Chamomile - The Medicinal Plant Superstar ⭐️
The Power To Do Many Things
Photo compliments @grow-pro - Holsey Heirloom Farm 2017
I grow Chamomile, but for no singular reason - there are far too many reasons to grow it.
Chamomile - the ancient medicine of man. Two common varieties are German & Roman. German Chamomile (Chamomilla recutita) and Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile). We grow German Chamomile here at Holsey Heirloom Farm.
Its multitherapeutic, cosmetic, and nutritional values have been established through years of traditional and scientific use and research. source
We have all probably seen Chamomile tea, but some might not realize that Chamomile is found useful for many other things besides tea! Chamomile extract is widely used in essential oils, cosmetic products, and also in dietary products on the market today. It is a superstar of medicinal plants. I found some very solid research on NCBI (National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine)
Scientific Evaluation of Chamomile:
- Anti-inflammatory and antiphlogistic properties
- Anticancer activity
- Common cold (Common cold (acute viral nasopharyngitis) is the most common human disease.*)
- Cardiovascular conditions
- Colic/Diarrhea conditions
- Eczema
- Gastrointestinal conditions
- Hemorrhoids
- Health Promotion (Immune System)
- Inflammatory conditions
- Mucositis
- Osteoporosis
- Sleep aid/sedation
- Anxiety and seizure
- Diabetes
- Sore throat/hoarseness
- Vaginitis
- Wound healing
Read the full report that I've referenced here.
Additional Benefits Include:
- eases colic and teething pain in babies
- treats gout
- treats premenstrual tension
- soothe burns, scalds, rashes, and sores
- gargle for mouth ulcers
- eye wash for conjunctivitis
We aren't even scratching the surface, this is merely a fragment of the beneficial use that Encyclopedia.com and my other sources has listed.
The Ability to Improve Life All Around Itself
Let's talk about how chamomile is able to benefit more than just people. What about plants and soil? How can chamomile possibly help? You'll be amazed to find that the benefits of this plant reach many different forms of life on Earth.
It is truly remarkable how a single plant can withhold so much power to benefit so many forms of life. Chamomile has many known uses, but I believe many more are still to be discovered. Although we know so much about chamomile, it seems that our culture has lost some appreciation for such a magical plant. It grows all around us, freely, throughout America in addition to being cultivated. Lots of people use it, but I believe that more would appreciate the benefits if they only were better informed.
A plant once revered by the Saxons, as one of nine sacred herbs*, has the power to improve life all around.
Chamomile is also known to be a great companion plant to many varieties of plants, especially in our gardens! It can be used as a mild fungicide to prevent damping-off, a fungal infection that rapidly kills seedlings. It harnesses natural anti-bacterial & anti-fungal properties which greatly benefits many of our fruit & vegetable plants today. Planting Chamomile near plants that are susceptible to mold, fungus, mildew, blight, or other common garden diseases will greatly benefit those plants nearby. They lure beneficial insects with their scent as well! The sweet fragrance also happens to deter pests like mosquitos.
If More People Realized The Value - We Would Save TRILLIONS of Dollars On Healthcare.
I know that I have not even scratched the surface in regards to the benefits of Chamomile here, but I feel that generating some interest would only benefit us all. I look forward to hearing from my fellow Steemians & building upon this stepping-stone.
Sources:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1658077X15000077
- https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/chamomile/chamomile-plant-companions.htm
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3210003/
The more we know, the more we grow.
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Love what you do! Keep doin' it as I'm learnin' so much from you! This IMO should be taught in schools. Great stuff! Thank you!
So rewarding to hear that @stillwater! I will continue to learn and grow on this platform & welcome the idea that it might also do the same for others. Tremendous thanks to you.
the more we know, the more we grow 😎
If I had a clone, I would dedicate its time to learning botany and herbalism. There is so much old knowledge that has been lost. We are surrounded by nature's medicines, but few people know anything about them anymore.
Indeed, it can take a lifetime just to absorb the vast information on herbal remedies. Thankfully, many of us carry devices with us that can put that information at our disposal, virtually anywhere we go! All we need is subtle reminders - similar to how we are bombarded with commercials for pharmaceuticals during every commercial break. It can be that way for herbal remedies, but we have to be louder about it.
