Do you grow your own Herbs?

Ramona

And, if so, what do you use them for, besides the usual culinary purposes?

Do you use them for magick? If so, which ones work best for you?

Do you use them for divination? How?

If you grow your own herbs, do you make your own remedies such as teas, tinctures, healing packs, etc.?

It would be interesting to see how many of us do this. I use herbs for medicines and I'd like to start using them with magick as well. I know there are books on the subject and I have a couple, but I'd like to hear from you, a forum member here on AT, on what you think.

Isn't Spring the right time to start thinking about growing herbs, anyway?

Happy Herbing!
Ramona
 

franniee

Hi Ramona,

Welcome to AT! I just started growing things. I have always had a vegetable garden but this year I read up on a lot of plants and herbs and have expanded my plantings.

I have many herbs in pots. Most of the herbs are common ones - basil, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, dill, & mint. I use them in cooking! :D I also plant a lot of lavender. I love it so it is a staple around my home. I use it in the bath or as sachets. I planted rosemary in the ground as well and rose bushes and marigolds. I mailed away for white sage, fenugreek, rue, vervain and Angelica and planted them. The rue is on my back patio where I hear it will chase away bugs! Fine by me! :) Our mosquitos are huge this year!

When I considered my gardens I knew I wanted a healing garden, plants for protection and a garden to attract health, wealth and overall abundance.

As for using them..... I've done a few things. I am just beginning. I think I would like to make my own candles with my herbs and my own soap with my herbs.... I have a friend who promised to teach me what he knows.

I haven't done the backyard yet. I wanted an herb garden with a water structure - we have a bunch of things to do and I am not sure we are going to get to that but I hope we will one of these days.

I would like to plant some chamomile and lemon balm. I haven't used them for divination but I would love to learn how.

I read pure magic by judika illes - she is wonderful and that gave me a start. I delved into more books and compiled a list of things I wanted and knew I needed. I would start with one of Judika's books. There are also the herbal almanacs.

What have you done? I would be interested in hearing. :)

:heart:
f
 

celticnoodle

Yes, i do grow some of our own herbs. rosemary, basil, lavender, thyme, cilantro, dill, oregano, sage, aloe and others.

Ramona said:
And, if so, what do you use them for, besides the usual culinary purposes?
pretty much, I use the rosemary, basil and sage the most. though I keep aloe on hand for emergencies--burns and such. I've thought about using my fresh aloe to make a skin cream, but so far I just buy that. most of these herbs are used in cooking. i keep my rosemary and basil all year round, and tried to do the same with the sage, but it didn't do too well over the winter. I may or may not try that again this coming winter.

Do you use them for magick? If so, which ones work best for you?
I was using the sage as a cleansing tool, but burning sage smells too much like pot--so I have given up on that! lol! :D strictly for cooking now. that's it! I do dry it too.

Do you use them for divination? How?
well, as noted--the sage could be used to cleanse an area.

If you grow your own herbs, do you make your own remedies such as teas, tinctures, healing packs, etc.?
this year, I plan to grow chamomile. I LOVE chamomile tea. we have grown other herbs that we also used for drinks. I cannot really recall all of them, but one of course was mint. and I think we had a lemon mint too. smelled great! when we had cut up stinky veggies, (garlic or onions), we'd always go out to the garden and rub our hands gently on the leaves of this lemon plant and it would rub away the bad smell, replaced by the nice fresh lemon smell. :)

It would be interesting to see how many of us do this. I use herbs for medicines and I'd like to start using them with magick as well. I know there are books on the subject and I have a couple, but I'd like to hear from you, a forum member here on AT, on what you think.

Isn't Spring the right time to start thinking about growing herbs, anyway?

Happy Herbing!
Ramona
I'm more interested in cooking with them. sorry, can't really help you with magic potions with them. medicinally too, we use them somewhat. good luck in your search! :)
 

greatdane

I'm jealous, Celtic!

I live in the desert and don't have a green thumb anyway. Would like to try to do a little windowsill box or boxes with one or two though. I LOVE fresh dill!

GD
 

HearthCricket

My herb gardens are always changing, depending on what grows well and what I am using them for each year. Inside I have basil, rosemary, mint, lavender, thyme. These are used mostly for cooking and for drying for potpourri or healing sachets. Outside I have a short season, living in New England. Catmint, lavender, thyme, bee balm, mallow, sage, etc. I do not make them for teas because I am not skilled at present to know how much or little to use as to not make it toxic. Herbs can be very tricky. The herbs also keep some of the deer and rabbits away from my garden and attract hummingbirds. :)
 

Dryw

I grow a few herbs: marjoram, basil, spearmint, kalendula, rue, aloe and I do use them in magic or for teas. I have several books, e-books and notes from my grandma regarding their use and dosage. Herbs can be dangerous if you don't know how to use them or can be harmful if you have a certain medical condition. I also like to gather herbs on the countryside and we have lots of them here in the Mediterranean.
 

Disa

I've just started growing herbs this spring so it's all new to me. I've planted Rosemary, Lavender, Pineapple sage in the ground and mint in a pot.

I dried a sprig of lavender and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet. I have a few of the pineapple sage leaves drying now. I'm curious to see if they make a nice scent when I burn them. I've only used the pineapple sage in my iced tea and my daughter eats the leaves right off the plant.

I don't cook much so maybe this will be the catalyst to have me trying to cook a little more often- ;)

I started small just to see if I could actually get anything to grow- I'm not very good at maintaining things once they're planted, but so far so good- everything is coming along nicely.

I didn't think about ordering white sage to plant and I'll have to do that as we do use it quite a bit. For some reason I didn't think it would grow here-my husband is happy to burn it outside in the firepit...

I look forward to reading more about what uses others have for their herbs.
 

Dryw

Before you start burning any herbs, make sure that they are not toxic if inhaled. Some of them may cause various reactions. We all know what "weed" does A good book about herbs can be very helpful!
 

BodhiSeed

Dryw said:
A good book about herbs can be very helpful!
From an older thread:
bodhran said:
Well my herbal book collection is rather dated*, but my favorites (couldn't pick just one!) are:

The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook
http://www.amazon.com/Green-Pharmac...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269301289&sr=1-1

Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs
http://www.amazon.com/Rodales-Illus...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269301362&sr=1-1

Growing 101 Herbs that Heal
http://www.amazon.com/Growing-101-H...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269301418&sr=1-1

Holistic Herbal
http://www.amazon.com/Holistic-Herb...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269301470&sr=1-1

And just for the pure pleasure of the pictures:D (rather than remedies):
The Herbalist's Garden
http://www.amazon.com/Herbalists-Ga...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269301552&sr=1-1

*The links are for the updated versions of the books in some cases.
 

HearthCricket

Yes, be very careful about burning herbs. They also contain a lot of oils in them which can be harmful to your eyes.