Gardening with Grower Direct

MEDICINAL HERBS

There is an ever increasing market for medicinal and tea herbs in Canada and globally. As consumers become better educated in the methods of self medication with herbs they will continue to demand a consistent supply of high quality herbs. Canadian growers will have an advantage because of their reputation for quality plants, stringent standards for chemical applications and high technology processing capabilities.

Since there are so many plants with medicinal properties, there are few commonalities among the species in demand. In general you want to produce a healthy, insect and disease free plant with aminimum of chemical treatments, preferably organic. The best markets are for bulk volumes of herbs and so you should be looking at growing several long rows of two or three varieties only, rather than small amounts of many different types.

There are also many species that can be collected from the wild, however, in some cases this is not the best environmentally friendly way to secure your supply so you and the environment would be better off growing the plants in the garden.

The market is only concerned with dried product at this time, so you need to set up a drying area for your crop. This can be racks where you hang bundles of stems, or you may want to lay out loose leaves and stems on a flat screen. Quick drying in a well ventilated warm room will give the best results.

For some plants you want to harvest the roots or the Flowers and not necessarily the leaves so you need to know what parts to harvest and when, and how to handle them after harvest. For this reason it's best to start with plants that you are familiar with, that you have grown before or even have used as a herbal remedy before. There is a great variation in the amounts of active ingredients in plants depending on their cultural conditions, harvesting methods and storage methods. It becomes important to select out the best plants and handle them in the best manner.

Here are a few species of medicinal plants that we recommend as good sellers, easy to grow and handle, and potentially financially rewarding.

Anise Hyssop. Agastache foeniculum. Giant Blue Hyssop. Perennial. Native Plant. Mint family. Direct seed. Could be fall planted. Can be propagated from root divisions or stem cuttings. Licorice scented leaves used in desserts and dried in tea and for medicinal uses. Harvest leafy stems before Flowering. Flower stalks are attractive, blue, and can be collected for ornamental uses. Harvest when they are firm and well filled and hang to dry. Seeds are valuable and produced prolifically, collect these too. This plant is highly recommended as it is a multi purpose plant. You can sell the leaves, fresh or dried, the plant divisions, the Flowers fresh or dried, the seeds and even the stems.

Borage. Borago officinalis. Annual. Direct seed. Repeat plantings. Can be planted in late fall and again in early spring. Self sows. Young leaves have a light cucumber flavor. Mature Flowers used fresh in salads. Easy.

Catnip. Nepeta cataria. Perennial. Very easy from direct seeding, transplants or cuttings. Mint family. Used as a cat treat, and sometimes for tea. For these herbal uses, collect leafy, non-Flowering stems in small bunches. Tie with a rubber band and hang to dry. Can be sold fresh or dried as a cat treat at the farmer's market and at pet shops.

Catnip has attractive Flower stalks/seed heads, too. When the Flower stalks develop a purple blush, pick 10 - 15 Flowering stalks per bundle and hang to dry. Produces seed prolifically, so collect this from more mature stems. There is a good demand for catnip for cat treats and some creative marketing to pet shops could increase sales quite a bit. Catmint is not the same as catnip, choose the true catnip.

Chamomile. Matricaria chamomilla. Annual. Try direct seeding in late fall or early spring. Self Sows. Fragrant Flower heads are dried for tea. Lay out to dry and pack in clean plastic bags when completely dry.

Dandelion Root. Taraxacum officinale. There are actually three species of dandelion common to Alberta, T. ceratophorum, and T. laevigatum as well as T. officinale. The roots are used like chicory for a coffee substitute and a number of other medicinal purposes. They shoudl be scrubbed to remove the soil and dried.

Hyssop. Hyssopus officinalis. Very fragrant. Mint family. Direct seed, or transplants for a faster start. Will self sow. Used for potpourri, and dried Flower stalks resemble lavender stalks. Not edible, too strong flavored.

Lavender. Lavendula vera. Perennial. Mint family. Many types. Try Munstead, English Lavender, Provence Lavender, Sweet Lavender. A new variety in Stokes, Lavender Lady, may be good. Not very winter hardy, can dry out and freeze over winter. Grow in protected sites, not subject to early spring thaws, east facing rather than south facing. Mulch well and water in fall, and don't cut the plant down too short. Easy from seed. Can propagate from stem cuttings. Plants will increase in size over several years. Harvest Flower spikes, leaves and stems for use in potpourri and arrangements. Clean, organic Flowers can be used in cooking. Recommended. An disease epicemic in the English avender fields has greatly reduced their supply of lavender and so buyers are looking for other sources, and the price may increase.

Mint. Mentha. Perennial. Many kinds of mint. Almost all are useful for something. Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is the most commonly used in cooking. It has a spear shaped, lanceolate leaf. Peppermint (M. piperita vulgaris) is less popular, but it makes a very nice tea. It has a round, often fuzzy leaf with a scalloped margin.

Fancy types of mint are in high demand; Orange mint (M. piperita citrata), Apple mint, Ginger Mint, Pineapple Mint and so on. Not all of these mints will be hardy in Alberta. Take cuttings or whole plants inside for winter if you want to save them. Look for variegated foliage, and different leaf shapes, but stay away from small leaved varieties like pennyroyal. Mint can be started from seed, but it cross pollinates freely, so if you want a certain variety you must propagate from root divisions, root sections and stem sections from a known variety.

The plants are very invasive, spreading by underground stolons. Mints enjoy cooler soil and more soil moisture than most plants. Try segregating an area just for mint, where it can fill the bed freely, and you can cultivate around the edges only if you want to control it. Mint will grow in low, moist areas where other plants will not.

Collect fresh leafy stems and pack loosely into a plastic bag. Mint leaves are often carrying some soil on the tiny hairs on the undersides of the leaves. You may need to wash mint. Use at least two rinses. Use a good heavy mulch of straw or paper to avoid this problem. For drying, tie handfuls into small bundles with a rubber band and hang to dry. Loose leaves and small stems can be laid out to dry in a flat pan or basket. Lower grades can be used in potpourri.

Spearmint is a high volume crop, both fresh and dried. If you have an appropriate spot in the garden, we recommend you plant some mint.

Rue. Ruta graveolens. Perennial. Very pungent. Flower stalks can be bundled and dried for ornamental purposes. Plants in the garden said to repel cats and dogs. Used sparingly in cooking.