Technology is making it easier for this information to travel and I truly believe that we will inevitably return to our 'roots' when it comes to herbal medicine.
Bad news for Big Pharma, Great news for human existence. We must reduce our reliance on synthetic medicine and utilize the medicine that nature provides for us.
I love the idea of having sections of my landscaping be edible herbs/medicinals. I have an astounding amount of mint, oregano, basil, lemongrass, sage, rosemary, parsley, and cilantro growing in my flower beds, and have had great luck growing bocking 14 comfrey as well as the original comfrey officinale.
But I have had a heck of a time getting chamomile to sprout in starter pots and grow -- would love to have a section of my landscape dedicated to this, I understand it either self sows or is perennial. Any tips on getting seeds to germinate and survive? Does it prefer partial shade or direct sun in your experience?
Hi @gwiss, chamomile can be tricky to start, but if you have tried - you know how small the seed is! It can difficult to handle seed that small. This year I simply sprinkled seed into a moistened starter mix, in a red plastic cup, and a small piece of plastic wrap over the top with a few toothpick holes poked in it.
Some seed companies will have you bury the seed 1/4" depth, but I've found great luck in barely covering the seed. Sprinkled seed onto the growing medium, then sprinkle a bit more medium on top and mist with a spray bottle.
Chamomile is one of the few seeds that require light to germinate, this I why I recommend just barely covering them. They require temperatures at 70°f or so and light. I placed my cup of seed under a cheap brooder lamp with a 6500k CFL bulb - on a timer - on for 18 hours per day.
You can place your seed in a sunny windowsill or south facing window if you do not have resources already handy. Once the seedlings sprout and establish for a week, I soak the growing medium and separate. You can also thin them. I've even planted the whole cluster - it won't hurt.
Chamomile seems to do very well in full sun (8hr or more), but I have experimented quite a bit and found it grows very well in shade. It will produce more blooms in full sun, but I have plants that get less than 3 hours of direct sun per day that are doing great. I have also noticed that chamomile likes to remain on the dry side after its established. It has great drought tolerance, so it will spare the water for your more needy garden plants. 😉
I hope this has been helpful, but please feel free to toss questions at me any time! That's why I'm here. Best Luck.
Great advice, I'll give your method a shot. Thanks!
My pleasure, @gwiss. Feel free to update us with a picture in the comments if you'd like! Sounds like you've got quite an herb garden.
Guess so -- it's to the point now that I have to keep trimming it back. Love the idea of getting self seeding edible plants going rather than just showy stuff in my landscape. I'm growing some heirloom tomatoes and looking forward to replanting those seeds, on my second generation of brocolli raab that seems to self seed readily, and I've had a basil plot that has been self seeding for about 2 years now -- I live in north texas so I get about 3 generations a year. Lots of fun!
That's sort of how I'm approaching my property now, trying to add more than just aesthetic value. I grow almost all heirlooms as well, mostly to collect seed and sustain varieties. I LOVE me some heirloom tomatoes!! I have one from a friend that is from Texas, now here in MD, he turned me onto a variety called 'Homestead'. He said it's a popular determinate variety that his family had lots of luck with in TX. It does pretty well here too!
What varieties do you grow?
Well, that's complicated. I have seeds for:
delicious, brandy wine, azoychka, black krim, blondkopfchen, chocolate stripes, dixie golden giant, and amana orange.
I've planted all and most came up in starter pots, but then after transplanting realized that my soil isn't great as they are struggling.
Soooo -- busily amending that with a lasagna style approach but that won't be ready until next year. Finding good biomass has been a struggle -- gets expensive if you just try to buy tons of mulch and that usually ties up the nitrogen for 6 months or so -- finding greens is harder. Have 100 comfrey bocking 4 rootlets on order will arrive in fall but that solution won't produce biomass in any quantity until next summer at earliest, year after more likely. Also have a row of hybrid willow that will be ready to start a coppice cycle in 4 years and at that point between the chips from that (browns) and the comfrey (greens) I should be able to get a good steady supply of compost, but until then it's a struggle. Really hate using chemical fertilizers. Need to find a source of good manure.
I planted two black cherry that are growing like gangbusters in the middle of my brocolli raab, they are flowering but haven't born yet -- really looking forward to eating some!
Have you had any good luck with stuff besides homestead? I'll have to try that one!