Posted by Sue Landsman on Apr.17, 2010

ⓒiStockPhoto - BVDC

Maybe you’re looking through the plant and seed catalogs and you’re intrigued by the medicinal herbs, or maybe you’re looking for natural alternatives to costly over-the-counter medicines. Maybe you’re just tired of paying an awful lot of money for a box of twenty tea bags. Many people these days want to tap into the ancient wisdom of herbalism, but find it overwhelming. There are so many different herbs, it’s hard to know where to start and what to do first.

There are a couple of good ways to test the waters without drowning. First, start simple. Literally. Simpling is the age old procedure of using only one herb at a time. Don’t worry about mixing special tea brews or finding the elixir of life. Pick one herb, such as chamomile, and make a tea out of it. You’d be surprised how new of an experience it is just to purchase a bulk bag of chamomile flowers and brew your own loose tea. Opening the bag and smelling the first puff of scent, feeling the crushed flowers between your fingers, and straining away the spent herb will give you a familiarity with the herb that store-bought tea bags won’t. Teas are a very easy way to experiment with a single herb, and there are many herbs that lend themselves well to this use; oatstraw, nettle, peppermint. Brewing and drinking a tea made from only one herb regularly will give you a chance to see how that herb affects your body. It can be interesting, after you’ve experimented with several teas, to see when your body craves which tea.

Another good way to play around with herbs is to make a few simple medicines such as a salve and a tincture. LearningHerbs.com sells an herbal medicinal kit that walks you through making an echinacea tincture, a healing salve, and a nettle infusion. It provides you with all the materials, including bottles and labels, that you will need. Salves are useful for bumps and bruises and infections, along with many other topical issues, and are easily made with a saucepan and a little time at the stove. Once you realize that you can make your own instead of paying gobs of money for what is mostly oil and beeswax you’ll be hooked. It’s also encouraging to have a handy sample of one of your first efforts.

Of course, you’ll be wanting to order some herbs in order to experiment with them. There are many companies that you can find on the web that will sell you bulk herbs. It’s preferable to buy herbs that are organically raised and not treated with any pesticides. You should also make sure that the company you choose practices sustainable harvesting; you want to make sure that their herbs are either farmed or taken from the wild in a way that does not deplete their resources. It’s also important that a company identifies when the herb was harvested and sells you herbs that have been recently harvested. Herbs lose their strength over time, and you don’t want to buy something that’s been sitting on a shelf for a year. Many of these companies also sell bottles and containers for packaging your creations, though you may find yourself wanting to recycle the containers you already have (after sterilizing them, of course).

When you’re buying herbs, it’s tempting to order the giant bags, but remember that the herbs do lose their potency over time; either don’t buy more than you will use, or buy and share with a friend. Because the shipping costs are often high even though the herbs are light, a good strategy is to buy large quantities of a few things that you’ll use regularly, like your favorite tea herb, or make your purchase in anticipation of the holidays so that you can purchase more for your shipping cost and make gifts.

If you’re the kind of person who likes to have a book telling you what to do or specific recipes and recommendations on hand, be careful to find something that’s accessible and has recipes that are easy to follow. Rosemary Gladstar’s Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health: 175 Teas, Tonics, Oils, Salves, Tinctures, and Other Natural Remedies for the Entire Family is a wonderful resource. You can find a few recipes to be your daily standbys, as well as things that would make excellent gifts (and good justification for buying more herbs). The book provides you with an alphabetized apothecary of herbs so you can learn more about them individually, as well as with tips on making your own preparations.

In the end, just as herbs nourish your constitution slowly, learning one thing at a time will boost your confidence and allow you to grow in your knowledge and use of herbs.

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Posted under Beauty, Natural Beauty, Other Beverages.