Medicinal Herbs in the Food Garden

When a few months ago our group visited Belinda Robson’s garden at Dynnyrne, we noticed a great variety of herbs and were impressed by Belinda’s knowledge on their use for both culinary and medicinal purposes. Belinda also encourages particular weeds, which are harvested and used as medicines. Most of us grow and use herbs for cooking, but know little about their uses beyond the kitchen. I invited Belinda to tell us about the medicinal properties of some commonly-known food garden plants.  Here is what she wrote.

Humanity’s interactions with plants as medicine stems back as long as any evidence of civilisation, perhaps further. Wherever there has been a need to treat an ailment, humans have looked to their immediate environment to find a remedy, thus herbal medicines are the oldest of medicines, and exist in every culture. Anthropology and ethnobotany involve the study of our relationships with plants, how we use them, cultivate them, and (seek to) control their distribution.

Historically kitchen gardens have always included herbs, and there is great cross-over between those we grow for culinary use and those used as medicine – oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, sage, lavender etc. 

While witch-hunts drove the practice of herbal medicine into hiding across much of Europe and the United Kingdom between 1400-1700AD, the use of herbal medicines quietly persisted. In cottage gardens and kitchen gardens these plants humbly thrived, while common knowledge of them shrank.

I asked myself which herbs to cover in this blog post? So much of the modern herbal medicine industry focuses on the novel or exotic. Instead let’s have a humble look at what grows abundantly here right at our feet: Chamomile, Comfrey, Dandelion, Hyssop, Lemon Balm and Self Heal.

Comfrey, aka knitbone (Symphytum officinalis), Boraginaceae family

Description: Hairy, thick, foot long leaves growing in a rosette up to 1.2m tall, with mauve-pink bell-shaped flowers

Not to be confused with: foxglove, borage

Native to: Europe, Asia, North America

Best growing conditions: will tolerate a wide range of growing conditions; absolutely not fussy; I have literally just dumped rhizomes under mulch and they have thrived. While careful control of comfrey is needed to prevent it spreading, so long as you don’t let it seed, it stays reasonably well where you put it. Put it somewhere that will not lend itself to digging, as any fragment of root will form a new plant. 

Medicinal use: Comfrey is best known for speeding up the healing process in all sorts of breaks – broken bones, sprains, strains, muscle and ligament damage, plus random bumps and bruises, thus a valuable ally for the gardener. 

Traditionally it was thought best not to use on open wounds - which might heal too quickly and trap infection inside the wound, as it has no anti-microbial properties. It is also no longer recommended for internal use in Australia, being scheduled due to its pyrrolizidine alkaloid content. Comfrey leaves are best used as a poultice, or infused in either olive oil or alcohol and made into a salve.

Comfrey is a really important garden friend, serving many important roles not just for the gardener but for the health of your garden. In my steep garden, it grows along my lowest boundary, suppressing weeds from entering via its thick rope-like mass of roots and dense foliage, and providing the last point of re-capture as rain and irrigation carries nutrients down the slope. 

The leaves are nutrient dense, prolifically fast growing, and can be cut many times throughout the year until it goes dormant in late autumn, to feed back into the garden as mulch, greens for the chickens, or put back through the compost. 

It is considered a soil conditioner, and “tea” made by soaking the leaves in water in a large drum for weeks can be used much the same way you would use seaweed extract (eg. Seasol) as a plant conditioner. Its blossoms are loved by bees, attracting pollinators to your garden.

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita, syn. Matricaria chamomilla), Asteraceae (daisy) family

 

Description: herbaceous plant, grows up to 80cm, fragrant fern-like green leaves, distinctive flowers with domed yellow centres and a single row of white petals. While chamomile will die back over winter to reshoot in spring, successive seasons are poorly producing, and it is best treated as an annual, with fresh seed sown in seedling trays in autumn, ready for early spring planting.

