Our homes, businesses and hands are probably more germ-free than ever before, and we’ve been buying all manner of chemical cleaners and sanitizers to make them that way. Did you know that there are many herbs with antiseptic properties that you can easily grow in your own garden? Here are just four of them, all perennial plants.
Common garden thyme is started by seed, nursery plant, or division from a friend’s garden. It prefers a light, dry, well-drained soil in full sun to partial shade. Over the years it will slowly spread but can easily but cut back at any time of year. It is a ground-cover type plant with woody stems and tiny leaves. In summer. thyme has white to pink flowers.
Rosemary is an evergreen shrub with grayish-green needle-like leaves and pale blue flowers that grow at the branch tips. It doesn’t survive our Wisconsin winters, so it can either be grown in a large container year-round or potted up and brought indoors in late fall. It becomes root-bound quickly in a pot, so twice-yearly repotting is necessary. Full sun is best. Rosemary is difficult to grow from seed so start with nursery plants.
Lavender is seldom started from seed because it often does not breed true, so nursery plants are the way to go. It prefers light, well-drained soil in full sun. Both leaves and flowers are fragrant. Wayward twiggy stems can be pruned back in spring. Lavender is slow to bud out in spring so after you think your plant is dead, wait two or three more weeks to find out if you were correct.
Sage is a woody plant with silver-green leaves. Beautiful purple flowers are produced in summer. Sage starts easily from seed, but it takes two years to grow a good-sized plant for harvesting, so again, buy nursery plants or get a division from a friend if possible. Sage prefers well-drained, moderately rich soil in full sun. Prune back hard in early spring before new growth begins.
Few pests bother any of these herbs, probably because they are repelled by their strong fragrance and taste.
Just a note about soil. All four of these herbs prefer, light, well-drained soil, but I am growing them successfully in heavy clay, so give them a try no matter what your conditions.
To use the herbs for sanitizing, snip sprigs from the ends of the stems, either flowering or not, and infuse them in hot water as you would to make tea. The longer the infusion, the stronger the solution, but go for at least a 15-minute minimum. Strain the infusion into a spray bottle and allow it to cool. Use it to disinfect countertops, faucets, doorknobs and your hands. Allow the spray to sit on the surface for several minutes before wiping dry, or let it dry in place. The lavender infusion combines well with an equal amount of vodka for use as a hand sanitizer, air freshener or linen spray.
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