The Prepper Broadcasting Network - MEDICAL MONDAY: Herbal Medicine for Preppers: 12 Essential Herbs for Preppers

Episode Date: March 30, 2026

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Hey, y'all. Welcome to this week's show. I actually remember today was Wednesday this time. I think we're going to wrap up this series on growing your survival herb garden today. As I was nearing the end of writing this book, people kept asking me. I got several questions. What are your top 10 or 12 herbs that I would consider essential to have on hand? so I resisted for a while because honestly that's not the way I do things I recommend people make a list of their common health concerns and then tailor the herbs to their own needs but I thought about it and and honestly you know I source so many herbs in the wild I don't try to grow everything in the garden. Now, the book is written with the person in mind that

has to figure out how to grow something, maybe in a, you know, an HOA, a POA, or even a window box. You know, that's the point of this book. Someone who's really not, doesn't have my lifestyle. My lifestyles, I get a lot from the wild in terms of food and medicinal herbs and everything. but not everyone lives out in the middle of a national forest. I mean, a lot of people live in town. So I decide, yeah, I will do this. What are the essentials? Well, for me, mullin and plantain would certainly be on that list.

But those are herbs I've never tried to grow. I mean, they're just so commonly abundant. But so anyway, okay, let me get to the point. I reached out to my friends of the Grow Network. Now, if you haven't checked out the Grow Network, you probably want to do so. It's Marjorie Wildcraft's site. If you're a prepper, you have probably heard of Marjorie. The Grow Network is not a prepper network per se, but just about everybody on there has a prepper lifestyle.

And I'm one of the admins of the site. So I answer a lot of questions. I talk with a lot of people. several professional herbalists that are on there. Any kind of advice you need about growing stuff. I mean, the gardening, the growing network's really a fantastic resource. And, you know, go to the forums. And like I said, I'm one of the admins of the forums. So it's a real easy way to get in touch with me. If you have a question, well, I asked several of the herbalists. And Tori is a professional clinical herbalist in Canada. And her herbs are going to be specific to Canada.

She said, you know, obviously this is really area specific as to what I had to grow in my garden. I don't usually grow things that are abundant and not that I harvest in the wild. So, and like me, I mean, we have actually, our environments are kind of similar. The mountains of North Carolina as in Western Canada are not that different. Ditto. The cat skills up in New York. I mean, they just get more snow, you know. But for her, this is her list of essential herbs. Calendula.

Calendia, absolutely great. I mean, anti-inflammatory, good for the skin. Comfrey, also knows knit bone. I mean, it's great for healing wounds. Well, I mean, great for arthritis and such. Bone set, that's Eupatorium, great for lowering fevers. Alcampaign, good for the lungs. Genshin, good for digestion, the liver, Valerian, an excellent sedative herb, and she likes

California poppy, which is really good for pain. All these, you know, we've discussed in previous shows, so I'm not going into a lot of detail here. Horse radish, really good for congestion, garlic, of course, good for immune support, heart health, just about everything, cholesterol, et cetera. marshmallow excellent as a poultice for wounds for rashes but also really good for the digestive system soothing and upset stomach and lemon balm i'd say the same thing about that lemon balm's also slightly sedative and motherwort which is an excellent women's herb it is just very supportive not to be used by pregnant women but anyway those were her essentials she She said, well, that's 12, and there are many other culinary herbs that one should not be without.

I would highly recommend parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano, sage, and mince. I agree completely. She also said Arnica and St. John's Whart, or two I wouldn't be without, but they grow fairly prolifically where I live. Absolutely. Great. Well, for some many reasons. I mean, Arnika is just like the go-to herb for bruising and blunt force trauma. St. John's Ward has good, it's antiviral, it's good for mood support, it helps with serotonin,

and also an excellent wound herb or skin irritation herb. And then she says, I have some others too, but they're not considered safe and shouldn't be used by anyone but a very experienced herbalist. I have some in that category as well, and we haven't discussed them, and I have given you strong warnings against using, say, Monkshood or Wolfsbane, you know, De Chura, you know, those are very dangerous herbs, incredibly poisonous herbs. Lori, also in Canada, she's in Zone 3, so it's much colder, actually. She says, I'm a big fan of forage medicinal plants, and for me, plantain is top, and chickweed is next in line. I've told you how to grow both of those, and yeah, those are, yeah. Well, plantain is one I would say essential.

