DIY: Harvest Herbs for Your Pet's Health

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I’m like everyone else—I’m a bargain hunter. When it comes to herbs, I have spent endless hours perusing the shelves of our local health-food stores, searching for the best herbal bang for my (and my clients’) buck.

As it turns out, I’d probably have been better off spending that time on my hands and knees in my own backyard. Gardening and weed hunting are two satisfying, inexpensive ways to harvest fresh herbals for your pet’s health. Today, I harvest many of the herbs I prescribe in my practice from my own garden, lawns, and fields.

Gardening for pets

This spring, consider planting an herbal garden for your pet. Many of the most powerful healing herbs are easy to grow in almost every part of the country, and in the space of a small backyard you can grow nearly all the herbs your pet needs to stay healthy.

Here is a list of good “pet medicine” herbs to grow. It’s important to use organic gardening techniques—avoid using pesticides and herbicides. Also, select only the herbs that are easy to grow in your area. Look around your neighborhood for herbs growing wild and those flourishing in local gardens to get ideas about what to plant.

Echinacea (Echinacea spp.). No garden should be without this beautiful, stately plant. In most parts of the United States, it’s easy to grow from seeds or root divisions. In my practice, I use echinacea to support and enhance the immune system. While most sources say echinacea’s roots contain the most potent medicine, I’ve had good success using aerial parts (leaves and flowers) mixed with some root when I want a more potent dosage.

Aloe (Aloe vera) is another plant I think every garden should have, even though it will most likely need to be brought indoors during the winter. There is simply no better topical healing agent than fresh aloe juice for cuts, abrasions, and especially for burns. To use, just break off a leaf of aloe and squeeze the juice on the affected part.

Consider planting an herbal garden for your pet

Motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca) looks and acts like an invasive weed—it’s very easy to grow, but you’ll need to keep it under control. Motherwort is a powerful medicinal for heart conditions, especially those associated with anxiety and tension. I use either the fresh or dried aerial parts.

Chamomile (Matricaria recutita) is another beautiful, easy-to-grow addition to any garden. The herb can help your pet relax, and also can help treat inflammation and gastric upset. Harvest the aerial parts and use them as a tea for your pet, or chop up the flowers and sprinkle over your pet’s food.

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