The Ten Best Weeds to Have in Your Garden

A couple of years ago, I saw an article in the Mother Earth News Magazine titled, "The Ten Worst Weeds to Have in Your Garden."  To be perfectly honest, I didn't read the article.  I think I felt somehow it would just infuriate me to read about weeds and how bad they are.  

But then I got inspired and I told myself I would write a piece on "The Ten Best Weeds to Have in Your Garden."  This is it.  

This is a good year to praise the weeds, since my garden is rewilding and and so am I.  I have always loved the marginalized ones, the one who somehow because of who they are, are just not normal enough to be talked well about.  

I realize that many of you reading this article love the weeds as much as I do.  I just felt it was time to boast about those wonderful plants that don't like so much to be cultivated.  

Self Heal, Prunella vulgaris: 

I actually planted the self heal in my garden.  And we do have some native to Western Washington that grows around Whidbey Island in the grasses.  Strange and wonderful thing about this plant is that it isn't growing at all where I planted it.  It is growing in the path and around the post that holds the garden gate.  Self Heal is written about in many herbals, long descriptions of the incredible healing benefits of this plants.  And...I don't hear of many people using it.  I am told it has more anti-oxidants that any other plants.  I read that it will cure herpes.  Absent of taste or smell for most senses, self heal is a power plant.  It is related to the root chakra, a connection with the source of who we are.  

I like to think of it as the grandmother of lavender.  In our garden, its stalks come up around where the Lavender Provence is.  People have often mistaken it for lavender.  We harvest the leaves for salad and in the early summer the flowers as well.  This plant's wisdom is a welcome member in my garden.  

Dandelion, Taraxacum officinale:

Oh, the dandelion.  What a precious plant.  Years ago, Tadd and I were living in Burien, WA near the sea.  Our landlord was determined to poison the Dandelion.  He sprayed the lawn with some kind of toxic something.  One morning I woke up and look out the window to see the dandelion had returned and was blooming all over the place.   This is one of the things about this plant that makes it a vital part of any garden, its tenacity.  It blooms all year, with the most blossoms in late March through April.  The tender leaves in spring are welcome additions to our salads and now, in late summer, the leaves are thick and very bitter.  This is when I make tincture with dandelion leaves for a bitter tonic.  And in early autumn, the inulin (the starchy substance) in the root is abundant.  Dandelion Root vinegar makes a wonderful tonic for enhancing your gut flora.  Dandelion is here in our country because wise women, leaving Europe, put the seeds in their pockets so that they would not be without this plant.  So grateful for the abundance of Dandelion.  

Plantain, Plantago lanceolata and major: 

I dreamed long ago that plantain can heal anything, that it is the only plant we need.  Well, I love this plant.  The smell reminds me of my childhood.  It is the bee sting plant.  Take some leaf, choose it up and put it on a bee sting and the pain goes away instantly.  It works for insect bites of all kinds too.  It will draw out what is not needed and help to heal wounds very quickly.  It is a vital addition to any salve for diaper rash and chronic skin conditions.  We also cut the plantain leaves in early summer and add them to our salads.  I have heard that you can stall an allergic reaction with plantain tea or tincture, and that it is a remedy for excess mucous in colds and will help to heal connective tissue.  The seeds are full of protein and can be gathered and sprinkled on your salad, soups and breakfast cereal.  Plantain is a plant that grows on the edge.  It won't grow in a garden bed for long, it has to grow in the paths and it loves to be stepped on. I welcome plantain to my garden path. 

Chickweed, Stellaria media:

In the heat of summer, chickweed is pretty scarce in our garden.  This plant loves cool and wet climate and thrives in the spring when it rains all the time.  We love this plant in our salads and eat as much as possible.  One of the things that chickweed has helped me with time and time again, is to heal my eyes.  Sometimes, I get a little scratch in one of my eyes or have some kind of irritation and I pick some chickweed, wash it and squeeze it to release the juices and I use it as a poultice on my eyes.  Healing happens very quickly.  Also, chickweed has been known to reduce ovarian cysts.  This is such a beautiful thing about this plant, that it is a nourishing salad green and it can heal a challenge that is very strong.  This star lady is a wonderful addition to our garden. 

Sheep Sorrel, Rumex acetosella:

We love this plant because it is sour.  The children who come here have been known to kneel in the grass and eat and eat of it.  The sour indicates that it has vitamin C in it.  It does have oxalic acid in it, but this can be neutrilized with vinegar.   I have heard that this plant is one of the ingredients in Essiac Tea.  That would be a good research project.  Sheep Sorrel, we love you in the garden.  