Chickweed is nice to have. Comfrey, we discuss mints, stinging nettle, lemon balm, hawthorn, elderberry, juniper berry. I mean, that's a medicine cabinet right there. I mean, stinging nettle is just fantastic for allergies. It's very nutritious. All right mentioned, lemon balm. Hawthorne is really helps with heart issues. elder berry for immune system, juniper berry for immune and lung issues, and all, you know, those are just, those are great.

She says, I also think of my heritage chickens and herbs that would be beneficial to them. So in addition to the above, and chickweed obviously is great for chickens, she would include thyme, holy basil, sage, oregano, chilies and garlic. Yeah, I mean, absolutely. And she says, of course, there more, but I'd better stop, because you've already got to be. baker's those from me now totally different environment my friend Jody in Australia she says I'm going to list a few that are easy to grow in my area and produce a lot of plant material I think she's in Western Australia if I remember correctly comfrey colindula ginger and garlic turmeric dandelion rosemary and lemon balm chilies parsley sage mint and time and she says St. John's

work doesn't grow in my area but I always have it in my herbal supplies absolutely Marge in Washington, Zone 8B, said, what I grow is colindula. Well, it grows itself, actually. She says, I have thyme, basil, oregano, and a sunny window seal. In the garden besides colindula, I have rosemary, comfory, motherwort growing for several years. Of the garden ones, I use rosemary and calendula the most. Oh, and of course, garlic. It always seems more of a basic food than an herb.

Most everything else I gather from the wild, or. get from the grocery store fresh. Mary Linda Biddle in Missouri, 5B. That's same as my zone, actually, 5B. A hawthorn tree, a wild rose hedge would be excellent, but here are my 12 based on what I like to have on hand. Elderberry, Comfrey, Calendula, St. John's Wart, Elyciman, Matherwort, lavender, parsley, lemon balm, peppermint, marshmallow, and camomile. You see you're seeing a lot of crossover. We use a lot of the same herbs. So, I mean, you're going to probably end up with about two dozen essentials from this list.

But, I mean, like everybody's saying, these essential herbs are the essentially essential for all of us. Now, the only thing I don't use motherwort because I'm a guy. But, you know, these so far have all been women. In fact, yeah, every one of them so far. She said, Culinary herbs, consider them as a second tier

because you can get them at the grocery store if you need them fast or you don't have them growing. I grow parsley for blood pressure issues and don't really

use it otherwise. You know me, I put parsley in everything. It's like my go-to culinary herb. She also uses rosemary time, basil and sage

and grows them in her garden. And she says dandelion and plantain grow all over the place here. So again, a plug for dandeline

and plantain. Nick's Amanda said, I like these 12. Lemon balm, catnip. See, that's one people I haven't mentioned before, but it's, yes, very good. Excellent sedative herb. Sheep sorrel, one of my favorite wild edibles. I mean, I'd never grown sheep sorrel, but I use it a ton. And it's quite astringent, and it helps with diarrhea, and it's a lot of vitamin C in it.

It's good. Yaro? No one had mentioned Yaro before, and absolutely. Now, Yaro grows wild all over my yard, so I don't have to, probably. propagate it, but that is like the go-to for stopping bleeding, also good for diarrhea and such. Comfrey and oregano, thyme, horsetail. That's another one nobody had mentioned. Horsetail is equitum, and I've done a program on that. You can back up and listen to it. Excellent for the joints, the bones, the skin, really good, good plant.

Beebalm is in the mint family. It's Monarda. That's one, nobody had mentioned before. It grows, again, for me, it grows wild. But as I think I did a whole episode on it, it is one of the prettiest flowers you will ever see. And it has many medicinal uses, really great for fevers, burns, and so many things. Rosemary, lavender, and lambs quarters, she mentions that one. We just did show on that a couple weeks ago. Tina Rock in New Jersey said, my top herbs that I grow to have on hand when needed are nettles, Comfrey, Plantain, Calingaline, Yaro, Echinacea.

