The Healing Garden: Cultivating and Handcrafting Herbal Remedies

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Plant out young plants after hardening off. Make sure the soil or compost is moist at planting time: Getting really clear with your intention before taking action can support you in taking the right steps for you on this gardening journey. This is true for just about everything in life, but something as earthy as gardening gives intention extra importance. There are many easy-to-grow, easy-to-use herbs that you can harvest and prepare to treat minor illnesses. Every medicinal garden should include chamomile, yarrow, lemon balm, echinacea and peppermint. These five basics are safe and effective for the vast majority of people when used as simple teas, poultices or salves. Echinacea: Super Immune-Booster Use the lists in the section on Choosing Woodland Herbs for Your Garden below to learn which plants and trees grow well together and enjoy the same habitats. This also applies when it comes to supplying your plants nutrients.Make sure to note how much fertilizer your particular plants prefer and don’t assume that all herbs want the same amount. 6 Big Mistakes to Avoid

To make a yarrow tea, pour a cup of boiling water over 1 to 2 teaspoons of the dried herb and steep, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, then sip. Drink three cups per day to treat colds and early fevers. Yarrow is not considered toxic, but some people may have an allergic reaction to it. Lemon Balm: A Tasty Healer If you’re working with a young forest, or one that has been damaged, it’s possible you won’t find many (or any) existing medicinal species. This doesn’t mean you can’t grow woodland herbs! But do take extra note of the existing tree species, as well as the other considerations described below when choosing plants for your forest garden. Maddie: Very cool. So out of curiosity, when you're going in and you're planting and getting your garden space all figured out, and how many of you want to plant all of that, how do you determine that? I know there's formulas and everything when you're trying to do your vegetable garden, how much you want to preserve and all of those kinds of things. But when it comes to medicinal herb gardens, I don't know, maybe I just freeze and it's really simple and I'm just making it way too difficult. Some of your herbal medicines will need harvesting once a season; others can be harvested all season long, while still other herbs may take a few years until you can harvest their medicine. Remember to take this into consideration when designing your garden layout. For example, place regularly harvested herbs like calendula ( Calendula officinalis) and lemon balm ( Melissa officinalis) closer to the path of your home, and plants like echinacea ( Echinacea purpurea) and astragalus ( Astragalus propinquus) in a less frequented or disturbed area as they will only need harvesting every couple years. Lemon Balm– Lemon balm is in the mint family, which means it will spread if not maintained. There are ways to avoid this, but it’s worth considering before deciding where to plant. Traditionally used for digestion and calming factors.Now, you know me and I am an advocate for raising as much of the things that you use as possible, and that includes growing your own herbs, which we're going to be talking about in today's episode. However, we're not always able to grow every single thing ourselves, not when it comes to our food. There are climate limitations and also just hours and a day limitations. And the same thing is with our herbs. There are some herbs that you're not going to be able to grow based upon climate, but they are still wonderful herbs to have in your arsenal. Keep in mind that the presence of creeks and springs can create cool, moist microclimates even on southern slopes, so try not to rely on orientation alone. Just a friendly reminder and encouragement for us to strive to cultivate as local of Native Plants as possible, ideally collecting seeds of our Native plants locally. Energy. Knowing your energy level in combination with the time and resources you have can give you a realistic compass for planning your herb garden. And remember, inspiration has a way of fueling energy. Evaluating and then prioritizing my energy has made it possible for me to materialize many dreams! Starting and maintaining a medicinal herb garden takes effort, so be real with yourself. In this present time of COVID-19, and the food and herb shortages we have already experienced, growing your own medicine becomes even more essential.

