Growing Herbs for Health Return to Home Page
Every herb grown was once a wild plant. Growing herbs is a rewarding practice that has been used worldwide for thousands of years. Only five percent of the entire worlds plants have been tested for their medicinal properties while 85 percent of pharmaceutical drugs are linked to plants.
Over 80 percent of the worlds population still relies on herbs for medical treatment.
Herbs for Beginner Gardeners
Growing herbs indoors or in container are perfect choices for the beginner gardener, which include basil, chives, dill, mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme.
Spreading your herb plants around the garden keeps disease and pests at bay. Growing herbs encourage growth in other plants. Check herbs often to keep them free from dust and dirt. Wipe leaves clean with a damp cloth or use a paintbrush.
When growing a herb garden place them as near to your kitchen as possible for the aroma and convenient harvest. Mint is an excellent insect repellent that deters flies from entering the house. The mint family includes thyme, sage, lavender, rosemary, and basil.
Growing Herbs Indoors
Protect your indoor herb garden from insects without resorting to chemicals by providing them with adequate food, water, and sunlight. Pots of lavender, thyme, and basil repel most flying pests.
Keep them in an appropriately sized and type of pot. Potted herbs prefer snug containers. Signs a growing herb needs repotting are roots growing out from the drainage holes, wilting, and producing small and yellowing leaves.
If you are growing herbs indoors, remember that the humidity is often low in centrally heated homes. Lessen the dehydrating effects by placing plants close together on the windowsill.
Harvesting
An ingenious method to preserve herbs is by freezing them. As soon as basil and chives are picked, freeze the leaves in ice cubes. When frozen solid, transfer into freezer bags. Larger leafed mint and parsley can be frozen directly into plastic bags.
Uses
Which came first, herbs for healing or for food? Traditionally, often the two uses overlapped. Common herb oils with antiseptic properties are lavender, rosemary, and thyme. Basil, chives, dill, mint, rosemary, and sage are used to make flavored vinegars.
Begin growing herbs with these 10 favorites
Basil
Basil, Ocimum Basilicum, grows better indoors. Many plants such as basil thrive on regular trimmings to keep them from becoming straggly looking. Keep all herbs trimmed in summer to make them prosper longer before flowering and going to seed. Do not let your basil flower and pinch off the tops to ensure continued growth. A leaf of basil placed on a mouth ulcer will ease the ache.
Chives
Chives, Allium schoenoprasum, are the smallest and easiest to grow of all its onion relatives. The herb will do fine with a bit of shade. Its benefit is the garden by keeping pests off rose bushes and is a delicious garnish. Whooping cough sufferers who eat egg or cheese sandwiches filled with chopped chives are said to find relief from their sickness.
Dill
Dill, Anethum graveolens, is tolerant of partial sun but prefers full sunlight. It is used to flavor fish and pickles. In days of old, St. Johns Wort and dill was supposed to rob witches of their will. Wort is an Old Saxon word for herb. Early settlers to America chewed dill and fennel seeds to ward off hunger during the long church sermons.
Fennel
Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare, is handy if troubled by gas pains. Crush three teaspoons of fennel seeds in water and drink before each meal. Herbalists use a fennel seed infusion to help colic in babies. The tea helps stimulate breast milk and can be added to baby bottles in aiding digestion. The herb is used to treat chest congestion and coughs in children and adults. It is a popular addition to salad. Greek athletes ate the herb to build up their stamina. The Greek word for fennel is marathon.
Lavender
Lavender,because its oils were often used to clean clothes. The old-fashioned lavender bag was filled with dried herbs to bring a fresh smell to clothes hung up in wardrobes. The small bag typically included lavender, thyme, and mint. Lavender lemonade is a refreshing drink for a hot summers day.
Mint
Mint, Mentha Piperita, grows best in partial shade and moist soil. Plant in a container sunk into the ground to keep its roots from spreading. Use compost for best results. The herb is used in making savory jellies, served with lamb, and cooked in dark chocolate sauce. Mint freshens breath and is even more effective chewed with anise. Mint also relieves mouth pain caused by gingivitis.
Parsley
Parsley, Petroselinum Hortense, makes a tasty flavoring for sauces, butters, and garnishes. There is an ancient saying that parsley goes to the devil and back seven times before germinating, possibly stemming from the fact its germination is highly unpredictable. Parsley seed must be fresh for sowing. Hot water poured on the soil thirty minutes before planting will help the seeds germinate.
Rosemary
Rosemary, Rosmarinus officinalis, loves the sun and is an excellent flavoring for vegetables and meats. Folklore tells that gardeners who plant rosemary will never lack friends. Folk tales also suggest that it only grows where the woman is boss in the marriage. William Shakespeare wrote rosemary was for remembrance. In the olden days, pillows were filled with lavender and rosemary to cure insomnia by filling the room with a relaxing scent.
Sage
Sage, Salvia, officinalis, grows well in hot dry climates and has been acclaimed as a rejuvenating tonic for centuries. It stimulates appetite and aids digestion. Sage became an important ingredient in stuffing for turkey to prevent indigestion. In olden days, sage was used to predict the future. Sage advice was, where the herb flourished, so would the family fortune.
Thyme
Thyme, Thymus vulgaris, is a real sun-lover. Long ago, the Greeks used thyme as sweet burning incense in their temples. Today, it is well known as a culinary herb. Growing herbs such as thyme make attractive garden borders. The tender young leaves, either fresh or dried, season seafood, cheeses, poultry, and other delectable foods.
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