Herbs for medicine and cooking

I studied Herbal medicine for 3 years in a course many years ago and have been studying it ever since, including botany for a total of 33 years. I am not certified so I cannot give medical advice, legally, although I suppose I could say what I have done for my self and my family or what I would do. Basically I am here to encourage you in what to pick and grow for your own families to help with medical needs. If I can help in any way, just ask. I grow and pick in the wild my own herbs, and buy just a few others, and make all of our own medicines.
First of all, as a basic advice, for people who are amateurs, if you stick to what is called only "tonic or alterative herbs" and aren't taking drugs, you won't have to worry about overdosing, or harming yourself. Tonic herbs are healing, but do not act like drugs. They usually are very nutritious too and many times will heal you just by the amount of vitamins, minerals and nutrients in them.
If you are just starting growing your own, I would suggest starting with mostly perennials, because they are harder to start and get going, and you won't have to plant them the second year, because they will still be growing, and you can start the annuals the second year. Herbs in general are very easy to grow, and thrive in poor soil generally. If you have fruit trees, plant them under them, as many of them will help the trees with pollination, attracting bugs, and keeping bugs off the fruit.
Buy a few books on herbs, so you can distinguish between the tonic herbs, and the more dangerous ones. (there are very few dangerous ones).
Wild herbs. In order to pick wild herbs you will need to have a plant identification book. There are many. Some are just for medicinal herbs. Study the book to be able to figure out leaves, flowers, etc. so you can identify positively what you are picking. If you cannot positively identify it, don't use it. It really isn't hard with most plants, however.
One of the easiest plants in the wild is dandelion. In the spring, you can eat the leaves as greens, rich in vitamins a and c and iron, and calcium. Then you can fry the flower heads in egg batter and flour, tastes like oysters. Then in the fall, or early spring, dig the roots, clean them, chop fine, and dry them. You can then make a tincture of it, and it is a liver cleanser, and has healed me completely of gallstones. You can dry the leaves too, to save for soups in the winter.

Great post! What books do you recommend? Also what basic medicinal herbs would you recommend the beginner start growing to get started?

I knew dandelions were edible and you can make wine out of them but I never knew the roots could be dried as a liver cleanser. Thanks.

For some books for looking for wild herbs I have two I have used the most:
Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Rockies by Linda kershaw
Peterson field guides Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants by Stephen Foster/James A Duke
You could also use a Regular field guide to wildflowers, like Peterson's guides.

I need to go to bed, but here are a few of my favorite, most used herbs that I grow:
St. John's Wort
Comfrey
Parsley
Lavender
Sage
Chamomile
Cilantro (coriander)
Dill
Yarrow
Motherwort
Alfalfa
Calendula
Thyme
Peppermint
Catnip
Horehound
I will give more tomorrow and other days. Hope to chat with you all.

Thanks for this post! good stuff!