Burdock, Arctium lappa:

Right now I have a bouquet of burdock leaves and flowers on my table.  The purple flowers are beautiful in the summer time.  The way we use this plant in salads is to make an herbal vinegar from the root in early autumn.  Like dandelion, burdock is rich in inulin, especially in early autumn.  Called the most yang of all plants,  burdock connects us with the deep, dark mystery.  Healing for liver and skin, it acts slowly, making sure healing is substantial.  

Sow Thistle, Sonchus oleracea:

About six years ago, I chose sow thistle as my ally for the year.  I let this plant grow all over my garden.  Well, there were times that I wasn't sure it was a good idea.  Sow thistle was everywhere.   And when it began to go to seed, I had my reward, goldfinches were everywhere too.  Sow thistle leaves are rich in minerals.  If you have the variety that has smooth-sided leaves, you can use them in your salad and also in your soups.  The flowers are tasty, looking like a dandelion. (Make sure you don't mix it up with hawkweed, which has very bitter, nasty-tasting flowers.) Because of the mineral content,  Sow thistle is a wonderful plant to choose to infuse in vinegar.   I love to see this plant amongst the cultivated plants.  

Lamb's Quarters,  Chenopodium album:

The first time I heard about this plant, I learned that it grows well with zinnias and enhances their growth.  I was living in Seattle at the time and so I let my lamb quarters go for it.  Later I learned that it is a wonderful salad plant. But the best news that I have gotten about this weed is that you can steam it and eat it as a cooked green with vinegar.  I would say that lamb's quarters is the best cooked green I have ever eaten.  Harvest it while you have a chance, as it will starts to flower soon after the days start warming up.  The seeds can then be added to your mixes for grinding flour.  Another good plant for vinegar because it is so rich in minerals.  Lamb's Quarters. I look for you every year and am so satisfied when I find you in my garden.  

Violas, Pansies and Violets:

Once you have violets, violas and pansies in your garden, you are so blessed because they will return year after year.  The mineral-rich leaves of violet are so good in salad and can be dried for a protein-rich tea.  We love the violas and pansies in our salads.  These plants are blessings, pure and simple.  

Stinging Nettle, Urtica dioica:

I am fortunate to have nettle as a weed in my garden.  It likes to live over in the corner near the barn.  Though a powerful plant, nettle doesn't take over spaces so much.  In the spring, we harvest the nettle leaves to make vinegar, and we harvest lots of nettle leaves and stalks to hang and dry.  We also, harvest nettle for soups, stews, quiches, lasagne and whatever else we can think of.  This plant is the reason I am an herbalist.  I have written many things about nettle and the transformation she offered me.  Nettle is the plant of change.  Long ago, nettle awakened a cellular memory in me that I am an herbalist.  I would not be here writing and teaching and living and loving the plants without nettle.  Blessed Be!

Time to go outside and see what weeds you have in your garden.  Make sure to identify well so you know each on is edible.  

There are so many other weeds too, so many.  What are your favorite garden weeds?

May it be in Beauty.

Being in the Presence of the Wild

This summer I am letting the garden go. I have a bit of cultivated space.  We planted oatstraw.

Right now within the fenced in spaces of our garden, there is wildness. 

There seems to be a way that a garden is supposed to be.  Here are the garden beds, here is the path through the garden.  I have had such a garden here and I loved it.  I worked very hard to remove the grasses, and to give room for the medicinal herbs, the vegetables and the flowers to grow. It was sweet and hard work and I loved it.

This year I am challenged physically to do all of this work.  I have enlisted my apprentices and hired folks to help me cultivate the space.  And because of various circumstances, it has not worked out to

cultivate, to give death to weeds and plant garden beds.

I still long for a cultivated garden, have visions of what it will be, dream of medicinal plants like Angelica and Meadowsweet, Mahonia and Mugwort, who will grace me with their presence.

There seems to be some friction within me.  A stopping place, where the cultivator in me starts to rebel and want to just be in the garden, to listen to what is there naturally, to see if a song will be given from an invisible place for the garden's rewilding.

Today I sat amongst the very tall grass, and looked out in all directions at my wild garden.  I saw grasses of so many varieties, I saw borage and lavender, cronewort and agrimony.  I saw goldenrod and motherwort, raspberries and cherries.  I saw an abundance of little apples. I saw blackberry vines.

