How to raise your own cleansing soapberries. That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.
If you’re looking for an eco-friendly soap that you can use for many applications in your home, soapnuts are an awesome option you can grow yourself.
The shell, or the outer layer of the drupe, contains saponin. This creates a soaping effect when the shell is mixed with water. The resulting suds are totally natural and can replace many chemical-laden products.
People use soapnuts for cleaning laundry, as a shampoo or body-soap, and for many other cleaning projects.
Soapnut trees are deciduous and grow up to 60 feet tall, and start producing nuts in three to nine years. You can start growing soapnuts in containers for a couple of seasons, but they’ll soon outgrow the pots. Plant in full sun with some partial shade during the heat of the day. Soapnut is forgiving and will grow in most soil types as long as the earth holds moisture but drains excess water away. If your area has a native soapnut variety, grow that particular one for the best chance of success.
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For more information about growing your own Soapnut tree for Soapberries, click here.