Workshop on Easy Home-Grown Medicinal Plants & Their Benefits

Ankita and her Medicinal Plants: 

“Hello everyone, welcome to another workshop by TAOS. Today we have with us Ankita Kanchan. Hello Ankita, how are you?” Asked Zehra. 

“Hello Zehra, I am well.” Said Ankita.

“So, let me introduce you all to the speaker of the day, she is a software engineer by profession and a gardener by passion. So today she will be sharing with us about, easy home-grown medicinal plants and their benefits. I am very excited to know about medicinal plants. So without any delay, let’s get started. Over to you Ankita.” Said Zehra.

“Hello everybody this is Ankita I am an engineer by profession and a gardener by passion and today I will be sharing with you about the medicinal plants that you can easily grow at home. So let’s start with the queen of herbs Tulsi. We can find two kinds of Tulsi in our homes one with a light green color and another would be with light purple color leaves. So the light purple color one is called Rama Tulsi and the light green color one is called Vana Tulsi. The light green color/Vana Tulsi has many medicinal benefits and the flavor and scent are a kind of lemon. And the Rama Tulsi scent and flavor are like clove. You can use the leaves in many ways like in tea after boiling the leaves in water and adding lemon or honey to it. The Tulsi leaves are very beneficial for the skin, after crushing the leaves you can use them for any skin problem. It can also be beneficial during colds and can be used after boiling water to take steam. The light green color of Tulsi is easy to find as it can be grown from the seeds after sowing them in the soil again. You can also grow it by the cutting method. 

Care for Tulsi: 

1. It can grow in full sunlight. 
2. Can be grown in any season. But requires sunlight for better growth.
3. Water it regularly. Its soil should be dried. 
4. Protest it from cold in the winter season. 

The next plant is Aloe Vera, I have many Aloe Vera plants and I love them. So, Aloe Vera is a succulent plant. Succulents naturally grow in dry areas but not in direct sunlight. The leaves of Aloe Vera have 80% water and not requires much water. The plant should be grown in indirect sunlight for better development of the plant. It is said, the greenish aloe vera the more healthy plant is. You can use it for making juice by grinding the aloe vera pulp with ginger and lemon, very well for weight loss. Aloe Vera is also good for the skin and can make a hair mask. You can also use it with coconut oil for hair, you need to heat the aloe vera in coconut oil till it changes its color to brown and after cooling the oil it can be applied to hair. 

You can also make Aloe Vera fertilizer. Put all the felt or dried aloe vera in water and let it be in the water until the water color changes. Then you can put the water after straining in the plant after diluting it in water. In 1 liter of water, you can add 100 ml of aloe vera liquid fertilizer. You can use the pulp of aloe vera mixed with curd for dry hair and dandruff. For the skin, you can add aloe vera pulp with turmeric. 

Next, we have Neem leaves. The Neem plant is very important in every house. This plant is anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial. It is said, to eat the Neem leaves in the morning empty stomach as it is very beneficial. You can use the dry Neem leaves by making powder from them. After adding Multani mitti and rose water in Neem powder you can use it as a face mask. You can even make Neem oil by heating the leaves with coconut oil till it changes their color to brown and straining them after cooling the oil. 

So the virgin oils are more processed than the extra virgin ones. Make sure to use oil with fewer chemicals and it is cold brushed i.e. obtaining oil at normal temperature. Healthy Neem leaves can be used directly to cure mosquito bites or infections. 

Next, we have Curry leaves. It is very important in every house. You can also eat fresh green curry leaves in the morning. You can also make hair oil from curry leaves with coconut oil, methi seeds, and Castro oil. After heating every material strain the oil after browning the items and cool the oil for use. 

Benefits of Curry leaves oil: 

1. Since curry leaves have vitamin C, you can also eat them. The nutrients of the oil reach your scalp and nourish the better development of healthy hair. 
2. This oil will reduce the dryness of the scalp as Castor oil is present in it. 
3. It will reduce hair fall and premature aging. 
4. 4) You can use this oil twice a week.” Said Ankita.

“We have a question from Shilpa:

1. “Anything that can help hair growth?” Asked Zehra.

“You can use this oil as it has improved the quality and reduced the hair fall off my hair. You can also use a wooden comb. And talking about shampoo, many people buy shampoos by looking at the advertisement which has chemicals in them. You should look for a shampoo with Amla, Reetha, and Shikakai or you can prepare powder of them in equal proportion, before washing hair you can make its paste to apply on your hair as shampoo. I use Apple Cider Vinegar as a conditioner as it is acidic and can remove dandruff from the scalp. Keep in mind, not to use Apple Cider Vinegar directly, do dilute it while using.” Said Ankita. 

“Coming to our next plant, Giloy plant. You all must have witnessed a huge hike in Giloy juice during Covid-19. This works as an immunity booster, you can make Giloy water or eat it by crushing the leaves of the plant. It also works well during cold. Diabetic people can consume Giloy as it will help reduce diabetes and improve their immune system. 

You can use the stem of the Giloy plant, cut it into small pieces, and boil it in water till it is half it will change color then strain the water and let it be for cooling, drink this water. 

You can use Neem leaves to make Neem water. You can boil the neem leaves in water and let them change color. After that, you can strain the water and use it to spray plants to reduce and remove insects and pests. Make sure to use it after diluting it in water. It works as organic fertilizer for the plant. 

Next, is Hibiscus. The leaves and flowers of hibiscus are very beneficial for hair and skin. You can grind the leaves and flowers and make a paste, you can apply it directly on hair or even in coconut oil. You can also make tea from its flowers. You can drink tea to reduce diabetes, blood pressure, and an immunity booster.  You can use this powder as a shampoo for hair. 

Next is Ginder and Garlic. These are my homegrown ginger and garlic. You can grow garlic by removing its skin and planting it upside down, it will have green leaves.  You can use garlic oil to cure ear pain, teeth pain, and plants. By grinding it and mixing it in the water you can spray it on plants and it will reduce insects and pest problems. You can use garlic leaves as a replacement for garlic.

For Ginger, you can directly plant it in the soil and you will witness long plants growing out of it. Similarly, you can use ginger leaves in tea in place of ginger. For storing it, you can store it in the sand and it will smell fresh. 

Next, Coriander seeds. Coriander grows well in the winter season because it requires direct but not extreme sunlight and watering. To propagate coriander you can crush the coriander seeds and you will find the small seeds inside. Directly spread it on the soil. 

It reduces blood pressure and sugar (diabetes). You can easily grow at home in the winter season. 

Next, is Methi. The method seeds can grow the methi plant that we eat. It is also grown in the winter as it can’t sustain harsh temperatures. You can directly put the methi seeds in the soil for propagation. It can help with indigestion and constipation. You can eat cooked vegetables for diabetes. 

Talking about Mint, it is very beneficial for bad breath, weight loss, and constipation. You can also make detox water for Mint leaves. You don’t have to remove the plant from the roots, you can cut the leaves and again plant the stem for more growth of the plant. 

There are many medicinal plants like Lavender, Marigolds, and many more.” Said Ankita. 

Thank you so much Ankita!

The information that you shared was very informative and thank you for giving us your valuable time. Thank you for giving us some amazing tips for hair growth. We would like to thank our audience for joining us today.

HAPPY GARDENING!