so what I'm hearing is that I need to find a friend with comfrey in their garden, or find someone who can mail a root cutting to me?

Or you could get seeds/plants from Richters. They have several varieties, or did previously.

[QUOTE=salix;448070]Or you could get seeds/plants from Richters. They have several varieties, or did previously.[/QUOTE]

Thanks! I hadn't seen them before. Now I have a full shopping cart. :) I will be a very happy gardener this summer.:lol:

I grow a lot of herbs but not for medicine. I do grow Aloe plants for medicine though. I use the inside gel pulp for sunburns and stings and bites. I start with a plant from a nursery or you can take a cutting from someone you know with a plant.

About ten years ago; my wife was bitten by an unknown 'something' while apple picking in western North Carolina. Over the next ten days, she treated it with the usual insect bite remedies. Nothing seem to work...in fact, the bite area got redder, and red lines/streaks started to radiate down her arm. On a trip to Florida, we went to one of the numerous 'open market/bazaars' in the Daytona Beach area. There was a herbalist set up there, which caught her attention. She asked if he had anything for insect bites, and showed him her arm. He announced 'nasty spider bite', turned to his display and selected a bottle labeled 'BITES', which we purchased. He said it would be gone in two days. He was right. We had plenty left after the spider bite healed, so we tried it as a repellent here in New Hampshire (mosquito/black fly capitol of America). Nothing would touch us...even as people around us were being eaten alive. Eventually, we ran out. All I can remember it that it contained garlic, cayenne, and 'something else' in a thick amber carrying oil. The stuff was amazing...almost worth the trip to Florida to visit that herbalist once again

Many of the culinary herbs also have medicinal values, especially those like mints, rosemary, oregano, thyme and far more. Too, many barks and "wild" herbs used to be the only medicines used among the mountain folk of the south. Cherry bark tea and willow bark tea for example. BUT, some can be poisonous if used improperly like pennyroyal or too much wild cherry bark. Always study and know how much to take and how. Oregano oil is one of the most powerful antibiotics/antiseptics, but taken internally can also have horrible effects.

some common weeds are among the best herbal remedies I have found. plantain makes for a great poultice for bites and stings. mash it up and apply it as a compress. dandelion sap relieves bee stings better than anything else I have found. Jewel weed/touch me nots makes for the best poison ivy remedy, too.
[url]https://wellnessmama.com/4638/plantain-herb-profile/[/url]
[url]https://altnature.com/jewelweed.htm[/url]

Plantain, the wide leaf sort, is good for stinging nettle stings, too.

That's what basils are used for in China, as an insect repellent, not for fine cuisine. Isn't that interesting you are using it the same way!



[QUOTE=zackeysmom;447206]I apply fresh basil oil to my skin to prevent mosquito bites. I take about 12 leaves off of the plant. I crush them in my hands and rub it over my skin. My husband got bit within a 1/2 hour and he used Deet. I never got bit that day with the Basil oil. I grew Stinging Nettles in a 3 gallon pot. I know most people hate them in their yards. It makes an awesome tea. It is medicinal. I am very interested in medicinal herbs. Conventional medicines don't work for me.[/QUOTE]