The Medicinal Gardening Handbook: A Complete Guide to Growing, Harvesting, and Using Healing Herbs

by Dede Cummings, Alyssa Holmes, Barbara Fahs (Foreword by)

Overview

Dig into the world of herbal medicine with this complete guide to cultivating and harvesting plants with healing properties. For thousands of years people have been utilizing herbs and cultivating weeds found to speed the healing of wounds, soothe skin irritations, calm uneasy stomachs, and ward off illnesses. Now you can plan and grow your own garden first aid kit.

In these pages, you’ll learn the basics of gardening in your backyard—or on your windowsill or porch—including instructions for preparing soil, composting, and weeding. You’ll then find detailed descriptions of the twelve most common, easy-to-grow, most useful healing herbs, with instructions for growing, harvesting, and utilizing them. These powerful plants include:

• Garlic, which boosts immunity, reduces blood pressure, and combats cancer
• Echinacea, which reduces inflammation, boosts immunity, and has antiviral properties
• Yarrow, which accelerates the healing of wounds, is an anti-inflammatory, and can relieve PMS symptoms
• Elderflower, which is an astringent and can relieve arthritis and soothe sore throats
• Mint, which soothes digestive problems, sweetens breath, and can reduce fevers
• Elecampane, a respiratory tonic with antibacterial and antifungal properties
• And more!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629142586
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	05/20/2014
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	40 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Dede Cummings is the coauthor of Living with Crohn’s&Colitis: A Comprehensive Naturopathic Guide for Complete Digestive Wellness and Cooking Well: IBS.

Alyssa Holmes is the herbalist and apothecary manager at the Brattleboro Holistic Health Center in southern, Vermont. Her training includes studying with Rosemary Gladstar of Sage Mountain Herbs, Barbara Fahs on the Big Island of Hawaii, and the American Institute of Vedic Studies. Alyssa grows medicinal herbs and makes medicine for her clients and family on her homestead in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Table of Contents

Foreword Barbara Fahs ix

Introduction: Why grow medicinal herbs in your backyard xi

History of Herbal Medicine: Plants used as medicine throughout the ages 1

Meet The Plants: Getting to Know Your Herbal Allies 5

The 12 Cultivated Herbs 9

The 12 Wild Herbs 35

Cultivating the Medicinal Garden: Design, location, choosing the herbs to grow, planting, and maintenance 61

Implementing the Medicinal Herb Garden 67

Testing, Soil Types, and Amending Your Soil 73

Plan tins; Your Garden 75

Urban Medicinal Gardening: Crowing in small spaces, containers, windowsills, and on rooftops 85

From Harvest to Storage: When to harvest, how to harvest, drying methods, and storage 89

Harvesting 91

Drying 93

Storage 95

Simple Herbal Medicines & Home Remedies: How to make teas (infusions and decoctions), syrups, tinctures, powders (capsules, pills and poultices), oils, salves, dream pillows, and baths 97

Conclusion 117

Appendices

Appendix 1 Properties and Actions of Herbs 119

Appendix 2 Additional Herbal Remedies 121

Appendix 3 Freezing Fresh Herbs 131

Appendix 4 Dosages 133

Appendix 5 Collecting Herbs in the Wild 134

Appendix 6 Cooking with Herbs Recipes 137

Appendix 7 The Healing Power of Mushrooms 139

A Few Edible and Medicinal Mushroom Profiles 140

Resources: Companies/Organizations and Books 142

About the Authors 145

Photo Credits 149

Index 151