​I decided not only was I going to grow my own tea but I also figured I would add some medicinal herbs to the mix as well. I am writing as I am learning. 

Growing your own food and even medicine is one of the best things you can do to be more self-sufficient and save money in this struggling economy. Growing your own medicinal herbs can take a bit more thought and attention than growing your everyday fruits and vegetables simply because of how you will be using them. Here are some simple tips for growing your own medicinal garden.

Tips for growing a medicinal herb garden

Growing your own medicinal herbs like growing your own cooking and tea herbs is easy and can be a great way to make the most of your garden leading to self-sufficiency.

Choose the best herbs for your family

When you decide to grow your own medicinal herb garden you should take a look at your family's needs. Growing herbs that will help with issues your family has is a great place to start when deciding what to grow. For most people interested in medicinal herbs you can take a look at your medicine cabinet to see what you already use.

After you have selected the herbs that best help your family's regular needs, look for herbs to add to your garden that can be used for basic first aid and health care like mint, lavender, and echinacea.

Grow your medicinal plants organically

When you grow plants for their medicinal value you do not want them to be treated with chemicals that can harm you or reverse the effects of the herbs you are using for your family's health. Because of this, you want to make sure that you are only growing your medicinal herbs organically.

Stick with homemade compost for fertilizer when you choose to use it, use organic soil or homemade compost for your garden beds, avoid using chemical pesticides and herbicides in and around your medicinal plants.

Do not over-fertilize your medicinal plants

To get the most of the beneficial compounds in your medicinal plants you want to follow the same advice as you use to get more flavor from your herbs. This means you want your medicinal herbs to have time for the plant to mature without a lot of new growth at the same time.

To do this you should limit your fertilizer and stop fertilizing within 6 weeks of your harvest date to make sure your plants have time to fully mature and develop more of the essential oils and compounds that give them their medicinal qualities.

Dry your medicinal herbs for the best storage and use options

To use your medicinal herbs you want to dry them as you would tea. This will allow you to use them in infusions, add to capsules, and use your medicinal herbs in cooking to make the most use of them. To do this after harvesting your plants you should place them in a dehydrator to dry them faster than traditional hanging and then store them in an air-tight container such as a mason jar in a cool dark place to help make your herbs last longer.