Garden and more
October 26th, 2009 | 
Author: This weekend I was harvesting lemon thyme, thyme and oregano. In Spring this is not only perfect for a fresh supply of herbs, but also to encourage the plants to grow bushy and bless you with a lot more to harvest in a few weeks.
To produce more herb plants you can also divide thyme, oregano, lemon balm and beebalms before they are to high and start to produce flowers.
Think some parts of New Zealand have just the right time to divide plants while others maybe already harvest the second time and in the Southern Alps they will have their first greens.
What an amazing country, you could visit all different regions within a day by plane.
So… enough daydreams, I got some work to do.
I accidentally didn’t check if I have enough comfrey root tincture which I use as liniment for my back problems, so I was surprised to only find comfrey leaf tincture… oops… ok, right time or not, I have to go into the garden and get me some roots…
Aren’t this roots beautiful? You can see why they are called ‘Schwarzwurzel’ (black root) in German.
They are an amazing painkiller if you have back problems, sprain or twisted ankle. Just chop the root thinly and infuse with Vodka for 4-6 weeks (I leave them inside and don’t strain).
If you want to harvest the roots when they are most potent, do it in late autumn or early spring and dry them to make tincture when ever you need them.
Today I made a fresh root tincture because it’s urgent.
When you apply the tincture as liniment you have to check if it is too strong (comfrey alkaloid can make you faint, I once learned that when I haven’t had the time to boil water to dilute the tincture. When my husband rubbed it onto my back I went dizzy and yes… fainted. Strong medicine indeed!)
So, now I have time to enjoy the moon surrounded with pink clouds…
… and an amazing good ‘cuppa’ 
Normally I drink one herb only and don’t blend them but I just want to try out the effects of this nice tasting tea with St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum), linden flower (Tilia cordat), bay leaf (Laurus nobilis) and juniper berries (Juniperus communis).
I thought it might be very effective against colds and flu since St. John’s wort is an antiviral, linden flower helps against sinus problems (and make the tea sweet ;- ), bay leaf is known as an antibacterial and to help the stomach and juniper berries are anti-toxic.
So let’s see what I can find out… at the moment I only know that this tea really tastes yummy
Posted in Learning tales, Spring | 
Tags: antiviral, beebalm, comfrey, garden, painkiller, Spring, St. John's wort, thyme, tincture
Sounds good and useful and we are entering our cold and flu season here–I bought some gypsy cold care tea–I used to make my own!
THANKS for all your help!
What is a gypsy cold care tea?
What herbs does it contain?
While the swine flu hit New Zealand this year we stayed healthy with a lot of fresh fruit and of course with St John’s wort tincture. A dropper full taken once a week helps to prevent.
When the college of my son was reduced within tow days to one third he also had flu symptoms and I gave him St John’s wort every 3 hours. He was fit again in two days while the others suffered over a week (with Tamiflu)
But one caution about this herb, it interacts with the pill so women who use the pill shouldn’t take St John’s wort or just talk to their woman doctor first.
The traditional cold and flu tea is equal parts of yarrow, peppermint and elderflower, but I have never used this tea… oops
I am always trying out what feels right for me and then go over to collect the experience by experiment… like the tea from my post
I will look at the tea–I think it has peppermint (tummy?) and elderflowers but I forget what else. I’ll look.
You should try the cold n flu tea Brigitte it’s lovely, we use it a lot in our house when colds are trying to take hold, with a good dollop of honey.
I like the sound of your latest tea, I’ll give it a try tomorrow. I’m looking for ways to use more bay from my two bushes, it seems such a shame to grow it and only use it occasionally in recipes in the kitchen. I just tinctured some leaves today to add to creams and salves, now I can make tea with the leaves to, genius!
Herby
Hi Herby
Thank you for your comment.
I just discover mixed teas, because I just love the simple (one herb) so much I never did this blending thing. But lately we had a lot of rain and it just came to me to empty a few bags and blend the herbs together (and I have to confess I get used to the blends…)
I wished my bay would be as big as yours! Mine is just 20cm high and will have to grow a few years before I have a nice harvest.
Bay is lovely as a relaxing bath for sore muscles (I give also some crushed juniper berries to the bath)
To keep weevils away give a fresh bayleaf into your dried herb bags and change the leaf as soon as it changes colour (when it is too dry)
And yeah, you could crown yourself with a laurel wreath… hahaha… just joking