#lemonbalm

Lemon balm, Melissa officinalis, is a member of the mint family and has a sweet, lemony aroma when you crush it's leaves.

1. Lemon balm is a great permaculture plant. Lemon balm is a perennial and also a good companion plant especially for the brassica family. Lemon balm grows super fast in rich soil with lots of sun, it can become massive so you'll have lots to work with!

2. Lemon balm is loved by bees. Bees love the nectar that fills lemon balm flowers. The herb actually contains some of the same chemicals that are in bee pheromones so bees are incredibly drawn to it. The genus name, Melissa, is derived from Greek meaning honey bee. In mythology Melissa was a nymph who discovered and taught about the many uses of honey.

3. Lemon balm repels pests. This herb has the ability to repel ants, mosquitoes, and flies thanks to it's compounds that smell similar to citronella. If you need some natural bug repellent just crush some lemon balm leaves and rub them directly on your skin.

4. Lemon balm has medicinal benefits. Historically it's been steeped to relieve fevers but it also has antiviral effects that help cold sores or minor wounds. In aromatherapy, lemon balm is used to improve the quality of life in Alzheimer's patients by improving their memory, mood, and agitation.

5. Lemon balm is a calming plant. It's leabes are sedative and taking a tincture of lemon balm can improve your mood by alleviating stress, anxiety, and tension headaches. This is thanks to rosmarinic acid in the lemon balm that activates GABA receptors in the brain, promiting relaxation. It can even help with insomnia and support a good night's sleep. Even just sniffing the leaves can have relaxing effects, but brewed as a tea or made into a tincture it works great too.

7. Lemon balm is a digestive aid. It's calming to the digestive system and drinking lemon balm tea can help sooth upset stomachs, gas, and bloating.

8. Lemon balm is an herb for children. It's totally safe and highly regarded as one of the best herbs for children, it's relaxing effects are often used to calm a sleepless or hyperactive child.

9. Lemon balm is good in bath and body products. The leaves are loaded with antioxidants that you can take advantage of by making it into a soap, a hair rinse, a bath soak, or lots of others.

10. Lemon balm makes delicious food. You can add chopped lemon balm to salads, baked goods, smoothies, etc. You can pretty much use it in place of lemon peel or in any dish that needs a touch of lemon flavor. It's also great in drinks!

🍋 5-1-20 🍋

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Let’s talk about lemon balm! This is one of my favorite perennial herbs that is so easy to grow indoors and outdoors!

Lemon balm is part of the mint family. It’s native to areas of southern Europe, but has quickly naturalized in many different areas of the U.S. Similar to mint, it will quickly spread and take over a garden so be careful!

Lemon balm has many medicinal uses. The leaves are edible and can be added to teas, salads, soups, etc.

This herb has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antioxidant, antispasmodic, and antihistaminic properties!! 🤯⠀

Lemon balm can help relieve feelings of anxiety, stress, nervousness, and excitability. I brew it into tea for a positive mood boost 💗 Similarly it can also be consumed before bed to calm nerves and help sleep.

Studies have also shown lemon balm to improve different cognitive functions including memory, concentration, alertness, and overall performance.

Lemon balm is also good for digestion, nausea, cramps, stress headaches, tension, and more. Seriously the list could go on and on.

Lemon balm is safe for cats and dogs in small amounts. You can give them 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per serving depending on your pets weight.

Lemon balm will relieve anxiety and stress in pets. You can give it to them in stressful situations like relocating, thunderstorms, or when new people are around.⠀

Lemon balm also fights cancer and helps digestion in pets 😻

I actually found out the medicinal uses for pets because my cat is OBSESSED with lemon balm! She kept getting into it and now I give her leaves often.⠀

Lemon balm will also bloom small white flowers in the summer that honey bees love 🐝💗⠀

This herb prefers full sun to partial shade. Lemon balm is very low maintenance and drought tolerant. It can survive temperatures as low as -20F° !! Water enough to saturate the roots, and allow the soil to dry before watering again. When grown in containers it needs water every day, especially in hot Tennessee summers.

Part two. Once the frankincense is powdered, I dissolved it into two parts everclear and boiled it (not shown). Then I filtered the dissolved frankincense resin.

Please be carful if you ever do this, everclear is highly flammable —especially when boiling. Do this in a waterbath and not with a direct open flame. This needs to be done in a well ventilated area—preferably outside, and make sure vapors do not collect. Be sure you are well prepared to put out a fire should things go wrong.