Echinacea is, well, yeah, I've done a whole show on it. I don't need to tell you a lot about it. I guess you're getting the idea now, but Echinacea is like the go-to for immune support, and it propagates hyaluronic acid, so it's wonderful to have on hand for snake bites and venomous spiders that have a necrotizing, a tissue destroying. The brown recluse and the Black Widow are both pretty common in North Carolina. So I think Hekinaisha is really good to have on hand. Yeah, and we do have poisonous snakes too.

You know, we have copperheads mainly. But we get rattlesnakes. Yeah, I mean, I just live a little too high for rattlesnakes. It's too cold for them. Yeah, I've told you the story before about how the state brought in like thousands of rattlesnakes and released them saying they were an endangered species. And they put them out on public trails where they were, biting people and horses and then they all froze to death that winter. Yeah, that's,

that's government for you. Seriously, I don't know if that was the state of the feds. That could have been the feds, but I mean, that's a perfect example of, you know, why we need to shrink the size and scope of government. They're stupid people that spend our money on stupid things. For the most part, for the most part, I mean, I think you could probably cut 90% of government programs and agencies and employees and nobody even noticed the difference. Whatever. So she also says peppermint, violet. Violet, we did a program on that.

Good for wounds, good for a lot of things. Has an aspirin, salison quality, good for lowering fevers. Yeah, it's a good one to have on hand. Again, it's wild for me, so I don't worry about that. garlic onions and habanero peppers well she says she makes fire cider from garlic onions and habanero peppers that wonderful we've talked about fire cider uh probably a year ago so go back to herbal medicine for preppers and and find that episode uh yeah that's a good one elderberry red clover astragalus now that's one i don't know that i mentioned to this book it is a good adaptogen

good herb to have on hand and very easy to grow. Oatstrawl, burdock, parsley. No, no, I think I mentioned Straglissant under adaptogens. Maybe I did. Yeah, I think it was a show on that one too. Oatshaw, burdock, parsley, catnip motherwort again. I'm starting to see these patterns, right? Artemisia Anua, that is Sweet Annie. That is an excellent antiviral member of the Wormwood family. Marigolds, which she says she loves to eat the flowers to support her eyesight. St. John'swort and Prunella Volgaris. Let's see. Oh, Jolanta in Austria.

So let's go to a completely different part of the world, right? I grew many more than 12, but I try to prioritize raspberry and blackberry for fruit and mainly for leaves. I collect a lot as there a basis of most of my herbal mixtures. The leaves are used as house tea for all ages. Also, rosemary, sage, savory oregano, thyme, colindula, horseradish, catnip, lemon balm, deal carolay and fennel, such great herbs for digestion. They will settle an upset stomach. They help with diarrhea.

They help with flagelets a whole bit. And all kinds of mints. And there are many more, I cannot imagine not having lime blossoms. That's what they call linden or basswood in Europe. Good, sedative, relaxing tea made from those flowers, helps with sleep. St. John's Wort, Dandel, Sting Nettles. ground elder and elder flower now ground elder is one i don't think we have discussed in great detail um it's one you have to be a little careful with and that's more because the common name

ground elder is applied to many different plants so but she's uh her uh elder um i believe is one that bears elder berry uh berries uh berries uh berries uh so that's actually different than what we called ground elder in the United States. It's just a small shrubby version of elder berry. Anyway, elder berries are just great, and she also uses elder flower. So definitely see some patterns emerging that are on each person's list, but I mean, it's also very individual. And let me tell you, what would be my top 12? Well, I have allergic asthma, so mine's going to be weighted a bit in that direction. I'll start with a couple of long herbs, assuming I can harvest wild mullin and cherry bark, I would grow elycampaign and time and maybe

