Backyard Garden Herbal Harvest

The dog days of summer are here. The axis of the season since the summer solstice has turned back to the shorter days. Everything is in full bloom, and approaching harvest time. The summer mints: basil, lemon balm and spearmint are starting to flower at the peak of their potency. The rosemary leaves are full of fragrant resin, the tomatoes are red ripe and luscious, the okra needs picking and cukes on the back fence are destined for the pickle jar. I am amazed and thankful at the amount of bounty from my small backyard herb and vegetable garden. Time to start thinking of how to save some of this lush summer goodness to enjoy in the dark days of winter. Herbal vinegars and herbal infused oils are two easy ways to preserve your backyard herbs and replenish your home herbal medicine chest. The line between herbal medicine and the natural health benefits of whole natural food, grown at home, prepared at home, eaten fresh and raw off the vine at the peak of perfection is an only a matter of semantics. Is it any wonder the methods and craft of pickling and preserving herbs, vegetables, and fruits is one of both the herbalist and the home gardener? I'll bet some of you have some real family gems for fall recipes, the best kind that are handed down from mother to daughter to son. Share yours with us here, won't you?

Natural Healing Herbs and Oils

Herbal Preparation:
Save money and ensure purity and freshness by making your own herbal infusions, decoctions, salves, and tinctures. No special equipment or complicated instructions, if you can boil water you are well on your way to making your own home remedies.

Home herbal treatment for the flu uses sweat inducing, antiviral herbs, in teas and tinctures. Old fashioned blackberry cordial recipes are favorite during cold and flu season, and taste great anytime.

Home Healing with Herbs:

The wise woman's knowledge of plants is of a practical nature, based on skill, observation, and recipes that are passed down from generation to generation. She was the family doctor, herbalist, candle maker, chef, and seamstress all rolled into one. This herbal database of natural remedies grew out of a personal quest for knowledge of traditional herbal healing,and alternative medicine. I hope you will find something here that helps you also, whatever you interest in natural medicine may be.

A-Z Medicinal Herb Chart: Bulk Organic Medicinal Herbs: Over 400 traditional medicinal herbs and plants are profiled along with detailed herb descriptions, common names, botanical names, medicinal uses, folklore, and references from the leading herbalists of today and ancient times.

Before the relatively modern age of drugs controlled and marketed by pharmaceutical conglomerates, we relied solely on plants to treat ourselves. There are very distinct advantages to using herbs whenever possible instead of commercial drugs. The pharmaceutical companies extract what they believe to be the "active ingredient" and isolate it, and mix it with synthetic substances. This can lead to a very powerful drug, but one that is not balanced, and often produces many unwanted side effects. By using herbs, you are taking in the whole synergy of complex chemical components, exactly as they occur together in nature. The average testing time for a new drug is a only a few years, and then only on small populations of patients. Many of the healing plants that we use today have been used for centuries.

Buy organic bulk herbs, spices, oils and teas