I am looking for heirloom seeds. This post was edited by englishivy on Fri, Jan 10, 14 at 6:20

So the yellow, stinky stuff is called aloe latex and if you are going to consume aloe for the health benefits you want to first drain the aloe latex. The smell is normal (kind of a horrible body oder sort of smell). The latex is a powerful laxative and can really irritate your intestines. Unless you are very constipated than you want to get rid of it before eating it. I start by washing the aloe after cutting it. Cut off the ends and top of the aloe branch. Let it first sit at a 45 degree angel for 30-45 minutes. Then let it soak it soak in some water for another 20-45 minutes. This will help extract the aloe latex and leave the aloe gel. There are plenty of YouTube videos that show how to filet an aloe branch to get the gel out. But that stinky yellow substance you're smelling is natural (and naturally smells bad), nothing wrong with your aloe at all!

I think the common consensus is no....aloes and agaves can not be propagated via leaf cuttings... You will just have to wait for pups...

Some people say to let the cutting sit out a few days to get crusted over first. I've done it by waiting and not waiting. The theory of why you would want to wait is good so you can go with that if you don't want to take chances. Use a similar soil as what you're growing in, if it's from a pot. I've also had success with sticking it in the garden and it grows from there.