Medicinal herbs

[Supertechmom]

So if you wanted to add to your herb garden (meager one) to include herbs to take care of the general kiddie problems - cough, congestion, allergies, bug bites, scrapes etc (not trying to cure cancer over here) but the general don't feel good but not so sick as to go to the dr and get anything - where would you start?? Expand that to various general mom complaints as well

 

Thanks!

[gaillardia]

For me, it was one thing to buy the herbs nicely packaged and then to have different herbs growing in the garden, but to start making my own STUFF? Well now I'm learning how but I have moved so I don't have the stuff growing in the yard.

I would start out by not killing the mullein. Mullein works great for us with respiratory, sinus problems. Once established it will be there for you every year.

Marshmallow may be difficult to grow depending on where you live. I like it with mullein. It is very mucilageneous (sp).

Red raspberry leaf may take a long time to get started but I like using it in tea form for sinus/virus, congestion, and when I needed it, female complaints.

Peppermint, good to hide other nasty flavors. If I was really brave I would grow Pleurisy Root specifically to harvest for cough issues. Garlic, onions. I've used these on the chest, in the ear in oil form.

Horsetail grass, helps me with calcium issues. Black walnut is fantastic for skin issues.

Are you mildly interested, a novice, experienced gardener? Just checking? Do you use herbs anyway? I grew stuff just so I could say I had it on hand if the need arose and I wasn't able to get it anywhere else, but I had not practiced harvesting my own stuff that often.

[Rosie_0801]

Aloe vera is a goodie. Easy to grow and very good for sunburn.

Calendula ointment is great for bumps and bruises, but I haven't got that far myself yet. That's the thing about kids, isn't it? They inspire us to learn this stuff, but take up all our time so we can't. :glare:

 

Rosie

[Peela]

I would like to grow echinacea. I have planted seeds several times and they haven't sprouted. I would make fresh root tincture (great for immunse system, both prevettive and when sick). You can make it with glycerine too, which tastes sweet, for kids.

I wish I hadnt let my mullein plant die, now that I have a cough.

Garlic and onions, strangely enough. Garlic infused oive oil is good for ear infectons. Onion infused honey is good for coughs (I just found out from recent experience- it helped my cough immensely to go from dry and painful, to productive).

Definitely aloe vera for all skin stuff.

Mmm,. just realise I havent said anythng others didnt already...except for echinacea.

[Supertechmom]

Are you mildly interested, a novice, experienced gardener? Just checking? Do you use herbs anyway? I grew stuff just so I could say I had it on hand if the need arose and I wasn't able to get it anywhere else, but I had not practiced harvesting my own stuff that often.

 

 

I use them for cooking and have been rather successful in growing herbs. Due to food issues, I try to use fresh and natural and make our own to avoid problems. I had the wild idea to expand that to meds since it is so hard to find meds that are safe to take. Thinking I might could ward off bigger problems with some preventative approach.

 

Wonder what resource a woman from 1700 or 1800 had that told her how to grow this stuff and use it ? Surely, it was written down somewhere.

[gaillardia]

A lot of the herbal knowledge was handed down, people teaching other people.

I am a "current" student with the school of natural healing, enrolled with the master herbalist course. I say "current" because I am taking way too long to turn in work. Mountain Rose Herbs carries a lot of helpful herb how-to books, everything from making your own shampoo, essential oils, gardening with herbs.

www.herballegacy.com

www.mountainroseherbs.com

I wish I grew echinacea also. We have pocket gophers here and I think they might like to eat the roots, one of the big problems with growing that specific plant, groundhogs and other creatures of that type like to eat it. They ruin entire crops.

We had a hawthorn tree with beautiful red berries in the fall that I could have used to make a heart tonic.

[Blueridge]

I have a friend who raises several elderberry bushes. She harvests the organic berries every year and 'brews' them with vodka to make a wonderful immunity tonic for her family. I also highly recommend this book by Rosemary Gladstar. It lists many recipes for things, so you could pick a few that you could see yourself using, and grow those herbs.

http://www.amazon.com/Rosemary-Gladstars-Herbal-Recipes-Vibrant/dp/1603420789/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269560808&sr=8-1

[mcconnellboys]

I grow echinacea and thyme. I reseed my echinacea from year to year. I transplant the thyme, which is a ground cover. I have tons of honey bees. If I could, I'd have bee hives, but I'm not allowed in my neighborhood....