I've started a thread in the Garden Forum, hoping that those of you who use herbs reguarly, will teach the rest of us. Please, consider sharing your knowledge------
Were the herbs you got labeled? The culinary herbs are easier to grow than some of medicinal ones and most are very sensitive to climate. I live in the South and not many of the good medicinal herbs like it here. I have some Sage, Garlic, Cayenne Pepper, planted some Indian Ginseng but no luck, and mints growing and I harvest some of the native wild herbs but mostly I just buy Dr. John Christopher's formulas for health purposes. Some of the good wild herbs in my area are, Sassafras (blood cleanser, tonic), Yellow Dock (high in Iron), Passion Flower or Maypops (Sedative) Elderberry (antioxidant and good for viruses), Blackberry root (diarrhea), Mullein (Asthma and Glands), Poke (blood cleanser and cancer, CAUTION), Mayhaws (heart) and I'm sure there are many others I don't know about. I've got some Wolfberry plants started, going to experiment with them a little and see if they will grow here, got about 50 plants up but all have damped off except three or four, I'll try again and this time I'll nuke my starter mix. I've found that herbs are a reliable alternative to most pharmaceutical drugs but most people are scared to death of them, herbs work slower but they get to the root of the problem and correct it and they are safe if you will just have to learn how to use them. There's a wealth of information on the web.
The herbs I got were labeled and I will be looking them up. I'm hoping people here will share info about the herbs they may use on a somewhat regular basis------------------so I can get new ideas on uses and/or what herbs I might add to my "new collection".
I use a lot of ginger for pain and upset tummies. Really great for nausea if you make a strong hot tea from the ground root. My granny Pearl taught me this. I use tumeric for arthritis pain. Cinnamon to boost the immune system. Hawthorne berry for strengthing the heart. Uva ursi is the greatest for urinary tract infection. It only activates in the kidneys and is an anti infective and local pain killer for bladder infection. Dandelion for diuretic. Fresh lemon grass is a great natural skeeter repellent. Pumpkin seed or a tea from sage brush to repell intestinal worms. For colds a tea from Mormon tea is good. Juniper berries for gout. Also charcoal for gout. Pine salve for any skin problems and antibacterial for cuts, boils, etc. Valarian for nerves. St John's Wort for depression. These are the one's I use the most. I just switched regions of the country and will be looking for things that grow better here to replace some that only grew well in my former home. Obviously some of the things I use, like cinnamon are imported, so I will be looking for substitutes for those. Kim