Hello, again. Today I will tell of one of my favorite and one of the most useful herbs. Tomorrow I will tell of ways to use the herbs, ie. infusions (teas), decoctions, tinctures, salves, etc.
Also, especially when learning the wild herbs it is important to learn the Latin names for them. The reason for this is because in different parts of the country, and the world the plants are called different things, and sometimes entirely different plants are called by the same names. So, when discussing with someone, it can be very confusing if you don't know the latin name for it.
Okay, so to the herb that is so important!
Nettles, stinging nettles, Latin name: Urtica dioica
I know, most people think of it as a very nasty weed that stings your skin for hours if you brush against it. Well, at least you know you have the right one if you touch it!.
First, Nettles are one of the most nutritious plant food in the world. I have copied a section on nettles here:
Many of the benefits are due to the plant's very high levels of minerals, especially, calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, silica, iodine, silicon, sodium, and sulfur. They also provide chlorophyll and tannin, and they're a good source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, and B complex vitamins. Nettles also have high levels of easily absorbable amino acids. They're ten percent protein, more than any other vegetable.
That particular section did not include that they are incredibly high in Vitamin K, so if your blood doesn't clot well, this will help. I would say the only people who should not eat nettles are those who are medicines to thin their blood.
You can pick nettles (carefully, with gloves) in spring and cook them like greens, and they are quite good, and so very nutritious. Or, you can dry them and make a tea with them.The tea is a lovely emerald green, and it is tasty enough to be drunk daily, hot or iced. Many midwives have their pregnant ladies take a tea daily made of nettles, raspberry leaves, oat straw and alfalfa to nourish and strengthen themselves and their babies.
Nettles drank on a regular basis helps with many allergies.
Nettles will help keep men's prostrates healthy.
Nettles lower blood sugar, but being a tonic, will not lower it if it is already low enough.
Nettles help vaginal infections.
Nettles taken internally will stop internal bleeding.
Due to its high iron level, it helps anemia.
Remember nettles are actually a food, so you won't overdose on them.
Nettles are very good to have around, not only for food and medicine, but also have been used for fiber, the stem fibers used and prepared just like flax, and the resulting linen is reported to be even finer than flax.
Nettles are very good as a greenhouse fertilizer. You can make a tea of it, or a tea of it and comfrey to feed your greenhouse plants. I found this out after using fish emulsion but my greenhouse is actually a sunroom, and the odor permeated the living room, and I never heard the end of it.
Nettles extract has been used as a vegetable rennet for making cheese, in case there isn't a calf around to kill when you want to make cheese.
Nettles are good for skin conditions like excema, and for healthy hair growth.
By the way, when the tea is made, or the nettles are cooked, the hairs that cause the pain and rash are neutralized.
And, I even pick them without gloves, because there is a small section under each branch axil of about 1/2 inch where there are no hairs, so if you grab it there and break it off, you won't get stung.
So, as you can see, nettles are a very good thing to have growing outside your door, especially in case of emergency, because it is like a vitamin/mineral pill, vegetable, good for fiber, cording, rennet for making cheese, and medicine for many things.

This is what I am talking about. Build a database so to speak of skills. This will be a very important skill in tough times. Thanks Hopefilled keep em coming!

Hello again, before I get to the preparing of herbal medicines, I have decided to give you a list of books you will need for yourselves.
There are some new ones out that I am sure are very good, yet I have not seen, so if you look yourself, check for ease of use, in looking up ailments, growing them, and since this forum is for self sufficiency, the majority of herbs in the books are ones that are grown/ picked wild near you, not rain forest herbs from South America, or chinese herbs from China. By the way, the creator has very graciously provided plants in every one's habitat that will supply you with the medicines you need. In other words, don't worry if you can't get a Chinese herb that does some particular thing, because there IS one that grows where you live that will do the same thing.

That said, and I have listed books for identifying herbs in the wild in a previous post, so I won't list them here.
For growing herbs, Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs is a very good book not just for growing, but lists also their history and uses.

Three books that I would consider very good for Amateurs (although I refer to them often, too)
Dr. Duke's Essential Herbs by James A. Duke
The Green Pharmacy by James A. Duke
Herbs for Health and Healing by Kathi Keville this is a great all around book and has instructions on making your own medicines.

Neither of the above 3 books have instructions on identifying nor on growing, etc. so will also need the books mentioned above, or others that would do the same.
So, for the very least,

You should get the following:
a book on identifying wild plants/herbs
a book on growing herbs
a book on using herbs, including making your own medicines. (Kelville's book is thorough on this for amateurs).

Great stuff keep it up!

Hello everyone! Today I will discuss the various ways medicinal herbs are prepared for use.
Internally, herbs are prepared in the following ways:
Infusions
Decoctions
Tinctures
Syrups
Capsules
Lozenges

Herbs are also used externally in different ways.
These are the methods herbs are prepared for external uses:
Baths
Douches
Ointments
Suppositories
Compresses
Poultices
Liniments
Oils


I will start with infusions, which is the simplest, and most common way of taking herbs. Most herbs are water soluble, and for most herbs it is the best way to be taken. To make an infusion, add 1 tsp of dried herb or 1 Tbsp of fresh herb per cup of water to a tea pot, and add boiling water . Cover and let sit for ten to fifteen minutes.
There are some herbal teas that taste quite good, peppermint, chamomile, and my favorite, sarsaparilla. However, some or most, do not taste very good, and people prefer using capsules. However, if you are taking an herb for digestion, and the herb in question is bitter, as many herbs are, you need to take it by infusion or decoction. Have you ever noticed when eating something very bitter that the back of your mouth lets out a lot of saliva? Sort of a reaction to the bitterness? Well, when you eat something bitter, or drink something bitter, a reflex action thru the tastebuds stimulate the secretion of all the digestive juices and also stimulate the activity of the liver, aiding your digestion. So, if the herb in question is for digestion, you must taste the herb. Infusions are usually used only for leafy and flowery parts herbs.

