Growing Medicinal Plants and How to Use Them

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Weedygarden said:
I am really not sure. It has been a couple of years since I looked into this idea. I am trying to jump start this idea for myself again. I need to do more research. I was hoping someone could make some suggestions for some basic plants to start with and how to use them.

The garlic in my yard has gone wild. I have mint and it is supposed to be good for upset tummies. I do have several books at home.

Can you tell how little I know? I would love to be able to take a class or a few to move forward with more knowledge about medicinal plants.
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I like to dry red clover, lemon balm, and raspberry leaves and mix them up for tea. I gather them in the summer and have tea all winter. The red clover and raspberry leaves regulate female hormones. The lemon balm is actually good for your heart. Does anyone know what this is? It comes up in the woods every spring and smells like sage. It may just be wild sage.
 

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Gigi said:
Does anyone know what this is? It comes up in the woods every spring and smells like sage. It may just be wild sage.
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It's not a sage... The plant in your photo is in the mint family... It's from eastern asia, an import. World wide there are over 26,000 plants in the mint family, most are medicinal to some degree.

I know the name of your plant, but pounding my head hasn't jogged loose the memory of its name.:(

I do remember this... as a medicine forget about it.

Note for the future, mint family plants for the most part are "Nervines". They also have many other attributes. They are very good at removing local fever from bruises, broken bones or other such injuries or infections like "Shingles".

"Melissa officinalis – Lemon Balm" (a mint) combined with "Prunella vulgaris – Self Heal" (another mint) is the best treatment in the world for “Shingles”. The combination of these two plants actually forces the “Varicella zoster virus” – “Shingles” into remission.

Every spring Lemon Balm plants are common in the garden section of Wally World.

Prunella vulgaris is common in the wild all over North America. I see it on the road sides when ever I drive to the store or to town.

Everyone knows about the "Hippocratic Oath".

The father of modern medicine was a Greek man named Hippocrates.

2400 years ago he wrote about using a plant species known today as "Plantago sp." to heal the blisters caused by the Shingles virus...

I use this plant 3 or 4 times a week for various purposes.

The funny part...

If you look at the label of a bottle of “Meta Mucil", you will find the words Psyllium Fiber Capsules….

If you research the word Psyllium you will find it is the seed of a plant… Plantago sp… is usually grown in India, Spain and Portugal.

Every day millions of Americans swallow a capsule of "Plantago"
 
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Yesterday, I had a chance to tour a medicinal herb garden and studio. It was great, and it was in a suburban area. The area Weston Price organization arranged the tour, and there were too many people in attendance to be able to see and hear the owner speak about each item. She is an herbal medicine teacher. Her space is small and not everyone has an awareness of others and that there was room, if they moved over or back into spaces close. I took several photos, but will post a couple of her tinctures.

We did receive a couple handouts for ideas of what to plant and how to plan our gardens.

Herbal tinctures.jpg
Tinctures.jpg
 
I have a friend who is a master herbalist, Paul Beyerl. He teaches classes at the university and community colleges. Last summer he was in Europe putting on seminars.
He has written a few great books on herbs and one is "The Master Book of Herbalism". I have several of his books all signed by him.
He is one of a very few men that I would call great.
 
I have been harvesting and drying my Motherwort flower spikes over the course of the last few months to get enough dried material to fill a pint jar.

Last pension I brought a large bottle of 80 proof vodka and I made my first jar of Motherwort tincture, put it in a dark cupboard and I have been shaking it daily.

Yesterday my anxiety was so high I broke down and I took two teaspoons 10 mls of the new tincture with a LOT of honey because WOW it's really, really bitter.

How do I begin the effect?
Certainly it wasn't a "high" but suddenly the anxiety just wasn't there. Not a single trace. Not a buzz in my head or feeling like my mind was stuffed with cotton wool like I've have had with prescription antidepressants.
I even tried to provoke angst by dwelling on things that have triggered angst before and...nothing. no elevated heart rate, no blood rush to the face, no increase in respiration, no sweating., no instinct to fight or flight.
Just complete calmness.
I went to bed early and drifted off with no pain and no night terrors and awoke without a dry mouth that prescription meds can give you.

This stuff is just amazing.

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I know this is an old thread, but this is an area that I am woefully lacking in. My grandfather was serious about herbs. He had people coming from all over to get help. I remember he had a concoction of god knows what, for everything. The crazy thing is, it all worked. I really wish I had taken the time to learn from him.
 
@GreenAcres There are a few folks here who know a thing to two about herbs. If you have questions ask away. If one of us don't know the answer we can usually point you in the right direction. Herbs are something I study almost daily. I'm not an herbalist but I do a little wildcrafting occasionally, I hunt wild herbs for a few select herbalists. Before you ask, no I don't hunt ginseng. There are better adaptogens around than ginseng. One I take almost daily. I do make almost all the medicines I take.

I put a list of great herbal medicine books in the library... books written by some of the best herbalists of our age.
 
Peanut said:
@GreenAcres There are a few folks here who know a thing to two about herbs. If you have questions ask away. If one of us don't know the answer we can usually point you in the right direction. Herbs are something I study almost daily. I'm not an herbalist but I do a little wildcrafting occasionally, I hunt wild herbs for a few select herbalists. Before you ask, no I don't hunt ginseng. There are better adaptogens around than ginseng. One I take almost daily. I do make almost all the medicines I take.

