# Herb seeds for medicinal garden



## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

Here is a basic list I came up with. I know there are a lot more, the list is endless, but, there must be a basic herb garden that will be the best all around for most situations.

Ephedra Sinica...

Hawthorn...

Echinacea...

Goldenseal...

St Johns Wort...

Comfrey...

Valerian...

And I already have, Mint, Dandelion, Yarrow, Catnip, Chamomile, Sage, Calendula.

BB


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Watch out for the purple cone flower and the Valerian.. they both spread (at least for me) and can easily choke out other herbs and plants.
Depending on the type of comfrey you have they too spread.

Once you get your Valerian going and it starts blooming you will notice a distinctive fragrance in the air right at dusk and it is like a vanilla shake with a dirty sock in it. The tea made from it tastes pretty much like you soaked a dirty sock in the water.. I use mint and any other strong tasting herbs in with it to try and camo the flavor.. but it does work if you can get it in..


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

bunkerbob
I am working on a "Medicinal Garden" myself, I have been concentrating on native plants so far, I will look into your list and make additions accordingly, thanks.

Questions
First, are you looking for additional plants for your list, or is your list for our information(which is appreciated)?

Second, I heard rumors a while back that the Purple Cone Flower or "Echinacea" was fond to be ineffective as a medicinal. I still have them in my garden but I never heard any follow up on it.

Emerald
Seriously, the fragrance of "vanilla shake with a dirty sock in it", I am going to plant that one just to see what it smells like regardless of any medicinal value.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

Davarm said:


> bunkerbob
> I am working on a "Medicinal Garden" myself, I have been concentrating on native plants so far, I will look into your list and make additions accordingly, thanks.
> 
> Questions
> ...


buy some of the tea that is out there it smells awful..


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## PrepN4Good (Dec 23, 2011)

My question is, where do you get seeds for that stuff? Seems a little "exotic" for any of the local seed places around here...:dunno:


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## *Andi (Nov 8, 2009)

Davarm said:


> Second, I heard rumors a while back that the Purple Cone Flower or "Echinacea" was fond to be ineffective as a medicinal. I still have them in my garden but I never heard any follow up on it


From what I understand ...

Echinacea was dropped among vegetarians. This is because it has a cold energy and vegetarians tend to get cool nature illnesses. (so it didn't work as well for them) I have heard they now combine echinacea with ginseng (siberian) for vegetarians.

The whole Yin/Yang and balance.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

I found a source of Valerian seeds.
http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-7048-common-valerian.aspx
They probably have quite a bit of the others too.


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## catsraven (Jan 25, 2010)

Herb seeds

More herb seeds


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

Emerald said:


> buy some of the tea that is out there it smells awful..


I know the store my DH works at carries it so will have her pick up some tomorrow and brew a cup. I thought that nothing in the world could taste worse than tea made from Yellow Dock roots but Valerian just could have it trumped.


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

Davarm said:


> bunkerbob
> I am working on a "Medicinal Garden" myself, I have been concentrating on native plants so far, I will look into your list and make additions accordingly, thanks.
> 
> Questions
> ...


 The list is for both. I ordered these from Horizon Herbs:
Valerian(Valeriana officinalis)
Goldenrod(Solidago canadensis)
Hawthorn, chinese(Crataegus pinnatifida)
Feverfew(Tanacetum parthenium)
Compfrey,true(Symphytum officinalis)...Gypsysue sent me some root cuttings a while ago but I killed them
Ephedra,bluestem(Ephedra equisetina)
Nettles,stinging(Urtica dioca)
Echinacea simulata
Lemon Balm(melissa officinalis)
Saint John's Wort,official(Hypericum perforatum)
Astragalus(Astragalus membranaceus)
Skullcap,baical(Scutellaria baicalensis)
Two seed packets of each, one to plant the other to save.

http://www.horizonherbs.com/


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## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

Bunkerbob, I could have sent you truckloads of stinging nettel. It is a NOXIOUS weed in my yard. It's a pain in the butt to me, but I guess I'm glad it's supposed to be medicinal in some way.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

bunkerbob said:


> The list is for both. I ordered these from Horizon Herbs:
> Valerian(Valeriana officinalis)
> Goldenrod(Solidago canadensis)
> Hawthorn, chinese(Crataegus pinnatifida)
> ...


