Healing Properties of Plants

For many hundreds of years people have used herbs for their healing properties. These are some of the common herbs, their uses and how to grow them. The essential oils in these plants are chemical compounds commonly extracted from the plants for use in aromatherapy. Today the oils are popular for use in soap and candle making and the dried herbs for teas and natural vitamins.

SAGE: Improves memory. It is an easy versatile herb often referred to as a cure-all for its expectorant, disinfectant and anti-fungal properties. Sage can be used orally as a tea, gargled for sore throat and to flavor food. This perennial will grow in any soil type, is drought tolerant and only requires a mostly sunny location. Sage is a good companion for most all vegetables.

 THYME: Promotes good health.  It was used for its expectorant and disinfectant properties to clean wounds, relieve gas and sore throats and flavor food. Tea made with the flowers is still used today as a herbal remedy. Thyme is available in many colors and flavors like lemon thyme, easy to grow in the garden or in pots.

 

YARROW: Increases awareness.  It grows wild in regions of America, Europe and Asia. The flowers are white, yellow or red with feathery leaves and pungent fragrance. Many insects like moths, butterfly, beetles, and wasps are attracted and feed on this plants. In the middle ages this yarrow was used to heal wounds or stop nosebleeds. According to Chinese tradition it considered lucky to hang it up dried to bless a house or for ceremonies. Yarrow is an easy to grow plant that requires very little care, is drought tolerant, and is a good companion in any garden to repel pests and attract beneficial insects. Plant yarrow near any plants to protect.

CHIVES: Helps boost Immune system.  Chives is high in vitamin C and iron. The flower, stems and bulbs are edible with a mild onion flavor. It can be dried, pickled or eaten fresh on food. It aids in digestion for tea or added to a meat, rice, potato or pasta dish. It's a simple plant to start from seed, grown in pots all year round indoors, is a perennial outside and will add lovely purple blooms in early summer to a vegetable or herb garden. A companion for carrots, grapes, tomato.

 

 

DILL: Sharpens the Mind. Since the beginning, mankind has cultivated this popular aromatic herb. It soothes upset stomach, expels gas, freshens breathe. Dill is commonly known now as a flavoring for pickles, fish and potato chips. This herb is easy to grow from seed is drought tolerant in gardens or pots. Let it dry and self seed on its own or collect the seeds to grow fresh dill every year. Plant as a companion with cabbage, lettuce and onion.

 

PARSLEY: Overall Protection.  Parsley can be steeped in a cup every day as a beneficial tea to aid in digestion. It can aid with coughs and colds used as a throat gargle. Best used fresh if possible but dried also can be added to many food dishes. Parsley is simple and easy to grow fresh from seeds indoors in pots all year round. During the spring and summer you can place it outside as a good companion to lettuce, cabbage, carrot.

 

LAVENDER: Good for overall Health.  It's known for its relaxing scented properties. As an oil it's popular in aromatherapy to treat headaches and anxiety. The essential oils in lavender are still used for bath and laundry products, candles and air fresheners. This easy to grow herb requires a simple trimming in early spring and with flower on new growth. TIP- Cut back the branches on a mature plant to about 6 or 8 inches in May. Harvest by hanging bundles up to dry in a warm, dark place. Often it will re-flower in late summer again. Use dried in sachets for linen closet, wreaths or bath balls mixed with salts.

 

MINTS: Improves and sharpens the conscious mind.  All mints are excellent companion plants in gardens or on porches and decks. They attract many beneficial insects while repelling pests like ants and harmful beetles. These pests hate the strong smell of mint due to its high essential oil content. Some mints are invasive if planted directly in the ground; TIP- place in a large pot and sink the pot in the ground. They work well in large planters, barrels or pots so you can move them around. Growing mint only requires that they are not over-watered and get at least six hours of sun a day. Mint has been long used as an aid for heartburn, stomachache, headache and nausea. Use fresh mint to steep as tea for migraines, gas, bloating, and insomnia. There are many types, but the most common are spearmint, peppermint, lemon mint. Wild mints like Bergamot (monarda) also known as bee balm is used to flavor Earl Grey tea. Both monarda and catnip grow in open fields, ditches and meadows. Great planted around all plants in general as a companion plant.

 

Purple Coneflowers or Echinacea: Overall good Health.

Native Americans introduced many immigrant settler to this plant as a treatment for snake bites and treating wounds.The roots were used for toothaches and sore throat. It's used today to boost immune our system to fight off viruses like colds and flu. This plant is a easy to grow perennial that requires little care. It thrives in most soils, is drought tolerant and is a good companion plant that attracts beneficial insects.