I put a list of great herbal medicine books in the library... books written by some of the best herbalists of our age.
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i know are many many herbs that grow wild around me. I live in East TN. Speaking of ginseng, I know several people that hunt it. I have seen it in the wild, but I have never bothered with digging it up.

once this remodel is done, I’ll have more free time.
 
GreenAcres said:
I know this is an old thread, but this is an area that I am woefully lacking in. My grandfather was serious about herbs. He had people coming from all over to get help. I remember he had a concoction of god knows what, for everything. The crazy thing is, it all worked. I really wish I had taken the time to learn from him.
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I have had an interest in herbalism since I was a child. My grandmothers would make a poultice for different ailments. I went on a tour of an herbal garden when I was in college and thought that is what I wanted one day. I believe we all could benefit from more knowledge for making our own medicines.
 
Weedygarden said:
I have had an interest in herbalism since I was a child. My grandmothers would make a poultice for different ailments. I went on a tour of an herbal garden when I was in college and thought that is what I wanted one day. I believe we all could benefit from more knowledge for making our own medicines.
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yea for sure. I mean god forbid something ever happen to disrupt the supply of medicine.
 
GreenAcres said:
yea for sure. I mean god forbid something ever happen to disrupt the supply of medicine.
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I have wondered how many of these older rememdies that were made from actual plants have been researched in labs and the active parts used to create pricey medicines. Too bad we cannot come up with an insulin that can be created at home.
 
Like you Weedy I know too little about medicinal plants. We have ordered seed from lots of the places y'all have. Baker seeds, johnny seeds,etc.:)
We grew quite a few different herbs, got a giant rosemary that made it through winter.
 
Peanut said:
Doing some reading today... over use of red clover can cause neurological issues with some people... It also contains courmarin, a blood thinner.
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I wonder what constitutes "over use"? Even taking recommended dosages of some herbs in combination with prescriptions or medication can cause unwanted problems. I don't like listing these types of things and I think some herbalists are cautious about mentioning interactions since it could be used in nefarious ways. Even some foods in combination with medication...My dad loved black licorice but was on blood thinners for many years. He couldn't have the licorice. I thought I was a good daughter and bought some for him at the health food store. He knew he couldn't do it though. I forget the side effects.
You, @Peanut claiming you aren't an herbalist cracks me up, I'm always like yeah right and Santa doesn't visit at Christmas.
 
Peanut said:
@GreenAcres There are a few folks here who know a thing to two about herbs. If you have questions ask away. If one of us don't know the answer we can usually point you in the right direction. Herbs are something I study almost daily. I'm not an herbalist but I do a little wildcrafting occasionally, I hunt wild herbs for a few select herbalists. Before you ask, no I don't hunt ginseng. There are better adaptogens around than ginseng. One I take almost daily. I do make almost all the medicines I take.

I put a list of great herbal medicine books in the library... books written by some of the best herbalists of our age.
Click to expand...
I saw that list and ordered some of those books this morning. I got 5 of the 11 on the list, (I think it was 11) from Target, surprisingly, and the Tommie Bass Mountain Man from Amazon. I guess it's okay to say that. Please delete if not. Thank you so much for taking the time to post that list along with pictures of the books. It was very helpful.
 
herbalnewbie said:
I saw that list and ordered some of those books this morning. I got 5 of the 11 on the list, (I think it was 11) from Target, surprisingly, and the Tommie Bass Mountain Man from Amazon. I guess it's okay to say that. Please delete if not. Thank you so much for taking the time to post that list along with pictures of the books. It was very helpful.
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Hi Herbie, interested in herbs your in the right place, Peanut ,Patch and a few others here are full of knowledge about herbs.:welcome:
 
Peanut said:
Hello @herbalnewbie welcome to our little corner of the world. Be sure to introduce yourself under Introductions. Introductions

Please share the plants that grow near you. I can't seem to hear enough about medicine plants.:)
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I found crossvine, mullein and wild lettuce in our woods in addition to the normal dandelion, clover, wood sorrel, etc. I'm still learning and looking for more though.
 


I could not get all of the names 100%. Please correct me if I missed the name. I starred the ones that I have, most new this year as I cleaned out the overgrown herb bed.

These are the plants that are talked about in this video:

horehound
rose yarrow
horseheel
* borage (have had in the past)
* comfrey
ail hoof (?)
plantain
* garlic
* chamomile
* bee balm
hyssop
* lemon verbena
* lavender
* chives
cayenne pepper
clarice
* calendula
* basil
* mullein
* lemon balm
 
Patchouli said:
Haven't watched them yet, @Weedygarden but always glad to see more plants!!!
It has gotten so hot here already, sneaked up on me, I hope anything I plant will make it thru the early summer.
I need to live where it's cooler.
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Already going up into 90s here too Patch. The cool spring was really nice this year, except NO RAIN.It did get unusually warm in March and April though.
 
Patchouli said:
Haven't watched them yet, @Weedygarden but always glad to see more plants!!!
It has gotten so hot here already, sneaked up on me, I hope anything I plant will make it thru the early summer.
I need to live where it's cooler.
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I can imagine how hot and maybe humid it is there. The heat is harder on me than the cold. And it is hard on plants. Do you do your gardening in the early mornings or evenings? I get up and head out the door to beat the heat. I cannot stand the sun bearing down on me.
The weather man reported yesterday that one year ago we had 3 inches of snow on May 20! We also had snow in June last year, but we also can have highs in the 90's in April. Our temperatures have been up already this year, but could be worse. It was in the 80's yesterday, don't remember exactly how hot. We are fluctuating for daily highs of 60's to 80's for the next week or so, and there is some rain included in that.
 
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