Decoctions are for hard woody parts of plants, such as roots, or twigs, nuts, seeds and bark. To make a decoction:
The parts should be cut finely, or powdered. Use 1 tsp per cup of water. Add water and herb to a saucepan and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Strain and use the liquid. Decoctions are used the same way as infusions.

For nasty tasting herbs that are not for digestion problems, you may put the herbs into capsules. www.herbalcom.com has herbs for sale, at a VERY good price, although you must buy a pound at a time. They have little machines that will enable you to make 24 capsules at a time. They sell the capsules too. Be sure if you buy one, as they have 2 sizes of capsule machines, made to be used with the 2 different size of capsules, so be sure they match. Now, herbs generally will stay potent and fresh while dried for about 1 year, or a little longer if barks, or roots, so if you buy from this place, be sure you will use a pound up in a year. But, if you do not think you can, then you can use it (if you buy the powdered) to make a tincture, because an alcoholic tincture will keep its potency for 6 years. When I have to buy an herb because I can't grow it or pick it in the wild, this is what I do, to save money, because buying it in bulk is so much cheaper. Which brings us to making tinctures:

To make tinctures:
For tinctures you will need 60 proof vodka, or everclear, but since everclear is double the proof of vodka, you can add equal amount of water. Unless you are making a tincture of a fresh plant, in which you would use everclear full strength, then dilute it with equal amount of water.
Put 4 oz. of finely pulverized or powdered herb in a quart jar, and pour over it 1 pint of 60 proof vodka or everclear mixed with equal amount of water to equal one pint. Cover the container, and shake well. Leave in a warm place for 2 weeks, shaking a couple times a day. After straining out the solids, and wringing out all the liquid you can, store the liquid in brown glass bottles in a dark place. Tinctures are concentrated so usually the dosage is a dropperful or half dropperful. Some herbs are NOT watersoluble so must be used in the form of a tincture. One that is this way is Usnea barbata, which is a lichen, and one of the most potent antibiotics in nature. It is fairly easy to find, and to identify positively, and must be tinctured. It would be a good one for selfsufficiency and emergency because so many antibiotics on the market now are resistant to bacteria. It is used for pneumonia, peurisy, bronchitis, sinusitis, cystitis, urethritis, and strep throat. Can be used externally for staph, strep or fungal infections, impetigo, athletes foot, ringworm, or for a douche in vaginal infections. It is also anti fungal .

Thank you, hopefulfilled, for sharing this great info. It's much appreciated.

I have a question about usnea barbata.
Can you direct me to a good source of info on it?

I read about it awhile back on the Daily Paul, perhaps that was you, and I did some research online. I live on the OR coast and figured it would be a snap to find this stuff, but what I find in the woods doesn't have the elasticy core I was looking for. Just hairy moss growing straight out of bark? (Mmmmmmm. Hairy moss.) The original post said it grows well in Western WA but I also read that it's called Oak Moss. We don't grow oaks in these parts, just moss. Can you help?

Hello, OregonWendy, Hope I can help. Sometimes the usnea is dead and dried out, and when it is, the inner core isn't elastic anymore. Try to find it again, and if it is dried out, check to see if the outside is light greyish green, but the inner core is white. I had bought some from a mail order supplier the first time, so I knew what it looked like, and then eventually found some fresh, and could find out how the inner core is elastic. It looks pretty much the same dried as fresh, however. I haven't actually been to Washington, or most of Oregon, but I have a cousin who has a friend who actually makes a living picking it in Washington in the rain forest and selling it to herbal distributors. Where I live we only have pine trees, and it grows on those in the mountains, but it will grow on many kinds of trees, and even on stumps. http://medherb.com/Therapeutics/Immune_-_Lymphatics_and_antibiotics.htm
There is a little info on this page, a little ways down the page.
Here is a place you can buy a small amount, and then you will be sure when you do find it. http://store02.prostores.com/servlet/fromtheforest/Categories?category=Herbal+Products
It really looks pretty much the same dried as fresh, because when it is fresh it is still very dry. Does this help you any? By the way, my husband had gotten a very serious bladder infection and was on a strong antibiotic for 21 days, and took it faithfully as directed. He was cured, but 8 days after being off of it, he contracted an even more serious infection elsewhere in his body, and when he went to the doctor, he said it was a super infection caused by the antibiotic. They gave him an even stronger antibiotic, and said to take it for two months! It was 10 dollars a day for it, and said he couldn't work, and the new pill made him too sick to stand and too sick to eat. This is was when i was finding out about usnea, and did research, bought some, made the tincture, took him off the antibiotic, which he had only been on for one week, and gave him the usnea. He was completely cured in less than two weeks.

