Susan W
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Healing herbs

Is anyone growing healing herbs, especially arnica, calendula and others?
On a fellow market vendors suggestion, looking into both arnica and calendula. Only similarity I suppose is that it is the flower that is used. (this person makes healing salves, lotions etc). Arnica may be a bit tricky to get going.
Calendula aka pot marigold, fairly easy, but does best in cool weather. For us in the midsouth probably blooms best in spring and fall, and plant in part shade. Another downside I saw was it can be bothered by slugs, aphids and powdery mildew. If those are issues elsewhere, magnified in our climate!

Another one which seems silly to many is plantain. As common as it is, I may not have it in my yard. The leaves are used for bug bites and more. If one had a dedicated pot of it, is in easy reach for that bug bite.

Any comments on these? Do you have other fave plants grown for healing? (NOT replacing medical and OTC remedies)

imafan26
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I have a bunch of healing herbs some are perennial, some annual and most of them can be very weedy.
Plantain, verbena, calendula(annual for me), comfrey (now mostly to add calcium to the compost pile), echinacea, gotu kola, shampoo ginger (shampoo), sage (sore throats, cough, excessive sweating, and thyme (coughs colds, anti microbial.)
Many ethnic groups actually consider food as medicine.
Ginger (fever), turmeric (some types of cancer), noni (once very popular for diabetes and high blood pressure), aloe, bitter melon (diabetes), Moringa oleifera (arthritis, stomach pains), lemon balm(calming), Kawa or awa (for insomnia), garlic (cleansing out the system, colds), roselle (High in vitamin C, for sore throats, mild diuretic, gently lowers high blood pressure) and a few others I don't have like St. John's wort, ashwagandha, cranberry (urinary tract infections),

There was a Hawaiian medicinal healer who would ask for plantain an vervain to help heal his son's broken leg.

The biggest problem with using medicinal herbs is that you really need to know what you are doing. St. John's Wort, Black Cohosh, gingko biloba, and ginseng are the ones I know of that you have to be careful of, since they can interact with other medications. Medicinal herbs cannot be over used or not mixed properly or they can have unwanted side effects. That is what happened with comfrey. People were not using it properly and over use can cause liver damage.

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applestar
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Plantain, jewelweed, and peppermint are my go to for bug bites/stings/poison ivy. Stinging nettle for tea. Also started growing toothache plant which is numbing and not just for toothache. They selfsow/propagate without any help. (Weedy in fact)

Also perennials are thyme and sage, echinacea (thanks to you SusanW :D ), yarrow and comfrey (mostly for mulch and compost like imafan, but I harvest some to dry and keep for bruises, etc. external use also). Tried making Greek oregano oil/tincture this year. Have tried drying raspberry and blackberry leaves for tea as well. Also elderberry/sambuca for elderflower and elderberry syrup.

Have not actually tried using it for anything but have hardy Yucca plant growing as well as mullein.

Tropicals/winter indoor -- ginger and aloe vera. Starting to grow turmeric. Would like to grow cinnamon.

Calendula and chamomile as annuals are started every spring.

...anything else, I wonder?

...hmmm... Definitely NOT trying to make anything or use them in anyway medicinal, but I do have foxglove and belladonna.

Susan W
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It is interesting to do 'back ground checks' on various herbs and plants, especially origin and how used. Medicinal uses often exchanged between cultures over food and other uses.

As it is, as I peddle fresh cut herbs at the market, have most of the common culinary ones. For starts have way fewer. The interesting ones are getting my attention (and potential customers), though not all medicinal. I usually have comfrey (bought for both medicinal and compost), horehound, wormwood -absinthe, salad burnet, rue, yarrow, pennyroyal to name a few. I have coneflower, usually used just as ornamental and a pollinator magnet. I think it is the root that is used for healing, which takes the plant!

Chamomile doesn't do well here, probably too wet and high temps. I am looking to add calendula (perhaps a spring and fall plant), plantain, and with any luck arnica.

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rainbowgardener
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Yes, coneflower is echinacea, a very effective healing herb and immune booster. But yes, what is used is echinacea root, so then you have totalled your plant.

imafan26
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That is one of the herbs you have to be careful of. Echinacea is an immune booster and works well when you take it just when you start to feel a cold coming on. However, some people think if they take it all the time, they won't get sick. If your immune system is revved up all the time, it doesn't have any reserve so when you do get sick, it does not help much more.

I forgot about nettle. I used to have mamake (stinging nettle) but it gets to be a monster plant and it does not like to be pruned.

Some herbs are historical herbs. I don't think Rue actually works. And some things people are using as medicine, is sometimes psychological help more than physical because research does not back up their claims.

There is something to say about folk medicine though. A new drug today has to go through rigorous trials and investigation to get the FDA seal of approval. But take willow bark tea (salysilic acid) works as an antipyretic but nobody as far as I know every figured out how it works. It is in the GRAS list, otherwise aspirin may not have been approved.

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applestar
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Yep, yep. And what about the Chinese Nobel prize winner who with a team of scientists developed malaria medicine from sweet wormwood (artemisia) after researching ancient Chinese remedies?

I actually thought about this thread when I read the newsfeed. I think I have the correct species in my herb garden, though I only use it for moth repellant potpourri. :wink:

Susan W
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Oh my! Don't short change rue Ruta graveolens! It is said to help ward off plague (middle ages). The Cherokee added it to whiskey for hysterics. I have had 2 different people from Mexico tell me about putting sprigs behind the ears for ear ache or head ache. Other remedies are associated with the plant.

If all of that doesn't convince you to have the plant, it is attractive and interesting looking. It is near evergreen, getting a bit ratty looking by March, but soon has new pretty growth. It's also a host plant for the black swallowtail. Can be grown in pot or ground, sun or part shade.

imafan26
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I did actually have rue, for a while. It is an o.k. plant, but prefers a drier place than mine.



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