Not to be confused with: Roman chamomile, aka lawn chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). Roman chamomile has a dense prostrate growth habit which forms a thick matting ground cover, and has a distinctive apple-ish fragrant scent, and flowers that have multiple rows of petals. Lawn chamomile is typically used for essential oil production, not tea. 

There are other members of the daisy family that have similar looking flowers, but their foliage is quite different from the fine leaves shown in the photos above. Examples are Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) which has broader almost fern-like leaves, Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), which has finer grey fronds, or Pyrethrum (Tanacetum cinerariifolium), which has slender grey hairy stems and finer fronds.

Native to: Europe

Best growing conditions: full sun, will tolerate a wide range of growing conditions, but will grow best in fertile well drained soil. Best to give some sort of support, as it will grow wild and leggy.

Medicinal use: Was there ever a better herb for quietening fractious children and settling a mother’s nerves? In modern times chamomile has become an under-appreciated herb, considered feeble and bitter, due the poor quality teabags most people have been exposed to. 

Fresh chamomile is something else altogether, and for those who have dismissed this humble little herb, I dare you to give it another try. It is a favourite bed time herb in our house, combined with Californian poppy for a good night’s sleep and switching off a busy mind. 

Brew 1-2 teaspoons per cup for 5-10minutes, add milk and honey to taste. It is also used for settling an upset tummy, especially those who suffer a “nervous tummy,” and combines well with peppermint, fennel, caraway or ginger for this purpose. 

Historically it was considered a very companionable plant in the garden – it helps other plants grow better, perhaps by whatever it contributes to mycorrhizal connections, perhaps calms their nerves too? Or perhaps simply by virtue of attracting pollinators to the garden. Harvest just the flowers, late morning when the blossoms are fully open, the petals are plump and the centres are domed but not yet skepped (as in a skep beehive; like a long wicker basket). 

drying chamomile flowers

To dry, lay them flat in a warm, dry, well ventilated spot out of direct sunlight. Knowing when they are perfectly dry is tricky – squeeze the centre – if it is squishy, it still contains moisture and will go mouldy if you store too soon. If the dome shatters in your fingers it is overly dry, but still fine medicinally. I tend to finish mine off in the dehydrator to be sure they are adequately finished drying, then store in glass jars in the pantry. 

Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), family Asteraceae (daisy) family

Description: up to 30cm, deeply notched or toothy leaves with a smooth central vein, bright yellow flowers appear on a single stem, seeds form in a pappus of parachuted individual seeds, much to the delight of small children and wish makers (did ever a plant so joyously ask us to assist in distributing its seed?). It has a long tap root, which will fork around pretty much anything.

Not to be confused with: false dandelion, of which the hairy and almost succulent leaves grow as a tight rosette flat to the ground (true dandelion has smooth thin leaves), and has multiple flowers per stem (true dandelion only has one).

Native to: Europe and Asia, naturalised in Australia and New Zealand

Best growing conditions: dandelion will grow anywhere that its little parachuted seeds land in the wind. Between pavers, crack in the concrete, monoculture of grass, dandelion is the ultimate pragmatic optimist. But, if you want to harvest it for the root, then make life easier on yourself, give it light well tilled fertile soil and it will grow lush long fat roots, as well as plenty of leaves to add to your salads.

Medicinal use: traditionally Dandelion root is used to stimulate digestion and the liver, while the leaves are considered diuretic. 

The root is best harvested in winter while the plant is dormant; while the leaves are harvested in spring or summer. 

The leaves are easiest, simply harvest clean leaves on a warm dry morning, chop as though you are preparing a salad, and pop in a dehydrator on the lowest setting. Alternatively, just pick as you need them and add to your salads throughout the warmer months. 

Dandelion root is a little more complicated, but worth the effort for delightful dandelion coffee, there is a good description of how to harvest, wash and roast dandelion root in Dandelion Harvest.

Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis), Laminaceae (mint) family

 

Description: Hyssop is a small plant, up to 30cm tall, with small dark green leaves and brilliant dark purple-blue flower spikes. If kept trimmed low, it will form a dense ground cover. It has a distinctive almost minty smell.

