Your Herbal Garden

By Mama Prepper

Herbs heal. But where do you start? Do you have enough space? Do you start the seeds inside or buy plants already established? Is the climate right for the plants you want?

All these questions, and much more are answered for you. Not only will you get a planting guide for each of the 45 herbs, but you'll get the medicinal benefits of each one as well. No guesswork.

Mama Prepper has been gardening for over 60 years. And she has been making her own medications for many of those years. Easy to read, easy to understand instructions are now right at your fingertips.

Let's get started.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lorekeeper Publishing Services
• Release date: Aug 26, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201288907

Book preview

1

Anise

GROW A LITTLE ANISE in your herb garden.  Your body, and your family, will love you for it.

First of all, you’ll need a climate that has hot summers, or your crop will be stunted.  Because I live in the mountains, and the summers rarely get above 95 degrees F, and only for a few days.  This is not a good climate for Anise.  I grew enough for seed to plant, but didn’t harvest enough to use for medication.  If I wanted Anise for medication, I would need to put my Anise in lots of pots on the railing of my porch where it would get the most sun.

After harvesting, store your seeds in dry, air-tight containers in a dark place.  This prevents the essential oils from evaporating.

Benefits of Anise:

Anise seeds (the fruit of the plant) have anti-oxidant, disease-preventing properties, in addition to a host of B vitamins, plus vitamins C and A.  The seeds also contain minerals like calcium, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, and potassium.  Potassium is an important component in helping to control heart rate and blood pressure.

Anise addresses such problems as:

Indigestion

Skin parasites

Promoting mother’s milk

Coughs, colds, congestion, expectorant and colic

Insomnia

Indigestion

If you have a digestion problem, just chew a few of the seeds after a meal.  It also helps with bloating and flatulence.  It relieves constipation.  Anise has a mild diuretic effect.

Skin Parasites

Apply Anise oil directly to the skin to get rid of parasites, such as lice and scabies.  You’ll smell good too, a bit like licorice. 

Anise Oil

Crush Anise seed just enough to break it apart and release the oils.

Fill bottle almost full with Anise seed.

Pour almond oil into bottle until full, completely submerging the Anise seed.

Cap tightly.

Set on sunny window sill for about a month, poking a clean knife blade into the oil to release air bubbles every couple of days for the first week.

Strain through cheesecloth into bottle.  Cap and store in dark place.

Remember to label your bottle so you know what you stored there.  I also list what the oil is used for on the bottle.

Anise Tea

1 teaspoon Anise Seed

1 cup (or a little more) water

Put water and Anise Seed together in pan.

When it comes to a boil, turn the water off.

Let steep 10-20 minutes.

Strain out seeds.

You can drink this warm with a little honey, if you like.

Cool to room temperature for infants.

Promoting Mother’s Milk

Drink a cup of Anise tea in the evening.  Anise Tea promotes your body’s ability to make estrogen, so drink daily while needed.

Coughs, Colds, Congestion, Expectorant and Colic

Drink a cup of Anise tea in the evening while symptoms remain.  This tea is also gentle enough for baby’s colic. 

Insomnia

A cup of Anise tea before bed will also help with insomnia.

In Cooking

Use Anise seeds in breads and with meats.  Use it in sachets and making your own soaps and lotions.

Anise Extract, for flavoring

Use Star Anise because it has the strongest licorice flavor.

Fill glass jar with whole Anise.

Pour vodka into jar until it reaches the top, cover tightly.

Store in dark, cool place for three months.  Shake jar every two weeks. 

Taste after three months.  If Anise flavor is not strong enough, store for another month or two.

Strain into extract bottle with tight lid.  Label and store in cupboard with other extracts.

How to Grow:

Buy seeds.  May start indoors in the spring if you live in a cold climate.

Transplant outside when danger of frost has passed.  If you live in a place that has warm summers, you can plant directly outside in May.

This plant is a semi-hardy annual.  If you have cold, rainy summers, this plant will not grow well outside.  Anise loves sun, and it tolerates most soils.  So transplant it in a sunny place.  Harvest the seeds for next year’s crop, and for cooking and medicinal uses.

2

Borage

DO YOU SUFFER FROM stress?  Do you need a moment’s respite from the cares of the day?  Make yourself a cup of Borage Tea to wind down.

Borage Tea

1 teaspoon dried Borage leaves and flowers

1 cup boiling water

Pour water over dried Borage leaves and flowers

Let steep for 10 minutes

Sip slowly

Borage in Your Garden

Borage grows well in just about any garden.  You only need to plant it once, because it seeds itself down.  After you have one growth of Borage in your garden, plant the seeds where you want them later, interplanting them among your other vegetables.  They attract bees and have been known to repel the tomato hornworm.

Borage also works well planted among your strawberries.  It is said the Borage plants improve the flavor of the strawberries, but it may be because Borage feeds minerals into your garden soil as well, the way legumes feed nitrogen into your soil.

Borage has a lovely blue star-shaped flower.  The flowers are attractive and edible, and are used in ice cubes for summertime drinks.

