5 Medicinal Plants to Grow in the Garden: The Farmahuerto

Hi Farmers! Once again, we will talk about essential medicinal plants in the home garden or farm garden. Today there are many people who opt for an «eco» life, that is, a healthier and more natural lifestyle, which means that many of them decide to dispense with artificial and chemical products and use traditional medicines, opting for by natural medicine or phytotherapy.

What is a farm?

More and more people want to include essential medicinal plants like the ones we will see today in their flowerpot or vegetable garden. It is what I have described as Farmahuerto. Until not long ago, the use of medicinal plants to cure certain ailments has been a tradition, but with advances in medicine, many have been left aside. It would be great to recover them, so today we are going to talk about some of these essential medicinal plants.

The advantages of having a Farmahuerto or orchard with medicinal plants are several:

• Savings on parapharmacy products
• Availability at any time of the plant
• Low cost of having this type of orchard
• Organic garden, since it can be maintained with respectful practices.
• They are suitable remedies for any age

5 essential medicinal plants in the garden

Below I have selected 5 essential medicinal plants in your garden:

1. Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile L.)

It is native to Europe, it is an evergreen herb.

Properties: relieves stomach aches, helps with digestion, prevents nausea, promotes the expulsion of intestinal gas, calms menstrual pain, helps to a certain extent to lower cholesterol levels, has antiseptic properties, which is why it is often used as a mouthwash and to help cure eye ailments such as styes or conjunctivitis, its use as a tonic is also highly recommended, as it helps soothe irritations and cleans impurities from the skin, it also reduces itching of the scalp

For internal use, an infusion of chamomile is made, with the dried leaves and even with the dried flowers. For cutaneous or oral use, the infusion must be made very concentrated, soaked in cotton, and spread on the affected area.

2. Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana)

It is an evergreen plant that comes from South America, and in the last decade it has become famous for its sweetness.

Properties: antioxidant, reduces depression and anxiety, fights certain fungi such as candida, is an antacid so it improves digestion and helps prevent colds.

It can be used in two ways, the dried leaves; that are used in infusion or fresh, which are consumed as they are. In this article you will discover how to grow stevia in the garden.

3. Aloe vera (Aloe vera L.)

It is a succulent, native to coastal areas, it is very abundant in the Mediterranean area.

Properties for external use: Helps to heal burn wounds and skin hydration, heals canker sores, reduces dental plaque, helps prevent dandruff and prevents acne.

For cutaneous use, it is enough to cut a leaf, and the “gel” that comes out of it, spread it on the area to be treated.

For oral use, it is necessary to dilute the «gel» of the leaf, in water.

Oral properties: antibacterial, antioxidant, provides vitamins from groups A, B and C, as well as numerous amino acids, minerals and fatty acids.

For its consumption, it is recommended to either dilute the «gel» or chew it, although the latter can be unpleasant due to its gelatinous texture.

4. Horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

It is a seedless horsetail plant, one of the oldest known today.

Properties: it is diuretic so it reduces kidney stones, helps prevent cystitis and urine infections, is effective in treating gingivitis, tonsillitis and stops bleeding; prevents osteoporosis, thanks to its assets to increase bone density and can improve memory thanks to its Silica content.

The most common form of use is by infusion, both to ingest it, gargle, or for external use by depositing the infusion on cotton.

Agrohuerter advice: if your garden is continually affected by common fungi, such as mildew or rust, it is advisable to have one or more horsetail plants, since due to its antifungal properties it is quite effective in preventing them. In this article you can read more about the benefits of horsetail in the garden and its use to prepare natural remedies against pests and diseases.

5. Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

It is a perennial herbaceous, native to Europe.

Properties: thanks to its anxiolytic properties, it helps calm stress, sleep better, reduces fatigue, helps improve concentration, reduces headaches, reduces muscle spasms, reduces menstrual pain,

It is normally used or consumed in infusion, both the leaves and the root are used for it.

All these medicinal plants are very easy to grow in the garden, because most of them do not require much care. As advice, the ideal is to have a couple of each species to alternate in the collection of leaves, and thus not exhaust a single one. And remember Agrohuertas, that natural medicine supports traditional medicine!