Health Benefits of Growing Lemon Balm
The health benefits of growing Lemon Balm are vast. Learn how to grow, harvest, and use Lemon Balm from your own garden.
Lemon Balm is such a good friend in the garden. It self seeds, meaning in most climates, it comes back on its own every year. It also has an amazing fresh lemony scent, and it is a medicinal powerhouse of an herb. Growing Lemon Balm is also a great way to help bees. They love it!
Lemon Balm Fun Fact
If you pick Lemon Balm, you will notice it has a square stem, which tells you that it is a member of the mint family. While it is a strong self seeder, it is not invasive like typical mint, and can be controlled more easily.
Growing Lemon Balm
Lemon Balm is quite adaptable, and will grow in sun or shade. Mine seems to do best with a combination of both. The balm will get around 1-2 feet high, and will spread in clumps. It’s great to tuck away here and there, or mix with flowers, other herbs, or even in your vegetable garden.
Lemon Balm starts are inexpensive and readily available at grocery stores and nurseries, but it can also be grown from seed. Just know this option will be more challenging. Plant in spring.
Health Benefits of Growing Lemon Balm
Lemon Balm is a calming herb that eases stress, reduces anxiety, and promotes a feeling of relaxation. These qualities can also help with sleep, making it a great choice for a nightly cup of tea. It is fine to take throughout the day, though, as it does not cause drowsiness. It is also very soothing for the digestive system.
Lemon Balm is a very powerful healing herb. It is anti inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral, anti parasitic, and an antioxidant. It contains several vitamins and minerals, as well. All these things make it a great tool for your medicine cabinet, especially during cold and flu season. It is good for fighting strep, shingles, and Epstein-Barr virus issues, including problems with the thyroid and a woman’s cycle. It is also a powerful detoxifier for your blood and vital organs.
With so many amazing benefits, I try to consume it frequently, either through tincture or tea. If you don’t grow your own, you can purchase the tincture I use here from this affiliate link. https://amzn.to/3uZyGEA If you’d rather sip some tea, this is the kind I use if I run out of supply from my garden. https://amzn.to/3cpPUVm These are affiliate links, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.
If you do grow your own, here’s how to harvest Lemon Balm!
Harvesting Lemon Balm
I like to harvest a few times throughout the year. My favorite time is spring, since it is still so healthy, and new growth hasn’t usually been impacted by pest or disease yet. An added bonus is that harvesting the herb encourages more growth, and more continuous harvests throughout the season.
Drying Lemon Balm
In late April/early May I usually do my first harvest, but June is a great time, too. You can use pruners or scissors. Just cut back to about 3 or 4 leaves high. Give your herbs a mighty shake to remove debris (you can also rinse it at this stage if you’d like). Then hang to dry.
For more information on drying your herbs, click here.
How To Use Lemon Balm
There are many different ways to use Lemon Balm. Here are a few of my favorite Lemon Balm uses.
- Sun Tea: On a sunny day, fill a jar with fresh or dry (I usually use fresh) Lemon Balm, add water to the top, and let steep all day. In the evening, remove the herbs and strain. Enjoy plain, or with ice, honey, and lemon.
- Hot Lemon Balm Tea: Pour hot water over 1 tablespoon of dried lemon balm. Let steep 5-15 minutes. Remove herb and enjoy. For more about brewing tea, click here.
- Tincture: If you’d like to take Lemon Balm more medicinally on a daily basis, you can make your own tincture or purchase one. I usually use glycerin for tinctures instead of alcohol. Here is an affiliate link if you’d like to try an already made tincture. This is an affiliate link, and I may earn from qualifying purchases.
- Fruit Salads: Add chopped Lemon Balm to fruit salads for a fresh lemony taste.
- Flavored Water: Put some sprigs of Lemon Balm in your water for a very subtle flavor throughout the day. You can also add sugar and lemon to make Lemon Balm Lemonade.
- Lemon Balm Simple Syrup: This is great for a Lemon Balm cocktails or mocktails. Add equal parts sugar, water, and Lemon Balm to a saucepan. Stir until hot and sugar is dissolved. Let cool, and remove herbs. Store in the fridge, and use as a fun base for your bevs!
Lemon Balm Tea
By far my favorite and most used way to use Lemon Balm is tea. It’s soothing and medicinal all year long, but I especially love it before bed on cozy, winter nights. To learn more about brewing tea from your garden, check out this blog post about Raspberry Leaf Tea. The process is the same for Lemon Balm.
My favorite mugs (featured in the video) for brewing tea are here!
Lemon Balm really is a great pal in the garden, and it can be used for so many different things. The health benefits of growing Lemon Balm are many.
The main reason I grow it, though, is to just walk by barefoot on sunny days, and smell its lemony goodness. Do you grow Lemon Balm? What do you like to use it for?
For more on gardening and urban homesteading, check out these helpful posts:
- Raspberry Leaf Tea
- How to Harvest & Dry Your Own Herbs
- A Gardener’s Guide To Winter
- New Year, New Backyard Vegetable Garden
- A Casual Garden Stroll in June
Do you have an urban homestead?
An urban homestead is a thriving garden in the city where you produce your own food to cook and preserve. This is my favorite place to learn how if you’re ready to start your own thriving urban homestead!
Come Say Hey!
I would love to get to know you more and see your garden (or your dreams of one)!
Please join our facebook group, Urban Homesteading, to ask questions, share stories and photos, and get to know others with similar struggles, goals, and dreams.
Looking for more information? Follow The Little Green Shoot on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, where I share tons of free tips and ideas.
Disclaimer: The Little Green Shoot is not a doctor, and does not even play one on TV. Please consult your medical professional for medical advice.
This post contains affiliate links, and The Little Green Shoot may earn from qualifying purchases.
I can’t say I grow Lemon Balm, since it has naturalized in one side of my yard. In warmer weather, the cats like to hang out there.
Nooooo! Those darn cats! 🐈
Hi Carley
This is from the old lady on PEI Canada
I do have to thank you for me getting out my food dryer
The garlic cheese sandwich is on our food list
Weather here has been a very cold spring
Today wind low temperatures and rain
I did manage to get some potatoes planted
My gardens were destroyed by hurricane last fall but a lot of perennials are coming back up
I have bought replacement plants for my herb garden and when the sun comes out and it warms up
I will have a new garden
Lemon balm is on my list and also lemon grass plus all the regular herbs
Mint and sage survived
Wishing you a good spring
Edythe!
So nice to hear from you—I was just thinking about you.
Glad you’ve fired up the old dehydrator, too! And I’m happy the secret grilled cheese has been spread to your family—it’s so good!
The weather has sure been tough, hasn’t it. I think we’re all gonna need to become very resilient.
I just harvested my Lemon Balm, and Lemon Grass is so fun to grow, too.
Thanks so much for reaching out!