How to Plant an Un-Killable Medicinal Herb Garden
Make the most of social isolation with these foolproof strategies.
Ever wanted your own supply of medicinal herbs? There’s no time like the present, when you can’t leave your house much anyway and supply chains for herbs have been strained, making it more challenging to get your own. I welcome you to the incredibly satisfying and sometimes frustrating land of growing your own medicine- it is a joy unlike any other. With 5+ years of farming and gardening experience, I’ve made my share of mistakes. Keep reading so you won’t have to.
Strategy #1: Choose the right plants
After farming organically in Alabama for 4 years, it boggles my mind and hurts my heart when I hear people who have never gardened a day in their life say they’ve invested precious hours of their free time and disposable income on a garden and….they’re gonna grow exclusively tomatoes. Why, oh why, do y’all always try to start with tomatoes?! I know, because tomatoes are frickin’ delicious, but still, they are pretty difficult to grow successfully when compared to…well, pretty much everything else. That’s true here in the Deep South at least, where the humidity and lack of sub-70 degree nighttime temperatures make disease a given and pollination a struggle.
So when folks ask me for gardening advice as it pertains to vegetables, my first response is usually, “don’t start with tomatoes.” I’m halfway kidding when I say that, but I do encourage them to also include some crops that are easier to grow, like peppers, turnips, beans, and squash.
But what does “easy-to-grow” even mean?
You hear it a lot. “10 easy to grow houseplants for your small, dark apartment,” “Fill your plate with these 3 easy-to-grow vegetables” etc etc. That’s all well and good, but what characteristics make a plant able to call itself “easy-to-grow?” Easy-to-grow for whom? There are so many variables to take into account, it can feel overwhelming - some plants are a cinch in one climate and impossible in another, some like good soil drainage while some prefer “wet feet,” and if all plants need sun, why is my {insert plant here} withering on the vine?! Let’s take a step back and define what I mean for the purposes of this article when I classify a plant as “easy-to-grow.”
Set yourself up for success - choose plants with these 3 traits:
widely available, affordable and easy to get your hands on
forgiving of beginner grower mistakes
inherently very disease-resistant
For this article, I’ve only chosen plants that meet all 3 of the above criteria. You can rest assured that, with a little care and attention, your medicinal garden will thrive.
The mint family plants (Lamiaceae) are going to be some of your best bets, as they are notoriously hard to kill in the first place. Make sure to constrain them in a pot or put them somewhere where they’ll have room to take up some space once they get going (more on that later). Seriously, I urge you to have a plan for their expansion, because they sure do.
Herbaceous mint-family plants
peppermint, spearmint, catnip, bee balm, motherwort, lemon balm
Woody (and semi-woody) mint-family plants
rosemary, lavender, and skullcap
Non-mints that are easy
cayenne (Pro tip: you’ll want to grow this one, as you’ll need some later in the summer when I teach you my super-effective DIY topical pain relief recipe. Stay tuned).
If you are just starting out and want to grow a medicinal plant that’s not on the above list, you might want to stick to plants whose leaves, stems, flowers and fruits are the parts used for making medicine. Especially if it’s a perennial. Roots often have to be allowed to grow for multiple years before they’re ready to be harvested, and the yield on what a home gardener can produce in a small amount of space can make getting a meaningful amount to harvest a challenge. Just a thought. I’m tryin’ to make it easier on you, dear reader. I’ve seen too many promising gardeners get discouraged by early complications and have their enthusiasm wane, and I’d rather that not happen to you!
The gentle nervine herbs make a great introduction to the world of plant medicine
As you peruse the handy chart below, you’ll notice that most of these plants have an action on the nervous system, that is to say, they help us deal with stress or support a balanced mood. Plants with an action on the nervous system are called nervines. These plants are some of the easiest, safest and best entry points for folks who have limited experience using herbal medicines to improve their health. Put simply: they are a great place to start because, if you go slow and pay attention to your body, you can’t really go wrong. If you’ve never used herbs before, make a strong tea out of any of the mint-family plants, sip it slowly, relax and enjoy its soothing, tension-relieving effects. The plants listed here are pretty “broad spectrum,” meaning they are super helpful to the vast majority of folks, and are gentle and safe enough to be used by just about everyone.
Cayenne being somewhat of an exception - use caution with taking it internally if you have a heart condition and don’t use if you’re allergic to nightshade-family plants. Also: it works better as a tincture or topical oil. Don’t make cayenne tea. Yuck.
Caveat: The world of nervines is vast and nuanced.
