My parents want to start growing some Irish moss in their yard. Has anybody ever dealt with it, and know a good place to purchase some, or some good growing tips? Thanks.
The internet is full of info on buying and growing this plant. Are you looking for info beyond what is already published?
djm
Is their back yard a rocky northern ocean coastline, that’s where we always collected carrageen when we were kids. I guess you could be talking about Sagina 
The internet is full of info on buying and growing this plant. Are you looking for info beyond what is already published?
djm
The internet is full of info on buying and growing this plant. Are you looking for info beyond what is already published?djm
I just wanted some input from the people here as well.
[quote=“The Whistle Collector”]
My parents want to start growing some Irish moss in their yard. Has anybody ever dealt with it, and know a good place to purchase some, or some good growing tips? Thanks.
[/quote]Is their back yard a rocky northern ocean coastline, that’s where we always collected carrageen when we were kids. I guess you could be talking about > Sagina > >
They actually live in the mountains of West N.C. I know it grows where you are talking about, but I read somewhere that you can grow it in my parents’ area with a little bit of extra care.
Is their back yard a rocky northern ocean coastline, that’s where we always collected carrageen when we were kids. I guess you could be talking about > Sagina > >
They actually live in the mountains of West N.C. I know it grows where you are talking about, but I read somewhere that you can grow it in my parents’ area with a little bit of extra care.
[/quote]
NC has some of the very best nurseries and public gardens in NA. I would contact some of them and get a list of nurseries in your area, I’m sure there are some good ones and they would be the most likely to have a Sagina species that would do well in your area.
http://www.ncarboretum.org/
My favoritehttp://www.ncbg.unc.edu/
http://www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum/index.php
When I was very young one of my favorite treats was Irish Moss custard, but the seaweed not the terrestrial.
PS if you are near this placehttp://www.sandymushherbs.com/index.html you might enjoy their nursery, the drive is a little narrow and steep but they carry Sagina
Thanks a lot for that info dwest 
I really appreciate it.
your avatar is, well,… really… realistic…
Thanks, I feel that it expresses the same emotions that I share with the computer as well.
I thought there was a seaweed version of Irish moss, but others around me thought not. I think it’s the seaweed that’s used as finings (clarifying agent) in homebrewing.
I can’t look at it. I have to scroll past it in the threads (while speed-reading to the extent possible).
Seaweed or fish guts, that’s why some brews aren’t vegetarian safe. 
I put a bit of Irish moss in my yard last year (a section about 4’x4’). It’s hanging on through the winter–we’ll see how it does in the spring. It seems to take rough handling as it was transplanted when I changed my vision for my little garden. It was growing nicely at the end of the summer. If it fills in where I’ve put it, it’ll be lovely.
Susan
I use Irish Moss when making beer… helps clear it up a bit…
hmmmm… Now I am convinced to get some. Thanks for all the tips and advice. I will have to keep that in mind when making beer nest time jkwest; it really sounds delectable.
lol…you may have to hang and dry it and then grind it…the Irish Moss I put in is always a powder…not sure the process from live moss to usable beer ingredient.. may want to look into it…BTW, its not for flavor…just a clearing solution..so you don’t have cloudy, murky beer.
Thanks for that, I was going to try and make an Irish seaweed stout. 
But since you say it is just for clearing, I guess I wont now. I am actually quite fond of the murky beer; it makes me feel like a man when I drink it. 
We use to collect carrageenan as kids and my grandfather and mother would wash it, heat it with milk and some vanilla bean and sugar to make a custard, basically like agar agar except I prefer that with coconut flavor or for culturing fungi and bacterium. Good for tissue culture too. Anyway look on the ingredients list of many commerical ice creams and you will likely see carrgeenan, Irish Moss.
Oooohhh the possibilities with this little Chondrus crispus has. There is so much to do with it. I don’t know if I will be able to grow the seaweed kind; perhaps the Sagina subulata I might get. I will try to grow the seaweed out though.
Set up a 200 gallon saltwater tank with a rock substrat, a chiller unit and a tide unit with a couple of 1500 watt super super metal halide lamps and I’ll bet you could grow some. Or you could order some powdered from Carolina Biological Supply. 
I’ve never used isinglass in beer – only wine. Fortunately my vegetarian friends are beer drinkers for the most part. Plus my wife is a wine collector, so guests get the good stuff. The house red goes almost entirely to my father.