Herbal Soooo....what kind of herbs are we planning?

[pauldingbabe]

Just curious as to what my fellow TB'ers are planning as far as herbs at the start of our gardening and herbalism journey this year?

Whatcha planting? Everything

Gathering? All our spring herbs are up so I'm doing Violets, Cleaver, Dandelion, Chickweed, Henbent, Wild Geranium, broad leaf Plantain, etc. I'm sure I'll find more.

Medicine? Pulled: FoTi, Ashwagandha, Siberia ginseng, Rhodiola rose, Shcisandra Berry tinctures(full moon!)
Making: Figwart, Lobelia, Ginko, Cayenne, Cramp Bark, Sea Buckthorn, Grapefruit peel, Rosemary, Ginger, and whateverelse I can find tinctures, oils, vinegar, tea.

Garden? Still cleaning stuff out. Need to start successive planting last month but it didn't get done. I don't like to fool with seeds and all that. I don't know why? It's just irritating to me. I don't mind planting the garden though.

I'm weird.

Soooo....whatcha doing?




I usually don't make so much but everything in me is screaming at me to do so.

 

[SwampMom]

Dang! I got tired just reading the list! I picked a dandelion leaf and ate it.

Does that count?

Plantain and violets are coming up. They are on my to-do list. I do love some violet honey.

 

[AlaskaSue]

Violets, dandelion, yarrow, pigweed, clover, chickweed, wild geranium, chamomile, fireweed, plantain, Sitka rose, borage, chocolate lily...and more....all grow wild right here. I do plant an awful lot of herbs to include for cooking and medicinal (I also dry and seed-save). I'll have to get my stuff together and update with this year's plans - at least two locations and hope to keep the bunnies out!

Right now I am really looking forward to harvesting spruce tips - my favorite tea in the spring!

 

[AlaskaSue]

Dang! I got tired just reading the list! I picked a dandelion leaf and ate it.

Does that count?

Plantain and violets are coming up. They are on my to-do list. I do love some violet honey.

Is violet honey something you make? We do fireweed honey here. Not a bee product, but lots of fireweed blossoms, clover and water and sugar. I can't do sweet but I still make it for those who do - it smells lovely.

 

[ejagno]

My goal this year is to locate at least some of several sassafras trees that were destroyed in hurricanes Laura and Delta. The trees tops were destroyed and ultimately bulldozed but I know the roots are still there and approximately where they are so I'm waiting for young sprouts to begin appearing so I can nurture them and get these medicinal trees back to their former glory. The smell alone is my greatest locator. It smells like Vick's.

My next adventure is positively identifying several bushes that I found in the wooded areas behind my house that are either elderberry or poison hemlock. They are very similar so I have to be absolutely sure. My plant ID app says it's elderberry but a friend said it's hemlock so I'm really confused. I'm hoping to get a master gardener out here to help with this. I pray it is elderberry.

I planted veggies today and got my tumeric container cleaned up and planted as well. I got more containers cleaned up with fresh coir liners and soil to plant my mints, parsley, rosemary and other herbs in. That's about it for now.

 

[SwampMom]

Violet blossoms, local honey. That's it. Gorgeous color, amazing flavor added to herbal tea. Sometimes I do wild rose petals, and that's good too.

I am considering honeysuckle this year. But the aroma of honeysuckle has always made me horny (I know TMI) so, at my age, that kinda makes me rethink my decision!

 

[SwampMom]

Oh, don't you just love a sassafras? I once considered naming my property Sassafras Haven. I just absolutely love everything about them.

I dry a few leaves every year for file, but mostly I just love them. If I really want tea from the roots, I just wait until the littles pop up in the yard and will be lawn mower fodder and use them.

 

[Berean]

How do you store plantain?

 

[kyrsyan]

Oh I'd love a sassafras. And a dwarf birch.

I picking the wilds and have many things to plant. Plans are for a large garden this year. And more food hidden in the landscaping.

 

[pauldingbabe]

How do you store plantain?

I pick it, wash it, then dry and store.

 

[pauldingbabe]

Oh I'd love a sassafras. And a dwarf birch.

I picking the wilds and have many things to plant. Plans are for a large garden this year. And more food hidden in the landscaping.

Guerilla Gardening!

Love it

 

[moldy]

I try to plant a couple three new ones every year so I can get to know them from the ground up, so to speak. This year, I will probably replant ashwagandha. It did really well last year, I just didn't get to harvest it due to other stuff. My motherwort was crazy last year - so I will leave that alone. Looking at chamomile for sure, Oregon grape, dandelion (I want to have a dedicated bed the cows can't get to), and not sure what else.

 

[Chicken Mama]

Boy do I feel inadequate. Yesterday I started seeds for basil, parsley, sage and thyme but don't know enough about medicinal herbs to give them prime real estate in the garden.

