Herbal Medicine Chest In Your Backyard
What could be less difficult than growing an herb garden with no effort? Of course, you’ll have to harvest your weeds, but you would do that anyhow: it’s known as weeding.
Spring is an specially fertile time for harvesting your weeds – roots and all – and turning them into medicines. Here then are some hints on how to come across, harvest, prepare, and use a baker’s dozen (13) of frequent weeds that probably already develop around you.
To make your medicines you’ll need glass jars of a variety of sizes with tight-fitting lids. And at least a pint each of apple cider vinegar (pasteurized), vodka (100 proof is ideal, but 80 proof will do), and pure olive oil (not extra virgin) or beneficial quality animal fat such as lanolin, lard, or belly fat from a lamb or kid. You will also want a knife, a cutting board, and some rags to mop up spills.
In common, you will fill a jar (of any size) with coarsely-chopped fresh, but dry, plant material. (Do not wash any part of the plant except roots, if you are using them, and be certain to dry those nicely with a towel prior to putting them in your jar.) Then you will fill the jar with your menstruum, that is the vinegar, the oil, or the alcohol. Label properly and enable to stand at room temperature, out of the sunlight for at least six weeks just before decanting and utilizing. (See my book Healing Wise for additional particular data on creating preparations.)
A field guide is beneficial for positively identifying your weeds. The one I like greatest is: A Guide to the Identification of New Zealand Typical Weeds in Colour, complied by E. A. Upritchard. (Accessible from the New Zealand Weed And Pest Control Society, P.O. Box 1654, Palmerston North) This book even shows you how the weeds appear when they are emerging.
Prepared? OK! Let’s go outside with a plant id guide or skilled herbalist and see what we can find.
Shepherd’s purse (Capsella bursa pastoris) is an annual in the mustard household. Cut the top half of the plant when it has formed its small heart-shaped “purses” (seed pods) and make a tincture (with alcohol), which you can use to stop bleeding. Midwives and ladies who bleed heavily throughout their period praise its prompt effectiveness. Gypsies claim it works on the stomach and lungs as nicely. A dose is 1 dropperful (1ml); which may well be repeated up to 4 times a day.
Cleavers (Gallium aparine) is a persistent, sticky plant which grows profusely in abandoned lots and the edges of cultivated land. The whole plant is applied to strengthen lymphatic activity. I cut the top two-thirds of each plant while it is in flower (or setting seeds) and use alcohol to make a tincture which relieves tender, swollen breasts, PMS symptoms, and allergic reactions. A dose is 15-25 drops (.5 – 1 ml); repeated as necessary.
Chickweed (Stellaria media) has a number of uses, like delicious salad greens. I cut the entire top of the plant and eat it or use alcohol to make a tincture, which dissolves cysts, tonifies the thyroid, and aids in weight loss. A dose is a dropperful (1 ml), up to three instances a day.
Daisy (Bellis perennis) is a prevalent perennial weed of lawns and open locations. Very numerous from the native daisy (Lagenifera petiolata), the little English daisy is related to feverfew and has comparable skills. I use the leaves and flowers to make a tincture (with alcohol) or a medicinal vinegar which relieves headaches, muscle pain, and allergy symptoms. A dose is a dropperful of the tincture (1 ml), up to twice a day; or a tablespoon of the vinegar in the morning.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis) is a persistent perennial of lawns and gardens and 1 of the most effective identified medicinal herbs in the globe. (The native dandelion of New Zealand – Taraxacum magellanicum – is medicinal too.) Those who adore a pure green lawn curse the sunny yellow flowers of common dandelion. But those who are prepared to see beauty anyplace (such as kids and herbalists) treasure this weed. You can use any part of the dandelion – the root, the leaves, the flowers, even the flower stalk – to make a tincture or medicinal vinegar which strengthens the liver. A dose of 10-20 drops of the tincture (.5-1 ml) relieves gas, heartburn, and indigestion, as nicely as promoting healthy bowel movements. A tablespoon of the vinegar works properly, too. Extra importantly, taken before meals, dandelion increases the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach, thus increasing bio-availability of quite a few nutrients, in particular calcium. The fresh or cooked green leaves are loaded with carotenes, those anti-cancer, anti-heart illness helpers. And the oil of the flowers is an important massage balm for sustaining wholesome breasts. (There’s lots more specifics on dandelions in Healing Wise.)
Dock, also known as yellow dock, curly dock, and broad dock is a perennial plant, which my Native American grandmothers use for “all women’s complications.” The Maori call it paewhenua or runa. It is another plant that disagrees with sheep, in particular when the land is overgrazed. I dig the yellow roots of Rumex crispus or R. obtusifolius and tincture them in alcohol to use as an ally when the immune method or the liver desires assist. A dose is 15-25 drops (.5-1 ml). I also harvest the leaves and/or seeds throughout the growing season and make a medicinal vinegar, taken a tablespoon at a time, which is utilised to improve blood-levels of iron, lower menstrual flooding and cramping, and balance hormone levels. If the chopped roots are soaked in oil for six weeks, the resulting ointment is beneficial for keeping the breasts healthy.
Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) and Ragwort (Senecio jacobea) are hardy perennials that have a reputation for poisoning livestock, like their cousin tansy. While not good for sheep, these two Senecios are some of the world’s most ancient healing plants, having been identified in a grave 60,000 years old. You can use the flowering tops and leaves with your alcohol to make a tincture which acts slowly to tonify the reproductive organs, ease PMS, and quit severe menstrual discomfort. A dose is five-10 drops (.2-.five ml) per day, employed only once a day, but for at least 3 months. (A larger dose is utilized to speed up labor.)
