BellaOnline Forums Home and Garden Herbs Re: Uses for Catnip

Lisa, drink it! Seriously, catnip tea ain't bad. And I find that it helps with my smaller aches and pains, and light headaches. There's some sort of ansthetic effect in the stuff, I swear.

Now, I used to drink a lot of teabag tea ... but I've never ripped something out of my yard and tried to brew it <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> I do have a tea ball though. Do I just put an assortment of leaves into the tea ball, pour hot water over it, and let it steep for 5 minutes?

You are on the right track! Make sure your fresh leaves are clean and free of any yard sprays, naturally. Actually, if you use whole catnip leaves, you can skip the teaball. Just drop about 6-8 leaves in your cup, pour on boiling water, and let steep. Then lift the leaves out with a fork. Since they are whole, they come out intact. A teaball will cramp them too much, and they won't steep as well as they can floating free.

I'd like to hear how you like it!

BTW - I constantly rip stuff out of my yard and brew it. Might explain my personality...

Hi ~
I absolutely LOVE Catnip! It's the herb that saved me a lot of money and probably a trip to a psychologist! I'm not saying that it *will* work like this for everyone, but for me it worked great as an anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, and sedative, plus it has other lovely properties, like carminative (helps stomach upsets and cramps), and yes, it can help with headaches and painful joints. Plus it has lots of nutrients that are good for you, so it can be eaten, as in a salad, and in this way performs its function as a tonic as well. So you see Catnip is a very good herb for lots of things...

I think it actually saved my sanity!
Natural Self
http://she.soulopen.com

In the summer we make a sun tea from catnip - flowers mainly - nothing added just cat nip and water leave it in the sum for a few hours, then you dampen a wash cloth with it and rub it onto exposed skin - no more bug bites or at the very least alot fewer than you wouldve had otherwise. Plus it smells so good.

When I was a child, my mother used to give me a cup of catnip tea with a little honey in it for a fever. Nearly every time, I'd fall asleep, then wake up feeling much better. I still love catnip.

Very informative! I am going to try the sun tea. Does the fever remedy work with dried catnip? If so, I'll dry some for the winter.

Sure does! Catnip is one of my favorites! I like to use it as a nighttime tonic mixed equally with chamomile and mint for my sons. Delish and soothing.

Amelia

Amelia,
I once tried making cammomile tea, using the herb from my garden, and it was very bitter. Is there only a certain type cammomile that can be used for tea, or did I maybe brew it wrong? I steeped it for about 5 minutes and added a little honey when it was ready.

Catnip is my favorite one. I am going to try sun tea. I think summer is the best time for making sun tea.