Growing Medicine: Oregano

When we began having children eight years ago, I found that having an unwell child struck a fear in me that I’d never really known before. I went on to observe the result of that fear in myself – a blind trust in a medical professional who I just wanted to make my baby well again, regardless of consequences or common sense.  Out of that fear and observation came a conviction to learn as much as I could about my children’s health, how to treat and prevent ailments at home, and what some of these illnesses really indicate.

And so I began to research the world of herbal medicine. Plants can do some pretty amazing things, but if you’re a gardener I really don’t need to tell you that. Now that we’re trying to live more sustainably, we’re trying to move from buying these herbs and herbal tinctures into growing them and making them ourselves. Here is one of them.

Stewart has been taking this oreganol off and on while in the most intense stages of his recovery this past year. He’s also taken it here and there when he’s felt as though he might be coming down with a cold or flu.

Well, a couple of months ago I had that feeling. The back of my throat was swelling up. My sinuses felt just a little irritated. I was tired beyond newborn baby tired and I knew something just wasn’t right.

He recommended I take a few doses of oreganol over the next day or two. I knew it had a very strong and difficult to take flavor, but I figured if it could keep me from getting sick I’d give it a try. So, I took 2-3 doses for two days.

By the third day I felt fine. Whatever infection or virus my body was fighting off apparently got knocked out and I could go about my regular duties.

After my own experience, as well as watching Stewart and the boys have success with this herbal remedy, I really want to try to keep it on hand. But, we wanted to go beyond buying the bottle ourselves, so we decided we’d better add it to our perennial herb garden.

Stewart started wild oregano seeds in the perennial area of the pallet garden last year and this year it is thriving! So much so, in fact, that he has multiplied it by splitting off sections of the plant propagated in various fenced-in garden areas on the property. And it seems that it is thriving wherever we planted it.

I’ve been using a lot of it in tomato dishes as well as raw salads lately. Once it gets to its peak, I hope to harvest it and create a tincture from the leaves to use as a potent herbal medicine when the need strikes. We’ll continue to buy oreganol to have on hand, but I ‘m hoping we can someday fill that need with a homegrown alternative – my very favorite kind.

Have you used oregano medicinally?

Disclaimer: I am not an herbalist or medical professional. This is simply the story of how plant-based medicines have helped our family. I share them here in case they can help yours as well. Please see the full disclosure in the sidebar for more, including information about any affiliate links present in the above post.