Iris Herbal Info Library: Growing A Backyard Medicine Chest Garden

GROWING A BACKYARD MEDICINE CHEST GARDEN
How to grow the plants and make medicines

If you long for more connection with nature, growing your own plant medicines is an exquisite way to get sewn in for keeps. Using herbs is a feast for the senses, a balm for the spirit, and a great way to become more self-sufficient.

Minor ailments respond quickly to the simplest of remedies. So here are five ordinary plants full of heart and soul: yarrow, chamomile, mullein, comfrey and peppermint. Among them, an astonishing 45 minor health problems can be addressed. That they work is proven by hundreds of years of usage (thousands for yarrow), and modern studies that confirm the ancient uses.

IN THE GARDEN

These five adaptable herbs take minimal care. In spring and fall, offer compost to the chamomile, comfrey and yarrow (skip the fertilizer). Making the soil too rich cuts down on production of the very oils that make these herbs work well.

Yarrow, a perennial, can be pushy, spreading by its creeping roots. Chamomile is an annual. As you collect the flowers, do leave some on the plant so it reseeds itself. Mullein, a biennial, forms a small rosette of leaves during its first year. The second year, its flowering stalk shoots up four to six feet. This sentry of the garden will grow in the most wretched soils, and needs no watering or feeding. Put it in full sun where you won’t mind it spreading...which it will, vigorously, via thousands of tiny black seeds.

If you doubt your gardening abilities, grow comfrey and peppermint — your thumbs will quickly turn green. Both are perennial, returning year after year with little effort on your part. Though they tolerate full sun, they’ll appreciate some shade, and will need much less water that way. Mulch heavily around comfrey to cut down on water loss, and add compost and rotted manure in spring and fall. Once established, mint won’t need much water. In tiny gardens, peppermint’s relentless advances (via creeping roots) can be checked by placing it in a large flower pot (with drainage holes) buried in the ground.

A contented comfrey plant forms a deep, moist root and a prodigious amount of huge (rather bristly) leaves. If this 3-foot plant makes too big a statement in your garden, just keep harvesting older leaves — besides medicine, they make great mulch and are a boon to the compost pile. Beware if you move comfrey to another location: Leave behind even a sliver of the root, and it starts up all over again. Prevent it from going to seed, and place it carefully, because it’s doubtful you’ll ever get rid of it. (Not recommended for the highly controlling gardener.)

THE HERBS:

YARROW, Achillea millefolium, A. lanulosa (Spanish: plumajillo)
For your herb garden, you want this lacy, white-flowered variety, not the huge yarrow with yellow flowers commonly used in landscaping. Wilderness guides often name oak as the most useful first aid plant; I’m happier to find yarrow on my hikes, which has a dozen distinct uses.

Yarrow stops bleeding of minor cuts — crush or chew fresh leaves, apply as a poultice. It also prevents infection, speeds healing of tissue, and lessens inflammation and pain. Use fresh leaves on insect bites, too. Even a nosebleed can be halted by placing a fresh, bruised leaf inside the nostril. (I use a mixture of leaves and flowers for all the situations which follow.)

By promoting a sweat, a cup of hot yarrow tea reduces the heat of a dry fever. Did you know you can sweat out viruses along with other wastes? So use for incipient colds as well. What if your feverish child refuses the tea? A no-hassle way to get herbs into children is by bathing them in herb teas. (If this stretches your belief too thin, consider that the late, great 20th century French herbalist Maurice Mességué got fabulous results using almost nothing but herbal hand and foot baths.)

Yarrow calms visceral spasms, whether due to gas, tension, or menstrual cramps: try the tea or a bath.

Though headaches have a multitude of possible causes, it’s worth trying yarrow, which “moves” blood and energy. Besides, in your tea you’ll also get an anti-inflammatory oil (azulene), salicylic acid (like Aspirin), and an anesthetic (eugenol). Not bad for a humble herb.

But what about yarrow’s bitter taste? This despised flavor is studiously avoided in most American diets (did you eat your parsley garnish?). But bodies need all flavors to be healthy. In moderation, the bitter taste stimulates the flow of digestive juices, improves assimilation, and more. (You can’t get the benefits by swallowing it in a capsule, since it works by a nerve reflex on the tongue. Sorry.)

Sipping a bitter tea will relieve stalled digestion due to emotional upset or occasional nausea after eating. In mere minutes, you’ll feel your guts gearing up to return to action.

Drunk cool, yarrow tea increases the flow of urine and soothes the irritation and pain of a urinary tract infection.