Not to be confused with: lavender or any other member of the mint family

Native to: Europe and Asia, naturalised in Australia and New Zealand

Best growing conditions: full sun, will tolerate a wide range of growing conditions, but will grow best in fertile well drained soil. 

Medicinal use: Hyssop is best known as a sinus herb, specifically for post nasal drip and the voluminous watery catarrh (snot) that accompanies hay fever or the early stages of a cold or flu. 

It is easy to harvest and dry the leaves: simply cut the stalks, as low as to include healthy harvestable leaves, while in full bloom, and either lie flat on a drying screen (can be anything eg. an old bed sheet on a timber frame), or tie into bundles to hang, and place in warm dry well-ventilated spot in your house out of direct sunlight. 

They are ready to store when you can strip the leaves and flowers off the main stalk by running it through your fingers. Finish them off in a dehydrator, if you’re not sure they are completely dry, then store in glass jars in a cool dry dark place (pantry cupboard will do).

Lemon Balm, aka Bee balm (Melissa officinalis), Lamiaceae (mint) family

Description: dark green ovate slightly serrated leaves, grows up to 80cm tall, petite white flowers, and a distinctive lemony almost citronella-like smell. Aromatic properties are largely lost in the drying process, so it is exceptionally lovely made as a fresh tea.

Native to: Europe, Asia, Iran

Best growing conditions: sunny position, well drained, fertile soil, but be warned, it will pop up where ever it pleases, once you have lemon balm you will always have lemon balm.

Medicinal use: Calms the nerves, lifts the mood. It is also considered good for memory, calms digestion, relieves bloating, and in Iran is used as an aphrodisiac! 

It is a great study herb, particularly for those whose performance is hindered by anxiety; and is also used in headache blends alongside rosemary and wood betony. Drying is the same as for hyssop. 

Self Heal (Prunella vulgaris), Lamiaceae (mint) family

Description: sweet little ground cover, up to 30cm tall, ovate green leaves growing on square stems, purple flowers overlap on spikes up to 5cm long. The smell is mildly reminiscent of rosemary.

Native to: Europe, America

Best growing conditions: favours moist areas, but will pretty much grow anywhere, best protected from hot afternoon sun.

Medicinal use: Self Heal is a herb that has largely fallen out of modern use, as it is not commercially available in liquid extract or supplements. It is an under-appreciated forgotten herb that grows easily in Tasmania, and I feel that it needs a revival! 

Traditionally Self Heal is considered anti-viral, immune modulating, antioxidant rich, and contains demulcent properties that sooth a sore throat and accelerate healing of irritated/inflamed mucous membranes. 

As a cold or flu herb, it combines well with peppermint (decongestant), thyme/oregano/sage (anti-microbial), and elderflower/elderberry as a tea to aid in recovery, and is mild tasting. Not a bad herb to have on hand during a pandemic! The flowers are loved by bees, and can happily be added to salads. Drying and storage is as for Hyssop.

Please note

The herbs chosen for this post are considered generally safe, within the general population. 

The ‘not to be confused with…’ notes are not exhaustive. Please always be sure to have correctly identified plants in your garden before consuming them. Safety issues can and do arise from mis-identification (eg: Foxglove and Comfrey). 

Herbs can interact with drugs, and while the only obvious mix to avoid within this list is dandelion leaf and diuretic medications, please consult with a naturopath if you have serious health issues, or are taking pharmaceutical medications.

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Many thanks Belinda for this fascinating focus on plants that most of us recognise, but know too little about!

Belinda Robson is a naturopath and herbalist practicing at Goulds Natural Medicine Apothecary & Clinic, in Hobart’s CBD. 

If you are a member of the FGG Food Gardeners Tasmania Facebook page, Belinda is happy to respond to questions there, or you can email foodgardengroup@gmail.com and Belinda will be happy to email you back.

The photos in this blog post were all taken in Belinda's garden by Max Bee.