Modern Hippie's Top 10 Herbs

Modern Hippie's Top 10 Herbs2nd Year Mullein. Biennial Plant's comes back 2 years in a row. Leaves & flower are medicinal.

Mullein: Verbascum Thapsus

• A fantastic respiratory herb with soothing and healing properties for all issues of the lungs.  
• Asthma, Wet and Dry Coughs, Pneumonia.  
• Leaves must be picked before they turn brown.
• They make an excellent cough remedy infused in honey with White Horehound.
• FRESH Flowers can be infused in olive oil make a useful earache oil.  
• Infuse oil for 4 to 6 weeks for best results
• When harvesting avoid brown and bug-eaten leaves.
• Dry hanging upside down secured with rubber bands until crispy.
• If preserved properly the leaves should be green. Store in glass.

Peppermint: Mentha Piperita

• Amazing flavor, digestive, cooling, good for gas or upset stomach.  
• Can be used to flavor herbs that don’t taste good.  
• It’s a wonderful herb to infuse in oil as the aroma is calming and at the same time invigorating.
• Infuse in oil for at least 4 to six weeks for best results.
• Can be used fresh or dried.
• Pick leaves just before they flower.
• When harvesting avoid brown and bug-eaten leaves.
• Dry hanging upside down secured with rubber bands until crispy.  
• Leaves should be green and still contain there aromatic quality.  
• Store in glass.

Stinging Nettle: Urtica dioica:  

• Nutritive herb that helps to build the body in any condition.
• It’s so tasty, I have yet to meet a person that doesn‘t love the flavor!  
• High in Chlorophyll it is excellent for digestion and oxygenation of the blood.  
• Also high in vitamin C.
• It is a very inexpensive herb also so you can buy a pound organic for under $10!
• Nettle can be used fresh or dried.
• When harvesting avoid brown and bug-eaten leaves.
• Collect Nettle (wearing gloves) in early summer before or during flowering.
• Dry hanging upside down secured with rubber bands until crispy.  
• Leaves should be green after drying.  
• Leaves will still have there “sting” until they are blanched in hot water.
• Store in glass.

Catnip: Nepeta cateria

• Calming, digestive and antipyretic (anti-fever) it is a useful tool for small children especially.  
• Catnip is NOT tasty so mask it with other flavors like peppermint and honey.
• Make Catnip Ice-cubes from the brew to use in children’s juice cups.   
• Use a hot infusion combined with ALOT of peppermint at night to ensure calm and easy bedtime.  
• When harvesting avoid brown and bug-eaten leaves and collect between June and September.
• Dry hanging upside down secured with rubber bands until crispy.  
• Leaves should be green and still contain there aromatic quality.  
• Store in glass.

Dandelion Leaves and root: Taraxacum officinale

• It’s medicinal and nutritive from top to root.  
• Potassium rich diuretic
• Excellent for problems of the liver and gallbladder.
• Leaves should be eaten as fresh as possible.  
• They can be eaten in early spring with ease, they are tender and delicious.
• Later they will become bitter but are still very good for you.  
• Mix it in with your romaine in your chicken Caesar salad & you won’t even know it’s there!   
• Root are unearthed in the early spring (March through May) or in the fall after the flowers have died away.  
• This will yield the most potent roots.  
• Pull the taproot out carefully (they are usually very deep)  
• Chop them up before they dry and lay out flat on a plate for 2 weeks.  
• They must be completely dry before storing or they could mold.  
• Store in glass.

Dandelion Roots are a good source of Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Potassium and Manganese.  


Elderberry Extract: Sambucus nigra

• This entire plant is medicinal & you can cultivate it at home but it’s more involved & requires quite a bit of yard space.  Harvest is in August or September.
• Buy a high quality Elderberry Extract and your good to go!  Feel free to reach out to me for info on a good brand.
• Take liquid extracts (15 to 30 drops every 3 hours at first sign of flu)
• Take 3 to 6 capsules ever 3 hours at the first sign of flu.
• Helps you to recover from flu in half the time!
• This is THE preventative measure for flu.  
• It doesn’t matter if it’s H1N1, this should be taken from September to March during flu season for children.
• Taken every week it keeps flu out of your house!  
• To prevent flu take 15 drops every other day or so.
• It can also be used for avoiding Colds & for Hayfever.
• Store in glass.

Echinacea: Echinacea augustifolia

• This is a plant that is probably known to you as Cone Flower.
• Echinacea has a long history of being used for both viruses, colds and infections.
• It doesn’t taste great so adding it to Nettle with Peppermint is usually how I do it.   
• It is best when taken in a “Pulse” pattern.  
• Taking it every other day for two weeks then stopping for 1 week.  
• Do this during the cold and flu season or if you feel like your immune system is compromised.
• The roots of this plant are medicinal and they should be unearthed in the fall after the flower dies away.
• You will want to clean the roots and chop them up.  
• Pat them dry with unbleached paper towel and allow to dry flat on a plate.  
• Let them dry for at least 3 weeks.
• Store in glass.  
• You can also make a wonderful tincture from the fresh root but reach out to me on at https://www.facebook.com/modernhippielife for that info.

Valerian Root: Valeriana officinalis

• Valerian Root is a fantastic Nervous System Herb.  
• It is wonderful for insomnia, anxiety, nervous tension, over-excitability, back spasms or menstrual cramps.  
• It has a unique pungent aroma that I have come to describe as the “sweet stink of sleep”  
• Yes, it smells bad but I get such great results that I have come to really like it.
• This root is very high in Selenium and Calcium.
• You can take it in capsule, tincture or tea.
• If you do drink the tea it will be very pungent, so combine it with nettle and peppermint to mask the flavor.  
• Valerian Root should be unearthed in the fall after the flowers die away.  
• Clean the roots, dry with a paper towel and chop them up before they dry.
• Dry flat on a plate for at least 2 weeks.  
• Use dry for tea.
• Use them fresh to make an alcohol tincture.  
• Reach out to me for extensive tincture making info.
• Store in glass.

White Horehound: Marrubium vulgare

• Bitter tasting herb
• Effective herb with bronchitis, unproductive cough and it is especially good for whooping cough.  
• The leaves and flowers are the medicinal part of this plant.
• This herb should be collected while the flowers are in blossom (anytime between June and September).  
• It’s a bitter herb so it stimulates the flow of bile and assist in digestion.
• Topically it can be used to promote healing of wounds. Use this herb to make a fabulous cough syrup with Mullein.
• It’s effective, inexpensive and 100% natural.
• Store in glass.

Honorable Mention Herb.....


Raw Garlic: allium sativum   

• I had to add this to the list as I wholeheartedly believe in it’s protective benefits.
• One of the most effective anti-microbial plants available; it acts on bacteria, viruses & parasites.  
• The daily consumption of raw garlic supports the body like no other plant.   
• Used for lung infections, chronic bronchitis, recurrent colds & flu, whooping cough, bronchitic asthma.  
• It’s an excellent preventative measure.  
• It even supports the development of healthy bacteria while killing disease causing bacteria in the intestines.  Odor free garlic can be taken in capsule but there is nothing like pure raw garlic!  
• If the breath becomes a problem just make sure that everyone is eating it and the problem is solved;)

Why is it important to move towards natural remedies?  Because pharmaceutical kill people everyday.  No one over died from drinking herbal tea.  We must assert control over our health, with a whole food diet, herbs, periodic detoxification, and a balanced lifestyle.  When we do this, our wellnbeing is no longer subject to the newest drug and it's associated side-effect.  

Herbs are inexpensive, widely available, safe and fantastically diverse in what they offer to us.