Growing herbs and what do you use them for??

[Dixiedoodle]

I want to increase my herb garden.. I have the kitchen herbs--mints, thymes, sages, garlic, chives, rosemary--you get the picture.. I have decided to plant a few for natural remedies and would like your suggestions and what you USE each herb for..Thank you

 

[Wifezilla]

Feverfew: Headaches... migraines.

Peppermint: Congestion, sinus issues

 

[reinbeau]

Sweet woodruff (just because May Wine is so good and it makes a lovely groundcover in forest-floor type places)

Lemon Balm or Melissa officinalis, it's a calming herb and great for bees.

There are so many - here is a great chart that you can scan to see what you want to treat and/or grow.

 

[Beekissed]

Calendula, comfrey, yarrow, St. John's Wort...all good for healing salves for wounds, aches & pains. Chamomile, hyssop, catnip, and stevia for teas.

 

[mamagoose]

Comfey is an absolute for me. Yarrow also. You can actually use a lot of your kitchen herbs as medicinal herbs as well. Example: I use a VERY strong sage tea to gargle with when I get a sore throat (wich is my main aliment) as it's very aniseptic. I love it.

 

[Blackbird]

I'm currently growing rosemary, lavender, sage, woodworm, mugwort, motherwort, calamus, horehound, feverfew, celandine, mallow, yarrow, wild oregano, wild peppermint, lemon balm, joe pye weed, and true Solomon Seal. Then there are a plethora of wild medicinal plants growing all over. So far I've used many in teas and dried many, but basically I'm just trying to get larger areas established before I harvest too many.

 

[Old Sew'n'Sew]

I have Spearmint, chocolate mint, ?mint, lavender, lemon balm, 2 oregano's, parsely, sage, rosemary, tyme, lemon tyme, sweet marjoram, cilantro, calendula, and rasberry leaves.

I also have access to wild elderflowers, elderberries, yarrow, and multiflora rose hips.
And probably some more if I looked around.

I mostly use for culinary or spearmint teas. I love spearmint tea.

I am currently collecting and drying calendula flowers to make calendula oil.

I am going to try elder berry syrup this fall, and also rose hip syrup.

I used to have hyssop, it was about 10 years old, it died. Still have some dried. I would have to be pretty sick to use it because the tea, kind of turns my stomach.
It is one of the stongest anti-virals.

Anyone have some good recipes for cough and cold that are mild and don't take too much honey to get it down? Dosages? I am trying to be prepared.

 

[Wifezilla]

My best cough and cold remedy is to get plenty of vitamin D. When that fails, I use hot peppermint tea to keep the sinuses clear. Since I have been making sure my d levels are up, I hardly ever get colds anymore.

 

[Mackay]

II'm growing borage. I will freeze some mixed with spinach. The prickly hairs go away with cooking

Harvesting: Harvest leaves and flowers as needed. Older leaves will get prickly, making harvesting anything on the plant a bit unpleasant. However, the flowers do add a bit of flavor and a great deal of color to salads, soups, dips & spreads, open face sandwiches, beverages and ice cubes. As with all edible flowers, use sparingly until you know how they effect you. Borage is said to have a mild laxative effect.

Borage is open pollinated and it is very easy to collect and save the seed from flowers allowed to remain on the plant and turn brown. Borage self-seeds readily, if allowed to go to seed naturally. Excess plants are fairly easy to remove from the garden.

Pest & Problems: Virtually problem free.

Therapeutic uses

Internal use
Borage is used internally for fevers, bronchial tract infections, mouth and throat infections.
It is traditionally used as a diuretic, diaphoretic and expectorant and is also used for depression, inflammation and as a mild sedative.

A tea may also be brewed to help cleanse the skin from the "inside" as it is suggested that borage helps purify the system - but please note that the herb should not be used for prolonged periods.

External use
Used externally in eyewashes, gargles, mouthwashes and poultices.
A facial steam for dry sensitive skin can be made with borage leaves as well as the flowers.

 

[rty007]

lets go:

Anthemis nobilis also listed by wiki as chamomile, GREAT medicinal herb. I will gladly buy and send seeds for you, I can buy 1KG of seeds, which I have no idea how much you can plant with that tho, for 20$