60 bottle of hoodia appetite suppressants, but I was determined!
I planted the seeds and prayed for the best. In about three weeks, I had little finger-like plants springing up through the (expensive) sand. Okay, now that is what a succulent should look like! It was not long and I had little flowers on my little hoodia fellows. The smell of sweet success! Well, actually the smell of “stinky” success. The flowers on a hoodia plant have an odor meant to attract flies for pollination. Yes, they smell like rotting flesh!
I had to move them to the garage and rid my house of the stench (and the flies). Stinky or not, I had an obligation to my little hoodia plants. I did what I could, but they soon began to develop some sort of fungus. At first, I wondered if this was just another unpleasant hoodia characteristic, but no such luck. I found out that even professionals have difficulty growing hoodia. The crops succumb to a myriad of fungus and disease quite easily.
My plants withered away and I had to give up my D.I.Y. project. My friends have not said much. I suppose they are just happy they do not have to put smelling salts under their noses to visit my house anymore (or swat away the flies). South Africa can keep its corner on the hoodia market. And yeah, okay, I ended up paying the $60 for the bottle of hoodia supplements. There is a happy ending. I have lost five pounds so far!
Can you grow your own hoodia? Go there and join our great hoodia community on Facebook.