licorice and Angelica grows wild all over the mountains so that's another one I forage for I've never actually had to try to grow it but yeah liquorish Elkampaign time great long herbs ma fong though not mafong let me think oh codenopsis dang shin that one really should be on the list of anyone who has asthma or COPD. Any kind of breathing issues that I definitely would prioritize. And under, you know, herbs for long issues, I told you all about dang shen codenopsis and why I would consider essential. It's also known as poor man's ginseng. It has some, it has some adaptogenic properties. I think of all the adaptogens, though, gyna stemma is probably my favorite. And while that, I don't

consider that all essential, it'd be really good to grow that one too. Because it's like astragalus, it's just real easy to grow and much more potent than ginseng in terms of as an adaptogen and ginseng is really expensive. Gyna stem of tea is cheap and like more effective. So anyway, so for allergies, I wild harvest ragweed and mimosa blossoms. So I actually do grow stained nettles. Yes, I can wild harvest them too, but I consider them to be absolutely essential. And I never seem to find enough in the wild to have us both food and medicine, because, I mean, I use them for both. I mean, really good. I've told you how to make nettle soups and all that. Actually, Gelanta from Austria, she uses the seeds, like in everything, muffins, bread.

She just, anything she can use where she might use poppy seeds or chia seeds. She throws in stinging nettle seeds because they are absolutely probably the most nutritious plant of all. Had a friend, a young girl, developed really severe anemia after having a couple of kids. And she was really young. So, I mean, it was like a major lifestyle change. It wasn't like she gradually got weaker or whatever. No, she just, she got sick. And of course the doctor prescribed iron.

and she said, are there any herbs or anything I can do? And I said, yeah. Let me show you how to harvest nettles. Nettles are so high in iron. Plantane is really good. Yeah, there are several herbs that can really help with anemia. And that's one. So definitely.

For colds, a good strong mint would be a good one, peppermint or spearmint. You got to be careful with water mint and penny royals, so yeah, I'd probably stick with peppermint and spearment. And a member of the Wormwood family as an antiviral. So, yeah, sweet Annie would be perfect. But, yeah, I use probably more just... Well, I've done a whole show on the Artemis. And I'm not sure. At Mugwort, okay, Mugwort's probably my favorite.

Okay. Yes, I use a lot of Wormwood. I like to grow it. I like to use it in bidders formulas. Mugwort is a really weird herb, and I have an affinity for it. People are either going to love it or hate it. I happen to like Mugwort. We've got, like I said, I've done a whole show on that. It has some odd effects. Anyway, but, you know, for me, it's not only antiviral, but it helps with sleep, which is always nice. and clears congestion from the lungs and is good for digestion.

Anyway, so yeah, a member of the Wormwood family. I'm just going to put it as that because you can do whatever you want. And from the wild, I get bonnet, Joe pieweed, dandelion. If I couldn't, I would definitely prioritize growing bone set and joe pieweed. And like I said, there are some really good cultivated dandelions. you can grow in the garden that aren't as bitter and you're going to enjoy eating them more. So, yeah, I would do that too. In fact, I have a whole, I grow French dandelions.

Yeah, I got a pack of seeds from a company years ago and they just keep propagating. And so I have a mix of what's, well, what grows naturally in my area. It's not really native. It was brought here by our ancestors. And these wonderful French dandelions with big leaves and they're delicious. And then for sleep and pain, I would definitely have Valerian. Absolutely.

I grow Valerian, even though I can find it wild in the woods. Because when I need it, I need it. Skull cap did a skullcap grows all over the place. But when it's needed, it's needed. You know, I mean, there's so many different types of pain. And I got to tell you, I mean, I cut myself on a regular basis as a woodcarver. That doesn't really hurt. I mean, I know that's weird.

