Tutorials/DIY

How to Grow and Use 25 Top Medicinal Herbs

Nature’s Medicine Cabinet—One Garden Bed at a Time

There’s something incredibly satisfying about walking outside with a pair of scissors instead of car keys when you need ingredients for a soothing cup of tea.

Whether you have several acres or just a sunny patio with a few pots, these medicinal herbs deserve a place in every home herbalist’s collection.

Bonus Herbs Worth Growing

Building Your Backyard Apothecary

A Few Final Words of Wisdom

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A Beginner’s Guide to Making Herbal Teas, Tinctures & Extracts at Home

There is something deeply satisfying about turning a handful of fragrant herbs into medicine with your own two hands. For thousands of years—long before pharmacies occupied every street corner—people relied on plants to soothe coughs, calm nerves, ease aching joints, and support the body’s remarkable ability to heal itself.

Making your own herbal remedies isn’t complicated. In fact, it’s one of the easiest ways to reconnect with nature while saving money and knowing exactly what goes into your preparations. *Just remember one important rule: herbs are powerful. “Natural” doesn’t automatically mean harmless. Always research each herb carefully, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, taking prescription medications, or have chronic medical conditions.

Now, let’s head into the herbal kitchen!

Choosing Your Herbs

Herbal Tea (Infusion)

Strong Nourishing Infusions

Herbal Decoctions

Herbal Tinctures

Glycerites: Alcohol-Free Extracts

Herbal Vinegars

Oil Infusions

Double and Triple Extracts

Proper Labeling

Storage Tips

Safety First

Bringing Herbal Wisdom Back Home

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How To Eliminate Grass And Weeds Permanently Without Using Pesticides

There are numerous methods to eradicate grass and weeds. However, achieving permanent elimination is quite challenging. To ensure the complete destruction of any grass or weed, it is essential to target and eliminate the plant’s roots.

If you aim to clear a substantial area of vegetation, a straightforward approach is to cover the region with cardboard or damp newspaper to suffocate it. By depriving the grass and weeds of light and fresh air, you will effectively kill the plants, making it easier to extract their roots.

Another highly effective technique for killing weeds involves applying salt directly onto the unwanted grass or weeds that emerge between patio bricks or blocks.

A mixture of vinegar and dish soap can also serve as an effective homemade weed killer using these inexpensive ingredients.

INGREDIENTS:

1 quart of vinegar

2 cups of Epsom salt

¼ cup dish detergent

Spray bottle

Vinegar– Opt for the least expensive vinegar available. Check the cleaning section of the grocery store for vinegar intended for cleaning rather than cooking, as it is typically more affordable. Standard distilled white vinegar with 5% acidity is inexpensive and performs well. If you can locate a vinegar with a higher acidity, up to 20%, it will act more quickly, but the final results will remain consistent, so there is no need to worry if it is unavailable.

Salt– Epsom salt is excellent for this homemade weed killer recipe, but regular inexpensive salt is equally effective. Generic iodized or un-iodized salt, also known as sodium chloride, will suffice.

Dishwashing Liquid– A few drops of dishwashing liquid are sufficient, so the specific brand is not crucial. The function of the soap is to reduce the surface tension of the vinegar, allowing it to adhere to the weeds more effectively, thereby enhancing absorption.

DIRECTIONS:

Heat the mixture in a pan on the stove until it becomes hot, but avoid boiling. Incorporate Epsom Salt and whisk until it is fully dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, ensuring it remains warm yet manageable. Add Dawn Dish Soap to your sprayer and gradually pour in the vinegar mixture.

Choose a hot, dry day to spray the weeds until they are thoroughly saturated; they will begin to wilt and shrivel within hours. Exercise caution to avoid spraying any plants or flowers you wish to preserve.

The vinegar will not damage the soil, and it is safe to replant the area once the weeds have died.

HOW HOMEMADE WEED KILLER WORKS

The vinegar extracts moisture from the plant, leading to its demise. It is advisable to spray during the hottest part of the day and ensure that rain is not forecasted for at least 24-48 hours.

Some weeds may require a second application for complete eradication, but most will be dead and gone within several days.

DO YOU HAVE TO PULL WEEDS AFTER SPRAYING?

Results can be observed within a day or two after spraying. Once the grass and weeds have died, you will need to remove them by hand, which can be challenging, yet it is significantly easier than pulling out live weeds.

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How to Create a Lasagna Garden

A lasagna garden is constructed above ground. Instead of filling it with fresh soil as one would do with a raised bed, you layer compostable materials such as newspaper, cardboard, leaves, and grass clippings. Over time, worms and microorganisms break down these materials, transforming them into a rich, nutrient-dense soil of their own.

Creating a lasagna garden is a quick, simple, and enjoyable process. Below are the steps to layer one at your residence.

Scout Your Spot

Identify a flat area that receives a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. Ensure it is conveniently located near a water source, allowing a hose to reach it, yet sufficiently distanced from your home to prevent any potential odors from the decomposing materials from entering your open windows.

Gather Your Materials

An ideal lasagna garden consists of a combination of 4 parts high-carbon to 1 part high-nitrogen ingredients. If high school chemistry seems like a distant memory, do not worry—it is simpler than it appears. Here is what you will need:

High-carbon materials. Consider these as your brown layers. You may include peat moss, dried leaves, straw, mulch, and sawdust.

High-nitrogen materials. These represent your green layers. Incorporate items such as grass clippings, vegetable scraps (or produce that has seen better days), coffee grounds, and even manure from herbivorous animals.

A base layer. Prior to stacking your ingredients, cover the area with newspaper or cardboard. Aim for a substantial base layer without any gaps, ensuring that the sheets overlap slightly.

If you find yourself lacking materials, you can substitute with a soil formulated for raised beds, such as Miracle Gro Raised Bed Soil, in place of your carbon layer. At this stage, you may also wish to build a frame if you prefer not to keep it loose.

Layer, layer, layer!

Arrange your lasagna layers in the following order:

A base layer of damp newspaper and/or cardboard that completely covers the area. This will assist in smothering any existing grass or weeds.

A high-carbon (brown) layer. Usually dried leaves or straw.

A high-nitrogen (green) layer approximately one-quarter the thickness of the carbon layer.

Repeat this procedure until you achieve your desired height, ideally between 18 to 24 inches tall.

“Cook” Your Lasagna…

If you are establishing your lasagna garden in the fall or do not plan to plant for several months, you can relax and allow Mother Nature to transform your layers into a rich, nutrient-dense soil. To expedite this process, cover it with plastic to retain heat.

…or Plant Immediately

Alternatively, you may scatter seeds on the top lasagna layer or separate the layers to insert starter plants. If you choose to plant immediately, ensure that your layers of compost and any manure are fully decomposed to prevent burning the roots of your plants.

Maintain Your Lasagna Garden in Excellent Condition

As the growing season advances, continue to adhere to the 4:1 ratio while adding compostable materials to the top to ensure a consistent influx of new nutrients into your plot. Remove weeds as they appear and water as necessary. In subsequent growing seasons, add alternating layers to the top as required.

Voila! With just a few essential materials and a bit of time, you have created a rich growing environment for your favorite fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. You can cultivate what you love in your own backyard while utilizing items that might have otherwise been discarded. If that isn’t gardening smarter rather than harder, we are unsure what is!

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