Cultivating Wild Herbs for Natural Healing

Seven untamed herbs to cultivate your own remedy

It has long been recognized that wild plants offer therapeutic benefits. Discover how to cultivate a variety of wild herbs in your yard to create your own free pharmacy.

Develop Your Own Free Drugstore

Numerous herbs are well-known for their ability to heal and nourish. In my food forest and medicine garden, I adore

. However, I'm also happy and relieved that the garden's

.

7 untamed herbs you can cultivate in your backyard pharmacy

Here are a few of my favorite plants that I let grow and thrive in the garden.

1. German chamomile (also known as Matricaria recutita or Chamomilla chamomilla): The untamed plant referred to as "The Plant's Physician"

This delicate, adorable-as-a-button flowering plant makes a great, kid-friendly tea with soothing qualities. It is anti-anxiety and helps with gastric comfort.

In addition to being easy to grow in the garden, chamomile also draws helpful insects and pollinators. I like to

for this reason.

I like to cultivate it under my fruit trees because it looks to heal and support the surrounding plants, earning it the nickname "the plant's physician."

Having a wild, free drugstore is awesome.

In addition to repairing soil, wild herbs can draw helpful insects. For my

, I like to choose herbs that have several uses that can benefit both people and ecosystems.

Second: Stellaria media, or chickweed

Because it grows in disturbed regions, this wild herb is sometimes regarded as a weed, yet that only adds to its value as a medicinal plant. All tissues, including the skin and lungs, benefit from its healing properties. Additionally, chickweed has anti-inflammatory qualities.

Make a medicinal tincture from chickweed to treat a variety of internal and exterior illnesses.

These abundant, high-mineral greens can be used as a rich green mulch in the garden or added to salads or smoothies.

In my garden, this herb usually comes up on its own, but it can also be sown in an empty space. This is a reliable place to get chickweed seeds. It will swiftly grow into a thick carpet of green, containing all the green matter you need for composting, mulching, and medicinal reasons.

3. Chicory (Cichorium intybus): A wild herb used as a diuretic and as an alternative to coffee

The purple blooms of chicory are frequently seen bordering the sides of roadways. Usually, they are among the first wild herbs to appear in those agitated hallways. Although I wouldn't advise picking chicory off the side of the road, don't lose hope if it does chance to sprout in a wild part of your yard.

Its merits as a plant for curing human illnesses are numerous. To help with detoxification and digestion, steep the roots in tea.

Chicory tastes like hazelnuts and makes a great coffee alternative.

This herb is beneficial for mending soil as well. I've included its

that break through clay. Additionally, you can routinely chop and drop it to let the soil become more enriched by its green matter.

4. Urtica dioica, or Stinging Nettle

Touching the microscopic hairs on the stems causes a "sting" that many people detest. While it's not ideal to stumble upon by accident, cultivating nettle in a specific area of your garden can be rather beneficial for your own herbal remedy.

Nettle is one of the highest nutrient-dense plants we are aware of, and it has an abundance of vitamin C. Consider using it to create your own tinctures, teas, and tonics to treat a variety of illnesses. Think of preparing a stinging nettle-ade.

Mix it with a salve to help ease arthritic pain. Check out my post on How to Prepare Herbal Salve.

To prevent the "sting," gather this herb while wearing rose pruning gloves. When you steam the leaves beforehand, they won't sting. You can eat them like spinach.

5. Plantain, Broadleaf (Plantago major): The untamed plant referred to as "White Man's Foot"

The plantain got its moniker during the colonial era when it started to appear in places where people had built pathways and other heavily trafficked locations that resulted in compacted soil.

Plantain is a great option for a medicinal herbal drawing salve because of its well-known ability to heal wounds and reduce inflammation.

I can argue that weeds can be beneficial in certain situations because of their fibrous roots, which loosen and replenish compacted soils.

6. Portulaca oleracea, or purslane

Common garden weed purslane is simple to remove from places you don't want it.

However, you might want to think twice before giving it the cold shoulder. Crushed purslane can be used as a biting agent for insect bites and stings.

This untamed herb is just as nourishing as spinach or watercress. The stems and leaves can be added to salads fresh, cooked down like spinach, or made into pesto.

7: Yarrow, also known as Achillea millefolium, is a wild herb that can halt bleeding.

This stunning flower with delicate foliage grows quickly and has won several awards for its ability to improve soil, increase biodiversity, and have medical applications.

Yarrow is a well-known, potent wild herb that can be used as an anti-inflammatory, a stopper of bleeding, or a general first aid treatment.

Its benefits to rich fruit tree guilds and other

are equally noteworthy.

In order to always have a free pharmacy on hand, I hope you will think about letting some of these practical wild herbs grow freely in your garden.