basement seed starting and medicinal herbs

with a snow storm in the forecast for the next 24 hours, i'm still struggling with believing that it is in fact spring. we did have some warm moments over the weekend during which i promptly headed outside to re-pot some houseplants. getting my hands in the dirt for the first time in many months felt so good. monday evening, i got my act together and set up my seed starting area in our basement. i wrote in detail two years ago about how i created this setup here.

i haven't gotten all of my seeds in soil just yet, but so far here's what i've planted:
tomatoes: ace bush, brandywine, big rainbow, yellow pear, sungold, matt's wild cherry
peppers: early jalapeno, hot mix
basil variety
african crackerjack marigold
lovage

i still have to plant kale, chard, calendula, zinnias, amaranth, clary sage, feverfew, chamomile, and more (i'm sure! i'm still on the lookout for some cherokee purple tomato seeds...).

this year, like last year, i will be planting more medicinal herbs and plants to use for dyes. some of the new medicinal herbs i'll be planting this year include lovage, clary sage, and feverfew. i've grown feverfew from plants before, but they didn't survive my front yard and i'd like to try again as it can be really helpful for migraines. these are a few of my favorite books on medicinal herbs. that i use for a reference.

what new plants are you trying this year? any suggestions for medicinals or dye plants?

medicinal honey

in my quest to try more and more herbal remedies, last summer i discovered medicinal honey.  i tried a batch with some of my bee balm plants (which i was so happy to discover in my yard last year- as it was our first year living here) and we've been using it to soothe our sore throats all year long.  last year, i only tried making this with bee balm (mondarda), but other good herbs for medicinal honey that you may have in your garden are lavender (for good sleep), lemon balm (for upset stomachs), and chamomile (for headaches).  we add a little to some tea, or just eat it by the spoonful.

start by picking a bunch of stalks and chopping up aerial parts--this includes stems, leaves, and flowers. for one pint of honey, you'll want about 1/4 cup of chopped fresh herbs (for dried herbs, use about half that amount).  warm up one pint of honey in a saucepan over low heat.  when it is fully warmed through, add the herbs and continue over low heat for another 15-20 minutes.  store in a food safe jar.  (this recipe is adapted from growing 101 herbs that heal by tammi hartung.  one of my favorite herbal remedy books).

i'd love to hear if you try this, or if you have any of your own medicinal herbal recipes!