Grow your medicinal plants at home

The cultivation of medicinal plants at home – at the window, the balcony, the terrace, the garden or the orchard – constitutes a magnificent source of biodiversity, vitality and joy. And, above all, it allows you to have at hand effective remediesnatural and of maximum freshness to address very common health disorders.

The techniques and material used are also used to grow vegetables that would improve the daily diet. In fact, certain horticultural plants also have medicinal effects. This is the case, for example, with cabbage, broccoli, garlic, celery, fennel, lettuce, black radish or chilli.

grow indoors

Anyone can grow healthy lamb’s lettuce or regenerative alfalfa sprouts, going through a varied selection of aromatic and medicinal plants. Inside the house, the requirements are:

Enjoy maximum direct lighting for at least 4 hours a day (ideally 6). The pots can be placed on a window sill, but direct sun should be avoided during very hot hours and days.good ventilation so that they absorb the vital elements from the air without producing moisture condensation or drying out. But avoiding currents that cause excessive transpiration in plants. Take them outdoors when the weather is nice or in spring and summer.Keep the growing medium moist and well watered, but avoiding the stagnation of water that would suffocate the roots. Most aromatic plants support dry times better than excess water.

In this case the possibilities increase. The main tips are:

Orientation: The best is to the south; If this is not possible, there must be a minimum of 4 to 6 hours of direct light per day for the plants to develop well.Containers: Some planters, pots or special cultivation tables (which do not require bending) are ideal. A depth of 20 to 30 cm is enough.Land: Growing substrates prepared with rehydrated coconut fiber (50-60%), compost or earthworm humus (30-40%) and perlite (10%) do better than soil, weigh less and retain moisture and nutrients well. .Irrigation: With the heat of the pots a lot of water evaporates and it is convenient to water daily. An irrigation programmer allows you to offer water regularly, without alternating excesses and phases of drought.

A true km 0

For grow aromatic or medicinal plants at home You can not simply introduce the soil from the orchard or the garden in pots. Most farmland contains proportions of clay, silt and aggregate that cause them to clump when placed in closed containers, where the aerating activity of earthworms is almost nil.

In order to achieve good air and water absorption as well as good drainage and optimal root aeration, it is advisable to mix the soil with a good proportion of porous and aerating materials (peat, fiber
coconut, perlite, vermiculite).

He earthworm humus It is the most effective fertilizer in this case. The proportions of the mixtures will depend on whether they are intended for more horticultural development plants, avid for nutrients, or for wilder plants and therefore more frugal.

Plants grown at home are not only 0 km food in its purest sense, but also, due to the fact that they grow in the same environment as us, have developed specific active ingredients to meet the demands of this environment.

Medicinal plants to grow at home

A small hole is enough to cultivate a planter or a large hydropot (40×40 cm) with this selection of almost universal plants and remedies: basil, thyme, sage, marjoram, chamomile, mint and stevia (three of them are presented in the text on the right).

The substrate can be a mixture of coconut fiber and earthworm humus. Besides, you can have a pot with aloe.

Basil: Loves light and heat but grows well in semi-shade. In a good size pot it will provide an infinite number of leaves. It is calming, anti-catarral, antiseptic, digestive. There are 150 varieties, some with bluish or purplish leaves. Delicious in salads and tomato sauces.Stevia: Planting it is like having a “honeycomb” at home, because its leaves are 15 times sweeter than sugar. Before winter, it is cut back to 10 cm in height so that it can regrow in spring. diabetics can take it thanks to its hypoglycemic qualities. It is antihypotensive and diuretic.Marjoram/Oregano: Marjoram is a horticultural “cousin” to rustic oregano. Its intense flavor enlivens salads, pizzas and pasta dishes, and it lasts a long time after cooking. Its essential oils have positive effects on the nervous systemand combat insomnia and migraine.