 

[ReneeT]

What I'm seeing in the yard so far: Mullein - lots of it under the clothesline. Daylilly shoots are starting to come up. Elderberry is starting to show a little green on last year's stems. New needles on the assorted pines.

Edited to add: Lemon Balm. Lots of it. I'm going to dig some and give it to my neighbor who sells plants/veggies at the Farmer's Market - but I'm going to put a warning label on it

 

[kyrsyan]

Boy do I feel inadequate. Yesterday I started seeds for basil, parsley, sage and thyme but don't know enough about medicinal herbs to give them prime real estate in the garden.

Nope. We all started there. For some of us, it's a long time interest. But everyone interested started somewhere a lot like where you are.

 

[ioujc]

I already have an elderberry bed, that bears every year, and mint that grows wild down the hill, but I want to plant my herb bed, that I have meant to do every year. In addition, plantain, nettles, self heal, dandelions, golden rod, Mullien, violets, yarrow and clover, as well as burdock, dock and wild carrots grow in profusion on this property.

I plan to include echanisia, comfrey, lamb's quarters, basil, and all the "regular" cooking herbs, like dill, rosemary, thyme and oregano.....which are BOTH AWESOME for health usage; and many others. I believe that these herbs are going to be invaluable in the coming times.

 

[Digger]

There are some very good You tube videos on how to tell elderberry and poison hemlocks apart. I watched one at Americansurvivalco.Com It should help you tell them apart.

 

[summerthyme]

There are some very good You tube videos on how to tell elderberry and poison hemlocks apart. I watched one at Americansurvivalco.Com It should help you tell them apart.

Huh? They are nothing alike! However, wild carrot and poison hemlock are very similar... if it doesn’t smell like carrot, throw it away and scrub your hands. Poison hemlock is deadly, and a nasty way to die!

Summerthyme

 

[Wildwood]

There are some very good You tube videos on how to tell elderberry and poison hemlocks apart. I watched one at Americansurvivalco.Com It should help you tell them apart.

Thanks for the link...looks like a lot of good info.

 

[Digger]

I agree that elderberry and poison hemlock are very different. But there was a video at that site that went over the difference for new herb hunters. It is easy to tell poison hemlock from Queen Ann's lace once you learn them.

 

[fritzyritz]

I'm an urban gardener but you can get a lot in a small space if you work it right. I've got sage, oregano, comfrey, parsley, horseradish, garlic, calendula, rosemary, and basil. Plus veggies. Plus flowers. Just hoping, as all gardeners do, that the weather cooperates.

 

[TerriHaute]

My favorite annual herbs are basil, dill, and cilantro. I plant lots of them every year in order to have plenty to use fresh and a surplus to dry for winter use. My perennial herbs are in a raised bed next to the barn - sage, tarragon, comfrey, chives, winter savory, lavender, peppermint, oregano, thyme, and German chamomile (an annual) that reseeds itself liberally among the perennials every year. In addition, I have a few flowerpots with rosemary plants. Otherwise, catnip, lemon balm, and garlic chives spread and grow randomly around our property without my help.

 

[Raggedyman]

we cut oregano from the herb garden yesterday. its in the dehydrator right now. typically she'll cut it twice and we'll get two 1/2 gal mason jars full of the dried leaves every year. thyme and sage coming soon.

 

[Sacajawea]

I can't find my garden for the weeds right now. Combo of heat/humidity and no-see-ums makes outside work a hostile environment for me, for at least another couple weeks. Then, at least the bugs will be gone.

I went overboard on herbs, though. I mean, way over the top... started a LOT from seeds: lemon balm, St. John's Wort, Pleurisy Root, chamomile, calendula... and more. Bought starts of comfrey, varieties of lavender (a weakness of mine; had a dozen), echinecea, elecampane, etc. Had to buy a truckload of topsoil, which is sandwiched between boulders... so it's a rock herb garden. Firepit in the middle. Nothing else much grows in that area due to being so rocky or straight shale. Valerian was lovely this year! and it's crazy - my oregano survived the winter.

I have lots of forage herbs around here, as well. We had a very long cool spring this year, so I was feeling pretty good about what all I got in the ground but then summer - the bane of my existence - hit and I'm hibernating indoors and trying to minimize my bug bite itching. This would be good timing to get my "pantry" - still room organized though. Hmmmmm.

And I'm thinking about starting another season of cole crops, since I didn't get a whole lot besides my basics into the garden before the season turned.

 

[Tristan]

A bit late to this party, but my plan for the coming spring will be Adaptogens and Nootropics, natural Anti-virals and Anti-biotics, other natural herbal helpers.

And a hearty dose of Culinary Herbs, of course...