Be careful where you put the Lemon Balm it is a member of the mint family and spreads like wildfire here also.. it is sprouting up all over the yard and it makes mowing smell good..
my poor yard.. it is mainly white clover, several different mints, oregano, thyme, anise mint, violets, dandelions, catnip, catmint(yes they are different)and lemon balm.. With spots of wild onion and garlic and chives popping up.. Quite the smell when ya mow.. I am planning on putting my mints in another spot in the yard that has just grass growing as I would like more mint.. I might as well go whole hog and get rid of as much grass as possible.


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## kappydell (Nov 27, 2011)

Nichols Garden Seed Nursery is also a good source for herb seeds, as well as hops for all you brewers out there. Add motherwort to the list, it is an ugly weedy looking weed, but good for high blood pressure and a mild sedative. Valerian does work well, both as a sedative for sleep and for muscle cramps & spasms. Yes, it does stink, but put it in capsules and it is not so bad....


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## Vannav (Feb 8, 2012)

I love this subject. Anyone have any suggestions for a good book on medicinal and/or edible plants and herbs? I've been trying to find one.


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## bunkerbob (Sep 29, 2009)

Vannav said:


> I love this subject. Anyone have any suggestions for a good book on medicinal and/or edible plants and herbs? I've been trying to find one.


 http://www.preparedsociety.com/forum/f14/square-foot-gardening-ii-herbs-2648/index3.html

BB


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## Immolatus (Feb 20, 2011)

Emerald said:


> Be careful where you put the Lemon Balm it is a member of the mint family and spreads like wildfire here also.. it is sprouting up all over the yard and it makes mowing smell good..
> my poor yard.. it is mainly white clover, several different mints, oregano, thyme, anise mint, violets, dandelions, catnip, catmint(yes they are different)and lemon balm.. With spots of wild onion and garlic and chives popping up.. Quite the smell when ya mow.. I am planning on putting my mints in another spot in the yard that has just grass growing as I would like more mint.. I might as well go whole hog and get rid of as much grass as possible.


I could think of 'worse' problems!

As to the lemon balm, I had some in the garden last year but I am moving all of the herbs out to other spots this year. The lemon balm got very large and spread out, but didnt propogate elsewhere, are there different varieties? I just bought some at a local nursery so I dont know the specific kind. The mint I had read about beforehand and knew that it spread so I had it isolated.
I plan to grown chamomile this year also, maybe I'll add some of these too.
What are the (dis)advantages to growing from seed as opposed to buying the plant?


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

bunkerbob said:


> Here is a basic list I came up with. I know there are a lot more, the list is endless, but, there must be a basic herb garden that will be the best all around for most situations.
> 
> Ephedra Sinica...
> 
> ...


Is it legal to have and grow Epheda?

I have seen at different WebSites that Opium Poppie seeds are for sale. In a SHTF scenario this would also be a valuable plant to have but I would not want to take a chance of winding up in jail for growing either one of these though.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

This is an exert from a post in "Foraging in your Area" on the Yellow Dock plant. It is one of the important ones in my "Native Medicine Patch" so I thought I would put it here also. 

Note: If the Root Tea is to be used be warned, It smells kinda bad and taste even worse, but it does work. If a tea is made from fresh roots it is not quite as nasty.


Yellow Dock
Medicine

Yellow dock can be used to treat skin irritations such as poison Ivy, or conditions that cause
itchiness. The leaves are boiled and mixed with flour or corn starch to form a paste then spread
on the afflicted area, repeat the treatment as necessary.

The roots are a valuable medicine, they can be boiled to make a tea and drank to improve digestion
and act as a cure for chronic constipation. If used for this purpose, start with a few tablespoons of the
root boiled in about a cup of water, drink it and if you do not get the desired results, up the dose until
you do. Different individual plants have different potenticies so always start with a small dose and work
up from there. To large a dose can cause abdominal cramps, among other things.

The early Mennonites considered the leaves of the Yellow Dock plant as a potent liver tonic which
was said to improve liver function and was used as a a treatment for Yellow Jaundice. It was also
used to help the body rid itself of snake venom and was considered a "Snake Plant" for this reason.

Early doctors considered tea made from the leaves as an effective treatment for respiratory issues and
over all was said to be effective in the treatment of issues of the bowels, stomach, liver, skin, and
respiratory tract.


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