Tips For Growing Your Own Home Herbal Remedies
Many people grow herbs in their gardens without realizing that there are many ways to utilize them besides adding them to your cooking for seasoning. Herbs have many medicinal uses, even the herbs we generally use in the kitchen. If you have a basic herb garden, you can use them to make some home remedies that will help you be healthier without worrying about a lot of side effects.
Home herbal remedies are usually made into salves, tinctures or infusions. A salve is an ointment that you can use topically. A tincture is made by steeping an herb in an alcohol or glycerin base to extract the medicinal compounds. An infusion is similar to a tea, but the steeping takes place over a much longer period, allowing more of the plant’s compounds to enter the liquid.
All of these remedies are easy to make and can be made from the herbs in your garden. Some can even be made out of common garden weeds. Some of your most useful herbs for your home herbal pharmacy include lavender, chamomile, lemon balm, comfrey, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Rosemary, for example, can be made into an infusion and used as a hair rinse to condition your hair. It also has antiseptic qualities. You can add rosemary infusion to your cleaning water to disinfect any surface that you are cleaning. Rosemary can be used to relieve minor pains. Mint can be used by making an infusion and then soaking a compress in the cool liquid. This makes a cooling compress to use to reduce fevers or swelling. Mint tea can also help with indigestion.
If you grow yarrow flowers in your garden, a simple leaf can be stuffed up a nostril to stop a bloody nose. It is also useful to help clot a bleeding wound. Bee stings can be helped by using a chopped up comfrey leaf to help relieve the sting. You can also use a common weed known as plantain the same way.
If you grow some more specialized herbs like ginger, eucalyptus, garlic, nettles or other plants, you may be able to make throat lozenges, cough syrups, tonics and vinegars. Herbs that you don’t wish to grow or don’t have room for can be purchased dried and ready to use from one of the many herbal companies available.
One of the most popular home herbal remedies to make is chamomile tea. It is made from the daisy-like blossoms of the chamomile plant. Chamomile is easy to grow and easy to use. Steep the flowers for ten to fifteen minutes to make a tea. You can drink this tea before bedtime to ease your sleep or help you relax when you are tense. The flavor is light and slightly floral. Chamomile tea can also be used on your skin.
Other garden plants you may not even consider herbs include calendula, raspberry leaves, and roses. Roses have been used for centuries to make rosewater to soothe the skin. Calendula is also good for the skin. Use the flower petals to make an ointment to apply to chapped skin or superficial wounds. Raspberry leaves are a natural tonic for the reproductive tract.
Look around your garden. You may be surprised how many of your beautiful plants are useful medicinally.
