Growing medicinal herbs at home

Gardening is the world’s most popular pastime and there’s very clear evidence that gardeners are healthier than non-gardeners. I believe gardening’s contribution to feeling good can be even more powerful when you use your garden to produce remedies for a wide range of health problems.

Herbal medicine in history

Using plants to promote good health is not a new idea. The ancient Greeks used common herbs such as parsley and thyme for a range of complaints, while French peasants collected plants from the forests and hedgerows to treat common ailments and mediaeval monks cultivated huge gardens of herbs for both medicinal and culinary purposes. At the start of this new century, herbs and herb gardens are regaining popularity as many more people realise the rewards of a lifestyle that includes herbs.

About 70 per cent of the world’s population still depends on traditional herbal remedies, and even in Australia at the beginning of the 20th century, most medicines were still based on herbs. As recently as 1940, up to 50 per cent of prescriptions contained herbal ingredients.

Herbs today

Today, people have forgotten, or were never taught, the simple remedies known to their grandparents. Herbs are not the answer to every problem, but there are numerous common ailments that respond well to herbal treatments.

Herbs have a rightful place in the promotion of a healthy, natural life. If you grow and make remedies from your own herbs, you can be sure of their purity and that the active constituents will be present. Using what’s in your garden is more convenient and much cheaper then jumping into the car and driving to a chemist or healthfood shop. It makes sense to make them a part of your regular diet as well as the source of remedies. Fresh herbs eaten every day improve not only the flavour of your food but also the general health of your family.

When I started using herbal remedies I began with one of the simplest — a peppermint infusion for indigestion. Now, every morning, I begin the day with a cup of peppermint or spearmint tea. Sage tea with honey and lemon is my answer to the first signs of a cold. Rosemary tea is my salvation when I need to write late into the night and maintain concentration.

Where do you start?

Herbs can be grown anywhere in the garden, but it’s a good idea to have some growing close to the kitchen so there’s no excuse not to pick them. Try establishing some small boxed beds or pots as close as possible to the door and planting them with the herbs you use most often.

Plant the rest in the most appropriate spots in the main garden, either in their own section, scattered among other plants (in pots or in the ground) or in the vegetable garden. If they are scattered around the garden, the strongly scented herbs will protect more vulnerable plants from insect attack.

What do they need?

As a general rule, herbs prefer plenty of sun, well-drained soil and adequate water during dry weather. Sunlight provides the energy plants use to make nutrients, and most herbs like plenty of sun. Watch your garden for a few days and see which parts get sun for the whole day and which are shaded in the morning or afternoon.

Remember that in winter the sun is low in the sky and in summer it is high, so shading will be different at different times of the year. Plant those herbs that like lots of sun in the more open positions and those that like some shade in positions where full sun is broken with some shade.

Plants also need nutrients from the soil, the most important being nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. Others (known as trace elements) are needed in only tiny amounts. Work on improving the soil by adding manure and compost, both of which contain nutrients and at the same time encourage worms, insects and soil bacteria to live happily in your soil, creating a balanced and sustainable environment.

Worm castings and worm juice are great for herbs, especially those in pots. Herbs don’t need to be fed as often as other plants and, in fact, over feeding can make the leaves sappy and floppy and the flavour less intense.

Most herbs are fairly tough and will put up with being dry for quite a long time. Some of the toughest, such as rosemary, lavender, thyme, oregano and sage, are from the Mediterranean. Once you get to know your herbs, you’ll be able to tell when they need water. Often, there are one or two (such as marigolds) that will begin to droop before the others and they can act as a guide to when the rest of the garden needs watering.

The amount of water and the number of times it’s needed depend on the soil, the position of your garden, the mulch used and the weather. Working out what applies in your garden is all part of the fun. My favourite mulches are pea or lucerne straw and sugar cane mulch.

Keep their feet dry

Good drainage is essential to healthy garden soil and strong plants because most herbs don’t like to have their roots actually sitting in water. You can improve drainage and provide nutrients by adding humus to soil. In heavy soils, humus opens up the structure and increases drainage, while in sandy conditions it will help to slow drainage.

Drainage is also improved by raising the height of the garden bed above the surrounding ground. You can do this by using bricks or timber for the outside of the bed and filling with compost and soil. Where this can’t be done, grow your herbs in pots or other containers. More herbs are killed by bad drainage and wet roots than not enough water.

Organic protection

Once your herbs are growing happily, caring for them organically is the same as for other plants. There are lots of simple ways to protect them from pests. Get to know your plants so you notice as soon as something starts to eat them. Pick off anything that eats the leaves, such as caterpillars, and either squash them or drop them into a bucket of soapy water.

A ring of sawdust or wood ash sprinkled around young herbs protects them from snails and slugs or you can protect very young herbs by placing a jar over them at night and removing it in the morning.

Cutworms are small grubs that often bite through the stems of young herbs, but if you cutting the base out of small yoghurt containers and place one around each small plant it will protect them. Push them into the soil for a couple of centimetres.

Birds, especially blackbirds, will dig up young herbs while scratching for insects or worms in the soil. Cut the bottoms out of plastic plant pots and put them around plants until they are well-established.

Potting

Herbs do particularly well in pots. Quality potting mix is essential for good growth. You can make your own by combining sandy loam soil, coarse river sand and finely cut coir in equal amounts. Then, before planting, mix in fertiliser in the form of compost, well-rotted manures, blood-and-bone or fish emulsion. Then top dress with these every couple of months during the growing season.

Plants also benefit from an occasional watering with liquid seaweed fertiliser and top dressing with worm castings. If you don’t want to make your own mix, buy a good potting mix that has no added fertilisers and add your own to ensure your mix is organic.

Mulching

Reduce the need for watering during hot, dry weather by mulching the top of the soil. I like to use organic mulches that will break down and add to the nutrients in the mix. If these are applied in spring, by the following autumn they will have mostly broken down and more can then be added again as the weather warms up next spring. In tropical regions, add mulch in autumn to help during the dry winter months. Things like pea or lucerne straw are great for bigger pots, and lucerne pellets or coir work well for smaller pots.

Best backyard herbs

The following are some popular, easy-to-grow herbs. There is a great feeling of satisfaction when you get relief from a cold, a burn or a rash from plants you have grown yourself and turned into a remedy. Experiment and see what works for you.

 
Penny Woodward has written seven books on herbs and other useful plants, all of which are still in print. They include Grow Your Own Herbal Remedies, Herbs for Australian Gardens and Growing Easy Herbs for Beauty, Fragrance and Flavour. All are published by Hyland House.