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Meet Traute Klein, biogardener.

Marijuana, Ukrainian Companion Plant

by Traute Klein, biogardener

Whereas our American neighbors think of their country as a melting pot, we Canadians see our country as a multicultural society. Today I want to highlight the contribution of one of the most visible of ethnic groups in Manitoba, the Ukrainians.

Historical Background

There is a close connection between Ukrainians and Germans and they get along very well, even though they come from totally different ethnic backgrounds. The reason is historical. Russian rulers liked to marry German princesses who brought with them their German culture and the teachers who were to impart that culture to the Russians.

The vast expanses of the Russian steppes were inhabited by nomadic peoples, and the Russian court invited German farmers to settle those steppes, hopefully inspiring the nomadic tribes to settle down and try their hand at farming. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian nomadic tribes were not inclined to submit to the Russian rule until they were decimated by a systematic starvation campaign.

Even though the German communities remained separated from the slavic population, their cultures mingled. Both united in spirit against the oppressive Russian rule.

To this day, Ukrainians and Germans cooperate like brothers wherever they are found in the world. The only Ukrainian university is located in Munich, Germany, because the Ukrainian population in what is now Ukraine were deported by the regime of the USSR and replaced with Russians from the north. If you want to receive your university education in the Ukrainian language, you need to go to Germany. Several of my Manitoba friends have received their PhD in Ukrainian in Bavaria.

Natural Methods

Like German immigrants, the Ukrainians in Manitoba love natural methods of gardening. About 20 years ago, one Ukrainian lady who was getting upset with the pests in her garden in Winnipeg. She remembered that in her homeland, she had used a companion plant to keep insect pests away from her veggies. She wrote to her family in the old country, and they sent her the seeds for the herb. The following summer, her garden was free of pests, protected by companion plants.

Unfortunately, that companion plant was on the list of banned plants in Manitoba, and the police confiscated her plants and charged her with possession of narcotics. The plant was Cannabis sativa, commonly known as marijuana, a native of her homeland, a most effective natural protector from insect pests.

Don't Waste Your Resources

I have talked to my Ukrainian friends about their use of marijuana. None of them have ever thought of wasting it for hallucinatory purposes.

"Why waste a perfectly good plant by burning it?" they ask me. "It does not even smell good."

It gets planted around the periphery of gardens to act as a barrier against pests. The seeds are gathered not only for next year but also to make flour or to toast and eat as snacks. Those snacks are, in fact, available in Winnipeg grocery stores.

The fibres from the stems are harvested and used like those of flax. The cannabis fibres are called hemp, and the flax fibres are called linen.

Postscript

At the Winnipeg Herbfest in June 2003, a University of Manitoba librarian of Ukrainian heritage spoke on Ukrainian herbs. She speaks Ukrainian and Russian and has traveled in Ukraine to research the use of all kinds of herbs. It turns out that the marijuana from Ukraine is of no value as a drug, because the banned elements are strong enough to scare away garden pests but not strong enough to have the expected effects on people. The plant is grown for its fibre, and the most expensive clothes are made from it. I also found out from a guest at Herbfest that the Du Pont company was behind the banning of the plant in North America. They were promoting their new invention, "Nylon," as the substitute for hemp and wanted to eliminate the competition of the natural fibre. There is a film available on the subject, but I have not yet gotten around to viewing it. The librarian knew the son of the old lady who grew the marijuana in her garden. He told her that his mother never did understand what she was supposed to have done wrong, because she doesn't know a thing about illegal drugs.

Another Ukrainian Companion Plant

In the vast steppes of Asia, poppies are also a companion plant. I have written about the use of companion plants for grains in Germany in the article, "Chamomile instead of Herbicide and Pesticide."

Poppy seeds are an important ingredient of Ukrainian cuisine. My father grew lots of poppies in our garden in Germany, and the memory of my mother's delicious poppy seed cake makes my mouth water. Our family's custom of eating poppy seed soup on Christmas Eve is derived from the Ukrainian traditional 12 course Christmas Eve dinner.

When Ukrainians are reminded that opium is derived from the unripe seed pods of poppies, they shake their heads and mutter, "Why waste a perfectly good poppy plant? Too much fuss for too little return! You would have to drain the latex from the unripe seedpod. Why would you do that when you can get good food from it?"

T That is what I would expect from good Ukrainians, just like from the good Germans who raised me. We would consider it sinful to waste good food, and poppy seeds are really good food. Very tasty.

© Traute Klein, biogardener