posted on Mar, 13 2009 @ 05:25 AM
Originally posted by ChrisCrikey
Cool. Unfortunately that programme is viewable only for UK, though there's some mention of a radio show which I may check out latter. I'm working
on a garden using only heirloom seeds - I haven't yet planned an herb/medicinal garden but should put some thought into it. Valerian and some mildly
narcotic white poppies do grow wild here wild. Also Indian tobacco - scratch the leaf up and put it on the forehead to relieve headaches.
I am sorry, I didn't realise that it could only be viewed from the UK, that is such a shame.
A lot of the flowers, plants and roots that have medicinal properties will grow wild out and about, many are classified as weeds. Valerian is an
excellent plant, and can be used as an anti-depressant (it is slightly less volatile than St Johns Wort/Hypercium), the poppies you have sound like
Opium/papaver somniferum, the heads can be boiled in milk for use as either a narcotic, to induce sleep or for pain relief. Privet hedging is also
good for pain relief used similarly. But as the guy in the film suggests (if you had been able to watch it), it is always worth doing an allergy test
before using any of these plants to make sure you don't get an adverse reaction.
I hadn't heard of the Indian tobacco, not sure if it is native here. We have nicotiana cultivers, does it belong to that family? If you take the
leaves of these plants, and place then in a big plastic fizzy drinks bottle, bottom cut off and hung upside down, they will break down to produce a
liquid pesticide. It can even be used on food crops as long as you don't use it immediately prior to harvesting. You can do the same with nettles
to produce a feed.
I swear by my copy of Culpeper's, it not only holds a comprehensive list of medicinals, but it also includes directions on how to prepare the plants
and when to harvest them. You have to interpret some of the illnesses and conditions that he lists as knowledge of physiology and disease
classification has progressed somewhat since the 17th century. You will find though that many of the plants he lists are ones that we are used to
seeing in garden centres, as well as out and about in the countryside.