To me, a cut is like nowhere near like the worst kind of pain. I would rank burns as more painful than cuts. Broken bones. You know, and when they first, when it first happens, it's like throbbing, but then it's just like a dull ache, you know. Really, probably the most extreme pains that I get are like when I get a, yeah, my back goes out. extreme neck or back pain where the muscle spasming you got a pinch nerve I mean

that's literally intense pain and so you know I'm gonna go for an antispasmodic and skullcap is an antispasmodic it also helps with menstrual cramping but if I was recommending 12 essential herbs for a woman I would I would put cramparkin there. That they're both very effective, but I do think that, I do think that cramp bark, uh, well, they're both very effective actually, but I think cramp bark may be a little, I'd give it one point higher than than a skull cap for menstrual cramping. And, but if you can't grow cramp bark, like it's a little too cold where I live. Uh, whereas, Let me think. No, it's Vivernum opulus, and I am actually right on the edge of the zone. It actually likes a cooler temperature than I have. It's a little too warm in most of the South to grow it. I can actually grow it. I don't have a need to grow it. I grow Skull Cap. You know, we're doing this 12 essential herbs for a woman. I would put, yeah, viburnum in there and Mother Wart. It helps with PMS type issues, you know.

What else? Oh, for injuries, certainly Comfrey, Arnica, St. John's Wart, standard, just like all the other herbless said. And probably one more, I'm going to add one more essential herb. And for me, that's going to be bugleweed. Ajuga repents. I like it. It is a great bitter, fantastic. I mean, you know, the old herbals, you say it powerfully shrinks. the liver. I mean, it's really good for digestion and liver issues and all that. It also, as I've mentioned, can help us sleep. It slows the heart rate. It's extremely sedative, actually. And, you know, you don't want to overdo it by any means. But I do have a family member that has an arrhythmia and bugleweed slows and strengthens the heart rate and regulates the heart rate. So I'm going to throw that one in as one I would grow, but that's one that should absolutely be

used with caution. And, you know, one more that I would say, like if you have window boxes and potted plants and such, callous. Collius is good. I've done a show about that. There's not. But as far as I can find any research on the effects of callus, so I'm still not recommending its use, but I do use it as a sedative and antispasmodic. Some people say can cause hallucinations. I have not encountered anything like that. But again, I am not recommending callous because there is, I can't find it in any herbal book. It's literally something that I seem to have discovered. And I seem to have discovered it because someone, was it? Oh, yeah, someone has, well, it's in the mint family.

And someone said, you know, all mints are edible. Well, that's not quite true. But someone said, well, I ate Collius one time. And it knocked me out. And I was like, what? You know, it's that colorful, tied-eyed-looking plant. It's really odd looking plant. And I thought, well, you know, my neck was out.

I was having that bad neck pain. And I thought, you know, I'm just going to give this a try. I mean, it's in the mint family. It's probably safe. You know, I'm kind of stupid that way. I take risk with my own health that I don't recommend you do. And I pulled off a couple of leaves and ate them. And I was like, wow, okay.

I mean, like, 30 minutes later, I'm like, wow, my neck pain is reduced by like half. This is fantastic. And then I got a little sleepy. Well, unfortunately, herbs that have that effect on you, you tend to build up a tolerance very fast. And Collies basically does nothing for me anymore. But so, you know, that's when I'm just kind of throwing in there as a wild card. And that's also a reason it's good to grow the Valerian in the skull cap

and have maybe some lemon balm, a fresh lemon balm tincture on hand. Camomile even can, you know, have a very mild. sedative effect so that you don't build up a tolerance by relying on one herb. Ashwaganda would be one I would I mean it lowers blood pressure it can help with sleep it has some antispasmodic properties it's an adaptogen it actually increases testosterone and men and it's not too hard to grow but for me my climate's way too cold I have to bring it inside you know so you know as you can see it totally depends on the individual for instance for someone who has an inflammatory condition of the bladder or intestines, Canada Fleabine, Origeron,

that's, I mean, yeah, Yarrow, dandelion, chamomil, mallow, marshmallow, any of the malo family's, goldenrod, goldenrod's really good, but of course you can find that wild everywhere. But yeah, it's, that would, you know, again, if I was saying for women or for, you know, definitely throw in something for UTI infections. You know, a woman of childbearing years may wish to grow some specific herbs. I mean, like Jolanta said about raspberry and blackberry leaf. One whose menopausal or postmenopausal would need an entirely different set of herbs. If you have kids, you know, you're going to want to have herbs for kids for the upset stomachs and the fevers and bee stings,

