Growing a medicine garden

[CrimsonRose]

I so want to do this soon as well... I grow rosemary (great for calming effects and great on potatoes!) but it's in a pot to bring in during the winters same with the stevia and spearamint (don't think they are very medicinal but helps to sweeten the teas so they are drinkable!) I also want to start a pot of ginger...

I want to plant some purple cone flower (helps with immunity) and I usually plant my garlic with my onions... I also want saint johns wart!

Since we have no trees or shade I'm trying to figure out a way to grow ginseng...

 

[urban dreamer]

Garlic cues everything! (OK mabey not, but it is by far my favoriet herb!) I grew catnip once and sure enough, the cats went nuts on it. I am going to have to try some catnip tea and see if that helps my DH's cold. He's been stuffed up all week. Catnip, mint, ginger (I want to grow this too!) a little lemon zest and honey would make a nice tea. Oh, and raspberry leaves are wonderful for cramps!

 

[Henrietta23]

I had oregano take over half my backyard for a few years.
I can vouch for comfrey, second hand anyway. My mom was bitten and scratched up by our cat years ago. She had nasty wounds on her forearms. She made a poultice of comfrey that my dad had planted in our backyard and her wounds healed much faster than the doctor ever expected them too. Dad was way ahead of his time! He's the one person I can count on to not shake his head in disbelief about some of the things I do!

 

[Blackbird]

Way ahead..?
That's ancient wisdom right there!

I agree with Free; plant herbs in a more 'wild' setting where they will learn to sustain themselves easier, grow, adapt, and flourish in an area where they decide is best.

 

[Henrietta23]

Way ahead..?
That's ancient wisdom right there!

I agree with Free; plant herbs in a more 'wild' setting where they will learn to sustain themselves easier, grow, adapt, and flourish in an area where they decide is best.

You're right! Wasn't quite thinking that through. But what I meant was, back in the 70s he was subscribing to Mother Earth News and reading Grit and growing comfrey for medicinal use while our neighbors all thought he was nuts. He'd fit right in with this crowd today, just doesn't have the strength to do it all anymore. He was backyard homesteading in the 70s! I know a lot of other people were too. eh, I don't know what I'm trying to say anymore...
Go comfrey!!!!

 

[Blackbird]

Go comfrey!

 

[Henrietta23]

Go comfrey!

The really funny thing? My maiden name rhymes with comfrey. Dad joked about bottling the poultice and selling it as Humphrey's Comfrey.

 

[dragonlaurel]

Comfrey is wonderful I know better than to use large amounts internally for an extended period, but I've seen it do amazing healing. Healed hubby up in a week, when normal medicine would have been lucky to do it in 2 months. Then the govt decided it was unsafe for internal use. But they still approved aspartame. Rant over.
Thanks for that tip about growing the catnip in a cage. Those cheap little tent pegs would work great for anchoring the dome basket to the ground.

 

[kristenm1975]

Amen to adding lemon balm (potted perhaps to avoid garden take-overs). As a nanny, I'm out walking the neighborhood for hours each day, and I've seen a lot of escaped lemon balm growing. I started picking handfuls each day and drying it up at home to tincture. Once tinctured, it makes the most delightful mood-lifter, cramp-soother and tonic. I've gotten most of my friends and family hooked on it too.

 

[Boogity]

Amen to adding lemon balm (potted perhaps to avoid garden take-overs). As a nanny, I'm out walking the neighborhood for hours each day, and I've seen a lot of escaped lemon balm growing. I started picking handfuls each day and drying it up at home to tincture. Once tinctured, it makes the most delightful mood-lifter, cramp-soother and tonic. I've gotten most of my friends and family hooked on it too.

I'm sure there many of us who do not know about how to make tincture. Would you be so kind as to start another thread with instructions on how to do it and how to use it? Thanks