The diversity of plant life in my sweet little garden is immense.  Everything is growing there because it wishes to do so.  Some things seems to be lacking it would seem.  Calendula can't be found, chamomile is gone I think, Chinese pinks have disappeared.  Chickweed?  Have you gone too?

As I sat in my chair, in the presence of happy wild plants, I started to sense that underneath my anxiety about the garden being so wild, not being weeded, what will people think?, who am I as an herbalist if I just let everything go?..........underneath this was a peaceful feeling of being in the presence of the wild.

I am wondering now where else I feel anxious because I am not what I "should" be and that what I am is calling me from under the layers of domesticated life. I am wondering what it would be like to rewild my life, to dance the dance I am given, to let my grasses grow, to allow the wasps into my spaces, to bow down to the wisdom that is being spoken to me in an unknown language from the tiny little plants that I step on in the garden path.

When I think of rewilding myself,  my muscles relax and I feel open to what will come next for me.

I send a blessing to our world that we may allow the true nature of our lives to be expressed, that we take time to listen to the little quiet voice that sings to us, underneath all the chatteriness of our minds.

I sing a blessing of rewilding for all of us looking more deeply for who we are.  

May it be in Beauty. 

Healing and Beauty Oil: Castor Oil

Castor Oil I bought in a leading drugstore

Castor oil is not a very popular oil  but for us Medical laboratory people we use this as an oil immersion medium for oil immersion field of the Microscope, why this oil? because castor oil inhibit bacterial and mold growth in the lenses. It has no therapeutic value to some doctors value but use for enema to patient who will undergo a procedure for surgery and diagnostic purposes that requires stomach, intestine and colon  to be emptied. It's only now that I realized the many uses and importance of Castor oil, upon reading the book of Dr. D.C. Jarvis on Vermont folk medicine, the EENT doctor author highly regarded castor oil so much in his book and  his observation and his practice applying the principles of folk medicine and documented amazing results. It changes my perception about this oil and I want to know more, I am beginning to love it beside it is also cheaper. Having informed myself as to these many uses of castor oil in Vermont folk medicine, I began trying them out as well.

It reminds me of a pharmacist, a mother of a friend who told me that it could be an alternative to colonics since I'm not comfortable in trying colonics, castor oil will do the job, just take a spoonful and it will flush and cleanse the colon of all debris and waste just like a "labatiba" (colonics).

Here are many reason why you should keep a bottle of castor oil at home:

Warts and skin problems:

Apply the oil night and morning to the wart, rubbing it 20 times or so to work the oil well into the excrescence. Since castor is has an anti-bacterial, fungal and viral effect, it is well know to cure warts, moles,  papilloma, age spots (liver spots), and first aid to cuts, abrasion or sore of the body, hemorrhoids in a months time.

I am applying this to my tiny warts now instead of the usual cauterize procedure, notice it is getting smaller in a few days of using. I am also trying it for my keloid scars on my chest hoping it will work the same. It works well for my elbow making the rough surface smoother and whiter.

Castor oil works in my contact dermatitis, lately I had this in my left arm and left some rashes, I don't want to put steroid creams so I use Castor oil and it was gone in a few days of application. I learned in the book of Dr. Jarvis that it is also use for curing wounds and ulcers, in midwifery as an application to the navel of newborn infant with difficulty of healing. Also applied to the breasts to increase the flow of milk.

Chest Rub for Bronchitis and Asthma

Apply a generous amount of castor oil in the chest, cover with a face towel and put a hot-pack, or an empty bottled filled with hot water or those microwavable rock sand pack ( I got mine from Japan). 

For a beautiful feet:

Twice a week, or more if the feet are working overtime, the feet maybe rubbed down at bedtime with castor oil, cotton socks are slipped on and the oil left overnight. In the morning the skin is like velvet, and generally all the tired sore feeling will have disappeared. In the same way castor oil can be used night and morning to soften corns and calluses and remove the soreness. Castor oil is considered a specific remedy for soft corns. I tried it and the results is amazing, feel so good and smooth, even for my occasional athletes foot.

Hair Care

For little children with poor hair growth and development on the head , castor oil is applied to the head twice a week at bedtime, by rubbing the oil thoroughly into the scalp and allowed to remain overnight and in the morning removed by shampoo.

