Growing Herbal Teas at Home

originally posted by: anonentity
a reply to: zosimov

Just plant the stuff you buy at the Supermarket and it grows away quite happily.

More really good info to add to the thread.
What a great resource this has turned out to be--
Thank you!

originally posted by: JAGStorm
a reply to: zosimov

I love kombucha too.

I've been banned from kombucha in my household. I left a bottle in the garage... it exploded. It smells like vinegar now,
and it's still freezing

No second chances in your household? It’s just glass and a liquid. God forbid you ever scratch the car. You weren’t brewing meth....

Hell, If I lived closer I would come spray it down and clean it just so you could try again.....

You should always try again.

a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

I banned glitter from our household for several years once.

The inner tyrant just comes out sometimes.

a reply to: zosimov

Glitter is unacceptable. I lied to my kids and told them dont send me anymore glitter cards because you know....

Micro-plastics

But really I just hate cleaning it up.

Hahahaha

a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

Lol!
Yeah, the great glitter disaster will go down in the annals of our family history.

I'd rather sort seeds with Psyche.

a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

No second chances in your household? It’s just glass and a liquid. God forbid you ever scratch the car. You weren’t brewing meth....

Hell, If I lived closer I would come spray it down and clean it just so you could try again.....

You should always try again.

I deserve it, it stinks pretty bad!
I think it will warm up enough this week for proper cleaning.
I’m being dramatic when I say I’m banned

originally posted by: zosimov
a reply to: TheAlleghenyGentleman

Lol!
Yeah, the great glitter disaster will go down in the annals of our family history.

I'd rather sort seeds with Psyche.

I’m still cleaning glitter from 1999. I’m not even joking.

a reply to: JAGStorm

Im a weirdo. Im big into positive relationships and positive reinforcement. We only have this one life ya’know. People take all the wrong stuff too seriously.

Now if you burned the house down........

Oooohk. I get it!

originally posted by: TheAlleghenyGentleman
a reply to: JAGStorm

Im a weirdo. Im big into positive relationships and positive reinforcement. We only have this one life ya’know. People take all the wrong stuff too seriously.

Now if you burned the house down........

Oooohk. I get it!

100% agree. Don’t sweat the small stuff, life is too precious.

Another good source for herbs and medicinal plants is Companion plants, out of Ohio.plants


They seem to have fair prices on plants, and sometimes have interesting choices. I've been using them for years.

I am currently planning revamping the yard, and adding another herb/tea garden.

Thanks for the great thread!

a reply to: chiefsmom

Thanks for the link--checking it out now, and have fun revamping your garden!

It is so easy too. I started growing lemon balm. It grows like a weed. I don't have to do anything to ensure it keeps growing. I pick it and then let it sit in water in the fridge (cold brew). It tastes great and you can tell by the flavor how good it is for you. There are also many natural wild plants that are literally free for the pickin'. I did a southern magnolia leaf tea once, tasted great.

I love doing cold brews because it retains the life of the plant without heating anything to unnatural levels. No heat required, just a little bit of time.

a reply to: cooperton

Good point about cold brew and the life of the plant!

I also read some fun links recommending sun tea--for anyone unfamiliar with the concept, add the fresh leaves to water in a glass pitcher and leave outside in the summer sun to brew.

I'd also like to add this video, from which I learned about give and take w/ nature. According to this young man's culture, one must convey to the plant that the leaves will be used for healing/life; otherwise the healing properties won't work.

a reply to: zosimov

Hey, I missed this thread.

I have a raspberry and blackberry bush along with some other plants. I made raspberry/lemon verbena tea by brewing just the leaves/stems of both plants. I served it over ice with a little of my friends homemade honey as a sweetener and everyone thought it was great. There's so much out there that you can forage/grow that people are not aware of so nice job raising visibility.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I was wondering if lemon verbena was going to make an appearance!
I'm interested in trying to grow that here, but one of the first articles I found mentioned it could be a bit difficult.

Do you grow it in your garden or harvest it locally?

a reply to: zosimov

I grew it from a planting I got at the garden store and it turned into a giant bush by the fall. I had way more than I needed.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

In my herb reference book (Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs), it takes twice as much lemon balm to substitute for lemon verbana, which was also mentioned for its scent (a favorite of Scarlet O Hara's mother, according to the book).

a reply to: zosimov

It smells amazing. Besides the tea I used it in cooking and for cocktails.

I grew lemon balm last year and it just didn't have nearly enough flavor.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

I'll try to hunt some down. Rodale's also said that container growing is a good option for cooler climates; I'll probably end up using a pot if I do find any.

a reply to: zosimov

I may do that this year since the cold pretty much killed it even though I had a mini-greenhouse over it. My figs are doing well in the conservatory and I have enough room for a verbena bush next year.