There are literally hundreds of herbs we Clinical Herbalists use to help folks dialogue with their nervous systems, and the subtle differences when you find the right fit can be truly profound. If you’re feeling unsure or want expert guidance on exactly which plant is a perfect fit for the unique way stress manifests itself in YOUR body, come see me for an appointment and we’ll help you find your nervine soulmate.
To those more experienced, who have been using herbs for some time, or even those who proudly wear the title of herbalist, consider this an invitation to reflect on the power of these simple plants, many of which have roots in European herbalism.
Don’t think you seasoned herbie veterans are above the study of these pedestrian favorites - oh no. I invite you to treat them like a friend you have known for years: would you ever have the audacity to say you knew everything about them, and never needed to speak to them again in order to get to know them more deeply? Of course not!
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Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) |
Perennial (zones 3-9) |
Relaxing and stress-relieving. Volatile oils encourage good digestion; helps relieve gripey bellies and flatulence. Do not use if you have heartburn. Also helpful to support fevers - stimulating and relaxing diaphoretic |
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Spearmint (Mentha spicata) |
Perennial (zones 5-11) |
Akin to Peppermint; slightly more relaxing as a diaphoretic |
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Catnip (Nepeta cataria) |
Perennial (zones 3-9) |
Excellent for digestive cramps and those whose emotions affect their digestion (nervous tummy, lack of appetite,etc) |
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Bee Balm/Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) |
Perennial (zones 3-8) |
Helps to sweat out a fever; great as an antiseptic mouth rinse. Specific remedy for ringing in the ears (per Matthew Wood) |
Great pollinator-friendly plant |
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Motherwort (Leonarus cardiaca) |
Perennial (zones 4-8) |
Useful for stress that makes your heart race and your blood pressure shoot up. Also useful as a digestive bitter. |
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Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) |
Perennial (zones 4-9) |
Helpful for the winter blues and other instances of depressed mood. Uplifting. |
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Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) |
Perennial (zones 6-9, some newly developed varieties more cold-hardy) |
A pick-me-up for your brain: boosts circulation and helps with staying focused |
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Lavender (Lavendula officinalis; L. angustifolia) |
Perennial (zones 5-9) |
A hug in a bottle. Comforting, relaxing and aromatic. Fill satchels and place under pilow for restful sleep. |
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Skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora) |
Perennial (zones 4-8) |
General purpose stress relief; great for winding down before sleep. Also specifically indicated for when every noise and light feels like it’s personally attacking you |
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Cayenne (Capsicum annum) |
Annual |
Alcohol tincture is a central circulatory stimulant for poor circulation when taken internally (use caution, a little goes a long way); POWERHOUSE pain reliever when used topically (1:5 alcohol extract) |
Keep small children from playing with the fruits of this plant, and always wash hands thoroughly or wear gloves |
Strategy #2” Choose the right “form”
Here’s the thing. Many medicinal herbs (though certainly not all) are perennial, meaning they die back during the winter and return year-to-year. This can sometimes mean that they are not in a rush to hurry up and grow and complete their whole life cycle within a season, the way annual plants are. Some of the woody mints are especially slowwwwww. Not to mention they can be tricky to sprout - oftentimes, only a low percentage of seeds can be convinced to come out and play, and they take longer than your common garden vegetables to do so.
So skip the germination struggle and give yourself a 7-week head start.
Buy seedlings or cuttings instead. If it’s possible for you to do so, it makes things approximately 354% easier. Really. Choosing seedlings/cuttings over starting your herbs from seed outsources the often tricky work of getting good germination, gives you a 6-7+ week head start on plant growth, and, let’s be honest, it’s easier for beginner gardeners (especially kiddos) to remember to water a cute little itty-bitty 3 inch-tall plant than a patch of “empty” dirt.
BYPASSING GERMINATION
Some seeds need to be soaked, scarified, frozen, given a massage, or thrown off a cliff without a parachute…Ok I made up the last two, but you get the idea. Each plant has individual germination requirements, and while some are pretty forgiving, some are definitely not. If you are just starting out, give yourself a win and take the path of less resistance.
That’s not to say I don’t love starting seeds! I do! Some of my fondest memories of farming at Jones Valley Teaching Farm were long, serene hours in the moist greenhouse, stripped down to a t-shirt in January while freezing rain fell outside. If you’re gonna start your seeds yourself, more power to you! I’d recommend starting with some herbaceous mints, especially catnip and motherwort, which in my experience are both very amicable germinators.