I placed the dried and ground yarrow, lavender, and lemon balm into a flask and then covered it in grape seed oil. You can use any oil to make herbal oils and salves. However, I highly recommend grape seed oil it is a very light oil and it has high amounts of vitamin E — a preservative. I then poured the frankincense resin alcohol extract into it as well. I placed this flask into a hot water bath to extract the herbs.

Please do not do the hot extraction method if you do not have the proper equipment/facilities. You can use your stove to heat a waterbath. Never place and alchohol-oil mixture into an oven, vapors will build and can cause a flash fire. You can make herbal oils and alchohol-oil extractions in a few weeks by letting it sit in a warm area away from light.

Some herbalists cringe at the hot extraction method because it can and does destroy/evaporates some compounds within the plants, and thereby destroy some herbal properties. It really depends on what herbs you use and what you are wanting them to do. If you notice the thermometer, the alcohol in the oil and the waterbath regulate the temperature of the oil. Here you can see it reads 76c (168f) at this temperature minimal damage is done compounds in the plants— basically the equivalent of steeping an herbal tea, but in oil. If you had the water boiling, the oil would only reach 100c (212f) if you boiled all of the alchohol off. I kept the waterbath below boiling and alchohol boils at 78c (I am at a higher elevation so it is actually closer to 76c). Essentially, I boiled most of the alchohol off, but I leave some for the antiseptic properties when it is placed on the skin.

What is moon milk?

Moon milk is a type of a warm beverage you typically drink before bed or ritual to help you sleep or meditate. made with some kind of milk whether that be whole milk almond milk or coconut milk mixed in with herbs like roses and lavender petals and other various things such as honey, maple syrup or even cherry juice!

I prefer to make mine with almond milk and here are some of my favorite recipes!

Cherry lavender moon milk

2 cups milk

1/2 cup sweet cherries or frozen ones

1 tsp lavender flowers

1/4 tsp of nutmeg

1/4 cup oats

1/8 tsp salt

2 tbsp walnuts

1 tbsp maple syrup

1tsp coconut oil

Add every ingredient together except for maple syrup and coconut oil. Let it all soak together for 30 minutes. Move into a pot and warm on the stove, whisk until it’s frothy. Then add in the maple syrup and coconut oil. Can be garnished with more lavender flowers, a sprinkle of nutmeg and or cherries.

Vanilla rose moon milk

6 oz. almond milk

2 tsp. dried rose petals

4 oz. tart cherry juice

5-10 drops of valerian root

1/8 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. raw honey (to taste)

Add milk, cherry juice, rose petals, vanilla extract, and valerian root to a small saucepan. Bring milk mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat. Reduce heat and cooked until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Strain out rose petals if you want. Stir in honey, pour into a mug, and enjoy.

Good night moon milk

1/2 teaspoon reishi powder

1/4 teaspoon Blue Majik

dash of cinnamon

dash of pink Himalayan salt

1/2 teaspoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon water, plus additional, if needed to blend paste

1 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

edible flowers, optional, for garnish

Combine salt, Blue Majik, ginger, cinnamon and reishi in a large mug. Stir. Add maple syrup and water and stir until the powders are dissolved, adding additional water as needed. Heat milk in small pot over medium low heat until warmed to your liking. Pour milk into the mug with the paste mixture and stir to combine. Stir in vanilla extract. Enjoy!

Cherry almond moon milk

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

½ cup tart cherry juice

1-2 tsp honey

splash vanilla extract

5-10 drops of valerian root

With this one since everything is liquid, there aren’t really any herbs you actually don’t have to soak anything you can just mix it all together and warm it up on the stove until it’s to the temperature of your liking and enjoy!

Butterfly Coconut rose moon milk

2 cups unsweetened almond milk

2 teaspoons ground butterfly pea flowers

1 tablespoon cane sugar (sub coconut oil, honey or maple syrup)

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

dried tea roses

Remove green stems from pea flowers and rose and grind to a powder. Bring almond milk to a low simmer on the stove. Add vanilla extract and coconut sugar (or other sweetener), whisking constantly for 1-2 minutes. Add butterfly pea flowers, ground cinnamon and nutmeg. Allow to simmer on low for 5-10 minutes. The longer the brew simmers, the deeper the blue color from the pea flowers gets. Enjoy