Since I am very concerned with my hair due to a family history of baldness, I thought this might be it! hopefully work to strengthen my hair and make it thicker and fuller. I am using it for a twice a week, as of this writing it's been one week, and noticed a great improvement in my hair, it is shinier, soft, scalp itchiness gone and just feel so good, less hair fall during shampoo, can't wait for other benefits to manifest. I have tried all different kind of specially formulated shampoos for my hair and I believed this oil works better with my shampoo, so far so good. The problem is castor oil is a very thick oil, it is hard to rub on your skin, hair and could be very sticky  but can be diluted by virgin coconut oil (VCO) to make it thinner, in my case I don't really mind and prefer to use it alone. but I do use VCO for my hair as well and skin. apply it and let it stay overnight and shampoo in the morning, see for yourself.

Eyes and Eyelashes:

If the eye develops redness and irritation, one drop of the oil dropped in the eyes makes it more comfortable and relieves irritation.

Castor oil applied to eyelashes at bedtime three times a week will thicken them and make them grow longer. The same treatment goes to eyebrow growth.

I am actually doing this, just started recently as of this writing and excited with what will be the outcome, It is a welcome news for the ladies also who want to thicken their eyelashes, and the  gentlemen (they will just don't admit it) . Some of my doctor friends are using a brand of anti-glaucoma eye drops which could have a side effect, since it is used to decreases the eye pressure. For me I am much concerned for my hair, since we have a family history of baldness (my dad), I tried everything that is safe for my hair.

By the way there is a concerned that castor oil could be toxic due to the component in raw castor beans, the presence of Ricin, though reports of actual poisoning are relatively rare, Ricin is present only in the raw beans but dissolves and degraded during the oil extraction so very little chances that it is present in the oil, so far I have been taking it and using a lot for my skin and hair and have no signs of toxicity. :-)

I used to see a lot of this Castor plants in my hometown
 of  Bulacan and play with the seeds

Castor plants and seeds are very common in the Philippines, I used to have it and see a lot in our  province in Bulacan.  I just don't know it was a castor plant way back then, also I remembered Filipino folk healers are using a lot of this seeds and oil for therapeutic purposes, you could still see them in the streets of Quiapo, Avenida and Binondo in Manila.

Castor oil is available in leading supermarkets and drugstores. Enjoy using Castor oil!

RCB

Manage Asthma Naturally

Asthma is a form of allergy, it can be internal (bronchial) or external (skin) , localized or systemic (urticaria), the problem is that  attacks could be fatal and may  cause death specially if lungs are affected, it can constrict  the airways and cause shortness of breath (bronchial asthma). 

After College graduation while waiting for my board exam to be released, I did training at Makati Medical Center as Pulmonary or Respiratory Therapist although I am a Medical Technologist. I worked with Pulmonologists,  ABG (arterial blood gas) machine, ventilators, respirators and do pulmonary function studies. I had seen many patients how they suffered,  I learned that Bronchial asthma is untreatable case (patients come and go) but can only be remedied, and management is not really a cure but temporary relief and to avoid further complications such as infection and mucus formations that can clogged and aggravates the airways. Most of our patients during that time are  asthmatic, our job is to administer treatment prescribe by doctors (Pulmonologists) such as bronchodilators (Berodual or Ventolin) through an air compressors or aerosols and worse, if the attack is too much to handle patients are given steroids, but prolong used of steroids cause many problems in the long run such Diabetes (according to many Internist), early formation of Cataracts ( According an Ophthalmologists) to name a few. Poorly managed asthma can also cause COPD ( Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) in the long run which is an irreversible damage to the bronchioles (airways).

Since I wrote this to share my observations during my "Pulmonary" days and to hopefully help friends who suffer from chronic asthmatic attack and how to take care of these problems naturally as possible. I am not asthmatic but I used to work with this people and learned so much about this condition, how they feel and how hard to have this kind of condition.

In my own observation and understanding of asthma we are dealing with allergies and inflammation and can be manage by natural methods only if we try to address those issues, by cleansing, detoxifying and nourishing and balancing energy through exercises.

Some remedies that could help:

One -half teaspoon each of baking soda and sea salt mixed into a glass of purified water, why baking soda? I guess it is to alkalize the blood which developed respiratory and metabolic acidosis during attacks.

Steam inhalation using boiled eucalyptus leaves (dried or fresh), I used this whenever I have cough or sinus problems and it relaxes and soothe my lungs and breathing. you may also use eucalyptus oil if fresh leaves are not available. Steam inhalation dilates and moisturize the airways making breathing easier.

