March is an in-between month, which can make it very difficult to concentrate on herbal studies at home.
Right now is a time of planning and possibly even sowing seeds, but nothing actually grows. There is often still snow on the ground or it is simply too cold to plant anything outside.
Luckily, we have plenty of medicinal plants that we can take home from the grocery store, or if you’re like me, you already have them in your pantry!
These plants are a great way to grow some medicinal herbs indoors in pots while you wait for the weather to warm up.
And once it gets warmer, you can put the pots outside so they can continue to grow, or you can transplant them into the garden.
Another great thing about these four plants is that they are all ingredients for making cider, which is a great herbal tonic that you can have on hand all year round to help you fight various diseases.
What are these four plants I’m talking about? Onion, garlic, ginger and horseradish!
These four plants are easy to grow because they often germinate if left for too long. And they are all great medicinal plants too. Let’s take a closer look at each one…
Onion
Onions have a tendency to sprout in their bags if left in the pantry for a little too long. I’ve even seen them sprout in grocery store bags. Handy if you don’t have sprouting onions at home and want to get a flying start with your project. Just select a bag of sprouting onions and you’re done.
I’ve seen people plant them whole, but I like to gently peel the layers off and then I usually see two separate onions growing. I separate them carefully and plant each one individually after letting them dry out a bit for a day or two.
Plant each onion exactly where the greenery begins to emerge from the body. Plant them about 4-6 inches apart in a container.
You can also place the whole onion in a pot with water in the bottom so that the roots can also develop and the green shoots can be cut off for use in cooking.
Garlic
Garlic is a longer season plant that does best when planted in the fall, but you can get a jump start on germination and plant them in early spring. Like onions, they often start to sprout if left in your pantry (or again at the grocery store) for too long.
Separate each clove from the bulb and each clove can be planted. You can plant them together in a pot. If you plant them all in one pot, plant them about 2-3 inches apart so they have room to grow and spread.
Plant each clove so that the entire clove is buried and a small patch of greenery is visible at the top.
Garlic is ready to harvest when the green tops die back. This is usually in July. Some species leave inflorescences or flowers. If your variety does, cut it back before it blooms. You can sauté the scapes in a little butter or oil and serve as a topping on your favorite meat or vegetables. They are delicious and taste like garlic.
Pull out the garlic, wipe off the soil with a cloth and let it dry before storing in a paper bag.
Ginger
Ginger is a favorite of mine to grow. It takes up to ten months before there is enough growth for the harvest, and if you start too late in the year, the plant will die in the fall. When this happens, it is inactive, but it is not dead! Simply place it in a cool place that is not freezing and water it every 3-4 weeks until the days get longer again. Then put it back in a warm place and give it more water. Before you know it, you’ll have ginger that’s ready to harvest.
To plant ginger, look for the nodes with buds on them. If you have several on one root, cut a 1-inch piece and let it harden. Once the cut ends have dried (hardened) they are ready for planting.
Plant about an inch below the surface and begin watering. Ginger needs longer days, so you can encourage extra growth by placing them under a grow light. If you’re lucky enough to live in the southern states, you might even get some flowers from your ginger!
Horseradish
Have you ever made fresh horseradish sauce? It’s easy to do with fresh carrots, a blender and some vinegar. When you get a carrot from the grocery store, examine it to look for a crown with some sprouting buds or leaves on it. Once you get it home, cut the crown off about 1/2 to 1/2 inch.
Horseradish can grow very deep, so it is best to plant this in a tall container, such as a 5-gallon bucket. 2-3 crowns can fit in one bucket.
Place the crowns about 1/2 to 1 inch below the surface and water regularly.
Horseradish is a perennial plant, so if you plant it in your garden you can dig it up each fall and replant the crowns to continue growth each year.
Hopefully this will inspire you and your kids to continue your herbal studies even when the weather outside isn’t great for growing plants. It’s fun to learn about plants that serve as food and medicine, especially when we can grow them ourselves!
All of these plants, with the exception of Ginger, are quite hardy and can cope well when planted outdoors in early spring. However, growing them indoors will give them a jump start so they grow bigger and faster.
Whether you plant them outdoors from the start, eventually plant them outdoors, or keep them in a pot throughout the growing season, they are great fun for kids to grow while learning about the medicinal uses of each.
Here are some other articles I’ve written about some of these herbs:
https://herbalrootszine.com/peeling-back-the-layers-of-onions-uses/
https://herbalrootszine.com/herbal-rootlets-no-127-5-days-of-ginger/