GERMAN CHAMOMILE, Matricaria recutita or M. chamomilla (Spanish: manzanilla)
Botanists can’t decide what to call this plant, so be sure you get German and not the more bitter Roman chamomile. This miniature daisy is particularly effective for peevish children with colic, teething pains and restlessness. It even calmed Peter Rabbit’s unruliness.

Some of its talents are similar to yarrow: it’s antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, aids digestion, and heals wounds and sores. I include it here because of its affinity to the nervous system and its more accessible flavor. Think of using it when problems are made worse by anxiety or sensitivity. Rich in the anti-inflammatory oil azulene, chamomile soothes whatever it touches, inside or out. Make a strong tea (1 Tablespoon per cup water) to calm spasms, protect against the formation of ulcers and help heal existing ones. If your gut is inflamed from the likes of stomach flu, combine with a pinch of peppermint leaves. Don’t forget to try the tea as a mouthwash for sensitive gums or a gargle for sore throats.

I’ve seen a chamomile eyewash clear up irritation and discharge almost instantly.

MULLEIN, Verbascum thapsus (Spanish: gordo lobo, or punchón)
Though mullein leaves are more often used, few people know that the flowers can actually be a stronger medicine. Gather both and see for yourself. (Flowers are available commercially only in oil form.) Extra sensitive folks should strain both flower and leaf teas through filter paper to remove fine hairs.

As tea, this friendly, fuzzy plant relaxes tight lungs, tones weepy mucous membranes, and decreases inflammation. Mullein is a “thinking herb”—it seems to know what to do, when. It increases fluid production if lungs are too dry, but brings up mucus if and when that’s needed. Teasing coughs, persistent bronchitis, inflamed windpipe: all are helped by mullein tea. A superior lung tonic.

Mullein excels in topical uses as well. The fresh leaves make an excellent poultice for shingles, boils and sores. I wouldn’t be without the infused oil made from the flowers, a blessing for earaches: Store the oil in a dropper bottle, warm the bottle slightly, then place 2-3 drops in each ear and plug ears with cotton. (Caution: Never put anything in an ear that is draining.) Apply the oil also to hypersensitive skin due to neuritis or neuralgia, or dry, itchy ear canals.

COMFREY, Symphytum officinale (Spanish: consuelda)
Have you heard stories about the dangers of comfrey? While ingesting the root is generally not advised, topical use of the root or leaf poses no risk whatsoever. (The harmful substance in the root isn’t well-absorbed through the skin.)

Though the root has a broader scope of action than the leaf, both heal and soothe inflammation. Comfrey leaf contains vitamin C, minerals, beta carotene and anti-oxidants — great nutrients for the skin. Leaf tea makes a nice sunburn spray or a bath for itchy, dry skin or diaper rash.

Comfrey root offers a slippery substance herbalists affectionately call mucilage. What’s more, the root includes allantoin, which promotes cell growth and speeds the mending of damaged tissue. Use powdered, dried root as an unrivaled, marvelously gooey poultice on stubborn skin ulcers, scrapes, chapped skin, etc. It prevents scarring, too. The root powder, when sprinkled directly on cuts, stops bleeding and forms an instant scab ... it’s the Krazy Glue of the herb world.

Comfrey’s Latin name, Symphytum (“to unite”), and its alias, “knitbone,” describe the root’s action on fractured bones. Try the poultice on hairline or uncasted fractures, sprains, slow-to-regenerate cartilage, and to reduce pain and swelling of injuries.

PEPPERMINT, Mentha piperita (Spanish: menta)
This herb, besides being a refreshing, fragrant beverage tea, can be used like yarrow for mild headaches, colds and fevers. But it’s peppermint’s ability to cool and anesthetize which wins it a place in your medicine garden.

Containing appreciable amounts of menthol, a cup of strong peppermint tea chills out ragged stomach nerves and chases nausea. In fact, its soothing action extends throughout the gut, “settling” digestion, calming irritability, gas and cramping. For children, strong peppermint tea can be unpleasant — make theirs half-strength.

Peppermint provides welcome coolness for itchy, burned or bitten skin. Spray on a mist of the tea, or soak in a tepid mint bath. Make it brief, though; an extended bath can be more chilling than you’d want.

