Trying Herbs...In response to your post

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy,

 

I consider myself an amateur herbalist. I've done a few correspondence

courses and have more books than time for reading. I just recently began

vending at farmers' markets and wanted to use my homegrown herbs in tea blends.

In order to make mixes I first have read about the herbs to be sure of their

safety and benefits then I've tried them individually. Once you get a sense of

what is strong or mild, bitter or sweet you may have a better time blending. I

highly recommend growing your own plants if possible as the flavors from fresh

plants can not be beat.

 

I myself really like mints, lemon verbena, and although I don't have a plant

(yet) roobios tea. Happy blending!

 

Kathryn

 

 

 

Messenger with Voice. PC-to-Phone calls for ridiculously low rates.

 

 

[Guest guest]

> Hi Kathy,

>

> I consider myself an amateur herbalist. I've done a few

correspondence courses and have more books than time for reading. I

just recently began vending at farmers' markets and wanted to use my

homegrown herbs in tea blends. In order to make mixes I first have

read about the herbs to be sure of their safety and benefits then I've

tried them individually. Once you get a sense of what is strong or

mild, bitter or sweet you may have a better time blending. I highly

recommend growing your own plants if possible as the flavors from

fresh plants can not be beat.

>

> I myself really like mints, lemon verbena, and although I don't

have a plant (yet) roobios tea. Happy blending!

>

> Kathryn

 

Sorry about the late response on this.

 

I don't have much of a garden to plant anything in, unfortunately. I

may consider potted plants at some point, but in the meantime I read

all I could and decided on a few and went to the local Health Food

Store to get some dried/fresh herbs. (local here means about a 15-30

min drive).

 

I came up with a blend of: Ginger root, Eleuthero Root, Hibiscus

Flowers, Yerba Mate and Spearmint Leaf. Just kind of dropped a pinch

of each until I filled a measuring teaspoon and steeped them in a cup

of " just " starting to boil water for about 5-10 minutes, then strained

it through a mesh strainer. I was actually VERY surprised at the

result. Tastes wonderful, I do not normally sweeten anything, and

this tastes great as is, no sugar or honey required. I have been

drinking about 2 cups a day in the morning instead of coffee and I

have to say, I feel MUCH better overall (more energy, more awake,

etc.) I've been going to the ladies room more often but that is a

good thing! =P (diuretic effects)

 

I have taken all precautions I have found into account before I did

this: I have normally LOW blood pressure so I do not think that is a

concern, I have been tested (recently actually) for both diabetes and

hypothyroidism and am told I am perfectly healthy. I get quarterly

injections of Depo-provera for birth control so that is one possible

concern I have not been able to find information on?

 

Otherwise I am in good health and no major health concerns run in my

family other than sporadic diabetes, which I have confirmed I do not

have. The concerns I do have, which spurred this interest in herbs,

is general tiredness, insomnia, feeling " down " , (some mild

depression/stress I guess), and some mild water-retention. So far

this experiment has appeared to help all of the above, which is why I

chose these particular herbs.

 

I just wanted to know if there are any other concerns or safety issues

I might not have come across yet? I was thinking about making this

into an Iced Tea to keep in a pitcher or jar in the fridge, but I tend

to drink ALOT of iced tea when it's there, so I am cautious about

drinking too much of any herb which may be of concern. Probably none

of the above can possibly be any worse than drinking commercially made

iced tea in abundance I would presume. (Iced Tea is a bad habit of

mine, a naturally made healthy one would be a god-send).

 

If anyone has experience with growing any of these in

northeastern/central PA, I'd love to hear some advice. I have

never planted anything in my life, but my parents always did until

very recently. I may convince them to let me use their yard to start

my own little herb garden. I know nothing about planting seasons

though, and have to wonder if it is too late already? I appear to be

in planting zone 5(a-b?) if that helps at all. Stopping by a plant

shop on the side of the road, the only plant of the above I remember

seeing was Spearmint (which I actually tried to plant a few weeks

ago). It doesn't look so good...

[Guest guest]

I'm in a similar zone here in Illinois. It is not too late to put in perennial

plants in fact there is still a few weeks left in which you can plant a fall

vegetable garden. If you are able to put in plants mints are a good place to

start. It is also possible to keep many herbs as houseplants so long as the pot

is correct size and they have a good window. I'm no pro, but I do experiment

endlessly. In regards to your mix I would only suggest that you really research

the Yerba Mate. It is my understanding that it is a powerful stimulant and use

of it should be respected. I have not personally used it or as of yet

researched it. I tend to take my time with each herb that I try so that I get

to really know it. This summer I'm spending a good deal of time with Lemon

Verbena and Gingermint (Sadly not hardy in this zone so I plan to bring both in

for the winter. I'm still awaiting the day my husband kicks me and all of my

plants out in the cold ).

 

I'm really happy that your experiments are working. In order to avoid over

consumption of any one herb why not make a couple of different blends? Perhaps

a morning wake-up, a hot day thirst quencher and a evening wind down. Gee now

I'm thirsty...I'm going to the garden to collect some tea.

 

Happy Blending,

Kathryn

 

 

 

Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Small Business.