definitely some plantain for bee stings. and, you know, tailor it to your taste, but to your needs, I guess I should say. Garlic, garlic for earaches. Kids get earaches and all that, you know, yeah, garlic. Or onion, the juice of it just put in the ear. Really, really works. So, I mean, yeah, write down a list of your specific needs, and then go through my book, either, well, either this one, growing your survivor herb garden, or herbal medicine for preppers, or both, preferably, or dig back through the archives of all the shows that we've done here,

and make a list of maybe a dozen essential herbs for your specific or your family-specific needs. Make sure, cross-reference with my book, make sure they'll grow in your area and learn how to grow them. I mean, I tell you how to grow every single one of these herbs, what zone they like, what soil conditions, and all that. If you don't have my books, I'm still running the special. I decided to extend it through January 1. Anyone who becomes a paid subscriber to my Substance newsletter, which is only $8 a month, it's Judson Carroll Master Herbalist. That's the site.

Judsoncaryl.com is actually the URL, judsoncaryl.com. And the substack newsletter is called Judson Carroll Master Herbalist. Super easy to find, obviously. I'm sending everybody two free e-books. So if you want these two books, you know, survival, growing your survival herb garden and survival, I mean, herbal medicine for preppers, I'll send you $20 worth of e-books for an $8 subscription.

Just something I want to do for Christmas. You know, things are tight for people, and, you know, it's a good last-minute gift that's not going to cost you a lot, but you can absolutely have it for yourself too. Or any of my books, actually. I'm sending just two free e-books with even just a one-month subscription. So if you've got one of these already and you want another one in my books, hey, I'll send it to you.

No problem. If you want to give some by the books and keep a subscription for yourself or vice versa, it doesn't matter to me. This is just a way I'm trying to help people out and let them save some money. And I'm obviously kind of taking a loss on it, but that's fine. It's Christmas and that's something I want to do. So remember, judsoncaryl.com is the... URL for my newsletter Judson Carroll Master herbalist. So totally optional up to you. You know, if you want a hard copy, you got to go to Amazon. Unfortunately, that's the only option that I have

right now. So anyway, y'all, you have a great week. Today is the 13th. Remember the post office is saying, if you want to get something shipped somebody on time for Christmas, you need to put it in the mail by the 15th. I think that applies for just about everything but Amazon. So, I mean, wow, they get things to you fast. But everybody else seems to have an issue with mailing. So anyway, y'all, have a good one. I'll talk to you next week, and we will begin an entirely new series.

So look forward to it. I look forward to sharing the information with you. We're going to start getting into medicinal trees. I always say if you learned, trees and you learn their uses no matter where you are I mean just about and maybe not in the middle of a desert or something or I don't know the North Pole you can probably find all the herb herbal medicine you need just right in your backyard so to me that's like essential survival medicine and I've covered some before

we're gonna get really in depth on the medicinal uses of trees I got another book on the medicinal uses of shrubs and woody vines. Again, it is so much easier to identify a bush than a lot of little green plants on the ground, you know, that can look pretty similar. You get your trees, you get your shrubs and woody vines down, and you're going to find medicine anywhere. Anywhere. I mean, even in a desert, you're going to find some shrubs and woody vines that are going to help you out. Y'all have a good one. Talk to you next time.

The information in this podcast is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. Nothing I say or write has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. I'm not a doctor. The U.S. government does not recognize the practice of herbal medicine and there is no governing body regulating herbalists. Therefore, I'm really just a guy who studies herbs. I'm not offering any advice. I won't even claim that anything I write or say is accurate or true.

I can tell you what herbs have been traditionally used for. I can tell you my own experience and if I believe an herb has helped me. I cannot nor would I tell you to do the same. If you use an herb anyone recommends, you are treating yourself. You take full responsibility for your health. Humans are individuals and no two are identical. What works for me may not work for you. You may have an allergy, a sensitivity, an underlying condition

that no one else even shares and you don't even know about. Be careful with your health. By continuing to listen to my podcast or read my blog, you agree to be responsible for yourself, to your own research, make your own choices, and not to blame me for anything ever.