USER’S GUIDE

GATHERING AND STORING YOUR HARVEST
First, some general rules: Don’t pick wet herbs; don’t dry or store herbs in direct sunlight. Every few mornings, pick mullein and chamomile flowers individually, place one layer thick in straw baskets lined with paper towel (or on screens). Large, second-year mullein leaves are cut off near the stalk, strung with needle and thread, and hung to dry. Gather comfrey leaves (wear gloves) mid-to-late summer, bundling them at their stems. When yarrow and mint bloom, clip the upper eight to 12 inches, group six to eight stalks in a bouquet, and rubber-band at the cut end. Hang herb bunches upside down out of the sun, where air circulates freely. Dig comfrey root after the first fall frost. (Return a piece to the soil.) Allow dirt to dry, then brush off (don’t rinse). Chop into quarter-inch pieces, spread to dry one layer thick in baskets or on screens.

When herbs are bone-dry, break up minimally to fit into dry glass jars, discarding yarrow and mint stems. Grind one cup of dried comfrey root into powder (use electric spice grinder or blender), and leave the rest whole. Label and date the jars; replace in one year.

MAKING AND TAKING MEDICINES
General rules: Use glass, enamel or stainless steel only.

Tea (“infusion”): Boil one cup water. Add one to two teaspoons (smaller amount for children) of dried, crumbled herb (twice that amount of fresh herb), turn off heat, cover, and steep about 10 minutes. Dosage: Some intuition is needed here. Drink one-half to one cup, two to three times daily (half that for kids or elderly). If the problem doesn’t resolve within a few days, see a practitioner.

Eyewash: Boil one cup purified water, add 1/4 teaspoon salt. Turn off heat, add one scant teaspoon desired herb. Cover, steep 10 minutes. Strain through filter paper. Wash eyes with warm solution using sterilized glass eyedropper or eyecup. Refrigerate, and make a fresh batch of tea daily. Use three times daily for two days. (If any eye problem persists, see a doctor immediately.)

Herbal Bath: Boil two quarts water, place a rounded handful of dried herbs (twice that for fresh) into water, turn off heat. Cover, steep 20 minutes, strain into warm bath. Bathe one to two times daily for 15-20 minutes.

Poultice: Pound or bruise fresh herbs slightly, to awaken their powers. (Comfrey leaf is prickly — crush thoroughly.) If using dry herbs, crumble, moisten with boiled water. Add some comfrey root powder (or flour) to help herbs stick together. (A poultice entirely of comfrey root powder is best made by sprinkling the powder onto a tablespoon of water while stirring, not the other way around.) Oil unbroken skin to prevent sticking, place herbs on skin. Cover with a clean cloth, remove after 15 minutes. Use two times daily (or more) for two to three days.

Infused Oil: Fill a clean, dry two-ounce glass jar with fresh herb or chopped fresh root and cover with olive oil. Stir with a chopstick to remove air bubbles. Cap loosely so air can escape, place in dark spot. Wait four to six weeks, then strain through filter paper. (Put a blotter of some kind under the jar, because strange as it may seem, the oil has a tendency to migrate out of the jar and down the sides.)

FOR SAFETY’S SAKE
Most herbs are safe because they are such complex biochemical compounds. Exerting a variety of effects at once, they buffer themselves. However, consult a professional herbalist before giving herbs to infants, pregnant or breast-feeding women, the frail elderly, and anyone with a serious medical condition. (Essential oils — extremely potent substances — are not used similarly to fresh or dried whole herbs.) Long-term treatment of chronic conditions is beyond the scope of this article; these suggestions are strictly for acute problems or flare-ups — doses are small, treatment is brief. Remember, overusing herbs can cause problems. When using any herb for the first time, use a small amount to make sure it agrees with you.

RESOURCES:

When ordering or buying herbs, it’s important to mention both common and Latin names, so you get the right plant. You’ll find chamomile, comfrey, peppermint and yarrow at most nurseries, but not the preferred species of mullein (considered a weed).

J.L. Hudson, Seedsman, Star Rt 2, Box 337, La Honda, CA
94020, www.jlhudsonseeds.com.

Johnny’s Selected Seeds, (800) 879-2258, www.johnnyseeds.com. A wide selection of organic seeds of high quality, many produced on their own certified organic farm.

BOOK:
The New Age Herbalist, Richard Mabey, Macmillan Publishing Co., NY 1988. Despite its somewhat flaky title, this book has a solid core of responsible information, and explores every way you could think of to use herbs—vinegars, dyeing, healing, cosmetics, etc. The remarkably clear photographs are almost as good as being eyeball to eyeball with the herbs, except you can’t smell them.

This article is from Gardening the Southwest: How to care for your land while growing food, medicine and beauty (Healing Earth Publications, 1999), available through the author.

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