Mallows (Malva neglecta, M. parviflora, M. sylvestres) develop properly in neglected gardens and are surprisingly deep-rooted. The flowers, leaves, stalks, seeds, and roots are wealthy in sticky mucilage which is very best extracted by soaking the fresh plant in cold water overnight or longer or by generating a medicinal vinegar. The starch is extraordinarily soothing internally (easing sore throats, upset tummies, heart burn, irritable bowel, colic, constipation, and food poisoning) and externally (relieving bug bites, burns, sprains, and sore eyes). The leaves, flowers, and bark (particularly) of the native Hohere (Hoheria populnea) are employed in specifically the similar way by Maori herbalists.
Plantain, also referred to as ribwort, pig’s ear, and the bandaid plant is a prevalent weed of lawns, driveways, parks, and playgrounds. Identify it by the 5 parallel veins running the length of every leaf. You might find broad leaf plantain (Plantago major) with wide leaves, or narrow leaf plantain (Plantago lanceolata) with lance-thin leaves. Either can be put to use to make a healing poultice or a soothing oil widely regarded as one of the very best wound healers about. Not only does plantain improve the speed of healing, it also relieves pain, stops bleeding, draws out foreign matter, stops itching, prevents and stops allergic reactions from bee stings, kills bacteria, and reduces swelling.
Try a poultice or a generous application of plantain oil or ointment (produced by thickening the oil with beeswax) on sprains, cuts, insect bites, rashes, chafed skin, boils, bruises, chapped and cracked lips, rough or sore hands, baby’s diaper location, and burns.
To make a fresh plantain poultice: Choose a leaf, chew it properly and place it on the boo-boo. “Like magic” the pain, itching, and swelling disappear, rapidly! (Yes, you can dry plantain leaves and carry them in your initial aid kit. Chew like you would fresh leaves.)
To make plantain ointment: Choose large fresh plantain leaves. Chop coarsely. Fill a clean, dry, glass jar with the chopped leaves. Pour pure olive oil into the leaves, poking about with a chopstick till the jar is entirely full of oil and all air bubbles are released. Cap properly. Location jar in a tiny bowl to collect any overflow. Wait six weeks. Then strain oil out of the plant material, squeezing properly. Measure the oil. Heat it gently, adding 1 tablespoon of grated beeswax for every single liquid ounce of oil. Pour into jars and let to cool.
St. Joan’s/John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) This amazing perennial wildflower may well be hated by sheep farmers but herbalists adore it. The flowering tops are harvested following they start to bloom (traditionally on Solstice, June 21) and prepared with alcohol, and with oil, to make two of the most helpful remedies in my initial aid kit. Tincture of St. Joan’s wort not only lends 1 a sunny disposition, it reliably relieves muscle aches, is a powerful anti-viral, and is my initial-option therapy for those with shingles, sciatica, backpain, neuralgia, and headaches which includes migraines. The usual dose is 1 dropperful (1 ml) as often as needed. In extreme discomfort from a muscle spasm in my thigh, I employed a dropperful every single twenty minutes for two hours, or till the discomfort entirely subsided. St. Joan’s wort oil stops cold sores in their tracks and can even relieve genital herpes symptoms. I use it as a sunscreen. Contrary to popular belief, St. Joan’s wort does not trigger sun sensitivity; it prevents it. It even prevents burns from radiation therapy. Eases sore muscles, too.
Self heal (Prunella vulgaris) This scentless perennial mint is one of the wonderful unsung healers of the world. The leaves and flowers contain extra antioxidants – which prevent cancer and heart disease, among other healthy traits – than any other plant tested. And as component of the mint household, self heal is imbued with lots of minerals, specially calcium, creating it an specifically vital ally for pregnant, nursing, menopausal, and post-menopausal ladies. I put self heal leaves in salads in the spring and fall, make a medicinal vinegar with the flowers during the summer, and cook the flowering tops (fresh or dried) in winter soups.
Usnea (Usnea barbata) is that many-stranded grey lichen hanging out of the branches of your apple trees or the Monterey pines planted in the plantation over there or in pretty much any native tree in locations of the South Island Alps, exactly where it is identified as angiangi to the Maori. If in doubt of your identification: Pull a strand gently apart with your hands, looking for a white fiber inside the fuzzy grey-green outer coat. To prepare usnea, harvest at any time of the year, being cautious not to take too significantly. Usnea grows slowly. Put your harvest in a cooking pan and just cover it with cold water. Boil for about 15-25 minutes, or until the water is orange and reduced by at least half. Pour usnea and water into a jar, filling it to the top with plant material. (Water must be no much more than half of the jar.) Add the highest proof alcohol you can get. After 6 weeks this tincture is prepared to work for you as a excellent antibacterial, countering infection anywhere in the physique. A dose is a dropperful (1 ml) as often as just about every two hours in acute circumstances.
Yarrow (Achellia millefolium) This beautiful perennial weed is grown in numerous herb gardens for it has a multitude of utilizes. Cut the flowering tops (use only white-flowering yarrow) and use your alcohol to make a strongly-scented tincture that you can take internally to prevent colds and the flu. (A dose is 10-20 drops, or up to 1 ml). I carry a little spray bottle of yarrow tincture with me when I’m outside and wet my skin each hour or so. A United States Army study showed yarrow tincture to be extra successful than DEET at repelling ticks, mosquitoes, and sand flies. You can also make a healing ointment with yarrow flower tops and your oil or fat. Yarrow oil is antibacterial, discomfort-relieving, and incredibly useful in healing all kinds of wounds.
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