Late summer is a busy time for restocking the medicinal pantry. Only a short amount of time left to harvest ingredients for winter medicines. The last of the medicinal flowers, leaves, and seeds need to be gathered before the cold draws the medicinal energies back into the roots for the winter.
Check your herbs for freshness. Anything that doesn’t smell or look vibrant and fresh needs to be discarded and refilled with a new supply. Here are a few of the things I usually have to restock this time of year.
Arnica flowers – Beautiful yellow flowers that bloom in mid-late summer. Dry as many of them as you can. They are an ingredient used in most of the balms, salves and lotions that I make. These brightly colored flowers topically soothe and repair the skin. Arnica heals bruising, swelling, wound healing, pain relief, and arthritis.
Cayenne pepper – Cayenne gets you moving. It stimulates digestion and blood circulation, promotes sweating, is an antiseptic, antibacterial, and nerve tonic. It’s also a catalyst that improves the absorption and circulation of other herbs when used in a blend. It stops bleeding when put directly onto a cut, perfect for a first aid kit. A must for the winter. Harvest the pepper and dry it thoroughly. Pound it with a mortar and pestle or whip it in an herb blender into powder.
The most surprising use of Cayenne is to restore circulation to very cold feet. It can get toe numbing cold during a Vermont winter. Sprinkling cayenne directly onto my feet and putting my socks back on warms them faster than putting them by a fire. It keeps my feet warmer when I’m going to be outside for a while. Careful, though. It stains. Wear a designated lightweight summer sock as a liner. Better to have just one pair of stained socks! Please take care to wash your hands often whenever using Cayenne. Your eyes will thank you for it.
Coriander – Cilantro seeds. Its more than just a nutritious kitchen herb. This quick growing herb should be planted at least twice a summer. By late summer the first planting will have gone to seed, coriander. Dry the second planting of green leaves for tea, soups and stew. This taste of summer is easy to grow inside during the winter. The freshness adds a wonderful flair to tomatoes in mid winter. I use it as often as parsley.
Coriander/cilantro is loaded with fiber, magnesium, manganese, protein, and iron. It has eleven components of essential oils and six types of acids, including vitamin C. It’s used for of skin inflammation, high cholesterol levels, diarrhea, mouth ulcers, anemia, and indigestion. Cilantro is useful for menstrual disorders, smallpox, conjunctivitis, skin disorders, and blood sugar disorders, and good for your vision.
Elderberry – As an herbal remedy, elderberry is believed to possess therapeutic uses an anti-inflammatory, diuretic, and immuno-stimulant. When measured nutritionally against other berries, elderberries contain high concentrations of vitamins A and C and potassium. Medicinal products containing elderberry include throat lozenges and cough syrup.
Plantain – Dried plantain leaf tea increases is an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, reduces stress, prevents tumors, lowers cortisol levels, and reduces estrogen/increases testosterone. The plant has high nutritional value and is loaded with calcium, iron and vitamins A, C, and K. Fresh leaf is very helpful in treating minor wounds, cuts, and scrapes. A natural bandaid in every leaf. Topically, it takes the sting and swelling away from insect bites, halts bleeding, speed up healing, stop itching and alleviates pain. Useful for stinging nettle rash, eczema, psoriasis and first degree burns. The seed stalks of late summer are like having psyllium seeds on a stick. Cut them at the base and dry them whole. Use the seeds, a stalk at a time, for constipation or bowel irregularity throughout the winter.
Rose Petals – Roses are more than just a pretty face. Treat stress with rose petal tea. Rose petals are made into herbal tea for the treatment of stress, depression, sinus congestion, colds, digestive ailments, nausea, vomiting, constipation, sore throats, coughs, swollen eyes, puffiness, broken capillaries, insomnia, PMS, menopausal symptoms, increases libido, and helps with eating disorders. The tea can be taken as a drink, used as a gargle, or applied as a wash/compress.
Rose Hips – Rose hip is the fruit that forms after the blossoms fade. A commo, tart ingredient in herbal teas, rose hips contain antioxidants, vitamin C, vitamin E, beta-carotene, and lycopene.
Thyme – The volatile essential oils in thyme are packed with anti-septic, anti-viral, anti-rheumatic, anti-parasitic and anti-fungal. Thyme is commonly used as an expectorant, diuretic, fungicide and antibiotic. A liver tonic herb, it boosts the immune system by increasing white blood production. It helps your body heal itself. A common ingredient in a traditional cold/flu healing chicken soup during the winter for very good reasons.
Thyme is effective against infections, most specifically respiratory and digestive. It can be taken for diarrhea, vaginal infections including thrush. It has a relaxing effect on muscles in the bronchi and helps to relieve asthma, whooping cough, laryngitis, bronchitis and dry coughs. Mouth and gum infections can be treated with a solution made from as little as .1 percent thyme oil. Inhalation therapy is useful for those who suffer from chronic sinus infections. As an antioxidant, thyme protects the body from the effects of aging. As a stellar digestive herb, thyme can enhance appetite and digestion while stimulating the liver.