If no eucalyptus available and in extreme situation , Steam inhalation using distilled water and sea salt.

Supplements for Asthma:

1. Omega 3 fatty acids or Fish Oil: It is a natural  anti-inflammatory  supplements

2. Turmeric capsules: Natural Anti-inflammatory supplements

3. Vitamin C and E

Herbs that help Asthma:

1. Eucalyptus- Aromatherapy and Soothing effect

2. Anise Seed Tea

3. Kelp

4. ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar)

5. Ginger- relieved pain, stimulate blood circulation and dissolve stagnation

6. Turmeric

7. Yamoa is the ground bark of a rare gum tree and has been used effectively in the villages of Africa for centuries.Scientists have independently studied Yamoa and published papers about the unique properties of Yamoa in journals such as the International Immunopharmacology and The Journal of Immunology.
Two to three months of Yamoa is often all you will need for long term lasting results, with some people only requiring one months' supply or less for really positive results. Yamoa is Powerfully Good!
Yamoa contains a variety of compounds, which are well recognised as having positive, health-giving properties. Yamoa has important antioxidant, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibiotic properties because it contains anthocyanins, flavonoids, tannins, natural anti-fungals and unique polysaccharides which stimulate the immune system and has even shown potential in the lab to fight infectious disease.
Yamoa has been traditionally used in its native environment, tropical Africa, to treat asthma, allergies and other respiratory conditions as well as malaria. It was introduced to the UK and the rest of the world by Jerry Yamoa nearly two decades ago since which time it has transformed the lives of thousands of people. It is non-toxic, free from heavy metals, Salmonella, E.coli, coliforms and streptococci. It is safely used for respiratory allergies including hay fever, asthma and COPD in humans and cats. This product is not available int he Philippines but I think we can get this online or health food stores.

Since Asthma boils down to weak immune system and toxemia, herbs which strengthens immune system could be use also to help boost immune system, herbs like Neem, Taheebo and Narra bark is a good boosters of the immune system. To know more about this herbs I wrote separate articles on them that you might want to read as well:

http://bridgetoselfhealing.blogspot.com/2013/02/neem.html
http://bridgetoselfhealing.blogspot.com/2012/05/wonders-of-philippine-narra-tree.html

http://bridgetoselfhealing.blogspot.com/2012/06/all-about-lapacho-taheebo.html

Physical and breathing exercises to strengthen the lung meridians:

1. Refer to my article on macrobiotic exercises: trunk bend meridian exercises to streghten the lungs:
http://bridgetoselfhealing.blogspot.com/2013/05/stretching-essential-exercise.html

2. Buteyko controlled breathing technique

3. Qi-gong

4. Accupuncture, Reflexology, Therapeutic massage, Lymphatic drainage, Ventosa and Moxibustion also helps

5. Steam Bath or Suob, using herbs for steaming such as eucalyptus, mango leaves, Suha (Pomelo) leaves and some other aromatic leaves.

Foods to avoid:

Common sense dictates that hyper allergenic foods such as dairy products (eggs, chickens, cheese and milk products etc.), refined sugars.

In the Philippines, they called this "malansa" or fishy foods not necessarily fish products, like watermelons, pineapples, etc.

Some seafood like crabs, shrimps, shrimp paste (bagoong) and shellfish

Any food or medications with history of allergy

Cleansing regimen for Asthmatics:

Asthma can be due to many pollution, toxemia in the system, detoxifying regularly help manage  the condition, one detox regimen that is being teach is the use of one drop castor oil in the water to drink, it can flush away allergens,

Colon cleansing using Calcium Bentonite Clay to get rid of allergens  in the gastro-intestinal system , also activated charcoal can be use  to detoxify toxins in the digestive system. Please read my separate  article on the two items mentioned :

http://bridgetoselfhealing.blogspot.com/2012/05/i-used-to-have-book-on-healing-powers.html

http://bridgetoselfhealing.blogspot.com/2012/05/health-benefits-of-activated-charcoal.html

Affirmation:

"Peace! be still and know that I am God!"  This mantra can be use to calm the air elements in the body.

In general asthmatics should learn how to manage stress, do physical activities, breath fresh air, go for a nature walk or beach walk, lots of sunshine,  these places has very rich in negative ions, that is good source of oxygen, prana (life force/energy), good for  lung care in general. I have known of many individuals and children who manage their asthma so well by just spending time with nature and sea breeze. 

RCB