Want to Start an Herb Garden

[digitS']

Patandchickens had it in her garden in southern Ontario.

She was surprised I was having any trouble with it.

That mint is in a fairly protected location even if it is kind of a miserable location for sunlight. The carport roof provides the most shade.

Steve

 

[Bluebonnet]

I have a bad digestion which has led to several different (unfortunate) problems. I really want to start an herb garden to help deal with this. Any tips, links, book ideas, etc. would be really helpful.
One question is about peppermint; what exactly does it help? Do you have to use it a certain way (say, oil form) for it to work? Do you have to get a certain type of peppermint? And then the basics; how, when, where to grow it.
As you can see, all I know is that herbs are helpful - beyond that I'm lost.

I would not recommend peppermint tea for digestion issues.

Mint is a stimulant, which some can find unpleasant, although some swear by it.

I recommend a simple syrup of honey, valerian and some other herbs.

It treats colic, cramps, anxiety and pain among other issues. Persons with IBS use it to soothe their symptoms.

 

[AMKuska]

ugh...my mother used to try to get me to take valerian when I was a kid. I swear she boiled it in old sweaty gym socks. Do you have a tried and true recipe for palitability?

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

It been a little while since I've read up on medicinal herbs and I recently bought a package of Valerian seeds from a farm convention that I went to. What are the properties of Valerian and what can it be used for?

 

[Bluebonnet]

ugh...my mother used to try to get me to take valerian when I was a kid. I swear she boiled it in old sweaty gym socks. Do you have a tried and true recipe for palitability?

One's tastes range. What is palatable to one, might not be to another.

I prefer mine super sweet. I have an aversion to bad medicine brought on by the traumatic childhood experience of having to take yellow Triaminic and that thick and disgusting white chalky medicine in those brown bottles you would get prescribed when you were seriously sick as a child.

Valerian is good for insomnia, nerves, digestion issues and much more. If you ever need to get a good night's sleep without the headaches and lingering fog you get the morning after you take a sleeping pill, try valerian instead. I switched and never looked back.

If you find it unpalatable, you can easily blend it with other herbs and spices.

I get some nice valerian root, some honey and depending on what else I wish to treat I use some other herbs and I boil it down all day long in a slow cooker on low until it thickens down into the consistency that I like. You can take the concentrated syrup by the spoonful and stir it into a cup of your nightly tea and sweeten to taste if that is an issue.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Thanks Bluebonnet! I've been doing some experimentation with medicinal herbs for a while so any information that I can get to stay in my head is good. Along the same line I'm trying to come up with an eco-freindly rat poison using tincures of everything from monkshood to castor bean. That bottle specifically says "poison" with a skull and crossbones on the front.

 

[Bluebonnet]

Thanks Bluebonnet! I've been doing some experimentation with medicinal herbs for a while so any information that I can get to stay in my head is good. Along the same line I'm trying to come up with an eco-freindly rat poison using tincures of everything from monkshood to castor bean. That bottle specifically says "poison" with a skull and crossbones on the front.

Odd question, but do you collect old medicine bottles?

I collect old medical bottles and containers of all sorts. There are some rather unusual bottles that are pressed that are clearly labeled 'POISON' in somewhat blatantly cryptic script.

I can just envision you with one of those bottles and your homemade rat poison. Like something that you would see on the Evil Queen's shelf while she is brewing poison in Snow White.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

I save any class container that I can find. Since I run across so many I won't save the plastic ones. I use the class jars for seeds, tinctures, etc. Although I don't have any that have "poison" stamped in the glass. We buy these fermented Kumbucha tea drinks and the bottles are great for seeds.

I haven't really gotten a rat to take the bait yet. The liquid barely has a smell to it but it may be more noticeable to a rat I guess. I'm thinking about seeing if I can get it in a solid form, maybe a cream, and stick it inside a hotdog or something.

 

[so lucky]

You can buy valerian capsules if you don't want to mess with wet-dog smelling tea. Also, many people have found that taking a bit of apple cider vinegar in water helps indigestion, or digestion problems. I take mine in hot water with honey. Kind of like a tonic. Not much vinegar, a tablespoon full to a glass of water. If you take this often get in the habit of rinsing your mouth with water afterwards, as the frequent acid may affect the enamel on your teeth.
While I am so far off-topic, I will add that the apple cider vinegar in water cured me from getting "weak shakes" from hunger.

 

[Bluebonnet]

Alternatives include Angelica, Meadowsweet and Comfrey.