Herbs For Wellness
As a lot of us know, herbs are good for a lot more than just flavoring. Many, many plants have medicinal properties, and today I wanted to share a few of my favorites as well as share one of my favorite books for those new to herbalism.
The Complete Medicinal Herbal by Penelope Ody is a fantastic place to start for anyone who has wanted to look into using herbs for their healing properties. It is a great book, and a lot of the information that I am sharing in this post comes from its pages.
So, without further ado, let’s get into some of my favorite medicinal herbs!
Lavender:
Lavender is great for animals and humans alike. It helps calm and soothe all of us. You can use it in teas, tinctures, creams, and more. We use it for us as wells as for the animals. You can make a spray with the fresh buds, which you can spritz in the coops to help keep hens calm as well as ward off mites.
Mint:
For us two-leggeds, mint is great for treating upset stomachs. Simply wash and stir the leaves into hot water with a bit of honey for relief. It can also be used to help relieve nasal congestion simply by crushing the leaves and inhaling the oils that are released.
On the farm, mint can be used in nesting boxes to keep mites and other nasties from sleeping alongside your hens. Some farmers even give a leaf or ten to their goats whenever they get into something that upsets their system.
Sage:
Sage often gets ignored for its medicinal properties because people are so concerned with it having spiritual properties, which is fine, but it is a shame. Sage is great for both health and beauty as it can improve digestion and rid you of dull, oily hair.
I have also heard that some people will give a bit of sage to their does when they want them to start drying up, but I have not tried that, and would like to look into it more before I do. I love to set pots of sage outside of coops and hog pens because it drives away all sorts of critters that like to bother my animals.