Hi, again! I will complete my use of ways to use herbs internally.
Lozenges
Lozenges are usually used for sore throats and coughs or perhaps mouth ulcers. To make them you would take the herbs you wish to use, and make a very strong decoction of it, and using a recipe for hard candy from a regular recipe book, use the strained decoction liquid, add enough sugar for the recipe, and make hard candy with it. In some drug stores you can buy horehound candy, and if it is horehound extract in it, rather than horehound flavor only, it would be an example of an herbal lozenge. They work great for coughs, by the way.

While I am finishing up this on lozenges, since Horehound, latin name Marrubium vulgare, is the usual one to be found sold in stores, I will tell you a little bit about this herb.
This rank weed is found in all 50 states, not a native, but it has acclimated itself here for good. I would recommend finding and gathering it in the wild, as it will spread to take over your yard, and it's little seed pods will stick to your socks and annoy you. However, try to find it, as it is the best decongestant you will find, better than any the doctor will give you, or even find over the counter. It will drain a head cold in 5 or 10 minutes. It will also loosen phlegm in your throat or lungs, to be expectorated. It is best mixed with other herbs for a cough syrup, which I will go into later. However, be forewarned, that horehound was one of the bitter herbs eaten during passover for the Hebrews, to remind them of the bitterness of slavery, and it is very bitter tasting. Of my six children, however I had one who actually liked to drink the stuff. It may be interesting in this day of shortages, since hops is one plant that is reputed to be in short supply, that horehound is used in English Ale as a flavoring and considered by them to be superior to hops for flavor. So, maybe the ale drinkers here, may want to have a horehound covered yard!


Syrups
Syrups are usually used for coughs, or for perhaps a child who won't take a tincture, or tea or can't take capsules. Because of the amount of sugar, it is best to limit its use.
A syrup is made of a strong decoction, and add sugar,or honey, heating it gently and then storing it in the refridgerator.

For both lozenges, and syrups, it is good to add to the active herb, a mucilaginous ingredient, such as slippery elm, marshmallow root, or corn silk, which soothes the throat, and helps with expectorating phlegm, and also helps the digestion system. As you may have noticed, there are so many times that an herb can substitute for another, in the case of either using slippery elm, marshmallow root, or corn silk. I had run out of slippery elm, corn silk, and had no marshmallow root, but a particularly annoying weed in my garden that I was battling with, looked it up, and it was a relative of marshmallow, so I checked into it, and it does the same as marshmallow, so now I had fun digging it up by the root, and washing it, and saving it for winter cough syrup.

Hello all:
I will now tell a bit about using herbs externally.
Baths:
Since so much of your skin is exposed to the water when taking a bath, it is an excellent way of absorbing herbs.
Lavender, which is calming is good in the bath. Hops will help you sleep, Yarrow will help lower a fever.
To use, make a strong decoction or infusion, and add to the bath, or just put the herb into a muslin bag, and hang below the water spout while filling the tub. You can also use essential oils of the herbs putting a few drops into the bath water.

Douches
A strong herb tea may be used for douches for vaginal infections.

Body Oil:
To make a body oil, use 2 ounces of dried herbs, chopped very finely, and 1 pint of olive oil. heat herbs and oil for 5 hours at about 80 degrees. You can use a double boiler on stove top, oven, or slow cooker, or do it on a hot day. If you do it on a hot day, do it for 3 days. When done, strain out the herbs, ad save the oil. You can further strain it using a coffee filter.