HEAD START
Depending on the plant and where you get it from, it’s already a toddler or adolescent by the time it gets to you, meaning it will be fully grown month(s) sooner than if you had started it from seed. Seedlings are often started in greenhouses while it’s still too cold to do any growing outside, so by the time April/May comes around, they’re 6 inches tall and raring to get into the ground. If you’d like to be able to start harvesting from your plants A.S.A.P., opting for an older or more established plant just makes sense.
WATERING
C’mon, you know you’ll be more likely to check on and fuss over a plant that’s already recognizably a plant. Now, I will say that achieving germination is a thrill like NO other, but the reverse can also be true: it’s v disheartening when you wait 14 days for new life to spring up, watering it diligently, and nothing happens.
WHERE TO GET SEEDLINGS
Obvious choices for obtaining seedlings or cuttings are gardening stores or big box stores with gardening centers, like Lowe’s, Home Depot or Walmart. Often times, there will be some leggy herb seedlings hanging out in the produce section of the grocery store. And there’s always your weird plant friend who has way too many spider plants and pothos in their house (it me.) and is a wizard at getting things to germinate. You might also peruse your local gardening facebook groups and farmers markets.
Strategy #3: Choose the right location
So you’ve selected your plants and you’ve acquired your catnip from your friend with 9 cats. You’re ready to put them in some soil, but how do you know the best place to put them? Should you just start digging in your backyard? Would pots be better? Compost or no compost? Ay-yai-yai!
Building soil takes years.
Unless you’re lucky enough to be planting your medicinal herbs in established soil, that has been nurtured and amended, the nutrient content built up over several years of loving stewardship, it will be easier to have success in containers and raised beds filled with “pre-made” soil. It’s kind of like what I said earlier about seedlings giving you a 6-7 week (or more) head start on plant growth, except it’s more like several years head start in the case of your soil. Is it kind of technically cheating to buy finished, perfectly balanced soil with an optimal nutrient profile instead of toiling away at dense, soggy Alabama clay? Sure it is, if you’re a farmer with the land, time and expertise to build your soil over the course of several seasons! But my hope for you, dear reader, is that you can get your feet wet and experience the profound joy of using something you grew and cared for over months to nourish and heal yourself. Pots or containers and raised beds filled with finished soil will be easier to grow in and yield more immediate results. If you get “raised bed” or “potting” soil, there’s really no need to add compost until you’ve been growing in them for a while, but neither is there any harm in doing so.
My hope for you, dear reader, is that you can get your feet wet and experience the profound joy of using something you grew and cared for over months to nourish and heal yourself.
Note: if you live in the city, or in any residential area, there’s another reason to grow above-ground when you’re just starting out. Unless you’re able to get the soil tested, I don’t recommend growing in-ground near a building, home, driveway or road due to the presence of chemical runoff from roads and lead (and other nasties) leeched from old paints that is often present in the soil.
Look for morning light
The plants we’re featuring here will thrive pretty much no matter what type of light they get, provided they’re getting enough and also getting the right amount of water. That being said, a location that gets morning sun and some shade in the afternoon will be ideal in summers as hot as ours here in central Alabama. Morning sun is cooler and less intense, which means it’s gentler on shade-loving plants than the hot afternoon sun. Side note: If you notice scorching on your more sensitive plants (certain houseplants are especially susceptible to this), move them into the shade for a few days and try to find a new spot for them.
Pick a spot and stick with it (or, you know, don’t.)
We all have room for growth, so make sure your plants do too - a huge mistake I see beginner gardeners making is not budgeting enough space between plants. This is true of both annuals and perennials, your perennials just have to live with overcrowded conditions a lot longer. Mint is especially known for being, well, aggressive (what?! you kind of are, dude), so either plant it somewhere that it can conquer and run wild, or constrain it to a pot. Transplanting it into a bigger pot 1-2 times per year will keep its appetite for growth appeased. Remember when choosing your raised bed locations that many of these plants are perennial and would like to stay in the same spot and keep offering you their medicine year to year. They can be moved, but it can be quite a lot of work.
Bonus: If you’re growing in containers, moving the plants inside in the winter may allow them to continue their growth year-round.
And there you have it! If you choose easy-to-grow plants, opt for seedlings over starting from scratch, and put them in raised beds or containers that get good morning light, I promise you will be setting yourself up for success. Now it’s time to turn your insight into action (thanks to Marie Forleo for that phrase): Leave me a comment below with 1 thing you’re going to do differently in your garden based on what you learned today.
Happy Growing!