Uses of Borage:

Restoring Strength After Convalesce

Diuretic

Expectorant

Anti-Inflammatory

Stress

Restoring Strength After Convalesce

Borage is so loaded with nutrients that with a little honey added to Borage Tea, the person who has been ill has an excellent chance of regaining his or her strength much more quickly.  Always remember to sip the tea slowly and enjoy the moment.  This part of convalescence is an important part of getting healthy.

This tea also works for those who are taking steroid treatments, regardless of the reason.

Diuretic

Borage helps the body produce urine.  Drink lots of water if you are in the habit of taking a diuretic such as Borage.  Urine collects the waste and impurities from your body’s systems, and flushes them out.  Keep your body healthy by sipping a Borage Tea.

Expectorant

Borage Tea is an excellent solution to reduce fevers, address colds, coughs (including dry cough), and throat irritations.  Just add a little honey and sip as needed.  You will find that Borage Tea promotes sweating. 

To make a Strong Borage Tea, just double the amount of dried leaves and flowers before adding the boiling water.  Let steep 10-20 minutes.  A Strong Borage Tea can be used as a gargle and for tired eyes.

Anti-Inflammatory

As an anti-inflammatory, Borage tea works to reduce conditions that result in inflammation.  It even works to reduce irritable bowel syndrome.  Because it also helps with digestion, it can also relieve gastritis.

As a topical anti-inflammatory, just take the fresh Borage leaves and crush them.  Apply as a poultice to insect bites, stings, and to reduce swelling.  It can even be used to heal boils and rashes.  Wrap the freshly crushed leaves in a thin, wet cloth first, since the hairs on the leaves can be irritating to the skin.  Keep the poultice damp.

Stress

The anti-stress components in Borage Tea also work to promote lactation.  It does not interfere with any drugs you may be taking, and it provides an overall feeling of well-being.

How to Grow

Start from seed indoors until all danger of frost is past.  Then plant them outside.  They produce the most beautiful star-shaped flower that looks very dressy when put in ice cubes for summertime drinks.  Borage will seed itself down in the fall, so plant it where you want it to thrive.  And your garden won’t mind some Borage plants within it.

3

Calendula

ALTHOUGH CALENDULA is in the marigold family, it is not to be confused with the common marigold found in most gardens.  Calendula is its own plant.  It has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral properties.  Its flowers have been used for hundreds of years to treat a variety of conditions. 

Cautions:  Calendula may interfere with diabetes and high blood pressure medications.  Can cause drowsiness.  Do not take two weeks prior to surgery.  Do not take if pregnant or trying to conceive a child.

Historically it has been used for:

Muscle Spasms

Fever

Cancer

Digestive Issues

Varicose Veins

Hemorrhoids

Promoting Menstruation

Throat Irritations

Minor Wounds

Hair and Bath

Muscle Spasms

Calendula Tea contains a natural sedative.  In fact, doctors have recommended that Calendula Tea not be taken prior to or after surgery because it might interfere with anesthetics and pain medication. 

Calendula Tea

The part that’s used is the flower.  You may harvest and dry the flowers for later use during the winter, or you may use the flowers fresh.  Use 2 teaspoon of fresh Calendula, or 1 teaspoon of the dried flower.

1 teaspoon dried Calendula flower

1 cup boiling water

Pour water over the flower

Let steep 10-20 minutes

May add honey or lemon for flavor.  Drink slowly

Fever

Calendula has antibiotic and antiviral properties.  To reduce a fever, you can drink 1-4 cups of Calendula Tea daily.

Cancer

Studies are currently being done to find the effectiveness in taking Calendula to fight or prevent cancer.  It does show to have some anti-cancer properties.  One of the ways Calendula is used is in a crème for skin rashes due to radiation therapy.

Calendula Crème

3 cups freshly picked Calendula blossoms.  Make sure all dirt is removed.

Put flowers into a quart jar.

1 cup olive oil added to the flowers.  Put on lid and shake gently to make sure all the flowers are coated in oil.

Remove lid.  Cover jar with cheesecloth to allow moisture to evaporate. 

Place in sunny window for two weeks.

Strain oil through cheesecloth into a pan.

Add 2 ounces beeswax.

Warm on very low heat until beeswax is melted.

Pour into wide-mouth jelly jar. 

Attach lid, tighten lid after mixture cools.

Put jar into dark, cool place.  Will store for approximately one year.

Digestive Issues

Calendula has been used to address inflammation, both externally and internally.  Drinking from 1-4 cups of Calendula Tea may help with digestive problems.

Varicose Veins

Calendula, as a topical remedy, can be applied to itching and inflamed varicose veins for relief.  To make a topical ointment, make Calendula Tea, but do not add honey or lemon for flavor.  With a clean cloth, apply gently to affected areas.  May apply several times a day.

Hemorrhoids

Calendula Crème can also be used to treat hemorrhoids.  Just apply to affected area.

Promoting Menstruation

Do not try this if you are trying to get pregnant.  Drinking Calendula Tea can help regulate periods.

Mouth and Throat Soreness

Add a little salt to Calendula Tea and rinse mouth or gargle

Minor Wounds, including acne and dermatitis

Topical Tea