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Herb book suggestions?
Anyone have a suggestion(s) about herbal medicines/health books? I love growing organic herbs and would like to learn more about their potential uses.
Thanks! 
4 replies
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http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Herbal-Medicine-Definitive-Reference/dp/0789467836/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325116237&sr=1-3
We grow damn near everything we need, like from St. Johns Wort to basil. St. Johns Wort makes an excellent muscle relaxant if you make an extract with olive oil (set it in the sun for two weeks and then keep it in the dark). Catnip tea is bitter, but it does take care of headaches. If you're going to get into herbs, grow your own. Most can be grown on a porch or inside in containers, but we have a 16'x4' box for herbs (and a few containers as well). They're beautiful and attract a lot of honey bees, bumbles, and more kinds of wasps than you will ever see anywhere else (not aggressive kinds). The entire bed is alive. Curiously, while I thought Monarchs stick with milkweed plants, we've had dozens of Monarch caterpillars on our parsley plants over the years. There's a huge butterfly bush nearby which attracts them, but parsley?
We grow damn near everything we need, like from St. Johns Wort to basil. St. Johns Wort makes an excellent muscle relaxant if you make an extract with olive oil (set it in the sun for two weeks and then keep it in the dark). Catnip tea is bitter, but it does take care of headaches. If you're going to get into herbs, grow your own. Most can be grown on a porch or inside in containers, but we have a 16'x4' box for herbs (and a few containers as well). They're beautiful and attract a lot of honey bees, bumbles, and more kinds of wasps than you will ever see anywhere else (not aggressive kinds). The entire bed is alive. Curiously, while I thought Monarchs stick with milkweed plants, we've had dozens of Monarch caterpillars on our parsley plants over the years. There's a huge butterfly bush nearby which attracts them, but parsley?
http://botanical.com/
They do talk about propagation, but I've mostly just used it for remedies. My other books that I use the most are kind of old, but here are the titles and authors as I do recommend them
The New Holistic Herbal by David Hoffman
Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs by John Heinerman
Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs (multiple writers)
Rodale publishes many good books on gardening and health. Heinerman has many books on the same and the Hoffman book has newer editions, but I didn't like the new layout.
They do talk about propagation, but I've mostly just used it for remedies. My other books that I use the most are kind of old, but here are the titles and authors as I do recommend them
The New Holistic Herbal by David Hoffman
Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs by John Heinerman
Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs (multiple writers)
Rodale publishes many good books on gardening and health. Heinerman has many books on the same and the Hoffman book has newer editions, but I didn't like the new layout.