 

PULMONARIA: Beautiful Early Spring Blooms. Also known as Lungwort this herb was used for coughs and mild lung infections. It was also steeped for tea for diarrhea and to fight off the stomach flu virus but isn't used commonly today. The plant starts to flower in early spring along with the first spring bulbs as soon as the snow melts in April. It continues to flower right into June until the warm temperatures arrive. It grows in most locations, tolerates sun, part sun and shade. TIP; trim the plant back when finished blooming. It will sent out new larger spotted leaves that last through the summer.

 

BASIL: Promotes peace and happiness.  It works as a sedative, aids digestion, relieves headaches, colic, coughs and ear infections. Rub fresh basil leaves on a bug bite to stop itching.When dried it's good in cooking for pasta, soups, pizza and much more. Used freshly chopped it's the main ingredient in pesto sauce. Basil has an intense amount of concentrated oil and the flavor will increase when heated so beware how much you use. It's an easy to grow annual: from seed start indoors any time and by June place pots out in the garden as a companion plant for beans, cabbage and tomato. The strong fragrance repels pests to protect plants from insects who feed on your crops. Grow basil fresh each year and harvest leaves before it flowers.

 

 

Common Pests and How to Recognize Them

Aphids

 They group together in a dense clump and suck sap from young growth and leaves. There will be a sticky coating on leaves along with a black sooty mold. They are sometimes green, yellow, brown or black. They spread viruses to other plants around your garden. This can be a serious problem if left untreated.

CONTROL: Check plants, like roses, weekly and spray with garlic based insecticidal soap regularly.

 

Leafminers

They are small, but don’t do a lot of serious damage. They feed on leaves by burrowing inside and can be seen a pale green trails or white lines. This is unsightly but not too serious.

CONTROL: Spray both front and backs of leaves of infected plant or remove damaged leaves and throw away into garbage, not compost pile.

Red Spidermites

They are small, but can cause a lot of damage, because the suck sap out of plants, cause stunted growth, causing leaves to curl and drop. They leave fine webs on plants, so watch for this a first sign of trouble. Attact grapes, mums, carnations, and cucumbers.

CONTROL: Spray with insecticidal soap regularly.

Earwigs

They are about 1 inch long, fast moving and have pincerlike tail. You can trap them easily using old pop bottles or dishes of a sweet yeast mixture. 1 cup water, 2-3 tsp. sugar, and ½ tsp. granular yeast. They eat holes in most any kind of plant, but like hostas and vegetables best. They are a nuisance and will devour young plants too.

CONTROL: Be vigilant with traps by checking and refilling them every 2 or 3 days to reduce their numbers.

 

 Scale insects

 They look like a small brown blister on stems and leaves. They suck sap from plants, cause leaves to drop and can kill a whole shrub over a season of two if not stopped.

CONTROL: Prune off dead or damaged branches. Dormant oil can be used in spring. A carbaryl like Sevin can be sprayed and is effective when insects are in the crawling stage.

Slugs and Snails

Slugs have long tubular bodies, while snails are similar but they have round shells. They both leave a slimy trail, eat holes in leaves and feed on young seedlings. They can do a lot of damage if not controlled. They feed mostly on hosta and food crops.

 

CONTROL: You can place a circle of egg shells, tin foil or use copper wire around urns and pots to stop them. They will not cross over anything sharp and the tin and copper will give off a mild electrical shock so this will deter them. Laying bottle traps with beer/yeast mixture as a lure works well. They will crawl in and drown.

Wireworms

They are about ½ inch long, yellow in color and do damage to underground to roots, rhizomes and bulbs. Once they attack a plant it will collapse above ground. They like to feed on iris, potato, carrot, beets.

CONTROL: A granular insecticide can be added if you are converting grassland to garden use, otherwise you must wait to plant 3 years to use the soil. When adding compost, keep a lookout for them and hand pick to keep under control.

Cutworms

They are fat white/gray color worms, hide just below the soil surface and feed at night in May and June. They eat roots of anything in their path.

CONTROL: Use protective collars, placed around seedlings. For lawn damage spray with diazinon insecticide.

White Grub worms

Grubs are the larvae of the June Bug Beetle and damage lawns and most other garden plants by cutting the stem off just below the soil surface. They multiply quickly, so always be on the lookout for problems.

CONTROL: A lawn can safely be sprayed each year to control them before they become a problem. If you see small dead patches of grass, lift a section of turf, inspect the soil down about 5-6 in. and remove any grubs by hand before they become a problem.

Cabbage worm

They are seen often as a white butterfly or pale green caterpillar feeding on cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower. They eat holes in leaves and tunnel into cabbage heads, usually just feeding on anything in the cabbage family.

CONTROL: Use insecticide dust or spray early to control breeding of the white butterfly and laying of eggs on plants.