The Healing Garden: Cultivating and Handcrafting Herbal Remedies

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But mullein could be really good for, again, the really the upper respiratory issues. Mullein is really well known for that. So that might be one that would grow well too in the not as ideal soil parts and when to consider. Yeah. And then, this one is going to sound funny as far as actually cultivating because for folks who are listening and it just grows everywhere, you're like, "Oh my gosh, why would someone plant that?" But if you don't have access to it actually has a ton of wonderful properties to it, both medicinally. You don’t need to plant herbs in large barrels, but a roomy container is necessary for longevity. Otherwise, you’ll get a few weeks worth of life from your new fragrant friend and eventually it will start to look worse for wear. Some herbs are available in dwarf varieties and can survive in miniature containers, but generally, a pot should be at least6-inches in diameter, and that’s the bare minimum. And I will say when you're starting herbs from seed, you have to know which ones require cold seed stratification and which ones don't, because that's never an issue with vegetables. It is something with the herbs. And so, I had tried to do lavender from seed, and even though with doing cold seed stratification, just never had really any success with it. And so, I ended up buying, finally, I just bought the live plants, and those have done great and I've gotten cuttings off of them, and that's done wonderful, but it didn't work well with cold seed stratification.

So, Echinacea does have those antiviral properties and if you take it at the beginning when you first are beginning to feel symptoms, which is usually before the cell has fully entered into, especially if you can drink it as a tea or a tincture where you've got the virus in the throat and in that area and it can code it, then it works really, really well. If you have full-blown cold symptoms or full-blown flu symptoms, it can help with the immune system response, but it doesn't actually have then the antiviral properties that it does taken at the onset. So, I found that very helpful because I did not know that. When I learned that, I'm like, "Oh, I find that fascinating." It’s why planting in herbs in containers or pots is so popular. It makes it easier to separately water, fertilize, and care for each type of plant. Bonus? You can take in your pots when cold weather strikes and save annual herbs from frost damage. 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.

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Lemon balm is a great medicinal herb to grow yourself because it is more effective when used fresh or freshly dried. Harvest it just as the plant comes into bloom. Lemon balm is easy to dry but loses much of its scent upon drying. The fresh leaves make a refreshing tea. Pour a cup of boiling water over a small handful of fresh leaves (or 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried leaves) and steep, covered, for 10 minutes. It is delicious either hot or iced. Peppermint: Spicy-Sweet Digestive Aid Early on in our agricultural adventure, we probably would have harvested those opportunistic medicinal plants that occurred naturally in the freshly turned land. Over time we established small herbal plots at the edges of our culinary fields. We have been taking herbs from the wild, cultivating them and trading them since time began. Melissa: A sliver of hope, but I can harvest the flowers. So, it wasn't all was lost. I still didn't get any berries. So, I was still able to harvest the elderflowers and make tea and dry those and get the medicinal properties even though I didn't actually get the elderberry syrup. So just in caveat, if someone is like, "Oh, I don't have a pollinator," and that explains why I'm not getting berries. One, get a pollinator, get another variety. But two, if it's going to be a little bit or you miss that window, still harvest the blossoms because they have a lot to offer there. 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.

With a little planning, you can pair tall plants that like to soak up the sun with short plants that prefer a little shade. For instance, a giant parsley plant can provide shade for low-growing sweet woodruff. Possibly the most helpful thing you can do is to consider the native flora—most woodland medicinals grow in the companionship of certain tree and understory species. This means that the plants already present in a forest will give you valuable information about what else might be able to grow there. If you notice, for example, that ginseng and wild ginger ( Asarum canadense) are thriving, you can infer that other medicinals who prefer similar growing conditions might do well there. If you’d like access to the academy to learn to grow your own herbs and safely create a natural medicine cabinet from custom blended teas, tinctures, herbal salves and soaps, be sure to sign up for the Pioneering Today Academy. We only open enrollment twice a year. If enrollment is closed, you can sign up for the waitlist so you’re notified first when the doors open again.

NOTE: This article is about 20 of my favorite medicinal healing herbs to grow in most garden areas and types of soil. There are 100’s more, though, that I just couldn’t include because of space. Enjoy this rundown of 20 of my favorites.