Ginger is the herb I’d like to highlight this week, as I have started working with it more frequently since growing my own last season. Zingiber officinale is the official Latin name, and the plant is native to somewhere in Southeast Asia. You CAN, however, grow it here in Connecticut if you play your cards right. The video below demonstrates how I am currently hoping and praying that my 2022 ginger crop will survive until I can plant it outdoors in May.

Ginger is a warming, drying herb that I work with both fresh and dry. If you can find it grown organically, you don’t have to worry so much about peeling the skin off, but if all you can buy is a big chunk from the local Asian Market you had better scrape the skin off (it actually is easiest to do with a spoon) before you chop the root up into “fingers.”

Ginger is great for helping relieve an upset stomach. I’ve used ginger both fresh and candied for this purpose for my kids for years. Another way I like to work with ginger both for tummy troubles and general winter blah’s is as a tea: A few chunks of fresh ginger, two slices of fresh lemon, and a cinnamon stick bashed up in the mortar and pestle. Put those three things into a mug and pour boiling water over the top. Add honey to taste (or to help a sore throat) if you want, but I think it tastes pretty good on it’s own too.

Another new way I’m working with ginger now is as an infused oil. The warming, rubefacient properties of the herb help increase circulation in the capillaries. I’m currently infusing some ginger in oil to be combined with my infused cayenne oil. Once completed, I will give this blend to a client to help treat peripheral artery disease that is creating a lack of blood flow to their extremities.

Ginger is also excellent when infused fresh into honey; honestly this makes super awesome-tasting honey to add to any tea! However, I do also dry ginger chunks to be blended into teas, such as my Gut Heal Tea and my personal blend of Chai tea (Available in my Apothecary Shop.)

I like to just give you an idea of how I personally work with an herb in these blog posts, as I have books and web resources and personal experience to draw on. But Henriette’s Herbal has a good Monograph you can check out, and so does This Website I found, if you only want to look online.

If you are interested in learning more about Folk Herbalism, check out my new Folk Herbalism School going on this year!