Everything you need to know about growing medicinal herbs indoors
There is nothing better than being able to pick fresh medicinal plants when you need them and use them right away. You can also let them dry and then use a mortar and pestle to grind them up and put them in capsules. You know that You never used pesticides on them. And you know everything about what they were given to consume. If your kitchen has enough light, you can grow medicinal herbs indoors in pretty planters there.
You can set up a rack with several levels to set the planter pots at an angle toward the front. So, you can put the back against a wall, and the plants will grow at an angle toward the front. Some people use wire hangers to hang the pots in rows or patterns on the wall. If you’re going to do this, make sure your wall is strong. Read this article to know everything you need to know about medicinal herbs indoors.
What are Medicinal Herbs?
Medicinal herbs and botanicals are just herbs that are grown to treat certain illnesses or symptoms. You may be familiar with using ginger root to calm stomach upset.
Growing and preparing herbs can be a hard job that requires preparing certain parts of the herbs, heating and extracting them in some way, and even adding them to a strong alcoholic base. But there are many herbs you can grow and use yourself without being a professional herbal scientist (yes, that’s a thing).
What Herbs have Medicinal Properties?
When you start cultivating herbs, you’ll notice that many of your favorite plants have medicinal properties. Many of our medicines are based on plant life, which includes hundreds of species.
We recommend starting with these five herbs and gradually expanding your collection as you grow more familiar with them. In some circumstances, not all plant portions are safe for consumption or topical use. Consider safety factors before growing medicinal herbs indoors.
Space Prerequisites For Medicinal Herbs Indoors
Even homesteaders who love their property from the comfort of their “small cottage” can grow a plethora of medicinal herbs indoors. While many herbs may be grown on a windowsill, others require a bit more space. Using the vertical space available on sunny walls, mounting a grow light above them on a shelf, or even using a clip-on grow light will help you optimize your growing space.
Why Should You Grow Herbal Medicine Indoors?
- Reducing your reliance on commercially made things, including food and home remedy ingredients, is a key component of homesteading. Cultivating medicinal herbs indoors and culinary herbs is part of a year-round farming business.
- Growing your medical herbs indoors will liven up the home over the long, dismal winter and early spring months with the colorful flowers that many healing herbs produce once they mature.
- Growing herbs and medical plants indoors also allow you to develop non-native and dwarf varieties of herbs and healing plants that you would not be able to grow, utilize, or enjoy otherwise.
- The pleasant aroma of the herbs can also aid boost moods during the time of year when windows must be kept closed due to the chilly weather outside.
- When a member of the homesteading family wakes up with a cough, a herbal indoor gardener may easily walk to the windowsill or the gardening table set up beneath grow lights, snip off a piece of thyme and mint, and swiftly brew a soothing herbal tea to relieve the painful and scratchy throat naturally.
What are the ten DOH-approved medicinal plants?
If you’re growing in a certain location of the world and need help, here are the 10 DOH-approved medicinal plants right now:
- Allium sativum (Garlic)
- Blumea balsamifera (Nagal camphor)
- Cassia alata (Ringworm bush)
- Clinopodium douglasii (Bent)
- Microphylla ehretia (scorpion bush)
- Momordica charantia (Bitter gourd)
- Pellucida peperomia (Silverbush)
- Guajava psidium (guava)
- Quisqualis indica (Rangoon creeper)
- Vitex negundo (Lagundi)
Growing these medicinal herbs indoors can brighten up your medical herb garden while treating specific ailments. Always with your healthcare provider before using medicinal herbs.Many, if not most, of the therapeutic herbs you should be growing inside are the same ones you’d take a sprig or two from an outdoor herb garden and sprinkle in a soup, casserole, or homemade sauce.
The Basics : How to Grow Medicinal Herbs Indoors ?
When you grow medicinal herbs indoors, keep these things in mind:
- Find your light source. The way the sun moves will tell you if a certain window has low or high light. Windows that face north get the softest (i.e., least amount of) light, while windows that face south get the brightest (i.e., the most amount of) light.
- Check your pots. Plants need water, but their roots also need air. For healthy root growth, make sure your pots have good drainage.
- Find an indoor fertilizer. Because the natural soil isn’t there, the plants will need fertilizer made for plants in pots. Find a solution that is made for plants in pots and follow the directions for how to apply it.
Once you know where, how much water, and what kind of soil you need, you can grow easy herbs.
Additional Tips: Medicinal Herbs Indoors
- Cut off the old and dead leaves to help plants grow faster.
- Each herb should be grown in its own pot with potting mix-rich soil.
- Indoor herbs must be watered often and kept in the right light.
- Use clay or ceramic pot with drainage holes in the bottom.
- To help medicinal herbs indoors grow better, you can use ripe fruits, vegetables, and manure.
How to Use Medicinal Herbs or Plant Medicines in Cooking ?
One of the easiest and cheapest ways to get more medicinal and healing herbs into your body and natural routine is to use them in your recipes and meals. You probably do this more often than you think.
- Rosemary and thyme are two of the most common herbs used in cooking. Rosemary and thyme are great for your lungs and easy to add to your diet by using them to flavor food or garnish. Turmeric and tulsi are other common examples that can impart a distinct flavor to your cooking while providing medicinal properties.
- If you like smoothies or desserts often, you can use powders made from herbs that have health benefits. Adding Maca root or moringa powder or reishi mushroom powder to a smoothie or coffee is a great way to boost energy before or after a workout.
- Herbal teas are another great choice; you can buy many of them mixed (or even dry your own!). For example, if you want to relax, you could try lavender or lemon balm tea. You could prepare your own dried chamomile tea. You could even experiment a little and prepare a tea mix using your medicinal herbs indoors.
Conclusion
You don’t have to be an expert gardener to grow herbs, whether you do it inside or outside. They are hardy and usually do well if you follow their growing instructions and leave them alone. The medicinal herbs indoors garden should be a successful part of your survival plan if you follow the right growing tips and watch for signs of trouble, like yellow leaves, brown or dry leaves, or insect infestations. If you teach your children or grandchildren at home, you might want to use the medicinal herb garden to teach them how to grow the plants, keep them, and use them.