Healing salve/ointment
To make this, you use 1 cup body oil, 3/4 oz of beeswax, and optional 8 drops of essential oils. combine Body oil and grated beeswax, and heat just enough to melt. Add essential oil, if using, Stir and pour into jars. let cool. In an emergency situation, you may use lard or some other animal fat in place of the olive oil to make the body oil.

One herb in particular which is good and handy for insect bites, scrapes, bee stings in the wild and used fresh is plantain, Plantago major, a weed that is found everywhere, especially on lawns. You just grab a leaf, chew it up, spit it out, and apply to the insect bite, or scrape, and it is very healing and will help the itching. It is also good to use in the above healing salve. It draws out the poisons.They are anti microbial, and it is a coagulant and was used as a battle dressing on wounds. I have read that it has scientific merit for using on snakebites, but never having been bitten, I can't attest to it, but I certainly would try it, as I have seen how it draws poisons out in the case of beestings and insect bites and even on boils. An interesting thing for survival about this plant, and its relatives, as there are other plantains growing wild everywhere, is that if you use Metamucil for regularity, it is interesting that the seeds of this plant are what Metamucil is made of. Psyllium seed is Plantago seed. I would dry the seeds and grind them for a substitute for Metamucil. It can also be eaten, raw, or cooked as a green.

Has anyone gotten a book or two on herbs yet? It is a fun endeavor finding and identifying these wild herbs. I would like to say, that being from the East where I learned all the wild herbs, I have had to find new books for the west where I now live, and learn the plants growing here. My absolute favorite books for identifying and the medicinal uses of Western Herbs are a few books written by an herbalist by the name of Michael Moore (no relation to the liberal movie maker). Google him and his site on Southwestern School of Botanical Medicine. He has tons of free material on his site. He is an incredibly knowledgable herbalist.

Thanks for the info. I think I will order some of the dried Usnea to get a look at it.

I have been tied up for months, and am finally getting to spend a bit of time here. What a treat these posts have been! I am a life-long dabbler in herbals, and have "poo-pooed" nettles because they taste nasty in my opinion. (Lawn clippings is what it brings to mind for me!) But I did not know about their value as fertilizer, and as my front porch hopes to be a sunroom when it grows up and I had already begun to worry about the fish emulsion... I guess I be having a nettle patch after all! Also learned more about those dandelions - if only they would grow where I want them and not where ever they want!
My ultimate "cure all" is not really herbal, but it is my "big gun" for when herbals or homeopathy fail me: colloidal silver. I encourage everyone to learn to make their own for the "SHTF" scenarios. Basically hook 3 9-volt batteries together, run a 3 volt bulb into the loop, and dip a couple of pure silver into distilled water until it turns a pale golden color. Google it for detailed directions.

Hi,

Thanks for your posts, Hopefullfilled. I left behind an interest in herbs years ago and would like to revive it and re-establish a nice herb collection. I got started with Horizon Herbs, near Grants Pass, OR, but would like to find other sources of stock and info, as well. I visited their farm and learned much. I haven't taken the time to establish beds with the care they put into it, but I was very impressed!

I have lots of critters to treat as well as my family, so lots to learn...

Maureen

Hello, Maureen, glad to have you on board.
With all the news lately of vaccines for asian bird flu, and other things of the flu in the news, I decided to tell of some things that prevent and help the flu.
Kimchee has been shown to prevent the flu. It is the lactic acid in kimchee that appears to prevent it. Lactic acid is the acid formed in making sourkraut or fermented pickles, and other things. It is usually made by chopping vegetables, adding salt and leaving covered to ferment.
If one feels the flu coming on, elderberry extract has been proven in kibbutzes in Israel to help the flu, and to prevent the flu from getting into the lungs, even after contracting the flu.
To make an elderberry extract, grow your own elderberries, Sambucus nigra , latin name. (they are black by the way to distinguish from the poisonous red ones), or pick in the wild, or buy dried from www.herbalcom.com .
Use one ounce of dried berries to 1 quart of vodka, or 1/2 and 1/2 water and everclear to make one quart. You could also use brandy.
Let sit in a dark place at room temp for at least a week.
Strain out the berries, and save the extract. For a child, you could add honey to taste for a syrup, and store in the fridge.
You would take 1/2 dropper ful of the extract every 1/2 hour in case of any flu symptoms.


Elderberries are easy to grow, and you can find the plants in most seed/bush/tree catalogs.