herbs

Children love to take interest in what their parents are interested in whether it be video games, painting, writing, or plant identification. My middle son has made my heart come alive with his interest in plant ID. We have lots of herbal bliss in our backyard that just a few years ago were considered WEEDS!

 

I have been super excited to find all sorts of medicinal plants that we can use for herbal remedies right in our backyard. Boy does this save time and money! I do not have to order online or drive to a local health food store for Plantain, Dandelion, Wild Violet to name a few.

I have to admit I have planted some things out front like Yarrow, Coreopsis, and Phlox. I have been blessed by God with Evening Primrose and even a Mullein plant!

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Now onto collecting your herbs. I will assume you have grown your own, positively identified some you wild harvested OR bought some bulk herbs from a reputable source. If you need some resources for herb identification I would suggest: Herb Pinterest Board.

BASKET-I use baskets that I have been given, cardboard boxes from the grocery store, or occasionally an ice cream bucket. I admit I did buy a cute rectangular basket from the Dollar Tree to aid in herb collecting! (Using our affiliate links to help you find what we own and use)

PLANT ID BOOK-If you are still trying to figure out what grows in your yard or neighborhood then I would suggest a good book like:Identifying & Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants, The Complete Book of Herbs: A Practical Guide to Growing and Using Herbs,  Edible Wild Plants for Beginners,  Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat and Western Garden Book of Edibles: The Complete A-Z Guide

SCISSORS-helps to harvest herbs and the parts of plants that you want without damaging plants around it or hurting yourself.

GLOVES- simple fabric garden gloves or even cheap food service gloves can both come in handy.

DRYING RACK- You will need a good place to dry your herbs. You could use a clothes drying rack, diaper drying rack, herb mesh rack or herb horse. Of course you could make a drying screen for cheap from an old picture frame.