Melissa: No, the roots are okay dried from my understanding. It's just, yeah, it's just the fresh parts, it's just the aerial parts. Research how tall (or small) each herb will be when grown, and if it spreads, before you plant it in your garden. This will prevent overcrowding or having big gaps in your garden beds. It is also important to think ahead to how they’ll grow next to one another. For instance, you wouldn’t want to sandwich spilanthes ( Acmella oleracea) in between valerian ( Valerianella officinalis) and motherwort ( Leonurus cardiaca) because the spilanthes would not get enough sun, as the other two herbs mentioned grow much taller and would cast too much shade. On the flip side, you can use tall herbs to shade low-growing ones if needed. Growing medicinal herbs may seem difficult, and preparing teas or tinctures from them might appear complicated and time-consuming. But the truth is you don’t have to be a skilled gardener to grow a few basic medicinal herbs successfully or be a trained pharmacist to easily prepare them for use. In the process, you may save some money and enjoy yourself. Five Basic Herbs Melissa: Yeah, I am super excited to hear about your adventures and is there any other questions that you have before we wrap up?Melissa: Yeah, that's a great question. And I think a lot of people struggle with that. I mean, because if you've never grown those things, how do you know unless you've forgot somebody who can tell you from experience or give you some averages. And we have so many people that grow vegetables that there's just a lot of that available information out there. It's easy to find that type of thing. But not as many people though we are making a dent in that grow their own medicinal herbs. And just because there's so many different herbs, it's harder to narrow that down to get those averages. Mullein– This is great for upper respiratory issues and tends to grow well in soil that’s not ideal for many other plants. And last summer, excuse me, I put in the Echinacea augustifolia and I did get a couple of blossoms on it, but the plants were so young. I feel like I don't really have a fair gauge yet to see here if they grow as good or if the purpurea will just be a better producer. So, it'll be interesting to see this year when that they'll be two-year-old plants and a little bit I'll get, I feel a better gauge as to how they do. Peppermint tea is delicious and refreshing. Pour a cup of boiling water over 2 teaspoons of fresh leaves or 1 teaspoon of crushed, dried leaves. Steep, covered, for 10 minutes. Use more or less herb according to your preference. Drink a cup of this tea up to three times a day to aid digestion.

Melissa: But is there any particular health conditions or something like that or just overall wellness, cold and flu, common stuff that we would be dealing with most people. Ask your gardener friend for a volunteer plant start. Likes morning sun better than afternoon, and well-fertilized beds. Great edging herb with musky scent. Ally for reducing fevers. Friend of babies, adults, and cats. Perennial.

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With so many options to choose from, how do you choose which herbs to grow? A good starting point is to do some research into which herbs are best suited for the climate and growing space you have and to consider which herbs you may want or need in your life. Is your garden sunny or shady? Is there a specific condition you would like to treat? Or are there specific herbs you feel drawn to? You’ll normally find there are a few key herbs that are perfectly suited for both you and your garden. Chrysanthemum –Another beautiful flower that also has medicinal purposes. In southern China, chrysanthemum is brewed into a summertime tea. It is also used to treat chest pain (angina), high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, fever, cold, headache, dizziness, and swelling. In combination with other herbs, chrysanthemum is also used to treat prostate cancer. ( Source) As an international consultant in medicinal and aromatic plant technical and marketing issues, Foster has served on projects in Argentina, Armenia, Belize, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, England, Germany, Guatemala, Japan, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Peru, the Republic of Georgia, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Vietnam and elsewhere.

Well-drained to dry neutral to alkaline soils in full sun, sage dislikes damp conditions and low light in winter Probably, the ones that I would make sure have a little bit more compost worked in and some mulching would be the elderberries, just so that they have a little bit of good drainage. But the others do, they do really well in less than ideal, especially the yarrow and the mullein, they tend to just kind of thrive wherever. So yeah. If asked to imagine a garden, I’d bet that most of us would call to mind a sunny patch interplanted with some array of food, flowers, and herbs—the traditional household and homestead arrangement. Yet Indigenous peoples around the world have long understood that any ecosystem can be gently tended as a garden. For those of us fortunate enough to live near forests, the woodland—with its watery seeps, shady hollows, and part-sun edges—presents us with a fertile opportunity to grow a bounty of food and medicine.

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Once you’ve chosen your herbs and prepared your land, it is time to introduce the plants. Essentially, you have three main options; you can start by sowing seed, you can take cuttings from existing plants, or you can buy new plants (either potted of bareroot). I’m sharing my favorite 20 best herbs you sh I’ve grown vegetables, flowers, fruit trees, berries, and ornamentals, but my favorite thing across the board is growing medicinal herbs. They are so satisfying—once you have them established they will generously give you medicine year after year after year. When you are able to fill your own apothecary, you’ll feel a sense of sovereignty that can’t be bought. Take this opportunity to get your own medicine growing now as the harvest doesn’t happen overnight! You will also be able to better apply the in-depth knowledge found in Juliet’s forthcoming book, The Healing Garden: Cultivating & Handcrafting Herbal Remedies .