Your Own Medicinal Garden
By Brigette
Today’s post is from our Backwoods living expert, Brigette. This fantastic lady has skills and knowledge on so many topics and areas that are essential to serious “prepping.” As you’ve likely noticed, this blog has never been “doomsday” or “fear” focused. Brigette keeps it that way while being able to take a more serious look at the extremes of prepping. She likes to give serious information in a way that makes people smile and does not encourage anyone to prep out of fear. She is a woman of incredible faith and dedication to God.
Your own medicinal garden is not something that should be limited to the rural homesteader but part of everyone’s self-sufficiency lifestyle. People have used medicinal plants throughout history to treat everything from upset stomachs to colds and flues. Since many of today’s medicines are derived from plants there is a growing movement to avoid the added chemicals of modern medicine and to instead look to the natural choices surrounding us. Starting your own medicinal garden is one way to ensure you have the plants you want at your fingertips.
A medicinal garden can be tailored to your specific needs and location, from a few potted plants on a windowsill to an extravagantly laid out full size garden. Do not let your circumstances or location prevent you from starting your own natural pharmacy, as it is actually easier than you think.
Location
The first thing you will want to decide is where you will grow your medicinal garden. Unlike many crops medicinal plants are relatively easy to grow, this makes them perfect companions to your existing flowerbeds, vegetable garden, potted garden, or even your windowsill. They grow quite well in poor soil, requiring only a sunny location and water. You will want to use caution when it comes to members of the mint family (peppermint, spearmint, etc.) as well as lemon balm, chickweed, and comfrey as they tend to be prolific growers and will quickly over take the garden. These plants are grown best in containers or beds set aside just for that plant.
If you are new to medicinal plants you might want to start with a few plants now and plan to add more the following year. If you plan to add more later on then keep that in consideration when you start planting. If you are planting 3 plants that need large amounts of water and only 1 that requires light watering then group plants together according to their needs.
Seeds Versus Seedlings
After choosing your location you will then want to consider if you are going to start with seeds or seedlings. There are advantages and disadvantages to both. While seeds are far less expensive they will take longer to produce a harvest, seedlings on the other hand will start to produce relatively quickly but there is a much higher start up cost. You will also need to consider how long your growing season is. Is it long enough to allow a seed to germinate, grow, and produce a crop?
Whether you decide to start your medicinal garden with seeds or seedlings you will want to ensure that you start with non-GMO plants or seeds. GMO plants and seeds do not produce plants true to the parent plant and many are sterile, part of being self-sufficient is gathering seeds from this year for next years crop.
How to Propagate
Medicinal plants reproduce one of three way, seeds, cuttings, or root division.
Seeds: Catnip, Celery, Chamomile, Dill, Elecampane, Fennel, Feverfew, Hyssop, Marigold, Plantain, Sage, St. John’s Wort, and Thyme are a few of the plants that are started from seeds. You can start them indoors or sow them directly in the garden after all danger of frost has passed. In the fall you will need to gather your seed for next year.
Cuttings: Woody plants like Elder, Hyssop, Lavender, Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme do well as cuttings. Cuttings do best when they are made in either late spring or early autumn. Simply locate a health plant and cut a side shoot from the main stalk, root your cutting in light soil and water.
Root Division: Plants like Elecampane, Peppermint, and Chamomile have thick root systems. To start new plants you carefully unearth the parent plant and with a sharp knife divide the root ball into sections, each section becomes a new plant.
10Popular Medicinal Plants
There are many medicinal plants to chose from, each with unique and wonderful properties. I recommend you consult with other gardeners and local nurseries to see what grows well in your area.
Below I have listed 15 of my favorite medicinal plants.
1. Basil: This wonderful cooking herb is also said to be good for gas, cuts, scrapes, and to increase ones appetite. The leaves are best when young. They can be eaten raw or cooked, bruised and used in a salve, poultice, or tea.
2. Burdock: The root can be cooked and eaten; it is reported to be a good blood purifier. The leaf can be bruised and made into a poultice to draw out infection.
3. Calendula: These edible flowers are very versatile as they can be made into a tea to sip or used as a skin wash. Calendula flowers also make a great additive in salves.
When purchasing be careful to get Calendula Officinalis as this is the medicinal type, you can usually recognize it by its sticky resin. This plant reseeds itself proficiently so give it plenty of room.
4. Chamomile: This beauty isn’t just for looks; people have used her flowers for indigestion, anxiety, and inflammation of the skin. The flowers and buds are used for teas but also for infusions, salves, and skin washes. Warning* Chamomile should not be used if you have an allergy to ragweed. It has also been suggested that chamomile is a blood thinner and therefore should not be used if you are on blood thinners.
5. Dandelion: The lowly dandelion is despised for its invasion of our astatically pleasing lawns but should have a place reserved for royalty. The young leaves are delicious eaten as greens, the blossoms make a wonderful jelly as well as tea or can be tossed into a green salad, the buds can be fried and served as a side dish for meat, and the roots can be dried and ground up to make a coffee like drink. The leaf and root make wonderful tinctures, salves, and liver tonic, the flowers can be mixed with oil to make a muscle rub. This weed deserves far more respect then it gets.
6. Feverfew: Before there were pharmacies people would often chew the leaves of feverfew for the relief of headaches. It has also been suggested that the flowers make a wonderful tea to drink as well as a skin wash. Some other reported uses are for arthritis and skin aliments.
7. Lemon Balm: People have been using lemon balm for insomnia, anxiety, upset stomach, and gas for hundreds of years. It is also said to be good for insect bites and wounds.
8. Parsley: Not only is parsley great in your soups and stews but it is full of vitamins A, B, and C as well as calcium, iron, phosphorous, potassium, and magnesium. In the past people have used it for kidney problems, water retentions, and bad breath.
9. Sage: This culinary herb is said to help with inflammation in the throat or mouth. It has been used as a tea and a gargle.
10. Thyme: Thyme contains the natural antiseptic thymol, as such it is said to be good for coughs, congestion, indigestion, as well as an antiseptic wash.
Summary
Amedicinal garden is fun and easy to grow. By starting small and researching all the different ways to use your plants you won’t get over whelmed and you will have that satisfaction on learning to be self-sufficient.
Disclaimer: This information is for education only and is not intended to treat or diagnosis any condition or illness.