A Tasty Thyme at Maggie's Herb Farm in St. Augustine: Sharing a Cough Syrup Recipe from my Weekend Class

I spent national Herb Day yesterday at Maggie's Farm in St. Augustine teaching a class on seasonal recipes for cold and flu. We had jam packed day full of herbal activities including preparation of fire cider, an herbal chest salve, Holy Basil tea, and an excellent cough syrup. I know there were some of you who wanted to go, but couldn't make it. So I'm posting a recipe from class that you can try at home. As our primary ingredient we used English Thyme grown in the Fair Share Garden Herb Spiral in Daytona Beach. I'm very proud of the garden volunteers for keeping the Thyme growing through the rainy season. Thyme likes well drained soil and can be killed easily from being inundated by daily rain storms that here occur here in Central Florida July through September. Thyme is an expectorant herb which relieves bronchial spasms to stop coughs. You can use Thyme in cases of Bronchitis, sore throat, inflamed mucus membranes, whooping cough (Purtussis), and gas and bloating. We also included dried Mint leaves to the decoction. Mint is very useful for reducing inflammation in the head, throat and eyes. It needs to be added towards the end of the recipe and brewed only for a short time to prevent the fragile aromatic essential oils from dissipating. Thyme Cough Syrup Recipe: 1 oz dried thyme 1 oz dried mint 4 cups water Boil dried Thyme down to about 2.5 cups of water, then strain. Add Mint and let boil for 5-10 minutes. Strain the decoction and add it back to the pot noting the final volume. Add 2 times the volume of the strained decoction in sugar and dissolve the sugar in the decoction. (After a little spill, we ended up with one cup of decoction to which we added 2 cups of sugar). You can also make this syrup with wild flower honey (or glycerin) instead of sugar. The syrup dosage is 1 tablespoon up to 5 times a day for adults. For children 4-10 years the dosage is 1.5 - 2 tsp up to 5 times day depending on weight. My next classes at Maggie's Herb Farm are coming up Saturday October 24th and Saturday November 14th. Classes are limited to 10 participants. If you would like to join us please call the farm to register and reserve a spot 904-829-0722. Herbal Spa Day for Hair and Body: Shampoo Bars, Spa Soaps, Hair Rinses & Deodorants! October 24th 10:00 AM-2:00 PM Herbalist and Soap Maker Cory Trusty of Aquarian Bath will lead a workshop on making Aloe Shampoo bars, Spa Salt Soaps, Conditioning Hair Rinses and Deodorants. She will discuss safety basics of Soap making and various ingredients. Learn the difference between Shampoo bars and Spa Salt bars versus regular body soaps. Join in harvesting and processing fresh Aloe vera and preparing oils for soap making. Each participant will go home with recipes, a full sized Aloe Shampoo bar and Spa Salt soap made during the workshop. Students will harvest fresh herbs from the farm to make their own conditioning hair rinses and deodorants. Bring a sack lunch, safety glasses, and rubber gloves. $40.00 Herbal Aromatics! Natural Incense & Perfumery Class. November 14th 10:00 AM-2:00 PM Join us for an introduction to incense and natural perfumery. We will be making all natural cone incense with dried herbs and resins, as well as a room spray, cologne, and solid perfumes with pure essential oils. Learn the properties of various essential oils and how to combine them to repel pests, freshen a room, and more. We will be working with a variety of dried herbs including those available at the farm including Lemon Verbena, Lemon grass, and Patchouli. Bring a sack lunch $45 Aquarian Bath Products are now available at ...